7 Things: ALGOP implores Alabama politicians to act on vaccine mandates, Alabama entities see vaccine deadlines, Sewell says filibuster is racist and more …

7. Obama is supporting the voter suppression narrative

President Barack Obama has been campaigning for Virginia Democratic gubernatorial candidate Terry McAuliffe and recently said that Republicans are trying to keep people from voting while arguing Democrats are trying to help people vote.
Obama said Republicans are “trying to systematically prevent ordinary citizens from making their voices heard,” and he told supporters to question “why is it Republicans don’t want you to vote.” Voter suppression has become a more popular narrative from the Democratic Party since the beginning of the 2020 election cycle.

6. National School Boards Association apologizing for likening some parents to “domestic terrorists”

In a letter to President Joe Biden and his administration, the National School Boards Association has apologized for the way that they previously spoke about parents who engaged in heated arguments at school board meetings and likening them to “domestic terrorists.”
In their letter to Biden, they acknowledge the attention that their initial message received and said that “there was no justification for some of the language included in the letter.” Attorney General Merrick Garland had announced that parents’ conduct at school board meetings could be investigated by the FBI, but he recently said, “Justice Department supports and defends the First Amendment right of parents to complain as vociferously as they wish about the education of their children, about the curriculum taught in the schools.”

5. Merrill is defending the state against Mike Lindell

MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell has, again, alleged that there were issues with the 2020 presidential election in Alabama, saying that there were issues with how the votes were tallied and the machines could’ve been tampered with.
Secretary of State John Merrill defended the state’s voting practices, saying, “We know that all of the equipment that we used is top-notch equipment.” He went on to say, “We know it cannot be corrupted. We know that no issues have been reported, and none exist.”

4. Sewell: The filibuster is racist

U.S. Representative Terri Sewell (D-Birmingham) recently said during an interview on MSNBC that the filibuster is “archaic,” adding that with its history back to the 1960s, it’s meant to “keep Black folks down.” This is historically ignorant, according to History.com, which says, “The first Senate filibuster occurred in 1837 when a group of Whig senators filibustered to prevent allies of the Democratic President Andrew Jackson from expunging a resolution of censure against him.”
Sewell explained that the purpose of the filibuster was to “block progressive legislation that dealt with anti-discriminatory laws.” She added, “And so, this very fact that we are now upholding a procedural, archaic rule that was meant to keep Black folks down means that we have to do our part, and that’s really the senators.”

3. TVA employees could resign and retire

Due to President Joe Biden’s vaccine mandate, many Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) employees plan to resign or retire to avoid getting the coronavirus vaccine. This could cause issues for operations at nuclear plants run by the TVA, which have already been short-staffed.
U.S. Representative Scott DesJarlais (R-TN) sent a letter to Biden highlighting the issues that losing these employees could cause. DesJarlais said that where the nuclear plants are concerned, “the impact of operations being run short-staffed or with staff that is not properly trained would be disastrous.” He added, “If even a small percentage of the current employees at TVA nuclear plants resigned or retired, the plant operations would be unable to function.”

2. Auburn and Alabama have started their vaccine requirements for employees

Auburn University and the University of Alabama system have notified all employees that they’re required to get the coronavirus vaccine due to the federal mandate. The schools said they “must comply with the executive order and accompanying guidance unless that executive order is withdrawn or modified.”
The deadline for employees to be vaccinated is December 8. The notification stated, “Failure to comply will place our universities in jeopardy of losing hundreds of millions of dollars received through federal contracts and awards, as well as thousands of jobs funded by those dollars,” as well as outlined how this could impact their education and research abilities.

1. Wahl wants to block the vaccine mandate now

Alabama Republican Party chairman John Wahl has discussed the importance of bringing legislation up to block the federal vaccine mandate in the state and advocated for this to be taken up in the redistricting special session.
Wahl said that the terms of the mandate are “the very definition of discrimination,” and he added that waiting “until January, you lose your best opportunity to be useful in a federal court case.” The special session will start on October 28. His comment on protecting the “freedoms of our businesses” might lead some to believe Wahl is still in favor of businesses being able to have their own mandate.