This is an opinion column.

State Sen. Dick Brewbaker is retired now, at least from politics. The lawmaker from Montgomery took a self-imposed term limit this year, and he will be going back to his family’s car dealerships full-time, unless he takes up teaching again, which he’s said he might.

In the Alabama Senate, Brewbaker was a Republican but with an independent streak that frequently put him at odds with the legislative leadership. Following in the footsteps of some of the State House’s greatest Righteous Crackpots — Rep. Jeff McLaughlin and Sen. Mac Parsons come to mind — he had a habit of letting his conscience set his agenda instead of his caucus. That habit frequently got him into trouble, but only what U.S. Rep. John Lewis likes to call “good trouble.”

When the Business Council of Alabama tried to crush a bill requiring insurers to cover autism treatments, Brewbaker led an insurrection in the Senate. When the Commerce Department attempted to weaken the Alabama Ethics law, he threatened to shut down the 2018 Legislative Session.

On his way out, Brewbaker recently wrote some advice for new lawmakers, which he has kindly allowed me to publish below — his 10 rules for staying out of “bad trouble.”

Congratulations on your election. Public service is a high calling but as recent history has shown can get you in trouble in a heartbeat. So as an ex-legislator who has survived his career and is now safe in "Bucks Pocket" here is a little advice.

1. Watch out for all the "new friends" you suddenly have acquired. They are friends who want something from you. You don't work for them, even if they gave money for your campaign. Don't forget you are there for your neighbors who actually voted for you. Read Proverbs 27:5-6 once a day. It was written for politicians.

2. If you are a family man and are invited to an event where your spouse is not welcome, don't go.

3. Judge not. Do not get in the business of assigning bad motives to people that disagree with you. It makes listening impossible.

4. Make it a point to buck your own leadership at least once a session. If you are voting with them 100% of the time, you've stopped thinking.

5. Beware of becoming a consultant. You aren't any smarter now than you were before you got elected. If someone offers you money to "consult" turn it down. Its a bribe and it could land you in jail. The Ethics Law can be summed up simply "Thou shalt not use your position as a legislator to enrich yourself." Don't.

6. Pay your own way. Always.

7. Be nice to your legislative assistant. Your career is in her hands.

8. Listen to the other side, sometimes they are right.

9. Take time to get to know the pages and always, always make time for school groups even if they aren't from your district. It will make your day a lot more fun.

10. Keep your sense of humor. Remember that the state legislature is just the AA baseball of politics. The really important stuff is back home so don’t let politics ruin your good name. Keep it in good condition.

This week Alabama voters approved a state constitutional amendment to allow the Ten Commandments in public buildings, such as schools and courthouses, and it’s almost certain some Alabama lawmaker will try to hang the Almighty’s big list somewhere in the State House, at least until the ACLU sues to take them down.

But perhaps that pious pol should nail Brewbaker’s Commandments to the wall, instead. They’ll hang there longer, and waste fewer tax dollars on legal fees.

And they might even do a few lawmakers a little good.

Kyle Whitmire is the state political columnist for the Alabama Media Group.

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