My readers are not Troy King fans

Quite frankly, neither am I. In fact, I've criticized him on more than a few occasions. Think back to the whole post-Katrina price-gouging nonsense, for example, when King was constantly in front of TV cameras talking tough about how he was going to investigate and prosecute gas station owners who had raised their prices a little too much. It was an entirely political show over what should have been a non-issue, because, as King's investigation eventually determined, there were very few instances of actual price-gouging, as defined by Alabama law. In this post from September 2005, I said of King's investigation:

What a crock. Troy King knows full well what caused the recent spikes in gas prices. First of all, there was a hurricane. A big one. It disrupted shipping, shut down oil production and refining on the Gulf coast, and cut off the pipelines that transport gasoline from throughout the Southeast and to points beyond. The severity of the "spike" was augmented by the fact that oil and gas markets were already tight, even before Katrina hit. Gas retailers reacted to the supply disruptions and market uncertainies by doing the only thing they could do to prevent widespread shortages - they raised prices. Certain locations were hit harder than others due to various factors, including proximity to the hurricane impact area, proximity to gasoline distribution points, available inventories, and population density.

None of that should be news to the Attorney General. His so-called investigation is nothing more than a self-serving attempt to boost his political fortunes at the expense both of taxpayer dollars and common sense. King should stick to enforcing the law and cut out the populist grandstanding.

Well, it seems that John Tyson, Jr. is now criticizing Troy King for failing to pursue his witch-hunt even further than he did, accusing him of being too lenient on all those non-existent price-gougers. From the Tuscaloosa News:

Tyson also said King hasn’t followed up on a 2005 news conference in which he pledged to investigate gasoline price gouging.

“This guy had a lot of fanfare and a lot of press conferences announced a big time investigation and he did arrest a convenience store operator or two," Tyson said.

King filed civil suits against gasoline distributors. A settlement required defendants to pay $5,300 to the Red Cross or the Salvation Army but without an admission of wrongdoing. King said the amount collected was more than the profits from alleged price gouging.

If we call King a "grandstander," then what are we to make of Mr. Tyson?

The two main questions I asked myself in determining who to vote for in this race are 1) Which candidate has the best philosophy for fighing crime most effectively? and 2) Which candidate will best defend the State of Alabama's interests when its laws are challenged under either the Alabama or the U.S. Contitution?

I discussed question 1 in my post yesterday.

As to question 2, I think that King has performed admirably. He has filed amicus curiae ("friend of the Court") briefs with the U.S. Supreme Court supporting a state's (California's) right to allow medicinal marijuana and supporting a state's (Virginia's) right to require the recitation of the Pledge of Allegiance in schools. He has (unsuccessfully) defended the executive branch's right under the Alabama constitution to review legislative pork projects passed as community service grants. His office is currently helping to ensure that Alabama meets its obligations under the Helping America Vote Act, in spite of Secretary of State Worley's obstruction. He also believes that when judges abuse their authority and assume the role of legislators, it is his duty as the state's attorney to challenge them. The same can't be said of his opponent.

Voting is sometimes a balancing act, and in this case I have to come down in favor of King as the lesser of two evils. He may not be the best guy for the job, but that's because the best guy isn't running this year; he's in Atlanta serving on the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals.