Rand Paul remains at the top of The CHASE, but there’s a new number two heading into the fall. His strong performance in the first-in-the-nation primary state of New Hampshire combined with robust national polling elevates New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie to #2 on The CHASE — Yellowhammer’s rolling monthly rankings of the most likely 2016 presidential nominee […]

A press release didn’t go out, but team Bentley definitely made a statement with the release of the Administration’s brand new website late last week. Gone is the lumbering old website with little functionality, replaced by a slick platform with tons of multimedia capabilities and easy access to information. The launch of the governor’s new site […]

It would be hasty to presume that the pending congressional vote on military action in Syria will be a pivotal issue in the Republican presidential primary two years from now. But the philosophical argument that New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul engaged in this summer has now presented itself in a real world […]

WASHINGTON – In a statement released on Labor Day from his office, Sen. Jeff Sessions, R-Mobile, lobbied against the current immigration reform proposal by pointing out the current state of the U.S. job market based on data provided by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. “As the nation recognizes Labor Day, too many Americans remain without […]

Rep. Paul DeMarco, R-Homewood, on Monday announced he has pre-filed two bills aimed at reforming Alabama’s property management inventory system. One bill in the package will require the State Auditor to maintain a searchable public database listing all personal property items owned by the state and valued at $500 or more. The second bill mandates […]

A Labor Day weekend rally of conservatives in Florida vividly demonstrated the diverging political positions of two Republicans with 2016 on their minds. Whereas Marco Rubio bore the brunt of jeers at the American For Prosperity event, Ted Cruz was sent off the stage with cheers to run for president. The Tampa Bay Times captures the ambiance: “Run, […]

Aaahh, yes. The first Monday of September. One last victory lap to close out summer. Soak it in, folks. Congress unanimously voted to make Labor Day a national holiday in 1894 after several workers were killed by members of the military and the U.S. marshals during a railroad strike. President Grover Cleveland signed the bill […]

In the latest installment of the Alabama Policy Institute’s (API) By The Numbers series, the conservative think tank compares Detroit, filer of the largest government bankruptcy in American history, to Birmingham, county seat of Jefferson County, which comes in at number two on that list. What did API find? The Magic City and the Motor […]

In an unexpected move, Alabama Republican Party political director John Kay has resigned effective Sept. 13. Multiple members of the ALGOP steering committee told Yellowhammer that Kay submitted his resignation to the Party’s chief of staff just before the Labor Day weekend. Kay has only been with the Party since March of this year. His […]

The chairman of the Iowa Republican Party has sent an extraordinary letter to President Obama, outlining his firm opposition to a U.S. bombing strike on Syria. The letter, written by chairman A.J. Spiker, encapsulates how far the GOP’s foreign policy view has shifted since it last held the White House. Spiker by no means represents […]

The heckling of Marco Rubio over immigration was expected. More surprising was his critique of an education policy backed by his mentor and potential 2016 rival, Jeb Bush. Rubio’s remarks came during his address to the Americans For Prosperity conference in Orlando: Rubio also got loud applause when he criticized the Common Core education standards, which have […]

Birmingham’s rich history and vibrant cultural scene have earned the city a spot on Fodor’s “top 14 places to go this fall” list alongside tourist hotspots like Chicago, Miami, Montreal, and Paris. Fodor is one of the country’s top travel sites, “providing the insights and tools you need to experience the trips you want.” “Visit the city […]

Anti-tax leader Grover Norquist is signaling he’d rather see Wisconsin Rep. Paul Ryan remain in the House than attempt a run for president in 2016, according to The Hill. “My argument against Paul Ryan as a candidate is wholly based on the fact that we need him exactly where he is, holding the House of Representatives […]

Americans honored the 50th anniversary of Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I have a dream” speech this week, including tens of thousands who gathered at the Lincoln Memorial to commemorate 1963’s “March on Washington.” But one New York chaplain’s Facebook commemoration of Dr. King’s legacy caught some extra attention online. Post by Tommy Davis. Yellowhammer asked […]

WASHINGTON – As members of Congress all along the Gulf Coast battle with the Obama administration over its efforts to micromanage red snapper season, the beleaguered fishing industry could be getting a big boost from Congress, spearheaded by Sen. Richard Shelby, R-Tuscaloosa. In a letter released on Thursday, the Northeast Seafood Coalition applauded Shelby and Sen. Barbara A. […]

One of the pledges Republican congressional hopeful Quin Hillyer made early on was that he would not go negative. And although Hillyer failed to bring any of the other candidates onboard with him in that pledge, his campaign has worked hard to make most of it. In one of the quirkier of the four spots […]

Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, who in April called for the ouster of Syria’s leader, has now stopped short of calling for military action, instead choosing to blame President Obama for creating “no good options.” The key graph from Rubio’s statement: “Because the President failed to act in the right way at the right time, we are […]

MONTGOMERY – ForestPAC, the Political Action Committee of the Alabama Forestry Association (AFA), has endorsed State Representative Chad Fincher, R-Semmes, in the race to succeed Jo Bonner as U.S. Representative for the 1st Congressional District. Only days ago it seemed as if all the major state organizations were going to remain neutral in the AL-01 […]

Republican Candidate for Alabama’s First Congressional District Bradley Byrne released his first television advertisement today, titled “Courage.” “The ad details Bradley Byrne’s experience, courage and leadership in public service specifically as Chancellor of the two-year college system,” said campaign manager Alex Schriver. “During his tenure as Chancellor, Bradley cleaned up widespread corruption and cronyism in […]

In celebration of the Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday, Yellowhammer compiled a list of the top 7 quotes from Dr. King’s historic “I Have a Dream” speech. 7. 6. 5. 4. 3. 2. 1. Follow Cliff on Twitter @Cliff_Sims

Earlier this year I sat with Sandy Stimpson at an Alabama Policy Institute board members retreat. By this point, he had already dove headlong into a campaign to unseat two-term Mobile Mayor Sam Jones, and to be frank, a lot of people thoughts he was crazy. Mobile is a city of just under 200,000 people. […]

StudentsFirst Founder Michelle Rhee, former Washington, D.C. Teachers Union President George Parker, and Steve Perry, Founder and Principal of Capital Preparatory Magnet School, will be hosting a town hall meeting in Birmingham next month. The meeting will be held at the WorkPlay Theatre in Birmingham on September 12th. Organizers say the assembly will be an […]

The foreign policy fissure in the Republican Party is being hoisted back into the spotlight as the United States lays the groundwork for military strikes in Syria. The two Republican 2016ers who have issued the strongest statements against military action thus far are Sen. Ted Cruz and Rick Santorum. “The United States Armed Forces don’t […]

Sen. Bill Holtzclaw, R-Madison, Wednesday asked Alabama Superintendent Tommy Bice to exercise his discretion and remove a controversial book from the State Common Core Standards approved reading list. Sen. Holtzclaw wrote: It has been brought to my attention that the State Common Core Standards approved reading list includes a book entitled “The Bluest Eye.” I […]