Bonner on leaving House, new job Former Rep. Jo Bonner, R-Mobile, gave a wide-ranging interview to Mobile Fox-affiliate WALA’s Bob Grip, during which he discussed background on his decision to leave Congress. Bonner revealed that even without the offer to be the University of Alabama system vice chancellor of economic development and government relations, he […]

Heritage Action for America is hosting a town hall event in Birmingham featuring former U.S. Senator and current Heritage Foundation president Jim DeMint. Here’s what Heritage Action wants you to know: Members of Congress are leaving Washington in August to head home—but few of them are hosting town hall events to hear what their constituents […]

A cadre of leading national liberal groups are set to unveil Iowa polling Tuesday to pressure Democratic candidates for president — namely Hillary Clinton — to sign on to a plan to expand Social Security benefits. The Public Policy Polling — commissioned by Democracy For America, Progressive Change Campaign Committee, Social Security Works and Credo […]

It appears that popular opinion within the Republican Party has reached a tipping point against Chris Christie in his spat with Rand Paul. Peggy Noonan weighs in strongly against the New Jersey governor: So Christie is wrong that concerns and reservations about surveillance are the province of intellectuals and theorists—they’re not. He’s wrong that their concerns are merely abstract—they’re concrete. […]

The Cap Times in Madison produces a handy interactive map showing how Gov. Scott Walker’s donor base has shifted since he limited collective bargaining rights. The key stat: Before February 2011, 91 percent of Walker’s donations came from within Wisconsin; since then, that number has dropped to 38 percent. The map provides state by state stats […]

Yellowhammer and the Baldwin County Young Republicans teamed up last night to host a forum for congressional candidates in Alabama’s First District. Seven candidates participated: Bradley Byrne (R) Daniel Dyas (R) Chad Fincher (R) James Hall (I) Quin Hillyer (R) Jessica James (R) Dean Young (R) Here are nine takeaways from last night’s event, broken […]

Gov. Robert Bentley ceremonially signed three bills into law Monday in the Old House Chambers of the State Capitol to decrease the abuse of prescription drugs in Alabama. The prescription drug monitoring bill revises regulation language for the Board of Medical Examiners allowing them to better police the use of a monitoring program that will […]

Dishonest, ambitious and intelligent. Those are the words voters most often conjured up when asked to describe Hillary Clinton, according to a Monmouth University poll released Monday. The national survey, which found Clinton defeating each of the Republicans pitted against her, assembled word clouds for each candidate, as a result of the first word or phrase that came […]

Gov. Robert Bentley issued a formal proclamation over the weekend calling for a special election in Alabama’s First Congressional District. In the proclamation, Bentley laid out an election timeline, which was approved by U.S. District Judge Myron Thompson of the Middle District of Alabama. The special election primary will be held Tuesday, September 24, 2013. If a special election […]

Conservative and moderate Republicans may disagree on a game plan for their Party moving forward, but they agree on one thing: the Grand Ol’ Party is screwed up. According to a new Pew Research poll, 67% of Republicans believe their Party needs to address “major issues.” The rift inside the Party is evident in the […]

You can’t go wrong with a table of old guys. That’s been a rule of thumb of mine as a reporter when I’m entering a political venue and seeking a healthy amount of color for a story about a candidate or issue du jour. Spot a table of retired gray gentlemen conversing quietly amongst themselves […]

Most are in Milwaukee for the National Governors Association summer meeting. Others were courting the base at the RedState conference in New Orleans. One even quietly slipped into an early primary state. Here’s your quick and easy guide to the 5 most important ways 2016 governors made news this weekend, in descending order. 5. Louisiana’s Bobby Jindal hosted […]

GOOSE CREEK, S.C. — Nancy Mace — the first woman to graduate from The Citadel — became the second Republican primary challenger to South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham Saturday. In her 14-minute announcement speech here, she never mentioned Graham directly, but she notably name-dropped two potential 2016ers whose campaigns she seeks to emulate: Rand Paul […]

Pro-Gun New Hampshire, an organization for Granite State Second Amendment champions, is warning New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie against signing four gun control measures into law. “There are four horrific gun bills sitting on Chris Christie’s desk right now.  What he does with them will tell Granite Staters everything they need to know about who Chris Christie […]

WASHINGTON – Sen. Richard Shelby, R-Tuscaloosa, took to the Senate floor on Thursday to attack President Barack Obama’s 2010 health care reform law, better known as ObamaCare. Shelby disputed Obama’s argument that the law has failed to succeed due to Republican attacks. “ObamaCare is not a failure because so many Americans reject it,” Shelby said. […]

WASHINGTON — On Thursday, Rep. Jo Bonner, R-Mobile, gave what would be his last speech on the floor of the U.S. House as a sitting member of Congress. Bonner, whose last day is today, will be vacating his seat to take a job with the University of Alabama system as vice chancellor. He began by […]

It’s a big weekend for Bobby Jindal, but can he seize the moment? The Louisiana governor is the featured evening speaker Friday at the Redstate gathering in New Orleans and then sets off to Iowa on Saturday for a fundraiser on behalf of Gov. Terry Branstad. For almost any potential top-tier 2016er, this back-to-back premiere event scheduling would attract […]

Republican State Representative Randy Davis, R-Daphne, says he will not run for the congressional seat left vacant by U.S. Republican Jo Bonner of Mobile. Davis announced that he will seek re-election for his current seat in the Alabama Legislature representing Baldwin and Mobile counties. Rep. Davis was elected to the Alabama Legislature in 2002 and […]

“According to federal agency estimates, Obamacare will add paperwork burdens totaling nearly 190 million hours or more every year. And, Mr. President, to put that in perspective, Mount Rushmore, which took 14 years to build, could be constructed 1,547 times with the paperwork Obamacare requires in one year.” No further comment necessary.

Sources close to Bentley campaign say he will report over $1 mill raised in June & July, over $1 mill cash on hand – @Cliff_Sims #alpolitics — Yellowhammer (@YHPolitics) August 1, 2013 Governor Bentley’s re-election campaign continues its strong fundraising effort, now showing over $1 million cash on hand in spite of not yet having […]

The prevailing wisdom in the First Congressional District is that it’s going to be an all-GOP race with no Democrats willing to offer themselves up as a lamb going to the slaughter in the Republican-leaning district. But that might not actually be the case. Although no Democrats have publicly announced their candidacy with a press […]

Iran continues to live up to its anti-Christian reputation, recently arresting 8 Christians and sentencing them to prison. The believers plan on appealing, but as it stands, their convictions of “action against national security” and “propaganda against the system” came with sentences ranging from 1 to 6 years, and bail amounts ranging from $80,000 to $200,000. These […]

Today’s a day Barbara Buono could more plausibly hit Chris Christie for drifting away from the concerns of New Jerseyans. The New Jersey governor is in Las Vegas, being hosted at a fundraiser by Sheldon and Miriam Adelson. The Las Vegas Sun cues up Christie’s disparaging remarks about Sin City for good measure: The event is technically for Christie’s […]

When Jonathan Karl asked Elizabeth Warren last fall if she was interested in running for president, she said ‘no’ a full five times. But that was in the middle of the highest-profile U.S. Senate campaign in the country and before Democrats fully realized how barren their 2016 bench is sans Hillary Clinton and prior to Warren’s rabble-rousing […]