Governor under fire on reports of affair
Alabama Gov. Robert Bentley denies having an affair with his top adviser. But in the face of pretty damning evidence otherwise, it takes a big leap of faith to take Bentley at his word.
That leapmay be too long for Alabamians — and, as notably, Bentley’s Republican allies, many of whom are running fromhim as fast as they can. That leaves an isolated Bentley facing a battle on several different political and legal fronts. And it’s hard to see how he comes out of this intact.
Just three days after the scandal broke wide open, a significant number of Republican lawmakers have suggested the governor needs to go.
Some are pursuing creating a recall method for the governor, and still others are asking the state’s attorney general to conduct a legal investigation into whether Bentley conducted an affair using state resources.
At least one analyst predicted the salacious scandal will drop Bentley’s approval ratings plenty in a state that prioritizes moral integrity. Plus, there’s an irony factor, said Richard Fording, chairman of the University of Alabama’s political science department.
“One thing he had going for him after hewas elected is at least people thought he was a man of integrity,” he said of the governor who wasmarried for 50 years before his recent divorce. “That is all gone now.”
Exhibit A in Bentley’s struggles: State Rep. David Standridge, a confidant of the governor, posted a scathing statement on Facebook in which he called for Bentley to resign. It says, in part:
“Governor Bentley has violated the trust placed in him by the people of this great state, myself included. ... By his own admission, his actions have been harmful to the people of this state. He has exhibited an error in judgment, and a blatant disregard and lack of respect for the office which he holds and the people he represents.”
Alabama Republicans have little to lose by cutting Bentley loose so quickly and, you could argue, so harshly. They say the governor was already politically damaged after pushing for a tax increase twomonths after campaigning on no new taxes.
The two-term governor’s favorability ratings among likely Republican primary voters went from 80 percent during his re-election campaign to 50 percent during budget clashes with the state legislature.
Republicans are pretty much the only game in town in this deep-red state, so it’s not like a Democrat could sweep in and take the governorship when or if Bentley steps down or is recalled.