Environmentalists spent millions upon millions of dollars in a “shadow campaign” to buy the Virginia gubernatorial election, according to a stunning new report by POLITICO.

“Tom Steyer is Virginia’s $8 million man,” the story says of the billionaire leftwing environmentalist.

That’s how much Steyer spent to elect a global warming alarmist to the Virginia governor’s office and to create a model for electing fellow environmentalists to high offices around the United States, including governors, U.S. senators, and even the next U.S. president.

And Steyer wasn’t alone.

Nationally-known environmental groups like Conservation Voters PAC and the Sierra Club spent big bucks to attack Republican candidate Ken Cuccinelli for his free-market stance on American energy.

Here are 4 key excerpts from the POLITICO article that is sending shockwaves through the conservative community:

1. Steyer’s Virginia campaign represents a down payment on a sustained effort to defeat Republicans who question climate science — and activate voters who want government action on climate change.

2. From the start, Steyer’s campaign had two stated goals: electing Democrat Terry McAuliffe as the governor of Virginia, and creating a case study for making climate change an issue in high-profile elections.

3. In a memo distributed to potential financial supporters late in the summer, Steyer’s top strategist, former Clinton White House aide Chris Lehane, said NextGen will build on its Virginia campaign by targeting multiple Senate and gubernatorial races in 2014 – and then playing hard in the 2016 presidential primaries.

4. The Steyer operation wasn’t the only environmentalist outfit that played heavily in Virginia: The Virginia League of Conservation Voters PAC and the Sierra Club both invested money and manpower.

This is exactly why Alabamians must be vigilant and head off our state’s growing environmentalist movement before it gains steam. Groups like the Southern Environmental Law Center, Alabama Environmental Council and the AARP are sinking untold amounts of money into a Steyer-like campaign to influence public opinion in Alabama and elect global warming fanatics to public office.

The Alabama Public Service Commission may be where the environmentalists have focused their attention to this point, but if their efforts in Virginia are any indication, they will soon be aiming at offices around the state.

And remember, the environmentalists’ goals are the same as every other big-government liberal — more stringent government rules and regulations, more government control of the free market system, and less freedom for you and me.

Paul Reynolds is the founder and chairman of the Alabama Free Market Alliance. He is in his second term serving as Alabama’s National Committeeman for the Republican National Committee, and is the founder and president of Reynolds Technical Associates, a broadcast engineering consulting firm in Pelham, Alabama.

(Above: Dothan resident Allyson Strickland tells Fox News host Greta Van Sustren her ObamaCare horror story)

Allyson Strickland, a homeschooling mother of four whose husband works in the construction industry, appeared Friday on Fox News’ “On the Record with Greta Van Sustren” program sharing that her family’s premiums have more than doubled from $440 to $920 because of plan changes forced by ObamaCare.

“We’re not really sure right now what we’re going to do,” Strickland told Van Sustren. “The economic situation in our family’s finances has been extremely tight over the past year and insurance just wasn’t something I thought I would be concerned with. But now it has definitely become an issue to our family and we’re looking at different options — but frankly we don’t have very many options.”

Strickland said they were prepared to receive a slight increase under ObamaCare, but were shocked when they received word from Blue Cross Blue Shield of Alabama that their premiums were doubling.

Strickland was among the first to respond to a request by Rep. Martha Roby, R-Montgomery, for stories illustrating personal difficulties related to health care law changes. Rep. Roby said responses continue to pour in from Alabamians experiencing insurance plan cancellations and rate hikes, some of which she plans to highlight this week as legislative remedies to the issue gain traction.

“I appreciate Allyson and all the others who have contacted my office sharing personal stories about how ObamaCare is affecting their families,” Rep. Roby said. “Specific examples of how this law is harming people in a real way allow me to be a more powerful voice for positive change in Congress. I encourage anyone who hasn’t shared their story to go online and submit it.

“I believe a majority of Republicans and Democrats support commonsense changes to the law, but we are fighting an uphill battle because this is President Obama’s signature law,” Roby continued. “The more real-world stories like Allyson’s we can share, the better we can demonstrate on a national level the compelling need to offer Americans relief from this law.”

Despite President Obama’s well-publicized promise of “if you like your health plan, you will be able to keep your health plan,” thousands in Alabama and millions across the country are facing health insurance cancellations or skyrocketing costs. Rep. Roby is co-sponsoring the “Keep Your Health Plan Act,” which would ensure individual policy holders who like their healthcare plans are truly allowed to keep them. Similar proposals are surfacing in the Senate, and former President Bill Clinton said in a recent interview that “even if it takes a change to the law, the president should honor the commitment the federal government made to those people and let them keep what they got.”

Rep. Roby on Thursday debuted an online form to make it easy for constituents to share their personal stories. Additionally, individuals are invited to share their ObamaCare stories with Rep. Roby on Facebook orTwitter, by email, or by calling Rep. Roby’s Washington, D.C. office at 202-225-2901.

Follow Cliff on Twitter @Cliff_Sims

MOBILE – The Alabama Patriots Tea Party group on Tuesday endorsed Republican first congressional district nominee Bradley Byrne.

Alabama Patriots Commander & Founder, Danny B. Joyner, said the mainstream media has disingenuously used the first congressional district race to stoke the “establishment vs. Tea Party” fire.

“The liberal media loves to stoke this narrative of establishment Republicans & Tea Party Republicans battling each other and give some hope to the Democrats in the 2014 elections,” Joyner said. “Let’s clarify something for those who do not understand the Tea Party and who they are and who they believe the RINOS are we are fighting. The reference to a runoff in a congressional race in south Alabama was between two Conservative, Christian, Constitutional men from different work & life experiences, but both and all the others who ran in the primary were Tea Party people. The liberals want to divide and conquer us but they will not succeed. We believe Bradley Byrne will represent us well in Washington and congratulate him in winning the Republican nomination.”

This morning’s endorsement comes on the heels of continued unrest among some of the supporters of Dean Young, who Byrne defeated last week in the Republican primary runoff. Although no national Tea Party organizations backed Young, many of his local supporters and the national media framed the primary fight as a “battle for the soul of the GOP” between the grassroots and business.

The race became so contentious that Young vowed to never vote for Byrne, even with Byrne now going up against a Democrat in the general election.

But it now appears that many people on both sides of the divide in this campaign are ready to push forward with a united front in the general election.

“I’m honored to receive the support of the Alabama Patriots Tea Party group,” said Bradley Byrne. “It’s time to unite our party and come together towards victory on December 17th.”

Byrne will meet Democrat Burton LeFlore in the AL-01 general election.

Follow Cliff on Twitter @Cliff_Sims

The Kentucky senator signaled Monday he’s unlikely to delve into the South Carolina Senate contest, which includes three challengers trying to unseat Graham.

“I’m going to try not to be involved,” Paul said in response to a reporter’s question.   ”We’re unlikely to, we’re not going to say never.”

The answer underlines the difficulty of the question for Paul, whose inclination in many races has been to back the insurgent conservative challenger against the establishment figure.  But as he lays the groundwork for a probable 2016 presidential run, he realizes the risk in getting in the crosshairs with the heavily favored Graham, who wields tremendous influence in the Palmetto State.

While Graham’s favorability numbers among Republicans are middling, a four-way primary that splits the opposition works to his advantage.  He’s also flush with cash, with $6.9 million in the bank.

But Paul’s reasoning went even further, positing that his involvement in a primary here would hamstring his ability to make substantive progress in Washington.

“I think for the most part, I’m not against people having races and people may run against me some day, if I run again.  But I think that it’s difficult for other people to get involved because you eat lunch with people every day.  It’s just a difficult scenario and doesn’t make for any kind of cohesiveness as far as trying to get things done in Washington,” he said.

Paul and Graham are ions apart on their foreign policy views, but recently there’s been signs their chilly relationship has thawed.

Graham was complimentary of Paul’s “responsible” approach during the government shutdown.

Not exactly a bromance yet, but perhaps steps towards at least a lunch.

Follow Dave’s blog at TheRun2016.com

OPELIKA — Alabama House Speaker Mike Hubbard, R-Auburn, on Tuesday participated in a vision screening for preschoolers conducted by Impact Alabama’s FocusFirst Initiative. The screening signifies an incredible milestone for the initiative — 200,000 children screened in Alabama.

FocusFirst provides a cost-effective direct response to the vision problems of children who live in urban and rural communities throughout Alabama. Under the supervision of Impact Alabama AmeriCorps members, undergraduate and graduate students ensure that children, ages six months to five years, in Head Starts and lower-income daycares are screened for vision problems, using high-tech photo optic scan cameras, and receive subsidized follow-up care. FocusFirst is the only program of its kind in the United States.

Speaker Hubbard commended Impact Alabama and FocusFirst for their incredible value to the state and expressed that the legislature’s investment in the program was money well spent. “The well-being of Alabama children is always our number one priority and I am proud to be a part of this significant milestone,” Hubbard said. “FocusFirst’s efforts have improved and saved the sight of thousands of children across Alabama and I applaud them for their important work. Great things start in Alabama, and I hope that other states will pay attention to this fantastic program and adopt it across the country.”

Stephen Black, the founder and president of Impact Alabama, noted the importance of detecting children’s vision problems as early as possible, before they cause irreversible damage. “All children deserve to start school with the best vision medically possible,” Black said. “We are proud to have the State of Alabama as a partner on this important day.”

Since beginning service in 2004, over 2,500 college students at more than twenty colleges and universities throughout Alabama have participated with FocusFirst. These students and Impact Alabama staff have screened nearly 200,000 children in all 67 counties across the state. The results of the screenings are professionally analyzed by Vision Research Corporation. Approximately 11% of the children screened had a potential problem and received subsidized follow-up care as necessary through Sight Savers America.

Impact Alabama: A Student Service Initiative was incorporated in June 2004 as the state’s first nonprofit organization dedicated to developing and implementing substantive service-learning projects in coordination with students from twenty-five universities and colleges throughout Alabama. The current staff of forty-five recent college graduates attained an average GPA of 3.7 and graduated with academic honors and strong records of community leadership.

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PRATTVILLE, Ala. – The Alabama Alcoholic Beverage Control Board kicked off a new statewide educational and public awareness initiative focusing on underage and binge drinking this week with an anti-drinking program at Prattville High School. The initiative, “Under Age, Under Arrest,” highlights the dangers of underage drinking and binge drinking and the social and legal costs of irresponsible drinking.

Underage drinking and binge drinking continue to be troubling problems for middle- and high-school students, as well as college students. These forms of illegal and irresponsible drinking often intersect, as young drinkers are more likely than older drinkers to binge drink.

According to national student surveys:

• More than 26 percent of people age 12-20 reported consuming alcohol in the past month.
• By age 15, half of teens have had at least one drink.
• By age 18, more than 70 percent of teens have had at least one drink.
• Binge drinkers are 14 times more likely to drive impaired.
• About 90 percent of alcohol consumed by those under the age of 21 (in other words, illegally) is in the form of binge drinks.
• In Alabama, 41 percent of 18- to 20-year-olds have participated in binge drinking.
• Among college students, 60.8 percent nationwide are drinkers, and 39 percent are binge drinkers.

Nationwide, about 5,000 people under the age of 21 die each year from alcohol-related car crashes, homicides, suicides, alcohol poisoning and other injuries. In 2008, more than 190,000 people under the age of 21 went to an emergency room for alcohol-related injuries.

Studies show that young people who begin drinking in their teen years are much more likely to become problem drinkers and alcohol dependent than those who start drinking later.

“Underage drinking and binge drinking remain big problems in Alabama and the nation, taking or ruining many lives every year,” said ABC Board Administrator Mac Gipson. “The ABC Board wants students and parents to understand both the legal and social costs of such irresponsible drinking.”

Binge drinking defined: “drinking alcoholic beverages with the primary intention of becoming intoxicated by heavy consumption over a short period of time… A binge on alcohol can occur over hours, last up to several days, or even weeks. Due to the long-term effects of alcohol misuse, binge drinking is considered to be a major public health issue.”

Among those at this week’s event in support of the “Under Age, Under Arrest” initiative were representatives of the state departments of Education, Public Health and Mental Health, as well as Mothers Against Drunk Driving, Students Against Destructive Decisions, the Alabama Citizens Action Program, Auburn University-Montgomery and the Prattville Police Department.

About 1,000 Prattville High students heard presentations from Gipson, the Prattville police, MADD and ALCAP warning them of the dangers of alcohol and the legal consequences of underage drinking.

Kaila Toone drew tears from students as she described a 2011 car accident that killed her 25-year-old nephew. His car was hit head-on by a car driven by an underage drunk driver.

“We’ll take this around the state,” Gipson said. “As the state (ABC) agency, we see it as our responsibility to do what we can to police and discourage this form of irresponsible drinking.”

It is against the law for people under the age of 21 to consume or possess alcoholic beverages. It is also illegal for adults to provide alcohol to those under that legal drinking age. Penalties include fines, possible jail time and, for minors, the loss of their driver licenses.

According to a press release put out by the ABC board, their goal is to make the “Under Age, Under Arrest” slogan as synonymous with underage drinking as the “Click it or Ticket” campaign is with wearing seatbelts.

Schools will be a major focus of the campaign. The ABC Board is partnering with anti-drinking organizations such as MADD, SADD and ALCAP’s American Character Builders to help schools get the message to students and parents alike about the dangers of and penalties for underage drinking. The ABC Board will work with college officials to help inform their students of the consequences of drinking and enforce the state’s alcohol laws.

In addition, the ABC Board will partner with other groups, organizations and institutions throughout the state. These include religious organizations, health agencies, substance-abuse treatment providers, law enforcement, children’s groups, colleges and businesses.

For more information about “Under Age, Under Arrest,” go online to www.underage-underarrest.com.

Follow Adam on Twitter @AdamYHN

(Above: President Obama gives a pitch to Congress to pass ObamaCare in 2009, uses Alabama as an example)

Before a joint session of Congress back in September 2009, President Barack Obama made a final push for passage of his healthcare reform bill now commonly known as ObamaCare.

That speech is better remembered for South Carolina Republican Rep. Joe Wilson’s “you lie” outburst. But immediately after that incident, Obama said his law would bring competition into the health insurance marketplace in states where the market was controlled by only a few companies. The example he held up — Alabama.

“So let me set the record straight here,” Obama said. “My guiding principle is, and always has been, that consumers do better when there is choice and competition.  That’s how the market works. Unfortunately, in 34 states, 75 percent of the insurance market is controlled by five or fewer companies.  In Alabama, almost 90 percent is controlled by just one company.  And without competition, the price of insurance goes up and quality goes down.  And it makes it easier for insurance companies to treat their customers badly — by cherry-picking the healthiest individuals and trying to drop the sickest, by overcharging small businesses who have no leverage, and by jacking up rates. Insurance executives don’t do this because they’re bad people. They do it because it’s profitable.  As one former insurance executive testified before Congress, insurance companies are not only encouraged to find reasons to drop the seriously ill, they are rewarded for it.  All of this is in service of meeting what this former executive called ‘Wall Street’s relentless profit expectations.’”

But now that ObamaCare is the law of the land, the insurance market in Alabama has hardly become more competitive. In fact, it has become less competitive.

An analysis from the Heritage Foundation’s Alyene Senger finds that 96 percent of the state’s counties will have only one insurer offering coverage in the exchange. Only three counties according to Senger have more than one insurer on the ObamaCare exchange — Jefferson, Madison and Shelby.

“By the standards of the President’s own ‘guiding principle,’ his law largely fails,” Senger wrote. “Obamacare’s overregulation of insurance is to blame for the lack of competition in the exchanges. The flawed policies contained in Obamacare neither foster competition nor increase consumer choice, and they will continue to negatively impact American consumers and increase costs.”

Follow Jeff on Twitter @Jeff_Poor

CHARLESTON, S.C. — Sen. Rand Paul kept up his conservative critique of Gov. Chris Christie Monday, accusing him of displaying big spending tendencies in the wake of Hurricane Sandy last year.

“The main theme of his candidacy seems to be, I got you a lot of federal money. It doesn’t sound like a conservative message. It sounds like a moderate to big government message,” Paul said in response to a question asking him to elaborate on why he’s characterized the New Jersey governor as a “moderate.”

Paul addressed a mix of national and local reporters at the Harbour Club in downtown Charleston Monday afternoon in between a roundtable with area Republicans and a fundraiser for the state GOP.

Paul labeled Christie a “moderate” last week in a shot designed to deflate the governor’s appeal in a Republican presidential primary as he basked in the glow of a 22-point victory margin in the Garden State.

The Kentucky senator’s broadside against Christie on fiscal policy offers an early window into what a 2016 primary debate between the two would look like.

In the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy, Christie upbraided Congress for failing to deliver timely and effective aid.  Lawmakers finally agreed to a $60 billion package in late January — three months after Sandy struck the state.  Paul registered a no vote against the relief money.

Paul said he supported Sandy funding that would be doled out annually and offset with spending cuts.

“But the clamor from Republicans, many who are from that region was, ‘Just give it all to us now, be done with it.  You people are debating, I can’t believe you’re gonna talk about not giving us all of our money, all of it right now without any conditions, without any cuts, without any offsetting cuts.’  So I don’t consider that to be a conservative position,” he said, without directly mentioning Christie’s name.

Like many of the disagreements within the Republican Party right now, Paul’s argument is one, in part, based on the process of crafting legislation, rather than the ultimate end result.

While a future rival could easily attempt to paint Paul as heartless and irresponsible with his no vote against hurricane funds, he argued that his position is, in fact, the fiscally responsible one.

“I’m not arguing against aid.  I’m just arguing that the fiscally responsible way to do that aid would’ve been one year at a time and offsetting it with spending cuts elsewhere,” he said.

Paul then bolstered his argument by broadening the scope to encompass the nation’s calamitous debt along with his crusade to rein in foreign aid.

“When you have a big storm like that we do have needs at home.  So I took, it was $9 billion for the first year, I took it out of foreign aid spending and said don’t spend it.  It’s not like we really have it anyway.  It’s all borrowed.  So even though we do need to rebuild after Sandy, there are repercussions.  Conservatives will say, yeah there are repercussions to just borrowing it from China until you can rebuild things that should be rebuilt.  That means you need to be more fiscally responsible with your money, which means you’ve got to be for cutting spending,” he explained.

A Christie adviser did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Paul is slated to address The Charleston Meeting — a group of Low Country Republicans — on Monday evening.  On Tuesday, he will deliver a speech at The Citadel.

Paul and Christie currently top The RUN’s CHASE — a list of the contenders favored to win their party’s 2016 presidential nomination.

Follow Dave’s blog at TheRun2016.com

By Katherine Robertson, Jay Neal and Jerry Madden

As leaders in the national conservative criminal justice movement, we have witnessed several states successfully implement more effective and efficient sentencing and corrections systems.

By adopting policies based on conservative principles — personal responsibility, fiscal discipline, and individual liberty — states including Georgia, North Carolina, and Texas have enacted policies proven to both enhance public safety and minimize the cost to taxpayers. What these states have found is that the cycle of crime can be broken by implementing and expanding approaches aimed at nonviolent offenders, specifically through increased use of drug courts, access to mental health facilities, and by removing barriers to employment for ex-offenders, among others.

Alabama is poised to follow the path forged by other conservative states in taking a smarter approach to operating its criminal justice system. And we are ready to help.

Like most states, Alabama’s prison system is one of the largest and fastest growing parts of the state budget. Yet, this system is not reducing re-offending commensurate with this growth in spending. Fortunately, momentum for change is building around the country and conservatives in other states have taken the lead in promoting sensible policies.

Today, Alabama is home to the highest prison crowding rate in the country, with prisons at 187 percent capacity. Without true reform, Alabama risks falling prey to federal court intervention, similar to California, where unelected judges order the release of thousands of prisoners from state lockups. These edicts ordering the haphazard release of inmates risk turning out dangerous offenders who pose a significant safety risk to their communities. But this does not have to be the story for Alabama; there is an alternative.

For example, Georgia, led by a conservative governor who is a former prosecutor, passed major adult and juvenile policy changes without a single opposition vote in the Legislature.

The consensus measure, developed with input from all stakeholders, is projected to improve public safety outcomes and reduce the prison population by prioritizing prison space for violent and dangerous offenders while strengthening probation and parole supervision and diverting more low-level drug offenders to drug courts. North Carolina developed and passed legislation during a period in which the North Carolina Legislature totally changed from one party to the other.

The legislation introduced significant changes in the state’s probation system without new funds, yet this and other changes have led to an almost 12 percent reduction in prison population. Texas, instead of building more prisons in 2007, implemented improvements to probation, parole, specialty courts, and in-prison treatment programs which have avoided more than $3 billion in prison costs. Most importantly, Texas’ crime rate is at its lowest since 1968.

Alabama’s leaders are at a crossroads, presented with the opportunity to make real positive change to their criminal justice system or continue on the current path. The high cost, low return system currently in operation can only last for so long. Leaders must act to improve and expand alternatives to incarceration for low-risk and nonviolent offenders to ensure that costly prison space is focused on those who pose a long-term threat to our public safety, not those we are simply mad at.

As Alabama looks to the future of its criminal justice system, it can turn to many existing resources. Recently, the Council of State Governments’ Justice Center joined with Alabama U.S. Attorney Joyce White Vance to host a Prison Reentry Summit at Samford University. Now, Right on Crime, an initiative for conservative criminal justice reforms anchored by a statement of principles signed by luminaries such as Jeb Bush, Newt Gingrich, Bill Bennett, J.C. Watts, and Ed Meese, is joining with Alabama’s conservative think tank, the Birmingham-based Alabama Policy Institute, to help leaders address this important issue.

Alabama still has time to change its course. State leaders can choose to enact polices that have been proven to protect public safety while lowering the cost to taxpayers.

Katherine Robertson serves as senior policy analyst for the Alabama Policy Institute and is a former U.S. Justice Department employee; Jay Neal is a member of the Georgia House of Representatives, serves on the Georgia Criminal Justice Reform Council, and authored legislation that created the council; and Jerry Madden is a former chairman of the Correction Committee of the Texas House of Representatives and author of many Texas’ reforms.

Sen. Ted Cruz signaled Friday he’s content with allowing states to decide how to define marriage, a careful distinction that aligns him with Sen. Rand Paul but could unsettle conservatives who wish for a federal amendment to address the issue.

“I support marriage between one man and one woman. But I also think it’s a question for the states,” Cruz told Jay Leno on Friday’s broadcast of The Tonight Show.  ”Some states have made decisions one way on gay marriage. Some states have made decisions the other way. And that’s the great thing about our Constitution, is different states can make different decisions depending on the values of their citizens.”

Paul has maintained a similar position. He personally believes marriage is between two people from the opposite sex, but thinks states should be the ultimate arbiters.

“If we say we believe in a federally mandated one man, one woman marriage, we’re going to lose that battle,” Paul said in April.

New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie also supports traditional marriage but said he would be ok with voters in his state passing a referendum allowing same-sex weddings.

Conservative activists like Bob Vander Plaats have framed the fight over marriage as one that can only be resolved on the federal level and earlier this year critiqued Paul and Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker for a lack of clarity on their positions.

Cruz’s statement puts him squarely in the camp with the majority of his potential 2016 GOP rivals.

Follow Dave’s blog at TheRun2016.com

Army SGT Eric Hunter of the 5th Special Forces Group was patrolling an area in Afghanistan on May 31, 2012, when he stepped on an IED. His right wrist and left leg were shattered, his right forearm and left knee were broken, his left pinky was snapped at the joint and he sustained serious soft tissue damage from all of the shrapnel. He also lost his right leg.

So far Eric has had 60 surgeries including amputations, bone and skin grafts, and the rebuilding of his left leg.

Eric and his wife, Kenna, now live at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland. They also have two children, Kensley and Jayce.

The Hunters deserve to come home to Alabama for Thanksgiving and need our help to make it happen.

Coming home with them will be Army SGT Lucas Oppelt, who was a senior line medic for the 82nd Airborne. During his second deployment in May of 2012, he was seriously injured during a dismounted patrol. He stepped on an IED, losing his right leg and seriously injuring his left leg.

Veterans Airlift Command, a non-profit 501(c) organization, is helping get these wounded warriors and their families home to Monroeville for Thanksgiving in conjunction with Alabama-based defense contractor Xtreme Concepts, Inc.

Because of their special travel needs — which are a result of their injuries — and the the aircraft limitations of the local airport they will be flying into, the cost of getting sergeants Hunter and Oppelt and their families home will be right at $10,000.

If you are willing to donate, please visit the Veterans Airlift Command donation page and put “Hunter and Oppelt” in the “Donation Honoree” box.

All donations are tax deductible.

Follow Cliff on Twitter @Cliff_Sims

The most recent campaign finance reports filed with the Secretary of State show Sen. Arthur Orr, R-Decatur, with by far the largest campaign war chest of any Alabama state legislator. Orr has over $100,000 more cash on hand than the next biggest fundraiser, Sen. Slade Blackwell, R-Mountain Brook.

“We’ve worked hard at local fundraising and people have graciously responded,” Sen. Orr told Yellowhammer Monday afternoon. “With almost 500 donors, I’m grateful for the support but we’re going to continue working. You can’t control a lot of things in politics. But at this stage in an election cycle it is important do everything you can to prepare for a contested campaign — and that includes fundraising.”

Here are some other interesting nuggets Yellowhammer found while combing through the reports:

• Republican incumbents in the Senate have a total of just over $2 million cash on hand.
• Republican incumbents in the House have right at $1.6 million cash on hand.
• Sen. Roger Bedford has by far the most cash of any Democrat at north of $234k. House Minority Leader Craig Ford is next at just over $100,000. No other Democrat cracked 6-figures.
• Rep. Paul DeMarco would have made the list with $247,000 cash on hand, but he has opted to run for U.S. Congress. None of his state campaign money can be used for that race.

Numbers below reflect cash-on-hand, not total money raised.

1. Sen. Arthur Orr, R-Decatur — $380,721
2. Sen. Slade Blackwell, R-Mountain Brook — $274,166
3. Sen. Roger Bedford, D-Russellville — $234,115.42
4. Rep. Jim McClendon, R-Springville — $174,180
5. Rep. Mike Hubbard, R-Auburn — $171,223
6. Sen. Greg Reed, R-Jasper — $157,342
7. Sen. Tom Whatley, R-Auburn — $149,932
8. Rep. Steve Clouse, R-Ozark — $134,864
9. Sen. Paul Bussman, R-Cullman — $130,199
10. Sen. Jabo Waggoner, R-Vestavia Hills — $125,436

Follow Cliff on Twitter @Cliff_Sims

(Above: Gov. Bentley delivers Veteran’s Day remarks)

America enjoys a unique kind of freedom that surpasses all other nations. It’s a freedom fought for and won by ordinary, everyday men and women that choose to serve. On Veteran’s Day we honor those men and women who at one time or another have chosen to leave behind their friends, their family, their jobs to protect and preserve our freedom.

Men and women from across Alabama have a long and tremendous impact on our military efforts overseas. That impact continues today, and I am so proud of their service. Our men and women bravely put themselves in harms way. We are inspired by their dedication, we’re encouraged by their bravery, and we’re thankful for how they serve our country with dignity and honor.

We are also thankful for the husbands, wife, sons and daughters, moms and the dads back here in Alabama who support their loved ones and share in the sacrifice that comes in serving this great country.

Contributions made by the veterans of our nation and our state are immeasurable. Honoring veterans shouldn’t be limited to just Veteran’s Day. I believe everyday we should give thanks for the freedoms we enjoy because of the service of our veterans. Veterans from every branch of service from any time and from any conflict deserve our support. Each conflict is unique, service members face challenges no matter where they are. When our service men and women were called to defend our freedoms, they didn’t ask questions, they simply answered the call to serve.

Today we honor you, and we share with you our gratitude. America would no be free, if it were not for our veterans. Thank You, and may God bless you.

– Gov. Robert Bentley

Follow Adam on Twitter @AdamYHN

Doc Thompson, host of The Morning Blaze on Glenn Beck’s Blaze Radio Network, is scheduled to speak at the Rainy Day Patriots Tea Party meeting Tuesday evening at the Homewood Public Library.

Thompson is a libertarian-leaning radio host and political commentator. He has also provided political analysis for various television shows, including CNBC’s The Kudlow Report, The Blaze’s Real News, The Glenn Beck Program, The Pat and Stu Show, and special election coverage for CNN and Fox News.

Thompson will be coming to town as part of his national “Countdown to Midterm” tour. Alabama will be the ninth state the tour has visited since it kicked off just over a week ago in Oklahoma.

Also appearing will be musician Chris Holly, who was recently asked by Reuters, “Are you the only conservative rock musician the GOP could find?” Chris performed alongside many of the GOP’s 2012 presidential hopefuls as he traveled around the country playing at events throughout the race. He has also shared stages with Hootie and the Blowfish, Edwin Mccain, Better Than Ezra, Todd Snyder, Tonic, Toadies, Billy Joe Shaver and Drivin n Cryin, among others.

Tuesday evening’s free event at the Homewood Library will get started at 6:30 p.m. For more information visit the Rainy Day Patriots’ website.

Dean Young has made it clear that he will not be voting for his Republican rival, Bradley Byrne, in the upcoming general election to fill Alabama first congressional district seat. Over the weekend, it became apparent that at least some individuals in Young’s Tea Party base feel the same way.

“Boycott Byrne” signs appeared along the causeway in Mobile late last week featuring the Gadsden flag snake and “Don’t Tread on Me” phrase that have become so identifiable with the Tea Party movement. Anonymous robocalls have also gone out across the district encouraging Dean Young supporters to throw their support behind Democrat Burton LeFlore, rather than joining ranks with fellow Republicans who are backing Byrne.

LeFlore told Yellowhammer Sunday evening that he’s aware some Tea Partiers’ are planning to vote for him, but that efforts to woo them over have not originated within his campaign.

“I did hear that some people — either Young supporters or Tea Party Republicans — are actually saying they’re going to vote for me,” LeFlore said. “I haven’t had anything to do with any of that. If it’s happening, it’s not coming out of my campaign.”

LeFlore did say, however, that he welcomes the support of the Tea Partiers, many of whom he believes are “disillusioned with their own party.”

“I welcome all votes. I don’t care who they are, including Tea Partiers. We welcome them all,” LeFlore said. “I want to be a diplomat. I’d be willing to sit down with Dean Young and hear what he has to say. And if some of his supporters are interested in supporting me, come on out to the polls.”

A cursory glance at the Dean Young campaign’s Facebook page revealed further evidence of disgruntled Young supporters refusing to support Byrne amid claims that Democrats swung the election in his favor. Alabama has open primaries, so voters are not required to register with a single party. That allows Democrats in heavily Republican districts to crossover and vote in the Republican primary and vice versa.

In spite of their very public frustration, the remnants of the Young campaign say they have nothing to do with the anti-Byrne efforts.

“Any attempt to link us to that is stupid,” Dean Young’s campaign manager Jon Gray told Yellowhammer.

Gray said that Young has no plans to vote for Democrat in this election or any other. But he did point out just how personal the race got after a Byrne campaign ad alleged that Young had enriched himself by taking advantage of “good Christian people” through a PAC he started.

“If you have damaged or stolen this sign, you are dishonest like Bradley Byrne,” the small text reads at the bottom of the “Boycott Byrne” signs.

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BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – Author, retired neurosurgeon and rumored 2016 presidential candidate Dr. Ben Carson spoke to a crowd of more than 1,400 community leaders and concerned citizens at the Alabama Policy Institute (API) Annual Dinner about the need to move forward from the current win or lose mentality in politics and to begin working for reasonable, conservative solutions to the nation’s problems.

“We have to embrace a dialogue where we can disagree with one another and not consider one another an enemy,” Carson said. “In our efforts to address the issues that face the United States, we cannot be offended, and we cannot be uninformed.”

As failures related to the rollout of ObamaCare continue to mount, Dr. Carson has been at the forefront of the national debate about the future of healthcare in America.

He challenged attendees at the dinner to speak their minds and to weigh in on debates about education, health care and equitable taxation in America.

“In order to put our nation back on track, we have to be willing to talk about the problems that plague our nation,” Carson remarked. “All of you have to lead that very necessary dialogue and propel us toward policies that provide real solutions to the issues our communities face.”

Carson put his advice into practice earlier this year at the National Prayer Breakfast where calmly but directly challenged President Obama’s healthcare and economic policies with the president sitting just a few feet away.

His speech at the prayer breakfast propelled him to national prominence and stoked rumors of a potential presidential run in 2016.

Dr. Carson is currently an emeritus professor of neurosurgery, oncology, plastic surgery, and pediatrics at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine and has directed pediatric neurosurgery at the Johns Hopkins Children’s Center for more than a quarter of a century. He is also the best-selling author of America the Beautiful: Rediscovering What Made This Nation Great.

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In a sign of a more open and transparent city government, new Mobile Mayor Sandy Stimpson removed the door to his office and the curtains from his conference room in his first week on the job. While partly a symbolic gesture, Mayor Stimpson said he plans to usher in a new era of openness and transparency to the City Council, employees and the citizens of Mobile.

“Some of you may think this is just a symbolic measure — and it is in a way — but this is about letting City Councilors know that they are going to have access to the mayor,” Stimpson said. “But not just the City Councilors, but also the city employees and the citizens. You noticed when you came through the double doors behind you that the bullet proof glass doors were open. That’s how they’ll remain. And again, it’s to send a signal that we’re open.”

Stimpson then got philosophical and challenged Mobilians to consider ways to remove the divides between themselves and their fellow citizens.

“I would just challenge the citizens of Mobile to think about the doors that you’ve got in your life and think about taking some of them down. Because if we’re going to be One Mobile, that’s going to be necessary.”

One Mobile was the rallying cry for Stimpson’s unlikely bid to become Mobile’s mayor. Stimpson handily defeated two-term incumbent mayor Sam Jones by a 53-47 percent margin in August.

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Gov. Robert Bentley, R-Tuscaloosa, and the Delta Regional Authority (DRA) announced on Thursday a series of grants aimed at creating jobs and improving economic conditions in Alabama’s Black Belt Region.

“Job creation remains my number-one priority, and these projects will ultimately help more people find good, high-paying jobs,” Gov. Bentley said.  “Alabama’s partnership with the Delta Regional Authority pays dividends by supporting economic growth in areas where it is needed the most.”

The economic development grants announced Thursday are funded by the DRA.  A fifth grant also announced on Thursday will shoot to eliminate a health hazard in the Lowndes County town of Mosses.

Grants announced include:

•  $311,952 to the Wilcox County Industrial Development Authority:  This grant will facilitate the development of Golden Dragon Copper.  Golden Dragon is currently building a copper-tube manufacturing facility in Pine Hill, which will provide 300 to 500 new jobs.  The grant will help the Wilcox County Industrial Development Authority purchase 274 acres of land, of which 140 acres is being used to construct Golden Dragon Copper.  The authority will retain 134 acres for future use.

•  $300,000 to the town of Fort Deposit:  This grant will prepare a local industrial park to meet the needs of future industry.  Specifically, an existing access road to the Fort Deposit Industrial Park can now be repaved.  The grant will also help provide site preparation for a parking lot for future industry.

Economic developers expect two other grants will strengthen the workforce in West Alabama by providing training to advance skills and help ensure qualified workers are available for existing and future industries in the region.  These grants include:

•  $93,500 to the University of West Alabama Foundation:  This will help establish an automotive technician certification program to help workers find employment with suppliers of Mercedes-Benz North America in Vance.

•  $93,500 to the Sumter County Commission:  To provide a worker training program to assist first-time, non-violent offenders in finding employment.  The program will serve Choctaw, Clarke, Dallas, Greene, Hale, Marengo, Pickens, Perry and Sumter Counties.

The fifth grant announced Thursday is aimed at improving quality of life and health conditions:

•  $15,000 to the town of Mosses:  To provide sewer services for an area of the town in which residents are served only by private septic tanks, many of which do not work properly and have been deemed a health hazard.  The project is an extension of the sewer system owned by the adjacent town of Gordonville.

“In a variety of ways, Delta Regional Authority projects are improving lives in Alabama’s Black Belt,” said ADECA Director Jim Byard Jr.  “The scope of the grants announced today range from improving health conditions to improving prospects for people to find good jobs throughout the region.  DRA projects are having a significant, positive impact.”

The Delta Regional Authority is a federal-state partnership created by Congress to address severe and chronic economic stress in parts of eight states.  20 Alabama counties are part of the DRA region.

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If Rick Perry is to resurrect his longshot presidential hopes in 2016, Iowa will be an essential part of the playbook.

And he’s not exactly being shy about the Hawkeye State’s importance to him.

The Texas governor returned to the state Thursday, where over the span of two days, he’ll gab with local reporters, conduct a conference call for the Republican Governors Association, meet with Gov. Terry Branstad, Iowa business leaders as well as members of the National Rifle Association and address over 400 activists at the Polk County Republican dinner.

Thursday night, he delivered his pre-packaged speech of touting red state economic policies over those in blue states and pointing to Texas as a shimmering model for the nation.

But the larger message relevant to his future aspirations were also on full display:  Perry will be back in Iowa often, and any candidacy will be launched early.

“If you’re going to run you need to get in a couple years early,” he told the Des Moines Register’s Jennifer Jacobs in video interview posted on the web.

Perry finished a disappointing fifth in the 2012 caucuses.

A 2016 run could easily pit him against homestate Sen. Ted Cruz, who has already made three visits to Iowa this year.

Perry has made no secret that he disagrees with Cruz’s legislative tactics that led to a government shutdown, telling The Dallas Morning News, “Everybody gets to go out and do their thing.  That’s his thing.  My thing is governing.”

(Jacobs interview is worth your click, especially the lighter latter half in which Perry reveals he drives a 2000 5-series BMW, enjoys Shiner Bock beer and has a phobia of snakes.  ”I hate snakes,” he said.  ”It’s the reason to run with a pistol.”)

During a conference call on the Florida governor’s race Thursday, Perry was careful not to pump up New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie’s re-election victory, offering only glancing praise and redirecting the focus to 2014.

“Congrats to him for maintaining Jersey in the red governor column,” Perry replied.  ”But our focus is on 2014.”

Perry will appear Sunday on ABC’s This Week program, following Christie.

It’s possible they’ll be soon crossing paths in Iowa.

Perry will be back next month, but is already seeking to capture some moments for the future.

An Iowa-based source tells The RUN Perry sought to film video during his Friday visit to Brownells — the world’s largest gun manufacturer.  It was material deemed for a “nonspecific future use.”

Follow Dave’s blog at TheRun2016.com

WASHINGTON – Rep. Martha Roby, R-Montgomery, is encouraging her constituent to tell their ObamaCare horror stories to her and her staff.

In a release put out on Thursday, Roby laid out her view of the law and presented the challenge she and her colleagues face in fighting it.

“House and Senate members from both parties recognize the basic unfairness that has occurred, and legislation to allow Americans to keep their health insurance is gaining traction,” Roby said in a release. “However, even though Republicans and Democrats support fixing this problem, we are fighting an uphill battle because this is President Obama’s signature law. Right now, the White House is still resisting the idea of actually allowing Americans to keep the health insurance they like, even though that is exactly what President Obama promised for years.”

With that in mind, Roby is asking her constituents to send her office their personal problem stories so that she can use them to fight back.

“I’m asking Alabamians who have been impacted by ObamaCare to share their stories. If your rates have increased, if the plan you like got cancelled or altered, if you won’t be able to see your doctor – tell me about it,” she continued in her release. “Tell me your story so I can be your voice in Congress and push for change. The more we highlight specific examples that demonstrate the real-life consequences of ObamaCare, the more pressure we can put on the White House to accept commonsense, bi-partisan reforms.”

Roby’s office created a special online form to make it for constituents to share these stories. But her office also encourages individuals to tell their ObamaCare stories with on Facebook or Twitter, by email, or by phone to the Washington, D.C. office at 202-225-2901.

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Huntsville School Board member David Blair announced earlier this week that he will be challenging State Sen. Paul Sanford, R-Huntsville, in the Republican primary in Alabama Senate District 7. But according to polling data obtained today by Yellowhammer News, Blair is facing an uphill challenge against a popular incumbent.

A poll conducted by McLaughlin and associates, a nationally-known public opinion research firm commissioned by Alabama 2014 PAC, shows Sanford receiving over half the vote, even in a three-way race between him, Blair and former Congressman Parker Griffith.

“Senator Sanford receives 54% of the vote, followed by Parker Griffith who receives 14% and David Blair who receives 8%,” the polling memo states. “One in four (24%) remain undecided. It is important to note that even in a three-way race, Senator Sanford is over 50%.”

Sanford’s job approval rating is also very strong. 57% of Senate District 7 voters approve of Sen. Sanford’s job performance, while only 11% disapprove.

Sanford is no stranger to crowded races. He overcome a packed field to win the seat in a 2009 special election. The seat had previously been held by Parker Griffith, who left it open after being elected to Congress. Over the last several years, Sanford has beaten back numerous big names in north Alabama politics, including Mary Scott Hunter, Sam Givan, Jeff Enfinger and Laura Hall.

Also worth noting in the poll is just how unpopular Parker Griffith is in the district.

“Parker Griffith is widely unpopular,” the memo states bluntly. “Griffith has a two to one net negative opinion rating, with 27% holding a favorable opinion of him and 55% holding an unfavorable opinion of him. There is significant intensity on the negative side, with 43% holding a ‘very’ unfavorable opinion of him.”

The McLaughlin poll surveyed 300 likely Republican primary election voters in Alabama’s 7th State Senate District and has a margin of error of +/- 5.7%.

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Rev. Billy Graham will celebrate his 95th birthday this evening with a party and a nationally broadcasted sermon set to air at 9 p.m. on Fox News Channel. Numerous celebrities and political figures are expected to be among the crowd at Graham’s gala, including Sarah Palin and Donald Trump.

The sermon, titled My Hope America, is a half-hour film that Graham’s son, Franklin, says will be his father’s final address to the nation.

“My Hope has been used in many countries and hundreds of thousands of people have received Christ as savior,” Graham said. “Why not in America?”

Billy Graham is widely considered to be one of the most impactful evangelist in the history of the Christian church, having spoken to over 210 million people in 185 countries. He’s prayed with every U.S. President since Harry Truman and offered invocations at nine presidential inaugurations.

[PICTURES: Billy Graham and The Presidents].

“The first thing I’m going to do when I get to heaven is ask, ‘Why me, Lord? Why did you choose a farm boy from North Carolina to preach to so many people?'” Graham said.

In his pre-recorded sermon tonight, Graham will express his grave concern for the direction of the United States.

“Our country’s in great need of a spiritual awakening,” Graham says in the video. “There have been times that I’ve wept as I’ve gone from city to city and I’ve seen how far people have wandered from God.”

Graham had a short stint in the hospital a couple of weeks ago for tests on his lungs, but his sister, Jean Ford, said recently that Graham’s as healthy as she’s seen him in years. He rarely descends from his mountaintop home in North Carolina. He will, however, make an appearance at tonight’s event, although he won’t be able to shake hands with the attendees.

When asked who she believes could be the “next Billy Graham,” Ford said he’s one-of-a-kind.

“That is my brother. He was God’s person for a special time in our history,” Ford said.

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Alabama Attorney General Luther Strange and nine other state attorneys general yesterday sent a letter to HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius asking her and the Obama Administration to support legislation to mitigate what Strange’s office referred to as “systemic implementation problems” with ObamaCare.

The five-page letter from Strange and the other AG’s focused on three main issues with the president’s healthcare law: delays, technological difficulties, and the security of consumers’ private information.

“Attorneys General work day in and day out to protect consumers, and so far, the implementation of ObamaCare has been a disaster for people all across the country,” Attorney General Strange said. “I hope the Obama administration and members of Congress will work together on legislation to fix the mounting problems with the law that the failed rollout has highlighted.”

The letter touched on several provisions of the controversial law that have already been delayed, including the cap on consumers’ out-of-pocket expenses, the small business health insurance exchange, and the mandate requiring large employers to provide health insurance. The Obama administration also postponed the date by which individuals have to buy insurance or face a penalty.

The second set of concerns the AGs mentioned in their letter focused on the problems with the month-old Healthcare.gov website.

Shortly after the site’s launch, reports revealed that only six people registered the first day it was operational. The site has since then been plagued by severe technical issues and long outages. Individuals trying to get insurance through the site have also reported problems like duplicate enrollments, spouses reported as children, and missing data fields.

On top of all that, the attorneys general said their biggest worry is still the privacy and security of consumers’ information. The letter highlighted the abundance of cyber security red flags that experts have pointed out, including the website’s inability to block third-party access to “cookies” containing personal information.

“We have many serious concerns about the implementation of the ACA so far. We hope Congress and the Administration will take immediate steps to mitigate these problems,” Strange said.

In addition to Alabama, the letter was signed by the Attorneys General of West Virginia, Florida, Georgia, Kansas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Texas and Utah.

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Former state representative Steve Flowers is considering running for the Alabama Public Service Commission seat currently held by Commissioner Terry Dunn, according to a conversation Flowers had with Yellowhammer this morning.

Flowers was elected to the Alabama House of Representatives in 1982 and served four terms before deciding to not seek re-election in 1998. He now pens an op-ed that appears in local newspapers around the state, a platform he hopes will help his candidacy if he decides to run.

“A lot of people around the state read my column,” Flowers told Yellowhammer. “It’s in counties all over the state and I’m currently on a speaking tour in north Alabama.”

Flowers also teaches a class on southern politics at Troy University and hosts a 30-minute weekly television show that airs in south Alabama as well as a weekly radio show on Alabama Public Radio.

Although he’s been out of elected office for well over a decade, a cursory look at his campaign account shows he has roughly $60,000 cash on hand.

“I’m getting a lot of encouragement to run, but I haven’t made final decision,” Flowers said in conclusion. “You’ll be the first to know when I do.”

Follow Cliff on Twitter @Cliff_Sims