Governor Robert Bentley to make Tuscaloosa jobs announcement Thursday morning in Montgomery
The governor’s office office announced Wednesday Gov. Robert Bentley will address the public and members of the media Thursday afternoon in Montgomery regarding developments related to economic development in Tuscaloosa County. State Auditor Jim Zeigler seemingly had the inside scoop Wednesday afternoon, taking to social media and posting the following: An announcement is expected Thursday of an automobile parts supplier coming to the Tuscaloosa area bringing 600 jobs to Alabama. It will manufacture doors for Mercedes vehicles made at the Vance, AL plant. Details Thursday. The announcement will take place on the steps of the Old Capitol Building on Dexter Avenue in the state capital. Event organizers say the governor – for whom the good news is badly needed after a two legislative Sessions have so far failed to produce a budget – will speak at 11 a.m. and will be joined by local and state leaders.
Hillary Clinton unveils new 30-second ad in Iowa, New Hampshire
Democratic frontrunner Hillary Rodham Clinton unveiled a new 30-second ad Wednesday morning, entitled “Reshuffle,” that will air in the early primary states of Iowa and New Hampshire. Taking a cue from left-leaning challenger Vermont U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders – who has been surging in New Hampshire, taking the lead last week according to recent polling – Clinton’s new message is inflected by economic populism and a concern for inequality in the the workforce. “When you see that you’ve got CEOs making 300 times what the average worker’s making, you know the deck is stacked in favor of those at the top,” says Clinton, directly into the camera. “I want it to be back where it was when I came of age. Where my mom, who never got to go to college, could see her daughter go to law school” “We need to have people believing that their work will be rewarded. So I’m going to be doing everything I can to try to get that deck reshuffled so being middle class means something again,” the ad concludes. See the full 30-second spot below:
Legacy Bush donors account for half of Jeb Bush’s donations
Jeb Bush‘s fundraising network is two generations in the making, and it shows. About half of the roughly $120 million raised to help him win the Republican presidential nomination comes from donors who previously gave to his brother or father, both former presidents, according to a new analysis of Federal Election Commission records by Crowdpac.com, a nonpartisan political research company. The finding puts a numerical exclamation point on the advantage Bush’s presidential family gives him when it comes to fundraising. In Crowdpac’s review of named contributors to three political committees helping Bush, $59.2 million came from first-time Bush donors, while $60.3 million came from returning donors to the earlier campaigns of President George W. Bush, President George H.W. Bush or both. One such Bush family stalwart is Dirk Van Dongen, president of the Washington-based National Association of Wholesaler-Distributors. Van Dongen said he is one of a “huge” network of volunteer fundraisers — called “bundlers” because they gather checks from friends and associates to turn over to campaigns — who sprang to action when the former Florida governor said at the beginning of the year that he was thinking about running. “It is a vast network built over decades and it has grown even larger since Gov. Bush announced his candidacy,” he said. “No other Republican candidate comes close to matching it.” Indeed, the money raised in the first six months of the year by Bush’s campaign, leadership political action committee and super PAC is more than double that of anyone else in the 17-person Republican primary race. Fundraising materials for Jeb Bush show clear echoes of techniques his brother mastered. George W. Bush’s 2004 re-election had a sales-force quality. Top George W. Bush money-raisers called “Rangers,” ”Pioneers” and “Mavericks” were rewarded with perks like trips to meet with the president. Jeb Bush’s top fundraisers fall into NASA-themed categories called “Apollo,” ”Endeavor” and “Voyager.” Bush invited donors who raised at least $27,000 in the first two weeks of his campaign to a retreat last month at his family’s property in Kennebunkport, Maine. About 300 of those donors mingled with the candidate and his top strategists in what attendees said had the feel of a family reunion, complete with Jeb Bush’s parents as special guests. Jeb Bush’s fundraising leadership team blends family stalwarts with newer names. Jack Oliver, one of the best-known fundraisers for George W. Bush, has the title of finance co-chairman. Woody Johnson, the New York Jets owner who began raising presidential money for John McCain in 2008, is his national finance chairman. Both the campaign and super PAC emphasize their success with new donors. A spokesman for the super PAC Right to Rise, Paul Lindsay, said it has a “depth of support and diversity among our donors that spans many regions and backgrounds.” “The response you hear from donors, including those who have given to previous GOP presidential candidates, is that they want to back a winner and they believe Jeb is the best candidate in the field,” Lindsay said. Right to Rise can accept contributions of any size from individuals, companies and unions. The campaign is limited to contributions of $2,700 per individual donor. Crowdpac, a year-old start-up based in Menlo Park, California, built a database that includes FEC and state-level campaign finance records. The federal contribution data it includes dates to 1980. Typically, federal donors are identified if they have contributed at least $200 per election cycle. Contributor information at the state level varies. The company also examined two other 2016 candidates with presidential campaign trailblazers in their families. Democratic front-runner Hillary Rodham Clinton and groups supporting her bid raised about $9 million, or 16 percent of their total receipts, from people who also donated to President Bill Clinton. Republican contender Rand Paul is receiving candidacy-sustaining financial firepower from his father’s donors: More than half the $8.9 million in pro-Rand Paul money that Crowdpac analyzed came from people who’d given to former Rep. Ron Paul, R-Texas, who most recently ran for president in 2012. Republished with permission of The Associated Press.
Hillary Clinton endorsed by 2 ex-South Carolina governors
Hillary Rodham Clinton is getting endorsements from two former Democratic governors in the early-voting state of South Carolina, including one who helped lead President Barack Obama‘s first campaign. The moves are part of Clinton’s effort to build her organization in South Carolina and Iowa, two early-voting states where Obama defeated her on his way to the nomination in 2008. Jim Hodges, who served as South Carolina’s chief executive from 1999 to 2003, told The Associated Press that he will formally endorse Clinton on Wednesday in Columbia, South Carolina, alongside her current campaign chairman, John Podesta. “We were on the other side, but I developed a hearty respect for Hillary Clinton both as campaigner and a public servant,” said Hodges, who was national co-chairman for Obama’s 2008 campaign. Separately, Clinton’s campaign announced an endorsement from Dick Riley, who served as secretary of education during President Bill Clinton‘s administration after serving as governor from 1979 to 1987. Days ago at the Iowa State Fair, where presidential candidates gather to meet voters in the first caucus state, Clinton garnered the formal backing of former Sen. Tom Harkin. He remains a popular elder statesman in Iowa. The high-profile endorsements demonstrate Clinton’s strengths at a time when Vice President Joe Biden, who has several South Carolina loyalists, is considering whether to seek the 2016 nomination. Biden recently vacationed in the state, where he made calls to aides and supporters about the race. Yet even if the announcements show Clinton’s strength in comparison to Biden, they also highlight that she is anchored in the Democratic Party’s old guard at the same time she faces a challenge from Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders. Sanders, who is running to Clinton’s left by assailing the nation’s political and economic establishment, makes his first extended South Carolina campaign trip this weekend. Hodges acknowledged that Clinton must balance her establishment relationships with an appeal to disaffected voters. “People are hurting,” Hodges said. “Campaigns on the right and the left have had some appeal, but at the end of the day, I think that a campaign like Secretary Clinton’s that’s focused on the problems people face is a winning campaign.” The former governor said he has no long-term worries about the ongoing investigation into Clinton’s use of a private email server while she served as Obama’s secretary of state. “I’m confident that she’s going to come through it fine,” he said. Republished with permission of The Associated Press.
Blue Bell to resume distributing ice cream to select markets
Blue Bell Creameries will resume distributing ice cream to select markets in Texas and Alabama this month after halting sales and production following listeria contamination. The Brenham, Texas-based company said Monday that it plans to re-enter parts of 15 states in five phases. The first phase, which starts Aug. 31, will include the Brenham, Houston and Austin areas in Texas and the Birmingham and Montgomery areas in Alabama. The Blue Bell production plant in Sylacauga (sihl-uh-KAW’-guh), Alabama, began producing ice cream in July. Production facilities in Brenham and Broken Arrow, Okla., are still undergoing upgrades similar to those made at the Alabama plant. Blue Bell in April voluntarily recalled all products after its treats were linked to 10 listeria illnesses in four states, including three deaths in Kansas. Republished with permission of The Associated Press.
GOP hopeful Mike Huckabee says West Bank is part of Israel
Republican presidential hopeful Mike Huckabee waded into Middle East politics on Tuesday by declaring the West Bank to be part of Israel. Huckabee was speaking to reporters at Ancient Shiloh, for which a modern settlement nearby is named and where tradition holds the ancient Israelites kept the tabernacle with Moses’ tablets on its way to Jerusalem. “I am delighted tonight to be here at Shiloh. It is an exciting place and an important place. It is the place where the tabernacle once was. It’s a place of Biblical history,” he said. He told reporters “if you’re going to visit Israel you should visit all of Israel, and that would include Judea and Samaria,” the biblical names for the West Bank. His comments on the West Bank are at odds with U.S policy. Israel captured the West Bank from Jordan in the 1967 Mideast war. Palestinians demand the area, along with East Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip, for a future state. The fate of West Bank settlements is one of the core issues at the heart of the conflict. Huckabee is visiting Israel to meet with officials to discuss the Obama administration’s nuclear deal with Iran. Republished with permission of The Associated Press.
Voter registration events set throughout Alabama
The Alabama Secretary of State‘s office says several voter registration events are being hosted in the coming week. The office is hosting a registration event Wednesday at Moody City Hall in St. Claire County. Additional registration drives are being held in Greene County Aug. 22 at the Black Belt Folk Roots Festival and Aug. 25 at the Midland City Town Hall. Each event begins at 10 a.m. Officials say Alabamians must present valid photo ID to participate in elections, which include driver’s licenses, federally issued ID cards, U.S. passports and more. Alabamians may apply for a free photo voter ID if they’re registered to vote, but don’t have a valid form of photo ID. Applicants must provide documentation proving name, date of birth, voter registration and address. Online: www.alabamavoterid.com Republished with permission of The Associated Press.
