Powerful Bullies Lose

Josh Moon of the Alabama Political Report gives his analysis today of why Bill Canary lost support as CEO of the Business Council of Alabama:

[Canary] tried to bully his way around and such tactics quickly wear thin among grown people….lawmakers, who once happily strolled into the building and voted for anything BCA sponsored, were so disenchanted with Canary and BCA that they told me they would vote against anything the organization backed. They were tired of being threatened, they said. And they were tired of Canary telling them what to do instead of working with them.

Moon’s words are similar to the what he hear from those critical of Balch & Bingham: they’re bullies who allegedly manipulate the legal system for their end goals.

Joel Gilbert, the indicted Balch partner, appears to have acted, too, as a bully, tough guy. His letter of intimidation from 2014 sent to the public charity GASP was an example of the strong-armed tactics he employed.

And Schuyler Allen Baker, Jr., the Balch partner fighting the Burt Newsome Conspiracy Case, foolishly and successfully fought for a secretive Star Chamber at the height of two federal probes trying to intimidate us, the CDLU, from reporting the truth.

Like Canary, these tactics have utterly backfired. Canary’s reputation (like Balch’s) looks like it has swiftly crumbled into the sea near Destin, Florida.

And fighting the inevitable like Canary’s departure or settling the Newsome Conspiracy Case is a futile game with no strategy.

And the Bullies know it.