Jeb Bush doing nicely among Birmingham business leaders in 2016 fundraising
With Alabama’s inclusion in the new March 1 “SEC primary,” the scramble is on as never before when it comes to gathering votes – and campaign cash – for president in the Yellowhammer State. The big winner so far, according to Birmingham Business Review? Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush. Bush has raised the tidy sum of $145,000 from within the Magic City metro area, just edging out retired neurosurgeon Dr. Ben Carson, who took in about $138,000. Carson, however, leads the statewide money race with $272,567 per the Federal Elections Commission, and leads most recent state primary polls. Bush and Carson account for about $491,122 combined so far by Alabama political donors. Texas Sen. Ted Cruz is third among Birmingham fundraisers, with $68,000 raised as of December. He has raised $138,310 in Alabama to date. Of the state’s top 10 political benefactors in Alabama, whose contributions amount to $1,781,161, less than 10 percent, or $138,734 went to Democrats. Hillary Rodham Clinton has raised $125,341 in the state, while her main challenger for the Democratic nomination, Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, took in a modest $23,393. Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee rounded out the top five in Alabama, collecting $43,319 from Alabama-based boosters.
Martha Roby: Major step taken to bolster national security
Recent terrorist activity has many Americans concerned about our security, and understandably so. Congress has the responsibility to make sure our laws and programs meant to protect our country are working as they should. One program that has been scrutinized lately is our visa system, which regulates who is allowed to visit the United States. Our country has agreements with friendly countries like Great Britain, France and Italy allowing their citizens who pass a security background check to travel in the United States for up to 90 days. This Visa Waiver Program is important for business travel and tourism but also has an important security function. As part of the deal, partner countries agree to share critical counter terrorism information that helps American authorities identify threats and protect the homeland. Amid the rise in terrorist activity, the Homeland Security Committee convened a Foreign Fighter Task Force, which found some lapses and vulnerabilities in our system. Gaps in the system could potentially allow dangerous people to exploit our relationships with friendly nations to and gain access to the United States. That’s why this week the House of Representatives acted to tighten and reform security protocols by passing the Visa Waiver Improvement and Terrorist Prevention Act. The bill strengthens our visa program’s security with provisions to: terminate visa agreements with countries if they fail to share counterterrorism information; terminate visa agreements with countries if they fail to screen travelers against INTERPOL criminal and terrorism databases; deny VWP status to those who have gone to terrorist hotspots like Syria since 2011 or those who have dual-nationality in such countries; require all partner countries to issue and screen fraud resistant “e-passports” to everyone; require annual threat assessments of high-risk VWP countries based on foreign fighter flow, visa denials and terror database matches; allow for suspension of high-risk countries until the threat has passed. This measure is an important step in ensuring dangerous people cannot access the United States via friendly nations by exploiting security gaps. Of course, our visa arrangement with friendly nations is important, but we need to beef up security protocols and make sure our partner countries are playing by the rules. My colleague, Rep. Will Hurd, who is a former CIA operative and helped write the bill, put it best by saying “If you get the right information to the right people, you keep terrorists on the run and off our shores.” This is just one step of many that may need to be taken to make sure our authorities have the tools and information necessary to protect Americans here at home. Stay updated on the latest on my Facebook page and twitter feed @RepMarthaRoby. Martha Roby represents Alabama’s 2nd Congressional District. She is in her third term.
GOP candidate Ben Carson threatens to leave Republican Party
In what would be a nightmare scenario for the GOP, presidential candidate Ben Carson threatened Friday to leave the Republican Party amid reports of deepening concerns from GOP officials about the splintered 2016 electorate. The retired neurosurgeon lashed out at Republican leaders who discussed the possibility of a “brokered convention” during a recent private dinner in Washington. The Washington Post first reported Thursday that the group, including Republican National Committee chairman Reince Priebus and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, addressed the sustained strength of billionaire businessman Donald Trump and the possibility that a consensus nominee might not emerge before the party’s mid-July national convention in Cleveland. “If this was the beginning of a plan to subvert the will of the voters and replace it with the will of the political elite, I assure you Donald Trump will not be the only one leaving the party,” Carson said in a statement that referenced Trump’s repeated threats to leave the GOP if treated “unfairly.” “I pray that the report in the Post this morning was incorrect,” Carson added. “If it is correct, every voter who is standing for change must know they are being betrayed. I won’t stand for it.” Republished with permission of the Associated Press.
Richard Shelby lands coveted endorsement from National Rifle Association
Incumbent Richard Shelby has gained the coveted endorsement of the influential National Rifle Association (NRA) in his re-election campaign to the U.S. Senate in the March 1 Republican primary. Composed of over 5 million members, the NRA is the largest association of gun rights advocates in the country. “Based on your leadership on Second Amendment issues in the U.S. Senate, you have earned the highest attainable rating, an ‘A+’, from the NRA in the March 1st Republican Primary,” reads the NRA’s endorsement. “And ‘A+’ is reserved for ‘legislator with not only an excellent voting record on all critical NRA issues, but who has also made vigorous effort to promote and defend the Second Amendment.” The organization also made note that Shelby has championed National Concealed Carry Reciprocity legislation, has been a strong leader in opposing the unconstitutional United Nations Arm Trade Treaty, cosponsored and voted for the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act and has fought President Barack Obama‘s Supreme Court nominees. “It has been an honor and privilege to work with our country’s oldest and largest defender of Second Amendment rights throughout my tenure in the Senate,” Shelby said in response to the endorsement. “Earning and maintaining the trust of the NRA and its members is critical to my ability to serve the people of Alabama. Receiving recognition for my staunch support of the right to keep and bear arms by their board at the annual meeting this year was among one of the proudest moments that I have had as a public servant.” Shelby said, “Not all of the battles that I’ve engaged in Congress with the NRA at my side are high-profile. We’ve done so much work over the years to override regulations and prevent rogue administrations like this one from using bureaucracy to create registries of gun owners and harass firearms manufacturers, sportsmen, and gun enthusiasts alike. These efforts don’t always grab headlines, but keep the Second Amendment as strong in practice as it is on parchment. “The events of recent weeks demonstrate that the President, his Attorney General, Hillary Clinton, and other politicians would rather push their gun control agenda aimed at disarming law-abiding Americans rather than fight or acknowledge the real security issues facing this nation. We need the National Rifle Association and its members now more than ever, and I’m proud to be their partner. As a sportsman, gun owner, and citizen, I’m honored by their endorsement and support.”
VictoryLand to announce reopening within 2 weeks
Owner Milton McGregor said Friday he will announce his VictoryLand racetrack and gaming facilities reopening dates within two weeks. A news release indicated he hopes to begin operations again by Christmas, and expects to hire about 2,000 employees from Macon County and localities surrounding the Shorter, Alabama, facility. The casino was the subject of a lengthy legal battle after police raided VictoryLand in 2013, seizing $263,105 and 1,615 electronic bingo machines that law state law enforcement said violated anti-gambling laws. Attorney General Luther Strange brought the case against VictoryLand to court, but was not successful in shutting it down. Courts later ruled the casino may re-open, though it could not keep the seized assets. In October 2015, Montgomery Circuit Judge William Shashy dismissed the state’s case, saying prosecutors could not target one facility while others remained in business. The establishment is undergoing renovations and negotiating with vendors in order to return electronic bingo to Shorter, McGregor said.
Sonia Melendez Reyes: The middle class is no longer America’s economic majority
The middle class is no longer America’s economic majority. It’s the first time that’s been true in 40 years. There are now more low-income and high-income Americans combined than there are people in the middle class, a study released Wednesday found. According to a Pew Research Center report, there were 120.8 million adults living in middle-income households and 121.3 million in lower- and upper-income households combined in early 2015, marking the first time in the center’s four decades of tracking this data that the size of the latter groups has transcended that of the first. The study defines middle income as adults earning two-thirds to double the national median, which translates today to somewhere between $42,000 and $126,000 a year for a three-person household. Since 1971, the percentage of adults living in the low income bracket has increased from 25 percent to 29 percent, and the percentage of adults living in the highest income bracket has shot up from 14 percent to 21 percent. The middle class, meanwhile, has shrunk from 61 percent to about 50. That’s not entirely bad news. The shrinking of the middle class is due more to the rising number of high-income Americans, which increased 7 percentage points, than it is to the increasing number of low-income Americans, which increased by just 4 points. “In at least one sense, the shift represents economic progress,” the study notes. On the other hand, the rich are getting richer at a pace much faster than the middle and lower classes. According to the study, the median income of people in the high-income bracket shot up 47 percent between 1970 and 2014; meanwhile, the income of the middle class jumped 34 percent, and that of the low-income bracket increased by 28 percent. The widening wealth gap remains a hot topic on the presidential campaign trail. Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders has made reducing income inequality a pillar of his bid for the Democratic nomination, while candidates from both parties have acknowledged the problem of the middle class’s decline. Sonia Melendez Reyes is the Deputy Communications Director at American Women
USDA approves disaster aid for farmers in 25 Alabama counties
Farmers in 25 Alabama counties are eligible for emergency loans because of excessive rainfall, wind and flooding this year, Gov. Robert Bentley‘s office announced. The United States Department of Agriculture approved the counties for a Secretarial Natural Disaster Designation, allowing farmers to be considered for help from the USDA-Farm Service Agency. The severe weather caused extensive damage to many crops during the 2015 growing season, according to a news release from the governor’s office. Bentley sent a letter to Agriculture Secretary Thomas Vilsack on Nov. 12 asking for the assistance. Today, Vilsack formally designated 13 counties as primary natural disaster areas, as well as 12 contiguous counties. The counties are: Baldwin, Barbour, Butler, Bullock, Chambers, Coffee, Conecuh, Covington, Crenshaw, Dale, Elmore, Escambia, Geneva, Henry, Houston, Lee, Lowndes, Macon, Monroe, Montgomery, Pike, Randolph, Russell, Tallapoosa and Wilcox. Farmers in those counties have 8 months to apply for emergency loans. The applications will be evaluated individually based on direct production losses. Republished with permission of the Associated Press.
Presidential TV ad roundup: 12/11/15 edition
We’re just under a year out of next year’s General Election and already the American public is tiring of the onslaught of Presidential ads. According to a new YouGov/Huffington Post poll, eight in 10 Americans surveyed would rather hear the seasonal songs over 2016 presidential campaign ads. Which is understandable, since some 62,462 presidential ads have appeared on broadcast airwaves already this year, according to advertising tracker Kantar Media’s CMAG. And the ads are just going to keep on coming. The 2016 presidential hopefuls and their super PACs have plans to spend an additional $133 million on broadcast TV by the beginning of March, CMAG data shows. So go ahead, feel free to fast forward them on your DVRs and save yourself the burnout of watching them repeatedly. We’ve got all of the latest ads in one place for you, in this week’s presidential TV ad roundup: Jeb Bush Title: Jeb can fix it Published: Nov. 23, 2015 Tone: Positive Title: Storm governor Published: Nov. 30, 2015 Tone: Uplifting and hopeful Title: Honor Published: Dec. 1, 2015 Tone: Brave and optimistic Title: Gun control is not the answer to terror Published: Dec. 8, 2015 Tone: Authoritative Title: Force Published: Dec. 10, 2015 Tone: Impassioned and authoritative Ben Carson Title: Isabella’s Story Published: Nov. 23, 2015 Tone: Heartfelt and honest Title: Winning, not whining Published: Nov. 28, 2015 Tone: Somber Title: These hands (60 seconds) Published: Dec. 8, 2015 Tone: No words, but text is hopeful Marco Rubio Title: Bartender Published: Nov. 28, 2015 Tone: Motivational and encouraging Title: Because Published: Dec. 7, 2015 Tone: Enthusiastic Hillary Clinton Title: Small business president Published: Nov. 28, 2015 Tone: Determined Title: The fight for LGBT equality is not over Published: Dec. 6, 2015 Tone: Compassionate
Republican voters on Donald Trump: no compassion, no problem
Republican voters don’t think Donald Trump is likable. They don’t think he’s compassionate. And many don’t consider him particularly honest. But he’s overwhelmingly viewed as decisive and competent. And that’s what matters most – at least for now – to Republicans. A new Associated Press-GfK poll finds that 8 in 10 Republican registered voters call Trump very or somewhat decisive. That’s top in the field for the businessman, whose blunt style was featured for years on reality TV. At the same time, it finds much resistance to him from the country at large. The poll was taken before he called for a ban on Muslims coming into the United States and does not reflect the furor that has turned some leading Republican figures, at least, against him. “I wouldn’t give him a 10 on the compassionate scale,” said poll respondent Lisa Barker, 55, of Worcester, Massachusetts, an unaffiliated voter who says she’s all in for Trump. “I’d probably put him in the middle. But I love the fact that he’s decisive.” She’s not alone. After rocketing to the front of the Republican pack in the 2016 race for president, he’s stayed there for months with a brash approach that has captivated a healthy slice of the GOP electorate. People frustrated with the status quo appear to love his style – even when his policies draw condemnation and his facts are wrong. Trump drew widespread criticism from within his own party and from leaders around the world this week after calling for the ban on Muslim entry to the United States. In the new national survey, three-quarters of Republicans said Trump would have a chance of winning the general election if nominated, significantly more than say so of any other GOP candidate. “Donald Trump is saying what 95 percent of the people of this country, that belong to this country, that were born and raised in this country, feel and think,” said 83-year-old J.W. Stepp, a registered Republican who lives in Phoenix, Arizona. “Donald Trump is exactly what this country needs,” Stepp said. “He’s probably the most decisive person in the race.” But the AP-GfK poll also offers cause for long-term concern for such Trump loyalists. Beyond Republicans, 58 percent of all Americans have an unfavorable view of him. That’s the worst favorable rating of any candidate in either party, a reminder that decisiveness alone may not be enough to help Trump prevail in next fall’s general election if he represents the GOP on the ballot. Yet he appears to be well-positioned in his party’s nomination contest, which begins with the Iowa caucuses in less than eight weeks. The early voting contests tend to feature the GOP’s most passionate voters, a small but vocal group that has been excited about Trump’s candidacy. While Trump is considered the most decisive of the five GOP candidates tested, Texas Sen. Ted Cruz earned the next highest mark with 56 percent calling him very or somewhat decisive. Retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson had 53 percent, Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, 52 percent, and former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, 42 percent. By contrast, just 31 percent of Republican voters say Trump is at least somewhat compassionate, and 43 percent say he is at least somewhat likable. Carson, who’s been slipping in recent polls, is viewed as most compassionate and likable, with 7 in 10 Republican voters saying each word describes him at least somewhat well. Unfortunately for Carson, likeability isn’t among the most desired attributes among Republicans in this campaign. Nine in 10 Republican voters say decisiveness and competence are extremely or very important in a candidate for president in 2016, according to the poll. Just 6 in 10 rate compassion as that important, while only half say it’s important for a candidate to be likable. Nine in 10 Republican voters also say that honesty is an important quality in a presidential candidate, although they’re split on whether that’s a description that applies to Trump. Fifty-five percent say “honest” describes him very or somewhat well and 43 percent say it describes him only slightly or not at all. Bush, Rubio and Cruz don’t do much better. Carson, by contrast, is viewed as at least somewhat honest by 66 percent of Republican voters. Trump has repeatedly made false or dubious assertions, such as his debunked claim to have seen thousands of Muslims in New Jersey cheering the 9/11 attacks. But that doesn’t seem to matter to the Republican electorate, which is deeply skeptical of the media. Two-thirds of Republican voters believe media coverage is generally biased against Trump, more than say so of the other top candidates. Fifty-four percent say media coverage is biased against Carson, close to half say that about Bush and Cruz, and 40 percent say that about Rubio. The AP-GfK Poll of 1,007 adults, including 333 Republican and Republican leaning registered voters, was conducted online Dec. 3-7, using a sample drawn from GfK’s probability-based KnowledgePanel, which is designed to be representative of the U.S. population. The margin of sampling error for all respondents is plus or minus 3.4 percentage points. Republished with permission of the Associated Press.
Bob Sparks: Praying for victims and for solutions going forward
On Nov.13, Islamic radical terrorists killed 130 innocent people in Paris. The world mourned with the French and offered thoughts and prayers. Some of us added the French flag overlay to our social media pages. The perpetrators were bent on killing as many “infidels” (or Muslims if they happened to be in the vicinity) as possible. France, as a country, huddled together and shared their collective grief. Nearly all of America came together to mourn with America’s oldest friend. On Dec. 2, Tashfeen Malik and her husband, Syed Farook, slaughtered 14 government workers in San Bernardino, California. When the reality of the carnage became known, this country reacted far differently than our friends in Paris. It is safe to say that most Americans who believe in God may have looked upward and asked, “Why?” Others then offered thoughts and prayers to the victims and their loved ones. It was both incredible and sickening to see such a normal human reaction openly mocked and demeaned by callous liberals and atheists. Their rebuke to those seeking and offering comfort was on the front page. The New York Daily News, in true tabloid fashion, screamed “God Isn’t Fixing This” in letters large enough to consume most of the front page. That editorial on the news pages was in reaction to the public comments by prominent Republicans offering “thoughts and prayers.” Democratic U.S. Sen. Chris Murphy of Connecticut took to Twitter to respond: “Your ‘thoughts’ should be about steps to take to stop this carnage. Your ‘prayers’ should be for forgiveness if you do nothing – again.” Murphy is just one example of a full-throated verbal assault on the National Rifle Association, blaming the organization, and CEO Wayne LaPierre in particular, for the attacks. Again, the New York Daily News is speaking for those of that mindset. “He’s a terrorist,” blared the headline surrounding a picture of Farook. Further down, the words “But so are these guys” hover above photos of recent domestic terrorists, whose names must not be remembered. Then, to the lower right, the paper posts a photo of LaPierre below the words “(AND this guy)” What the Daily News and thoughtful people have in common is the outrage that mass shootings keep happening in this country. We agree that aggressive steps are necessary to prevent a wave of future attacks. Those who think the guns are the sole problem also talk about “common-sense” gun regulation. What does that mean? I am not here to defend the NRA (I am not a member), but look at Paris. France has some of the strictest gun laws in the world. Let that sink in for a moment and then ask what good did that do to prevent the terrorist attack? The polls say a large majority of Americans support tighter gun laws. That’s perfectly understandable. Americans are looking for ways to make such killings stop. Why didn’t gun control work in France? Because it’s easy to buy the weapons on the black market, then bring them across the open borders throughout Europe. Let us say we pass French-style gun laws: How does that solve the problem? The ability of terrorists to bring themselves and illegal weapons across our borders is almost as easy as it is in France. Fully securing our borders would be one way to prevent future terrorist attacks such as the one carried out in San Bernardino. It would actually keep bad guys and guns from entering our communities. Why does that never get beyond the talking stage? “Common-sense” reforms should be open for discussion. For instance, is the “gun show loophole” resulting in guns getting into the wrong hands and used for criminal purposes? If it is a genuine problem, let’s talk. We are now at an advanced stage on the danger meter. ISIS is attracting more followers in this country. Another way to protect our citizens would be to do what it takes to defeat ISIS. It is tough to attract recruits to a losing cause. That will take commitment and leadership. It is a sorry state of affairs when a terrorist attack causes liberals to forget who did the killing. Wayne LaPierre and those praying for the dead are not responsible for it. That belongs to Farook and Malik, and those who support them. I will run the risk of earning the wrath of unhinged liberals and atheists by quoting from a piece by Emma Green, managing editor of the The Atlantic’s online site. Commenting on the obscene backlash against prayers for the victims, she wrote: “The most powerful evidence against this backlash toward prayer comes not from the Twitterverse, but from San Bernardino. ‘Pray for us,’ a woman texted her father from inside the Inland Regional Center, while she and her colleagues hid from the gunfire. Outside the building, evacuated workers bowed their heads and held hands. They prayed.” Amen. Bob Sparks is a business and political consultant based in Tallahassee. For more state and national commentary visit Context Florida.
Alabama Community College System Board of Trustees votes to consolidate 7 Alabama community colleges
The Alabama Community College System Board of Trustees voted on Thursday to consolidate seven community colleges in an effort to save state dollars in Montgomery, an increasingly scarce commodity as budget cuts have necessitated changes in nearly every aspect of state government. The board will begin preliminary steps to ultimately merge three other schools under Faulkner State College in Bay Minette in south Alabama: Jefferson Davis Community College in Brewton, Alabama Southern Community College in Monroeville, and Reid State Technical College in Evergreen. In east-central part of the state, two other schools will consolidate under Central Alabama Community College, in Alexander City. The two are Southern Union State Community College in Wadley and Chattahoochee Valley Community College in Phenix City. State Auditor Jim Zeigler, who occupies a unique statewide-elected public interest role in Montgomery somewhere between an ombudsman and a traditional state treasurer, said Thursday he wishes to vet the plan extensively. “I am looking into this merger of seven community colleges,” Zeigler said. “We need to know: How much taxpayer money will be saved and HOW? Will it be more trouble for the local students and employees? Who in Montgomery is getting something out of this: a contract, a job created, etc.” “Rarely is something done in Montgomery just because it is the right thing. Usually an Insider benefits somehow,” Zeigler said. The board is largely made up by appointees by Gov. Robert Bentley and his administration. Zeigler, a fellow Republican, has often been at odds with Bentley. The move is one of the first since lawmakers in Montgomery voted to create the community college board. Before this year, the trustees worked under the auspices of the State Board of Education. Community College Board Member Al Thompson of Baldwin County told AL.com the mergers were recommended by Community College Chancellor Mark Heinrich. Thompson said it’s important for the college system to be efficient because of amount of money spent on education. He said the moves would likely improve affordability and accessibility.
