Bob Almighty

Is everything a partisan conspiracy to Gov. Bob Riley, or does the politics card create a handy diversion?

On Tuesday, Riley said he planned to sign a $13 million no-bid computer contract that Democrats asked him not to sign. The Riley administration’s reaction to criticism of the contract was to point out the absence of accountability measures in the Democrats’ agenda and raise questions about a $10,000 contract with a webmaster hired to maintain a Democratic legislative official’s Internet site.

None of that answers the valid concerns of Democrats Sen. Roger Bedford, Sen. Quinton Ross and Rep. Alvin Holmes, who question the no-bid contract with Paragon Source, a company with no Web site, no e-mail address, no listed telephone number and the address of a personal residence as its headquarters.

“A computer company without a Web site is like a phone company without a phone,” Bedford said.

It’s an appropriate comparison that should raise concerns across party lines.

Instead, Riley ignores valid questions about millions of dollars in taxpayer funds, instead bickering with Democrats who dare challenge him.

Had a Republican raised concerns, would it have mattered?