Katie Britt declines to debate Mo Brooks before primary runoff election
The campaign for Katie Britt has declined a request to debate U.S. Rep. Mo Brooks. The debate would have been syndicated across the state and hosted by Gray TV and Alabama Daily News on June 14. Alabama Daily News’ Todd Stacy stated on Twitter, “RE our now-nixed #ALSEN debate w/ @WBRCnews, see a statement from the Katie Britt campaign why she’s not interested in a face-off w/ Mo Brooks. Again, we thought we had a solid date for a runoff debate on June 14, but that fell apart after a week of talks.” The Britt campaign argued that the debate would only be a “circus.” “Mo Brooks doesn’t want a debate: he wants a circus. That’s the only thing he’s capable of. He doesn’t want to talk about his do-nothing record, because he hasn’t accomplished anything for Alabamians throughout his 40 years living off the taxpayer dime,” the release stated. “Instead, Mo Brooks will undoubtedly resort to embarrassing our state with false, desperate personal attacks. We are seeing his lies get more blatant by the day, and there is no way that a constructive or substantive debate can occur with his continually devolving behavior. Katie won’t participate in the final circus act of Mo’s career.” Brooks released a statement describing Britt as “weak” and “shrill.” “Katie Britt’s flip-flops are too numerous to count. In the primary she said a candidate who won’t debate should not get any citizen’s vote. Now, yet again, she flip-flops as she gets more shrill, more negative and more vitriolic, Brooks stated. “While I disagree with ‘June’ Katie Britt, I agree with ‘April’ Katie Britt. If she is too weak to stand on a stage and take Mo Brooks on, how can anyone expect her to take on Chuck Schumer, Bernie Sanders, or any of the other Socialist Democrats that are destroying America. Katie Britt’s debate refusal is an admission of profound weakness at a time America needs fighters in the U.S. Senate, not pushovers. As my record reflects, I am exactly the fighter America needs at this critical juncture in history.” Stacy posted another Tweet regarding the debate. “FWIW, I definitely understand the Britt campaign’s rationale. Given the results of election night (45-29), Britt has little to gain and lots to lose in a debate. And Brooks does have every incentive to make it a circus. Just disappointed we won’t get a debate,” Stacy stated. The Republican primary runoff election is June 21, 2022.
Will Ainsworth announces Public Service Commissioners endorsements for Chip Beeker and Jeremy Oden
Lt. Gov. Will Ainsworth announced his endorsement of Chip Beeker and Jeremy Oden for their reelection bids to the Alabama Public Service Commission (PSC). Ainsworth believes that conservative leaders should hold these seats because the two incumbents have already successfully shielded Alabama from the far left climate agenda. According to Alabama Secretary of State campaign finance records, radical “environmental justice” activists are once again pushing their agenda in Alabama. They have selected their preferred “Republican” primary candidates Robin Litaker and Brent Woodall for the Public Service Commission, Alabama Today reported in May. As first reported by Dylan Smith of Yellowhammer News, both candidates have taken large sums of money from Nelson Brooke, of Black Warrior Riverkeeper. Brooke has made a total of $73,000 in contributions to Alabama candidates all of the money going to democrats except three contributions: $20,000 to Litaker this cycle, $10,000 to her in her last race, and $10,000 to Woodall. Ainsworth asserted that the left’s “Green New Deal” would have consequences for Alabama. “Chip Beeker and Jeremy Oden have shown they have the grit, tenacity, and leadership to fight Joe Biden, Nancy Pelosi, Bernie Sanders, AOC, and the rest of the Washington liberals who are pushing radical energy policies and the snake oil promises of the Green New Deal,” Ainsworth stated. “If the liberal Democrat extremists are allowed to win, energy prices will skyrocket, jobs will disappear, and Alabama’s economy, which is currently the best in our history, will go into freefall.” “Commissioners Beeker and Oden will preserve our jobs and protect our Alabama way of life from the left-wing radicals and their dangerous agenda. They have my full confidence and strong endorsement for a new term on the Public Service Commission,” concluded Ainsworth. The runoff election will take place on June 21.
Kay Ivey issues $5,000 reward for help capturing escaped inmate
A $5,000 reward has been given to a person who provided help in capturing an inmate who sparked a nationwide manhunt after escaping with a jail official, Alabama’s governor said Wednesday. Gov. Kay Ivey directed the Finance Department to issue a $5,000 reward to a person who “provided valuable assistance to law enforcement in securing the apprehension and arrest of Casey White,” Ivey’s office said in a news release. The recipient has chosen to remain anonymous, the governor’s office said. Officials did not describe what information the person provided. Casey White and jailer Vicky White disappeared from Lauderdale County Detention Facility on April 29, sparking a manhunt that drew international attention. The two were discovered May 9 in Evansville, Indiana. Officials said Vicky White died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound after a brief chase, while Casey White was captured. Lauderdale County District Attorney Chris Connolly had recommended that the reward be given, the governor’s office said. “Thanks to the good information from this citizen and the diligent work from law enforcement in Alabama all the way to Indiana, we were able to put the bad guy behind bars where he belongs. I look forward to justice being served,” Ivey said in a statement. Republished with the permission of The Associated Press.
Sarah Huckabee Sanders announces endorsement of Katie Britt for U.S. Senate seat
Sarah Huckabee Sanders announced that she has endorsed first-time candidate Katie Britt for U.S. senator. “I’m excited to endorse Katie Britt to serve as the next U.S. Senator for Alabama,” said Sanders in a statement. “Katie isthe leader we need in the Senate to fight for our Christian conservative values, advance the America First agenda, defend the sacred right to life, and stand strong against Joe Biden’s radical agenda and reckless policies. I know Katie will be a champion for faith, family, and freedom!” Sanders is a conservative Republican who is the current GOP nominee to serve as the next Governor of Arkansas. Shewas the 31st White House press secretary, serving under President Donald Trump from 2017 to 2019. Britt expressed thanks to Sanders for the endorsement, promising to be a voice for the America First movement. “I’m thrilled to have the endorsement of Sarah Huckabee Sanders,” stated Britt. “Sarah is a conservative fighter and anunwavering voice for the America First movement. As Alabama’s Senator, I will fight for policies that put Americanworkers and families first. This includes securing our border and finishing building President Trump’s wall, achievingAmerican energy independence and dominance, fixing the baby formula crisis, onshoring good-paying jobs, shoring upour domestic manufacturing and supply chains, ending the reckless spending that’s pouring fuel on Joe Biden’sinflationary fire, putting money back in everyday Americans’ pockets, and hardening our schools to keep our children safe. Together, we will save the country we know and love for our children and our children’s children.” Britt, a Coffee County native, has been endorsed by the Home Builders Association of Alabama, the Alabama Farmers Federation’s FarmPAC, the Alabama Retail Association, Manufacture Alabama, the Automobile Dealers Association of Alabama, the Alabama Forestry Association, the Associated Builders and Contractors of Alabama, the League of Southeastern Credit Unions, the Alabama Restaurant and Hospitality Association, University of Alabama Crimson Tide legend Siran Stacy, Mobile Mayor Sandy Stimpson, the Alabama Mining Association, and U.S. Senator Tom Cotton. The Alabama primary runoff is June 21, 2022.
Governors pan SEC climate disclosure proposal as unprecedented federal overreach
Sixteen Republican governors are asking the Biden administration to withdraw a proposed rule by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission that would require companies to disclose some climate-related investment information in annual reports and registration. The governors called the move an “unprecedented level of federal overreach” in a letter sent Tuesday to President Joe Biden and SEC Commissioner Gary Gensler. “The proposed rule will harm businesses and investors in our states by increasing compliance costs and by larding disclosure statements with uncertain and immaterial information that the federal government – let alone the SEC – is not equipped to judge,” the governors said in their letter. The governors said it’s OK for companies to disclose the information voluntarily. “However, since climate change models vary dramatically, the notion of evaluating investment risk based on such uncertain variables is inherently subjective and unreliable,” they wrote. “Moreover, such disclosures would serve to confuse investors as to how to judge true financial risk, significantly reducing market efficiency. It is precisely the type of question where government should not impose its own judgments of what constitutes material risk in place of managers.” The rule “appears part of an ongoing effort across the federal government to penalize companies involved in traditional energy development,” the governors said. “Until recently, the Biden administration explicitly refused to issue new oil and gas leases on federal lands and is now considering only a fraction of the lands that should be available,” they wrote. “In addition, the Council on Environmental Quality is rolling back reforms to the environmental review process, the President has denied key pipeline and other permitting applications, and officials throughout the Biden Administration are rhetorically discouraging investment in oil and gas development.” SEC officials said companies are interested in climate-related information. “The results of multiple recent surveys indicate that climate risks are among the most important priorities for a broad set of large asset managers,” the SEC said in its 140-page report. “PWC reported in their Annual Global CEO Survey that in 2016, only 39% of asset and wealth management CEOs reported that they were concerned about the threats posed by physical risks brought about by climate change, whereas this figure increased to 70% in 2021.” The SEC extended the comment period on the proposed rule from May 20 to June 17. The commission is accepting electronic comments. The letter is signed by Kay Ivey of Alabama, Mike Dunleavy of Alaska, Doug Ducey of Arizona, Asa Hutchinson of Arkansas, Brad Little of Idaho, Kim Reynolds of Iowa, Tate Reeves of Mississippi, Mike Parson of Missouri, Greg Gianforte of Montana, Pete Ricketts of Nebraska, Doug Burgum of North Dakota, Kevin Stitt of Oklahoma, Kristi Noem of South Dakota, Greg Abbott of Texas, Spencer Cox of Utah and Mark Gordon of Wyoming. Republished with the permission of The Center Square.
House panel taking up gun bill in wake of mass shootings
The House is beginning to put its stamp on gun legislation in response to mass shootings in Texas and New York by 18-year-old assailants who used semi-automatic rifles to kill 31 people, including 19 children. The House Judiciary Committee will hold a hearing Thursday to advance legislation that would raise the age limit for purchasing a semi-automatic centerfire rifle from 18 to 21. The bill would make it a federal offense to import, manufacture or possess large-capacity magazines and would create a grant program to buy back such magazines. It also builds on the executive branch’s ban on bump-stock devices and so-called ghost guns that are privately made without serial numbers. The Democratic legislation, called the Protecting Our Kids Act, was quickly added to the legislative docket after last week’s school shooting in Uvalde, Texas. A vote by the full House could come as early as next week.ADVERTISEMENT With Republicans nearly in lockstep in their opposition, the House action will mostly be symbolic, serving to put lawmakers on record about gun control ahead of this year’s elections. The Senate is taking a different course, with a bipartisan group striving toward a compromise on gun safety legislation that can win enough GOP support to become law. But Rep. Jerrold Nadler of New York, the Democratic chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, defends the proposals as being popular with Americans. He says it’s time for Congress to act. “You say that it is too soon to take action? That we are ‘politicizing’ these tragedies to enact new policies?” Nadler said in prepared remarks for Thursday’s hearing obtained by The Associated Press. “It has been 23 years since Columbine. Fifteen years since Virginia Tech. Ten years since Sandy Hook. Seven years since Charleston. Four years since Parkland and Santa Fe and Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh.” He added: “Too soon? My friends, what the hell are you waiting for?” Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio, the ranking Republican on the committee, told Fox News he’ll press his GOP colleagues to oppose the bill. “I’m going to do everything I can to encourage my colleagues to oppose this … hodgepodge of bills that I don’t think would have made one difference in tragedies that we’ve seen recently,” Jordan said. Any legislative response to the Uvalde and Buffalo, New York shootings will have to get through the evenly divided Senate, where support from at least 10 Republicans would be needed to advance the measure to a final vote. A group of senators has been working behind the scenes this week in hopes of finding a consensus. Ideas under discussion include expanded background checks for gun purchases and incentivizing red-flag laws that allow family members, school officials, and others to go into court and secure an order requiring the police to seize guns from people considered a threat to themselves or others. The broader bipartisan group of almost ten senators met again Wednesday — “a very productive call,” said Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., in an interview. “There’s a tenor and tone, as well as real substantive discussion that seems different,” he said. Blumenthal has been working with a Republican member of the group, Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, on a proposal to send resources to the states for red-flag laws. He said he was “excited and encouraged” by the response from the group. “It really is time for our Republican colleagues to put up or shut up,” Blumenthal said. “We’ve been down this road before.” President Joe Biden was asked Wednesday if he was confident Congress would take action on gun legislation. “I served in Congress for 36 years. I’m never confident, totally,” Biden said. “It depends, and I don’t know. I’ve not been in on the negotiations as they’re going on right now.” Republished with the permission of The Associated Press.
State GOP hopes for Mo Brooks, Katie Britt debate in Senate runoff
The Alabama Republican Party hopes to arrange a debate between U.S. Rep. Mo Brooks and Katie Britt ahead of the June runoff in the U.S. Senate race, the chairman said. “This is something we would like to provide for the people of Alabama— as well as offer to our candidates— to hold a fair and open debate with questions from Republican primary voters,” Alabama Republican Party Chairman John Wahl said Tuesday. The party had attempted to coordinate a debate between the three leading candidates ahead of the May primary but could not get all the campaigns to agree to a date. He said the offer remains open to the two remaining candidates ahead of the runoff. Britt and Brooks will face each other in the June 21 primary runoff for the GOP nomination for the Senate seat being vacated by Sen. Richard Shelby. The two were the top two finishers in last month’s primary, but a runoff is required because neither captured over 50% of the vote. Both Britt and Brooks had harshly criticized Mike Durant, who had been one of the leading candidates in the race, for not debating them ahead of the May primary. Durant finished third and did not secure a place in the runoff. Republished with the permission of The Associated Press.
