Jeb Bush, frustrated he didn’t make compelling case, thanks donors for support
Jeb Bush is thanking his vast network of donors Wednesday and lamenting that he was unable to break through in “a year of making a compelling case to people that were deeply disaffected and angry.” Bush isn’t saying who he will support or who his backers should get behind now that he is out of the race. The former Florida governor complained during a less-than-three-minute conference call with supporters that the news media covering the campaign are more driven by “who was winning and losing” and “the latest insult” than a discussion of leadership and policy. Bush said he was “sorry it didn’t turn out the way (he) intended.” He added that he’s hitting the gym and catching up on his sleep at his home in Coral Gables, Fla. Bush announced Saturday he was suspending his campaign, after finishing that day in a distant fourth place in the South Carolina primary. Republished with permission of the Associated Press.
Mike Rogers: Obama’s dismal legacy
When I am back home in Alabama, I make my way around the Third District to hear what concerns folks may have. The things I hear the most about are national security, protecting our Second Amendment rights, standing up for the rights’ of the unborn and shrinking the size of our growing Federal government. Unfortunately Barack Obama’s tenure as president has failed each one of these important issues. When it comes to national security and protecting our homeland, it is no small task. President Obama has failed to develop a coherent national security policy and instead has taken to slashing the defense budget at a dangerous time in our history. Over the last year, between the barbaric actions and attacks by ISIS, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and North Korea’s rocket launches, the world is a very scary place. As chairman of the House Armed Services Strategic Forces subcommittee, our national security is one of my top issues. Just this week, I held a committee hearing to look at the current posture of the United States when it comes to missile defenses, national security space systems and capabilities and the nuclear deterrent. When it comes to our national defense, we must always stay vigilant. Just as President Obama has failed to lead on the world stage, he has been overzealous in attacking our Constitutional rights. As an Alabamian and a gun owner myself, I know firsthand how important our Second Amendment right to bear arms is. Just this week, I supported H.R. 2406, the Sportsmen’s Heritage and Recreational Enhancement Act of 2015 (SHARE) Act which “revises a variety of existing programs to expand access to, and opportunities for, hunting, fishing, and recreational shooting.” I am a staunch defender of the Second Amendment and will fight against Obama’s liberal gun control proposals. With the end of January marking the 43rd anniversary of the Roe v. Wade decision, protecting the lives of our most innocent has been on my mind a lot. Most folks know I am the father of three children and standing up for the lives of our most innocent is something I will never stop fighting for. And defunding Planned Parenthood remains one of my top priorities. I recently signed on to an amicus brief to the Supreme Court in support of Little Sisters of the Poor as well other organizations challenging the Obama Administration’s contraceptive mandate. Over the last eight years, the power and reach of government has continued to grow. Like Ronald Reagan, I have always believed the smaller the Federal government, the better. In Washington, we have been fighting the EPA on their silly rules like Waters of the United States which gives this oversized agency control over bodies of water including puddles. The EPA is killing jobs and hurting hard working families across East Alabama and America and I will continue the fight against their liberal agenda. • • • Mike Rogers represents Alabama’s 3rd Congressional District. He is in his third term.
New study shows state facing physician shortage
Avelere Health released a study Tuesday which finds much of the nation facing a shortage of primary care physicians, as well as the additional costs to consumers if more states enact further restrictions on over-the-counter (OTC) pseudoephedrine (PSE). The study found that 57 million Americans live in regions without adequate access to primary care physicians and the United States health system will likely face a deficit of 52,000 doctors in less than a decade. In Alabama, 80 areas are short on primary care physicians and 37 percent of Alabamians are living in those areas. Further, the study claims that adding further restrictions on PSE, such as requiring a doctor’s prescription to access the drug, would create an additional 21,799 doctor visits costing about $500,000 in extra Medicaid costs. The resulting inability to purchase PSE without a prescription would cost a loss of $700,000 in sales tax revenue in the first year. Many states are enacting further restrictions on PSE, such as a prescription requirement and other oversights, because the drug is used in the manufacture of methamphetamine – the psychostimulant which has wreaked havoc all across the nation. More than 30 states have enacted electronic tracking on PSE in order to monitor purchasing patterns on the drug and two states have made it a Schedule III controlled substance. While such restrictions have proven successful in stemming the manufacture and sale of meth, they risk putting undue burdens on already overworked healthcare systems in places already lacking a sufficient amount of physicians. “Primary care providers are, and will remain, the main source of care for people with undiagnosed health concerns,” a press release from Avelere said. “These providers are the first contact for most people looking to receive treatment for symptoms that can be relieved by PSE-containing products. However, for those living in a region experiencing primary care shortages, often hospital emergency rooms or urgent care centers become the primary site-of-care. Therefore, an increase in demand and utilization of both primary care and emergency care providers could occur with a prescription-only requirement for PSE.”
Leading GOP candidates to campaign in Alabama this weekend
The Alabama secretary of state’s office says three leading Republican presidential candidates will visit Alabama before next week’s Super Tuesday primaries. Senators Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio are scheduled to speak at a forum Saturday in Birmingham. Each candidate will be interviewed individually at Samford University’s Wright Center. Donald Trump is scheduled to visit Huntsville on Sunday, his third campaign stop in the state this election cycle. Secretary of State John Merrill says he is “thrilled” candidates are visiting Alabama to interact with voters. Alabama has joined other Southern states in a so-called “SEC Primary” on March 1 to try drawing more interest in the region from presidential candidates. Republished with permission of the Associated Press.
Robert Bentley announces plan to transform Alabama prison system
In keeping with promises made during his recent “State of the State” address, Gov. Robert Bentley announced plans Tuesday to reform Alabama’s overwhelmed prison system. The Alabama Prison Transformation Initiative Act (APTIA), which will outline the closing of Alabama’s current prisons and the construction of “four modern efficient prison facilities,” will be announced Tuesday and carried by Rep. Steve Clouse (R-Ozark) and Sen. Trip Pittman (R-Montrose) in the House and Senate, respectively. “We have made significant progress over the last year to improve our criminal justice system, and with the construction of four new and modern prisons, Alabama is poised to be a national leader in safe and effective incarceration of inmates,” Bentley said in a press release. “We cannot move our state forward without addressing the issues that have plagued the prison system for decades. We have a good plan to address the issues and with the partnership of the Alabama Legislature, we can solve the issues and make the Department of Corrections more efficient.” Many of Alabama’s prisons are aged and inefficient, which increases the costs associated with maintenance and repair. Because the outdated facilities don’t provide in-house medical care, additional costs for prisoner transported are also associated with the outdated prisons. The new plan would “reduce overcrowding and improve safety conditions for inmates and corrections officers, allow for additional inmate re-entry programs and to improve operational practices and procedures for the Alabama Department of Corrections (ADOC).” The plan will also provide for $800 million in bonds over 30 years, which is said to be reimbursable from the savings the ADOC will see because of the new prison system. The four facilities will include three men’s facilities able to house “at least” 3,500 prisoner each. Construction is slated to begin next year and will be completed within three years.
Bill proposes Alabama lottery limited to multi-state gaming
A Senate committee will debate a proposal to have Alabama join multi-state lottery games like Mega-Millions and Powerball. The Senate Tourism and Marketing Committee will hold a public hearing Wednesday on the bill sponsored by Republican Sen. Trip Pittman of Montrose. Pittman’s bill seeks to have the state join the multi-state games instead of creating its own lottery scheme. The bill is an alternative proposal to other lottery bills that have stalled because of a lack of consensus over the details. If approved by lawmakers, voters would have the final say on whether lottery ticket sales will be allowed in the state. Forty-four states have lotteries. Alabama, Mississippi, Utah, Nevada, Hawaii and Alaska do not. Alabamians in 1999 voted down a lottery proposed by then-Gov. Don Siegelman. Republished with permission of the Associated Press.
Ted Cruz, Marco Rubio and John Kasich all face must-wins in home states
In their efforts to derail Donald Trump from the Republican presidential nomination, Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, Florida Sen. Marco Rubio and Ohio Gov. John Kasich are all facing enormous pressure in their home state primaries, which account for about a fourth of the delegates up for grabs in the next three weeks. Failure to defend their turf could leave each explaining what states they can win going forward — and make the New York billionaire look all the more inevitable. After Trump’s impressive win in Nevada, the presidential race now shifts to Super Tuesday, featuring 11 largely Southern states, including Texas, with 155 GOP delegates. Those delegates will be awarded proportionally. On March 15 will come primaries in Florida, with 99 delegates, and Ohio with 66, and they are winner take all. If no one can dent Trump’s advantage by then, the race for the nomination may be all but over. But home states have buoyed candidates in the past. Four years ago, eventual GOP nominee Mitt Romney used his native Michigan to quash a surprisingly stout challenge from Rick Santorum. Newt Gingrich won his home state of Georgia and neighboring South Carolina but did little elsewhere. Of the trio with looming home-state primaries, Cruz may be in the strongest position. “I wanna say, I cannot wait to get home to the great state of Texas,” Cruz said Tuesday night after losing in Nevada to Trump. “Tonight, I’ll sleep in my bed for the first time in a month.” But Cruz will have to win more than just Texas on Tuesday if he doesn’t want to be looking up at Trump in the delegate count. Kasich and Rubio, meanwhile, may be battling for many of the same votes from traditional Republicans uneasy with the bombastic Trump and the firebrand conservative Cruz. As long as both remain in the race, they could continue to split the establishment bloc. And they’ll have to run Tuesday’s gauntlet before they can even reach must-wins at home. The home-state jockeying is underway. ___ FLORIDA Current and former members of Congress from Florida who had been backing Jeb Bush signed on with Rubio this week after the ex-governor left the race. That’s not to say Rubio’s a slam dunk in his state. Trump is the only Republican still in the race who had an obvious campaign presence in Florida — office space and paid employees on the ground — as of late last month. Trump is a part-time resident. Bush also was building a Florida operation and some of that may flow to Rubio. “Now that Jeb is out of the race, that helps Marco tremendously,” said Marcelo Llorente, a former Republican legislator in Florida who knows both men well. Cruz strategist Jason Johnson released a memo arguing that if Rubio’s hopes are built around winning Florida, that won’t work because almost half of the delegates needed to win the nomination will have been awarded by then. “That’s an even less plausible path to victory than Mayor Rudy Giuliani‘s ‘wait for Florida’ strategy in 2008,” Johnson said, referring to Giuliani’s short-lived presidential run. But Johnson’s argument presumes Rubio won’t do well Super Tuesday. ___ TEXAS The Texas senator has spent more time in the South than his rivals and built networks of supporters he hopes can not only help him in Texas but also nearby states. That approach did not work in South Carolina, the only Southern state where it has been tested. Cruz has for years been considered his state’s most popular politician and Gov. Greg Abbott is his friend, mentor and ex-boss — although Abbott has so far held off making a presidential endorsement. Cruz also has the backing of former Texas Gov. Rick Perry and current Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, along with nearly one-fourth of the Republicans representing Texas in Congress and about half of the Republicans in the state Legislature. He’s also built a strong ground game, boasting 27,000 volunteers, but a similarly strong organization didn’t spell victory in South Carolina. Texas may not have a decisive winner, unless the top candidate can get a majority of the votes cast statewide and in each congressional district. Otherwise, delegates will be awarded proportionally based on full-state results and results in each district. The only campaign or outside group advertising in Texas so far supports Rubio. Ads by the Conservative Solutions PAC tag Cruz as “calculated, underhanded.” Still, polls suggest Cruz is the favorite. “He’s a native-son candidate,” GOP strategist Matt Mackowiak said. “Support for him is very strong.” ___ OHIO Kasich is looking to the Midwest and Michigan’s March 8 primary to help carry him through to his neighboring home state a week later. His bid for the nomination is already a longshot and whatever viability he might have now surely would vanish if he faltered in Ohio. A new Quinnipiac survey has Kasich lagging Trump but within 5 percentage points of him, marking progress for the governor. Kasich brushes off any notion he may not win his state. “The last thing I’m worried about is how we’ll do in Ohio,” he said Tuesday. Republished with permission of the Associated Press.
