That's the story of the hurricane

The mayors of four major cities in state Sen. Hank Erwin's district have endorsed his opponent in next month's GOP primary. Today's Birmingham News doesn't note if the Montevallo Republican's declaration that Hurricane Katrina was God's punishment of the Gulf Coast for gambling played a role in any of the officials' decisions, but it does say at least two of the mayors are mad that Erwin didn't help with a requested local school tax bill.

Nonplussed, Erwin emphasized that even if some leaders in his home district are turning against him, he still has plenty of backers in Montgomery. Since when did a senator need to worry much about what people back home think, anyway?