The Alabama state Legislature has had a disappointing session with virtually nothing getting done due to a Democrat majority/Republican minority standoff in the Senate.

Until last week, however, things seemed to be clicking with our state representatives.

It was then that the &uot;wheeling and dealing&uot; began and the Republicans gave up on the fight to rightfully punish Alabama’s criminals.

When an Alabama resident chooses, of his or her own free will, to break the law, he or she has also chosen to give up certain rights, among them the right to have a voice in our leadership.

Their vote was obviously not important enough to them to begin with or they would not have risked it by breaking the law in such a fashion as to garner the removal of that right.

Criminal acts should continue to cost those who commit them in the same way everyone else must deal with consequences for each and every action taken.

But our Republican representatives have failed us in order to pass another bill to change the date for certifying presidential candidates. This could be a bill that needs to be passed, but, we ask, at what cost?

This may be politics as usual on Capitol Hill, and even in Montgomery, but from the perspective of the average law-abiding citizen in Alabama who depends on the lawmakers of our state to provide for our defense and fight for our rights, we are clearly disappointed