1. As the media criticizes Trump for dealing with Kim Jong Un, Trump tells Sean Hannity his strong rhetoric led to the summit — After spending last year telling us about how Trump’s reckless behavior will get us all killed, now Trump is being too nice. — When asked about this on “Hannity” last night, he […]

Depending on who you watched or listened to this morning, the meeting between President Donald Trump and North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un is either the greatest diplomatic feat of all time or a massive failure that will empower a madman. The reality is much simpler: We have no idea what is going to happen […]

The Supreme Court on Monday declined to review a decision by the Washington Supreme Court upholding a judgment against a florist who refused to make a floral arrangement for a same-sex wedding. In so doing, the justices passed up an opportunity to fill in the blanks in last week’s high-profile ruling in favor of a […]

1. Trump responds to Canadian leader’s denouncement with anger, American media pouts, and American consumer will pay — The G7 summit ends with Trump telling the other nations “ultimate goal was eliminating all trade duties and subsidies”, they don’t like that, they want to be able to place them with no push-back. — John McCain […]

Bitcoin’s price gyrations over the past year have attracted widespread attention. Even if we do not become Bitcoin billionaires, the blockchain technology behind Bitcoin will likely affect our lives by rendering some of government’s functions unnecessary. My Johnson Center colleague Malavika Nair and I explore these possibilities in a new paper we published in The […]

Now that the dust has settled and we’ve weeded out some of the pretenders from the contenders, things look pretty good for Alabama Republicans. Despite a gubernatorial primary that wasn’t all that competitive, incumbent Gov. Kay Ivey’s decisive win Tuesday makes her seem nearly impossible to beat. If the three Republicans aggressively canvassing the state […]

Speaker of the House Mac McCutcheon pulled off a feat previously unseen in the speaker’s office: He protected every one of his incumbent members in the Republican primary. Voters throughout Alabama re-nominated all fifteen Republican House members who had primary opposition. McCutcheon’s success is certainly a product of his coordinated effort with House Majority Leader […]

1. State Representative Ed Henry is arrested for Medicare fraud — Henry was indicted and charged with 6 14 counts including planning to defraud Medicare and pay kickbacks to a physician in Montgomery. — He was arrested, charged, released, and he has released this statement saying he did nothing illegal. 2. Tuscaloosa Mayor Walt Maddox is […]

“Good luck to Alice Johnson. Have a wonderful life!” President Trump tweeted Thursday morning, one day after commuting the sentence of the woman who served 21 years in an Alabama prison for her part in a non-violent drug conspiracy. Alice Johnson made the rounds of the morning news shows, thanking both President Trump for giving […]

1. Disgraced former FBI deputy director Andrew McCabe wants immunity or he won’t talk — As members of Congress attempt to call the fired official his lawyer has demanded that “no testimony or other information provided by Mr. McCabe could be used against him in a criminal case.” — The Congressional investigation will be focused on […]

After Tuesday night’s election, it is still unclear who will represent the Republican party for lieutenant governor in November’s general election. Candidates Twinkle Cavanaugh and Will Ainsworth received the highest percentage of votes, yet both failed to garner more than 50-percent leading Republicans to the polls again on July 17 to pick the party nominee. […]

The results are in. Attorney General Steve Marshall and former Attorney General Troy King will face each other again next month in a Republican primary runoff, the winner of which will go up against Democrat nominee Joseph Siegelman in November’s general election. Here are a few thoughts on what happened last night, and on what’s […]

1. Two remaining statewide races, lieutenant governor and attorney general, got ugly at the end and will remain that way for the next 6 six weeks — The crowded AG field all but guaranteed a run-off and incumbent Steve Marshall will have to beat back Troy King’s gambling money. — In lt. gov. race Twinkle Cavanaugh’s name […]

After more than a year of continuous campaigning, TV ads and more signs than ALDOT has time to take down, Alabama finally let its voice be heard in yesterday’s primary elections. Here are five things we took away from the results. Kay Ivey is a juggernaut in this state. Governor Ivey received 56 percent of the vote […]

In past elections, Rep. Martha Roby (R-Montgomery) had made short work of winning the Republican Party’s nod, even when she faced opposition on her right flank. In 2010, she defeated Rick Barber on the way to her party’s nod, despite the controversial “Gather Your Armies” ad from Barber that got national attention. In the general […]

Former Alabama Supreme Court Chief Justice Roy Moore’s career may have ended in December when he lost a special election for the Senate, but his shadow lives on in the state’s Republican politics. Tuesday’s GOP primary showed that when Moore’s longtime protégé, Justice Tom Parker, took down incumbent Chief Justice Lyn Stuart. Parker openly embraces […]

The first half of election season nears its resolution today as voters choose their party’s candidate for November. Here’s what the polls tell us may happen at the polls: Governor’s race Polling demonstrates that Gov. Kay Ivey has a commanding lead – 58 percent in the most recent poll, conducted by The Tarrance Group. Tommy […]

1. Primary election day is here in Alabama; biggest races to watch are for Governor, Lt. Governor, and Attorney General — Sample ballots can be found on the Secretary of State’s website, a ballot I filled out can be found on my Facebook page. — Remember: 25-30 percent turnout is expected and crossover voting rules are in […]

In his dissenting opinion in Obergefell v. Hodges, Justice Clarence Thomas predicted that the court’s declaration that same-sex marriage is a right would ultimately lead to conflict between that purported right and religious liberty. In his concurring opinion Monday in Masterpiece Cakeshop v. Colorado Civil Rights Commission, Thomas concludes: “This case proves that the conflict […]

Why do negative political ads work, even though we can’t stand them and we know they’re paid for by people whose interests are not objective? Well, blame the psychology of persuasion in communication. A message never stands alone on its merit (or non-merit). An intricate system of factors such as perceived source credibility, the medium, […]

It’s common for even the most educated of voters to know little about the candidates on their ballots. It’s perhaps even more common for voters to lack a general understanding of the offices which those candidates want to occupy. Here’s a quick summary of the duties of each member of Alabama’s executive department. Governor The […]

During her years at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, April C. Armstrong kept a journal of her experiences as one of the few women earning a Master of Arts in Theology. There were scary moments with a Master of Divinity student who was preparing for ordination as a youth minister. When she rebuffed his advances, he […]

1. Meeting with the North Koreans is back on after a visit from a North Korean envoy — A North Korean spy delivered a letter to President Donald Trump and the June 12th summit on denuclearization and ending the Korean War is happening. — A debate seems to be raging over who is paying for […]

What just happened? The House recently passed a bipartisan prison reform bill authored by Reps. Doug Collins (R-Ga.) and Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.). The First Step Act was approved by a 360-59 vote, and included the support of 134 Democrats. The bill is headed to the Senate, where it is expected to face opposition by Democrats who […]