As we enter the 2006 election cycle, you will soon notice Alabama Democrats beginning to distance themselves from their national and Congressional comrades like Hillary Clinton, Howard Dean, Nancy Pelosi and others.

They will begin to say things like &8220;there&8217;s not a dimes worth of difference between the Alabama Democrat and Republican parties&8221; and make claims that they, too, are &8220;conservative candidates.&8221;

Don&8217;t let them fool you.

A simple look at the last week of activity in the Alabama Legislature will demonstrate that Democrats in this state are not that much different than the liberals who fight and oppose President Bush in Washington.

In fact, they share many of the same left-wing agenda items.

A bill was debated on the floor of the Alabama House last Tuesday that would allow a homeowner to shoot a person who forcefully enters their house to commit a crime.

To Republicans, it should be common sense for someone to shoot a person who breaks into their home with the intent to steal or commit an act of violence, but some members of the Alabama Democrat Caucus feel otherwise.

They staged an hours-long filibuster that prevented the bill from receiving a vote and, for all intents and purposes, killed the legislation&8217;s chances of passing for the rest of the session.

To a person who becomes a victim of a home invasion or violent crime because this bill did not pass, there is much more than a &8220;dime&8217;s worth of difference&8221; between how the Democrats and Republicans view matters.

Just below the home invasion bill on the agenda was another Democrat-sponsored bill that would create a new &8220;hate crime&8221; category for crimes committed against homosexuals.

None of us believe anyone should be victimized by violent crime, regardless of who they are or what their lifestyle.

But we also do not believe that one violent crime should be punished more harshly than another simply because the victim was homosexual.

All crime is hate crime, and Republicans believe they should be punished equally.

To a violent crime victim whose attacker receives a lesser sentence because the victim is not homosexual, there is much more than a &8220;dime&8217;s worth of difference&8221; between the Democrat and Republican parties.

This week, the Legislature will consider a Democrat-sponsored bill that allows local school boards to include Bible curriculums in their classroom, even though they already have that authority.

While on the surface, the legislation sounds pleasing, the bill actually mandates the textbook that must be used – a textbook that was partially written and approved by ultra-liberal groups like the American Civil Liberties Union, the Council for Islamic Education and the People for the American Way, which was founded by liberal Hollywood producer Norman Lear.

The text of the book even contains several disturbing questions like, &8220;If God allows evil things to happen, can God be honestly described as good,&8221; and &8220;you think Adam and Eve received a fair deal as described in Genesis?&8221;

To the parent of a public school student who doesn&8217;t want the ACLU and the Council for Islamic Education teaching the Bible to their child, there is much more than a &8220;dime&8217;s worth of difference&8221; between the Democrat and Republican parties.

And the Senate Judiciary Committee, dominated by Democrats, refuses to consider the Unborn Victims of Violence Act supported by our Alabama Republican Caucus.

The bill would make it a crime to kill an unborn child while in the process of committing a violent crime.

California&8217;s version of this law was used to convict Scott Peterson for the murder of his wife, Laci, and unborn son, Conner, yet the Democrat-controlled Alabama Senate will not consider this bill.

When you consider that a liberal, pro-abortion state like California has a law protecting the unborn from violent crimes while a conservative, pro-life state like Alabama does not, it is obvious that there is much more than a &8220;dime&8217;s worth of difference&8221; between the Democrat and Republican parties.

Look at the examples referenced above and a hundred more just like them that happen every day in the halls and chambers of the Alabama State House, and don&8217;t be fooled by Democrat candidates portraying themselves as conservatives this election cycle.

Supporting gun control, hate crimes and teaching the ACLU&8217;s version of our Bible sure doesn&8217;t sound very conservative to me.

And it shouldn&8217;t to you, either