Why is Mo Brooks harder on Mitch McConnell than Nancy Pelosi?
In Alabama’s fast-approaching U.S. Senate primary, Mo Brooks has been quick to vilify Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell. Over the past few months, the Huntsville Republican congressman has steadily railed against McConnell’s leadership, as well as that of sitting Sen. Luther Strange, whom he is hoping to unseat next week in the race for the rest of Jeff Sessions’ Senate term. Why then would Brooks be harder on McConnell — a longtime leader of his own party — than he had been on former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, the much-loathed Democrat from California and frequent Republican target. In 2017, Brooks is running attack ads blasting “Swamp King McConnell,” calling for the Kentucky senator to not only step down but resign from the Senate outright. Only seven years ago, however, Brooks was singing a different tune, panning his Republican primary opponent for saying “something mean” about then-Speaker Pelosi. As the Decatur Daily noted in April 2010, after Alabama Magazine named him one of the state’s most effective lawmakers, Brooks defended the unprofessionally harsh treatment of Pelosi during the Republican primary. “[Brooks] criticizes his main Republican opponent, [Parker] Griffith as lacking those skills,” Eric Fleischauer reported at the time. “He cited a speech in which Griffith — while still a Democrat — offered House Speaker Nancy Pelosi a gift card to a mental health center. ‘When Nancy Pelosi might have agreed with you on, say, (NASA’s) Constellation funding, or on missile defense, now because you’ve insulted her unnecessarily, you’ve made her less willing to work with you, even on the things that you agree on. You need to have some level of professionalism.’” “Someone who is professional would never, under any circumstances, question the mental stability of the speaker of the House,” Brooks added. As far as Brooks is concerned, Pelosi was “unnecessarily insulted,” while McConnell, on the other hand, is a vile “Swamp King.” So, what in the world makes one more deserving of criticism than the other?
Senate Leadership Fund email slams Mo Brooks for Tuesday radio interview
It looks like Senate candidate and U.S. Rep. Mo Brooks isn’t being ignored by his Republican Primary opponents just yet. A super PAC controlled by Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell again attacked Brooks in a Tuesday email, just one week before Alabamians are set to vote on the GOP nominee to replace Attorney General Jeff Sessions in the senate. “Career Congressman Mo Brooks has been in the Washington swamp for so long that he’s looking down at Alabamans (sic) as ignorant rubes,” the Senate Leadership Fund email said. “Brooks called Alabama voters ‘relatively uninformed’ and ‘easy to deceive’ this morning on The Dale Jackson Show. “ The email continued along similar lines that the political committee and its preferred candidate, sitting Sen. Luther Strange, have leveled against the CD 5 Republican for weeks: He isn’t supportive enough of President Donald Trump. “Was Brooks trying to target ‘easy to deceive’ Alabama voters when he tried passing a check written to the Alabama GOP as a check written to Donald Trump? Did he think Alabama voters were ‘relatively uninformed’ when he claimed to support Donald Trump’s border wall despite originally opposing it and taking free trips to China funded by NYC pro-amnesty groups? Is that why he tried telling Alabama voters he voted with Trump on ‘every single’ bill despite having the 10th lowest percentage of voting with President Trump of any Republican Member of Congress?” The email then links to a recording of Brooks radio appearance on YouTube. During the segment, Brooks and host Dale Jackson discussed the “never Trump” attacks on his senate campaign, to which Jackson said, “I don’t understand why that attack seems to be making sense.” “While a lot of people are relatively uninformed, they don’t know the truth, they’re easy to deceive, the party regulars — people who have been through this before — who take a little bit more time to get beyond the 30-second ad and actually do the research to try to determine who’s telling the truth and who’s not, they’re not being deceived at all,” Brooks responded. Brooks and Strange are running in a crowded special Republican Primary for Sessions’ old seat, with former Supreme Court Justice Roy Moore rounding out the top tier of candidates. Strange and Moore are jockeying for the top spot in the nine-way race, with a recent poll showing Moore with 31-29 lead over Strage. The same poll showed Brooks with 18 percent support, followed by state Sen. Trip Pittman with 8 percent and Alabama Christian Coalition president Randy Brinson with 2 percent. Eleven percent were undecided. Unless one of the candidates can secure a majority of the vote in the Aug. 15 primary, Alabamians will have to decide between the top two vote getters in a Sept. 26 runoff. The general election is slated for December 12.
Mo Brooks gets ‘worst sign of all’ in Senate primary – ignored by opponents
As Oscar Wilde once said, “There’s only one thing in life worse than being talked about, and that is not being talked about.” Struggling for relevance in next week’s Alabama GOP Senate primary, Congressman Mo Brooks is beginning to appreciate what Wilde was saying. After a month of battling criticism from supporters of sitting Sen. Luther Strange, the Huntsville Republican is receiving what POLITICO reporter Daniel Strauss calls the “worst sign of all” … attacks against him are beginning to slow down. Strange and the Senate Leadership Fund, a super PAC connected to Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, are now turning most of their negative advertising to attack former Alabama Chief Justice Roy Moore in advance of Tuesday’s primary. It is a clear sign that Brooks’ “outspent, insurgent campaign” may have stalled against candidates with better name recognition. “I’ve seen a number of polls, and every poll I’ve seen has Luther leading Roy Moore by between 3 and 5 points. Mo at one time was up to about 20 [percent],” Perry Hooper, former co-chairman of the Alabama Trump campaign (and a Strange supporter) told POLITICO. “The last I’ve seen has him at 15, 16 [percent]. I guess anything can happen, but the trend looks like people like what Luther has been doing.” Indeed, the Montgomery Advertiser reported Friday on a most recent poll of 426 likely Republican voters, with Moore hanging onto a narrow lead over Strange, 31 percent to 29 percent. The race for first place was within the poll’s 5 percent margin of error. Brooks came in third at 18 percent; state Sen. Trip Pittman of Baldwin County received 8 percent, and Alabama Christian Coalition president Randy Brinson took 2 percent. Eleven percent are undecided. Other Republican candidates on the ballot include Dr. James Beretta, Joseph Breault, Mary Maxwell and Bryan Peeples. The race will most likely result in a Sept. 26 runoff between the two top vote-getters, since it appears that neither Strange nor Moore will receive a majority. The last day for Alabama voters to apply for an absentee ballot for the primary is Thursday.
Unstoppable Chuck Norris vs. Mitch McConnell in Ala. Senate race
Guns carry him for protection, his diary is called the Guinness Book of World Records, when the Boogeyman goes to sleep every night he checks his closet him. Now the famed actor and martial artist extraordinaire, Chuck Norris, is ready for yet another notch in his victory belt. He’s stepped into the ring to fight the GOP establishment, and has thrown his full support behind former Alabama Chief Justice Roy Moore in the Alabama U.S. Senate race. “Judge Roy Moore is the real deal: He’s tough, tested, and has a spine of steel,” said the Walker-Texas Ranger. “The Washington establishment knows they won’t be able to count on him, but Alabama voters can. Judge Moore has never backed down from standing for what is right, and that’s exactly what he’ll do in the U.S Senate. That’s why the Washington establishment is spending millions trying to defeat Judge Moore.” It’s hard to argue Norris, a veteran of the U.S. Air Force, on the fact Moore rarely backs down. The GOP Senate hopeful first came to national fame back in 2003, when he was suspended from the Alabama Supreme Court for refusing to remove a Ten Commandments monument from the court. He was again suspended from the bench in 2016 for the remainder of his term for encouraging probate judges to defy the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision legalizing same-sex marriage and refuse marriage licenses to gay couples. Norris, whose eponymous Chuck Norris facts, has led him to become an internet phenomenon, is also calling out Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and his PAC, the Senate Leadership Fund. The group has spent over $2 million in ads supporting Moore’s challenger incumbent Sen. Luther Strange. “Alabama needs Judge Moore there doing what he’s always done: fighting to protect our constitutional rights to life, religious liberty, and the freedom to protect ourselves and our families. And he will always put principle over politics,” added Norris. A veteran of the U.S. Air Force, Norris is an active supporter of conservative candidates and causes, including veterans organizations and initiatives. “Chuck Norris is exactly the kind of guy you want on your side, and I’m honored to have his support as we continue this fight to take our Alabama values to Washington,” said Moore of the endorsement Moore will face off against sitting Sen. Strange, Alabama 5th District U.S. Rep. Mo Brooks, state senator Tripp Pittman, and Christian Coalition Leader Randy Brinson next Tuesday, Aug. 15. Should any candidate receive 50 percent of the vote, they will move on to the Dec. 12 general election to take on a Democratic challenger. Otherwise, the two Republicans who receive the most votes will move on to a runoff on Sept. 26. What’s a Norris endorsement without a few more Norris memes? Enjoy.
New SLF ad attacks Mo Brooks on Donald Trump, war funding
With about two weeks before the Alabama U.S. Senate Republican primary, Mo Brooks is once again on the receiving end of a new attack ad from the Senate Leadership Fund. First reported by POLITICO, “’Back’ Al,” which launched last week, features several direct-to-camera interviews of Alabamians attacking Brooks, the Huntsville Republican congressman seeking Jeff Sessions’ old Senate seat. “Mo Brooks said we can’t trust Donald Trump,” a woman says in the ad opening. “You know what I don’t trust? Career politicians like Mo Brooks.” The 30-second spot touches on Brooks’ votes against continuing resolutions by featuring military veterans accusing Brooks of “voting to cut off funding to fight ISIS.” A second veteran says: “We fought for our freedom … Brooks, he fought to cut off funding.” “Mo Brooks didn’t have my back, and he won’t be getting my vote,” another veteran says. Watch the ad here on YouTube. Brooks, former Alabama Supreme Court Chief Justice Roy Moore and sitting Sen. Luther Strange are part of the 9-person field running in the midsummer Republican U.S. Senate primary. Senate Leadership Fund, the group behind the ad, is a political committee controlled by Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell. SLF is strongly backing Strange in the Senate race. For his part, Moore — a member of the House Freedom Caucus — has returned the criticism. During a recent breakfast event hosted by the Heritage Foundation, Brooks called for the leader’s ouster as “head of the swamp.” “Inside the Republican conference, Mitch McConnell’s got to go,” Brooks said. “Absolutely, he is the head of the swamp in the United States Senate.” New WBRC polling puts the race at a statistical tie between Moore and Strange. Strange received 35 percent of “likely” registered voters, with Moore getting 33 percent. Brooks took 16 percent. Alabama voters have until Aug. 10 to apply for an absentee ballot for the Aug. 15 primary. If there is no winner — with 50 percent plus one of the vote — a runoff is Sept. 26; the general election is Dec. 12.
Mo Brooks: Mitch McConnell ‘head of the swamp,’ calls for ouster
Mo Brooks, facing a tight Republican primary for Jeff Sessions’ Senate seat in Alabama, is no fan of Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, calling him the “head of the swamp.” “Inside the Republican conference, Mitch McConnell’s got to go,” Brooks said a breakfast event hosted by the Heritage Foundation. “Absolutely, he is the head of the swamp in the United States Senate.” Brooks, challenging sitting Sen. Luther Strange to serve the rest of Session’s term, is opposing McConnell in an effort to push the race further to the right. Senate Leadership Fund — the super PAC linked to McConnell — has poured millions into the Strange campaign. Alabama’s midsummer GOP primary, notes CNN, has become a proxy battle over the direction of the Republican Party. Brooks is one of the leaders in what has become a three-candidate race, including Strange and former Alabama Supreme Court Chief Justice Roy Moore. They are the candidates most likely to be the top vote-getters in the Aug. 15 primary, with a Sept. 26 runoff if no single candidate emerges with 50 percent plus one of the vote. Brooks, seeking the label of staunchest conservative in the race, blasted both McConnell and President Donald Trump: “This primary, to sum it up succinctly, everybody in this room is familiar with Donald Trump, candidate, pledging that as President Trump he would drain the swamp,” Brooks said Wednesday. “In this Senate race, the swamp is fighting back and the swamp’s candidate is Luther Strange. … All those swamp critters feel like he’s at home and he is at home.” According to CNN, Brooks wouldn’t say who he would back to replace McConnell, but did acknowledge “a number of other senators” he would support. He also wouldn’t say if he would support a primary challenger to McConnell in Kentucky, and suggested the Majority Leader should get out of the Senate entirely. “I want to see — out of the Senate and out of the House — people who see the United States Congress as a toy or a plaything or as a trophy or as a thing of stature,” Brooks said, adding that he would support senators willing to tackle the country’s national debt, something he believes is directly leading to American insolvency. Brooks, a member of the House Freedom Caucus, also has multiple complaints about McConnell, particularly his support of a 60-vote legislative filibuster, where lawmakers have to be “groveling at the feet of (Minority Leader) Chuck Schumer” before legislation can pass. “He’s wrong and it’s hurting America,” Brooks added. “I would do what I can with my one vote (if elected) to go back to majority rule.” Brooks also railed about negative ads from McConnell’s PAC trying to paint him as a liberal. “If you had seen some of the ads that McConnell has run … you might understand my consternation,” Brooks told the audience. “The deceit coming from the Senate leadership is remarkable, and that’s coming from a person who has been active as a candidate … for 35 years.” Brooks also had words for Trump, warning the president that he should keep his campaign promises and stop attacking his attorney general — which he had earlier called a “public waterboarding.” “A lot of people who are conservatives have great respect for Jeff Sessions and what he has accomplished,” Brooks said Wednesday. “The respect for Jeff Sessions is so great that I’m sure if President Trump were to fire Jeff Sessions or embarrass Jeff Sessions into quitting, that a lot of President Trump voters, particularly in the primary, will have mixed feelings about what is going on,” Brooks said.
Mo Brooks ‘disappointed’ over Donald Trump’s treatment of Jeff Sessions
U.S. Rep. Mo Brooks went after President Donald Trump Wednesday for his treatment of Attorney General Jeff Sessions in the media. During an interview on Jack Campbell and Baron Coleman’s radio show on News Talk 93.1 FM in Montgomery, Brooks said he was “disappointed and chagrined with what what’s happening with Jeff Sessions and President Trump right now.” Brooks, a member of the conservative House Freedom Caucus, also said his pre-election reservations about Trump “are turning out to be somewhat prophetic based on what we are seeing transpire with the public chastisement and the attacks on the integrity and good name of [Attorney General Sessions].” Brooks added that if he won the special election, he would not vote for Kentucky Republican Sen. Mitch McConnell to hold on to his post as Majority Leader. The CD 5 Republican is one of several GOP candidates in the race to be Sessions’ permanent replacement in the senate and his primary opponents, most notably sitting Sen. Luther Strange and former Alabama Supreme Court Justice Roy Moore, have criticized him for what they say is a lack of support for Trump. Strange and a political committee headed up by McConnell have dumped a lot of money into anti-Brooks advertising, with many of the ads attacking the congressman for his statements on the president. Brooks said those advertisements bother him because they put his statements “in an untruthful light.” “The words that I uttered were my concerns and reservations expressed while I was chairman of Ted Cruz’s campaign for the presidency, and that campaign for the primary for the presidency did not end until late May when Donald Trump got sufficient votes to win the Republican nomination,” he said. He added that he thought Trump was a much better option in a general election setting than Hillary Clinton but said some of Trump’s more “mercurial dispositions,” such as the way his administration communicates with U.S. allies and enemies, have given him “serious reservations.” The special primary election is slated for Aug. 15, and if necessary will be followed by a primary runoff Sept. 26. The general election will be held Dec. 12.
Luther Strange takes aim at Mo Brooks in leadup to Senate primary
Three weeks out from the special Republican primary for the remainder of Attorney General Jeff Sessions’ Senate term, sitting U.S. Sen. Luther Strange has his sights set on U.S. Rep. Mo Brooks. The two Republicans, alongside former Alabama Supreme Court Justice Roy Moore, are in the top tier of candidates running for the seat and Moore looks to have carved out solid support from about 31 percent of Republicans according to a recent poll. In the same poll, Strange was second place at 23 percent support, followed by Brooks at 21 percent. The other GOP candidates in the race all came in below 5 percent. Given the large pool of Republicans running for the seat, no candidate is likely to win the Aug. 15 primary outright, which pits Strange and Brooks in a race for the No. 2 slot and a place in the Sept. 26 runoff to decide which GOP candidate is on the general election ballot. Strange and his allies have come after Brooks in attack ads labeling the CD 5 Republican as a flip-flopper who is not resolute in supporting President Donald Trump, who has 55 percent support among Alabama voters according to a recent Gallup Poll. One recent ad put out by the Senate Leadership Fund, a political committee controlled by Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell that is backing Strange, tries to tie Brooks, a House Freedom Caucus member, to liberal lawmakers such as Massachusetts U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi. “They all attack Donald Trump, trying to stop him,” the ad narrator says of Brooks and the congressional Democrats, before playing a clip of Brooks saying: “I don’t think you can trust Donald Trump with anything he says.” The ad also blasts Brooks for not endorsing Trump after he became the Republican presidential nominee last year. At the time, Brooks did say he would “vote for all Republicans on the ballot,” and called Trump “a better option than Hillary Clinton.”
Mo Brooks using Alexandria shooting audio in campaign ad, skips vote on Capitol Police heroes
Senate Leadership Fund is once again blasting Senate candidate Mo Brooks for his latest campaign gaffes. This time, SLF is not the only group giving Brooks heat over a new campaign ad using audio from the shooting last month at a charity baseball practice in Alexandria, Virginia. The 30-second spot – called “Second Amendment” — opens with sounds of the actual gunshots heard when “Bernie Sanders supporter” James Hodgkinson shot Majority Whip Steve Scalise, a lobbyist, a congressional aide, and a U.S. Capitol Police officer. Brooks was on scene during the Alexandria shooting, and the ad touts his giving a belt “as a tourniquet to help the wounded.” The ad closes with, “I’m Mo Brooks, candidate for the Senate, and I approve this message.” Several media outlets questioned the spot, and Scalise’s office condemned the ad. In addition, while Brooks was in Alabama campaigning for Senate, SLF points out that Brooks skipped several key House votes, including one that unanimously passed a bill aiding those Capitol Police Officers shot last month. Ironically, Brooks is one of the 128 co-sponsors of HR 3298, which seeks to authorize the Capitol Police Board to make payments from the Capitol Police Memorial Fund those officers who “sustained serious line-of-duty injuries.” Shortly after the shooting, Scalise’s wife praised Capitol Police Officers David Bailey and Crystal Grinner, saying in a statement that they “saved the lives of everyone at the baseball field.” Brooks absence raised several concerns. Asked by the Washington Examiner whether the Huntsville Republican simply missed the vote because of a scheduling error, Brooks campaign manager Clay Mills responded: “It was not an accident. I can’t speak to if Rep. Brooks personally knew if that bill would be considered, though.” An email from SLF email also outlines three other significant votes Brooks skipped Monday while on the Alabama campaign trail: — #407: Authorize funding for the CIA, NSA and Office of the National Intelligence Director. — #408: Providing an additional $2 billion in veterans’ health care funding. (409,997 veterans live in Alabama, SLF notes.) — #409: To eliminate the 15-year time limit to use Post-9/11 GI Bill education benefits. SLF, the super PAC linked to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, is also behind MoBrooksMoLies.org, a website launched to fact-check Brooks as he faces a contentious Senate campaign against incumbent Sen. Luther Strange — who SLF is supporting — and former Alabama Supreme Court Chief Justice Roy Moore. A 10-person filed is vying for the Republican nomination to serve the remaining term of Attorney General Jeff Sessions. Last week, Roll Call reported on internal polling for what is emerging as a close three-candidate race; Moore leads with 27 percent, Strange at 23 percent and Brooks at 21 percent. Alabama voters have until July 31 to register for the Aug. 15 special primaries, both Republican and Democratic. The last day to apply for an absentee ballot is Aug. 10. If there is no primary winner — with 50 percent plus one — a runoff is Sept. 26; the general election is Dec. 12.
5 reasons why health care bill would fail, 3 why it may not
There are many reasons why the Senate will probably reject Republicans’ crowning bill razing much of former President Barack Obama‘s health care law. There are fewer why Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell might revive it and avert a GOP humiliation. Leaders say the Senate will vote Tuesday on their health care legislation. They’ve postponed votes twice because too many Republicans were poised to vote no. That could happen again. The latest bill by McConnell, R-Ky. – and it could change anew – would end penalties Democrat Obama’s health care law slapped on people without insurance, and on larger companies not offering coverage to workers. It would erase requirements that insurers cover specified medical services, cut the Medicaid health insurance program for the poor and shrink subsidies for many consumers. — IT FAILS: AWFUL POLL NUMBERS In an Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research poll this month, 51 percent supported Obama’s statute while just 22 percent backed GOP legislation. Perhaps more ominously for Republicans, the AP-NORC poll found that by a 25-percentage-point margin, most think it’s the federal government’s responsibility to ensure all Americans have coverage. That’s a growing view – there was just a 5-percentage-point gap in March. It underscores a harsh reality for the GOP: It’s hard to strip benefits from voters. — AWFUL CBO NUMBERS The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office says under McConnell’s plan, 22 million more people would be uninsured by 2026, mostly Medicaid recipients and people buying private policies. For single people, the typical deductible – out-of-pocket expenses before insurance defrays costs – would balloon that year to $13,000, up from $5,000 under Obama’s law. Note to the entire House and one-third of the Senate, which face re-election in 2018: 15 million would become uninsured next year. And though CBO says average premiums should fall in 2020, they’ll head up in 2018 and 2019. Oh, yes. The bill would let insurers charge people approaching retirement age higher prices than they can now, boosting premiums “for most older people,” CBO says. Older people like to vote. — AWFUL SENATE NUMBERS With a 52-48 GOP majority, the bill would survive if no more than two Republicans oppose it. With the indefinite absence of the cancer-stricken Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., McConnell’s margin of error shrinks to one. At least a dozen senators have expressed opposition to the legislation or been noncommittal. Lawmakers and aides say others haven’t publicly surfaced. Moderate senators from states with vast Medicaid populations want to protect those voters. Conservatives consider it their mission to eliminate the law they’ve campaigned on abolishing for years. These aren’t easily resolved disputes. — PRESIDENTIAL DRAG President Donald Trump wants “Obamacare” repealed. He also has public approval ratings below 40 percent – Bad! – and a propensity for turning on people. Just ask House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., and Attorney General Jeff Sessions. After Ryan labored for months before the House approved its health care bill and earned a Rose Garden celebration, Trump called the measure “mean.” Trump said he wouldn’t have picked Sessions for his job had he known he’d recuse himself from investigations into Russian meddling in last year’s campaign. Some lawmakers might not be blamed for declining to carry Trump’s water. Trump expressed frustration with Republicans Sunday on Twitter. He said: “It’s very sad that Republicans, even some that were carried over the line on my back, do very little to protect their President.” While he didn’t directly say why he was upset with GOP lawmakers, Trump’s tweet came as lawmakers are struggling to reach agreement on health care. — LEMONS INTO LEMONADE The bill’s rejection would still let lawmakers cast votes showing their positions. Supporters could say they honored their repeal “Obamacare” pledges, foes could say they protected their states or adhered to conservative principles. Defeat would let the Senate refocus on tax cuts or other initiatives, though it’s unclear what major issues don’t divide Republicans. A loss means there won’t be a GOP law voters might blame for health care problems they encounter. Though Republicans may already own the issue in the public’s eye, since they run the government. — IT PASSES: THE UNTHINKABLE This isn’t happening, right? Republicans have run on repealing “Obamacare” for years. The administration won’t let the effort fail without a fight. Trump lunched with senators at the White House last week and tweeted that Republicans “MUST keep their promise to America!” On Friday, Vice President Mike Pence urged leaders of conservative, anti-abortion and business groups to pressure senators. Medicaid administrator Seema Verma has tried luring senators unhappy with Medicaid cuts, including Ohio’s Rob Portman and West Virginia’s Shelley Moore Capito, with more flexibility for governors to use Medicaid funds to help pay expenses for beneficiaries shifting to private insurance. — MCCONNELL The health bill’s floundering has tarnished McConnell’s reputation as a legislative mastermind. Many Republicans privately say if the votes were gettable, he’d have gotten them already. But the 33-year Senate veteran is wily and doesn’t want his record stained with this failure. He understands what GOP senators need and has time, and if anyone can rescue the legislation, it’s him. — TRUMP FACTOR GOP senators cross Trump at their own peril. Eight in 10 Republicans still rate him favorably. In the 2018 midterm elections, when turnout is traditionally down, those loyal voters could make a difference. Republished with permission of The Associated Press.
Senate Leadership Fund: Mo Brooks ‘lies again’ about ‘100 percent’ support of Trump’s agenda
Mo Brooks is lying once again about his “100 percent” support for President Donald Trump, says the leading Senate Republican organization. Senate Leadership Fund, the super PAC linked to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, is accusing the Huntsville Republican congressman and U.S. Senate candidate of once again “falsely” stating he voted “down the line” on bills supported by Trump. SLF offers a clip of Brooks telling WVNN radio July 21: “Out of 300 and something votes that we’ve cast so far this year in the House of Representatives, every single one of them that has involved a White House position, I have voted with the White House.” “I have concurred with the policy goals they have put forth,” Brooks continued. “The record is, the White House and I have agreed 100 percent of the time on the things that the White House has sought to achieve.” Not so, says SLF spokesperson Chris Pack. As proof, Pack offers research by the nonpartisan Congressional Quarterly’s Vote Watch, where Brooks is, in fact, among the bottom 10 Republican members of Congress with the lowest percentage of voting in line with Trump’s agenda. While the number is still somewhat high – it is far from the “100 percent” that Brooks claims. “Like a typical Washington politician,” Pack says. “Mo Brooks keeps saying things that are plainly untrue to hide his record of opposing Donald Trump as a candidate and as President.” SLF recently launched a website – MoBrooksMoLies.org — dedicated to fact checking Brooks as he faces a tough Senate campaign against sitting Sen. Luther Strange and former Alabama Supreme Court Chief Justice Roy Moore. They are part of a 10-person field vying for the Republican nomination to serve the remaining term of Attorney General Jeff Sessions. Last week, Roll Call reported on internal polling that puts Brooks third in what seems to be shaping up as a three-candidate race; Moore leads with 27 percent, Strange at 23 percent and Brooks at 21 percent. Alabama voters have until July 31 to register for the Aug. 15 Republican and Democratic special primaries. The last day to apply for an absentee ballot is Aug. 10. If there is no primary winner — with 50 percent plus one — a runoff is Sept. 26; the general election is Dec. 12.
Senate Leadership Fund launches new website, ‘Mo Brooks Mo Lies’
A leading Republican super PAC tied to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell is producing a new website attacking Alabama Congressman Mo Brooks in the state’s Senate GOP primary race. The Senate Leadership Fund launched “Mo Brooks Mo Lies” blasting Brooks ahead of the midsummer primary to finish the term of Attorney General Jeff Sessions. The site lists clips of Brooks speaking out about then-GOP presidential candidate Donald Trump on TV and in print, featuring a February 2016 quote where the Huntsville Republican says to MSNBC: “I don’t think you can trust Donald Trump with anything he says. Now, why do I say that? It’s because of his track record.” Other quotes include Brooks’ refusal to support Trump: “I was just asked a little while ago if I was going to endorse Donald Trump after things unfold with Donald Trump having this so-called insurmountable lead. And I said, ‘No I’m not.’” Brooks is shown to question Trump voters, telling the Huntsville Times: “I mean, what are the American people thinking? You can see my frustration.” He also “mocks” Trumps proposed border wall, telling Adam Smith of The News Courier: “The only difference between Obama’s border policy and Trump’s amnesty policy is Trump wants to spend billions on a fruitless exercise.” Senate Leadership Fund is spending more than $2.5 million to support incumbent Sen. Luther Strange, the former Alabama Attorney General appointed to the seat in February by then-Gov. Robert Bentley. Brooks faces a slate of conservative Republicans, including Strange and former state Chief Justice Roy Moore in the crowded Aug. 15 primary to fill Sessions’ former Senate seat. A primary runoff, if necessary, will be Sept. 26; a general election is Dec. 12.
