Alabama’s democratic process is under attack by rogue elements within the Republican political establishment who, I suspect, planted the story with the Washington Post to influence how our state’s voters decided this special election. Their shortsighted tactical objective: to disrupt the candidacy of Roy Moore, a politician whose substance and style they detest. […]

    In just over a month before the Senate election, multiple women came out with information regarding Judge Moore. I use the word information because not all the women accused Judge Moore of anything. There were, by my count, three accusations. Two were juveniles when they allege Judge Moore assaulted them, one was an […]

    Alabama Senate President Pro-Tem Del Marsh has raised the idea of a “Washington conspiracy” against Judge Roy Moore and says that relentless attacks on the Republican Senate candidate will only serve to solidify his voting base. Marsh shared his thoughts in a recent interview on the accusations of sexual misconduct against Moore and […]

    The people of Alabama would be well served if both Roy Moore and Doug Jones withdraw from the December 12 election, with both major parties formally acquiescing, effectively forcing the election to be postponed until November of next year. Both candidates, or either, could run again next year, but without the circus atmosphere, […]

    Since it’s been nearly two weeks since Alabama’s special Senate election was rocked by allegations that Roy Moore sexually abused a 14-year old girl, I issued a set of progress reports yesterday on how some of Alabama’s most influential institutions were handling the crisis. Interim grades were given to Moore’s campaign (C+), his […]

    Roy Stewart Moore was an obscure state judge in Etowah County in 1995 and probably would have stayed that way if not for an assist from an unlikely source — the American Civil Liberties Union. Moore’s courtroom display of a wooden plaque of the Ten Commandments sparked a complaint by an attorney representing […]

    It’s been 11 days since Alabama’s special Senate election was rocked by allegations that Roy Moore sexually abused a 14-year old girl when he was in his early 30s. Wagons were circled, denials were issued, and other accusers have come forward since then. So how well are some of Alabama’s most influential institutions […]

  Whore. Liar. White trash. Those are only some of the kinder names that men – well, men in the loosest of meanings – have been calling Roy Moore’s accusers online. I cannot print most of the harassing language they’re using to describe these eight middle-aged ladies from Alabama. It’s contemptible, and guys, this ugliness […]

Two events happened last week that exposed the generational divide facing conservatives in Alabama. First, a rally for Roy Moore attended by religious leaders descended into a bizarre, fire-and-brimstone scrum that ended with perennial presidential candidate Alan Keyes screaming at local and national reporters for daring to ask questions. “There’s a simple answer to your […]

    The Washington Week in Review highlights some of what Alabama’s congressional delegation has been saying and doing this week: — Senator Luther Strange (R-Birmingham), who sits on the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, announced the adoption of an amendment that he co-sponsored alongside Senator Bill Cassidy (R-LA). The measure amends the Arctic National […]

  Yellowhammer News shot to one of the top rankings on Reddit last week, along with making an appearance on Shannon Bream’s FOX News program and earning not one … not two … but three of Rachel Maddow’s famous dramatic pauses on her MSNBC program.

    The tax reform bill passed Thursday by the U.S. House of Representatives would help Alabama — but not by as much as most other states. That is the conclusion of the Washington-based Tax Foundation, which analyzed the macro effects of the major provisions of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act and then applied […]

    Of all the national Republicans expressing doubts about Roy Moore’s defense of allegations of child sexual abuse, perhaps the most stinging came Tuesday from the man who held the Senate seat he hopes to claim. Jeff Sessions, whose resignation to become U.S. attorney general triggered the special election in which Moore is running […]

The editors and reporters at the Washington Post are normally the ones who ask the questions. But the people of Alabama have a few questions themselves, and after the Washington Post dynamited our Senate election last week it owes us some answers. Their article reported its revelations were unearthed while their journalists were in Etowah […]

  In my opening column for the new and improved Yellowhammer News, one of my paragraphs made this assertion: Alabama’s government is far too centralized rather than open to local innovations, which makes it both ossified and much more easily corruptible. It also allows a small number of groups – often known as the “Big […]

  A prominent Alabama Republican facing a tough election weeks away gets hit with sexual misconduct allegations that threaten to derail his campaign. Roy Moore, 2017? Yes, but also Steve Windom, 1998. Political observers scratching their heads over why some Alabama voters would not automatically believe allegations in The Washington Post this week that Senate […]

  Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL) spoke at a fundraiser Thursday evening in Birmingham for State Rep. Will Ainsworth’s campaign for lieutenant governor. About 175 people gathered to hear the senator discuss the American dream, education and preparing the next generation for success,” according to a statement from the campaign. “Will Ainsworth is a conservative leader […]

  If ever there is legitimacy to playing a “blame game,” it exists right now with regard to the mess Alabama Republicans face in a special U.S. Senate election that should not be occurring in the first place. In order of approximate chronology rather than of seriousness, here are all the places the blame lies […]

  Many Alabamians have already judged the judge or condemned the media, and their position seems guided by how people have felt about Roy Moore since we first learned about the “Ten Commandments Judge” more than 20-years ago. You loved him … or you hated him. So now you either believe him … or not. […]

  If we know one thing about Judge Roy Moore it’s this: he’s not going to willingly step aside and allow the political establishment to place someone else’s name on the ballot. https://twitter.com/MooreSenate/status/928771064406167552   If he goes, it’ll be the same way Moore was removed from the bench – by force of law. That’s why […]

  From Obamacare to Common Core, Alabama is known for being among the first to react in high-profile cases of DC overreach. Under the banner of the state motto, “We dare defend our rights,” Alabamians seem to share an innate sense of self-determination. Yet, despite its long-standing reputation, the state has essentially welcomed much of […]

  Alabama’s special election for U.S. Senate next month is about one thing: the Supreme Court. Regardless of either candidate’s campaign promises, the arcane rules of senate seniority mean that the winner will be a powerless backbencher for at least the next couple of years, maybe more, unable to change much and capable of very […]

  U.S. Rep. Bradley Byrne of Baldwin County achieved his latest in a string of legislative victories Tuesday afternoon as the House passed a pro-jobs, pro-small-business bill he authored. The Save Local Business Act, which passed 242-181, would roll back an Obama-era regulation issued by the National Labor Relations Board. Byrne had described the regulation […]

  Quin Hillyer, my longtime friend and on-again, off-again colleague, wrote last week in this space that “Alabama’s governing systems are a collective mess.” The same can be said for our culture — both in the United States generally and Alabama, specifically. Alabamians have repeated the old joke, “Thank God for Mississippi,” so many times […]