I’m just going to come right out and say it: Roger Bedford is good. Did he deserve the distinction of being named one of Yellowhammer’s Top 5 Tax & Spenders in the legislature? Yes. Do I disagree with him on essentially every major issue that comes before the state legislature? Sure. Does he personify everything […]

A compromise has been reached on the much-debated omnibus gun bill. House Speaker Mike Hubbard and Representative Ed Henry held a press conference earlier today with representatives from the National Rifle Association, the Alabama Sheriff’s Association and the Alabama District Attorney’s Association announcing the compromise version of Senate Bill 286. Soon after the agreed upon […]

Senator Jeff Sessions pointed out today that no one has a clue how to answer even the most basic questions about the comprehensive immigration reform bill currently being debated, including members of the Gang of Eight who crafted it. During the markup of the immigration bill in today’s Senate Judiciary Committee, Senator Sessions cited an […]

Decisions are made by those show show up. It’s a quote that’s been around for decades and has been variously attributed to everyone from President Truman to Woody Allen to President Bartlet from the hit TV drama The West Wing. But if there’s anyone who knows what that phrase really means, it’s Democrat House Minority […]

Judge Mike Bolin will soon become Jefferson County’s lead attorney and will have to leave the Supreme Court, where he has served since 2005. As of now, the Bentley Administration hasn’t received Bolin’s resignation, but it’s never too soon to start speculating about who the Governor will appoint to be the next Supreme Court Associate […]

First Terry Dunn’s fellow Republican Public Service Commissioners shot down his misguided attempts to execute his Chief of Staff’s (David Rountree) environmentalist pipe dream. Then Republican Governor Robert Bentley publicly came out in support of their decision. And now Republican Attorney General Luther Strange has issued a terse, one sentence response to Dunn’s letter calling […]

“Rumors and Rumblings” is a weekly feature that runs each Wednesday. It includes short nuggets of information that we glean from conversations throughout the week. Have a tip? Send it here. All sources remain confidential. 1. Fielding to run Medicaid? There have been whispers the last several weeks that Senator Jerry Fielding may be a […]

As you have probably noticed, things are changing a little at Yellowhammer. The black and yellow design has been our trademark look for the past year or so, but I thought it was time to brighten things up a little. You also may have noticed that the homepage no longer “snaps” to the top every […]

Common Core Standards are an attempt to put the same education content in classrooms all across America. Stop at that sentence and do not take the argument any further, and there is already plenty of reason Alabama should reject them. Do I think Common Core Standards are a coordinated attempt by the Obama administration and […]

As I’ve mentioned before, blog posts that aren’t political in nature will have the “PERSONAL BLOG” header so you’ll know to skip over if you aren’t interested. Those who have been around Yellowhammer for a while will know that prior to launching the communications firm that I run now and doing real estate… prior to […]

In September we discussed a Gallup survey that showed Americans’ lack of faith in the media soaring to new heights. “Americans’ distrust in the media hit a new high this year, with 60% saying they have little or no trust in the mass media to report the news fully, accurately, and fairly,” Gallup’s Lymari Morales said. This topic came […]

Governor Bentley recently signed The Women’s Health and Safety Act into law after it passed through both Houses of the legislature. The Planned Parenthood crowd and other abortion advocates weren’t happy about it. So what did they do? Recorded the greatest song and music video of all time. OF. ALL. TIME. They took the music […]

Alabama’s senior U.S. Senator Richard Shelby took to the floor of the Senate today to speak against the Senate Democrats’ gun control legislation. “Mr. President, I rise to defend the Second Amendment to our Constitution,” Senator Shelby said in the opening line of his remarks. Shelby said that he mourns for the victims of mass […]

“Double-dipping ban,” “136 years is long enough,” and “pay raise repeal,” were three of the most used phrases by GOP candidates during the 2010 election cycle. After Republicans ended the Democrats’ 136 year reign of excess, they went on to repeal the pay raise Democrat legislators had passed themselves. But even before that, as a […]

1. Rep. Joe Hubbard: What makes Joe Hubbard the top “tax & spender” in the legislature? He strategically chooses the tax hikes he thinks might have the best chance of passing, then tenaciously fights for them as if his legislative life depends on them. There’s no way an income tax hike could ever make it […]

Senate staffers told Yellowhammer Tuesday evening that the next couple of days will be key in the immigration debate behind-the-scenes as things start to move quickly in the U.S. Senate. Senator Marco Rubio appeared on a record seven Sunday talk shows this week discussing the Gang of Eight‘s sweeping immigration reform proposal. The proposal was […]

House Speaker Mike Hubbard, Sen. Dick Brewbaker and Rep. Mary Sue McClurkin hosted a press conference in the State House today to unveil their proposals to make Alabama’s schools safer. Following a public hearing and several months of discussions with stakeholder groups, the report provides legislative recommendations aimed at ensuring the safety of Alabama schools. […]

After stroking a giant check to Uncle Sam today, I and other small business owners probably aren’t in the best of moods — and it looks like the rest of America is starting to understand why. According to a new Gallup survey, only 55% of Americans say the amount they pay in taxes is “fair,” […]

Alabama’s Republican national committeeman, Paul Reynolds, sponsored a resolution at this weekend’s RNC Spring meeting rejecting Common Core State Education Standards. Reynolds was also the presenter of the resolution which was unanimously passed out of the Resolutions Committee before being approved by the full National Committee. The resolution’s passage was seen as a victory for […]

David Rountree, Chief of Staff to Public Service Commissioner Terry Dunn is rallying the wacko environmentalists — yet again. As most longtime readers will recall, Rountree has been at the center of a months long debate raging at the Alabama Public Service Commission, which radical environmental groups have made ground zero for their war on […]

This piece on Medicaid initially appeared in this week’s Rumors & Rumblings. I noted then that it was much more in-depth than I initially intended, and that I might repost it as its own article. I’m hoping this will be a good snapshot of where things stand behind-the-scenes right now, and a good introduction to […]

By Gary Palmer, Alabama Policy Institute “All beginnings are hopeful.” That’s what the principal of Somerville College, Oxford said to the students who arrived there in 1944. That statement made a lasting impression on Margaret Roberts, who would become Great Britain’s only female prime minister and rank among Britain’s greatest leaders. Margaret Thatcher was a […]

On the same day that Yellowhammer learned of Governor Bentley’s first potential 2014 challenger, rumors emerged of former Tuscaloosa County Commissioner Don Wallace challenging Lt. Gov. Kay Ivey as well. Wallace was a two-term Tuscaloosa County Commissioner. He ran unsuccessfully in 2012 for the GOP nomination for Tuscaloosa County Probate Judge. Former Tuscaloosa Sheriff Ted […]

Yellowhammer first broke the news this week that Governor Bentley officially announced his candidacy for re-election in 2014. Only a couple of days later, it looks like the first potential challenger is emerging — but it’s not any of the usual suspects. A corrections officer named Stacy Lee George is at the State House today […]