7 Things: Doug Jones labeled racist, the Alabama Democratic Party is a mess, Martha Roby may be tired of defending Trump and more …

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September 24, 2019

7. Grant money going to help immigrant crime victims

The governor’s office announced that $700,000 from the federal government will be granted to the non-profit group Hispanic Interests Coalition of Alabama to help immigrants that have been victims of crimes.
According to advocates, immigrants tend to be less likely to report crimes, whether due to status or just being in contact with law enforcement, but Governor Kay Ivey has said that no matter someone’s background, they should still receive assistance if they’re crime victims.

6. Boycotts don’t work

Just about every time a state or company does something another state or group of people doesn’t like, there’s suddenly a flood of people calling to boycott that company or state, but boycotting a company or state doesn’t work because most people won’t actually follow through.
In 2012, there was a movement to boycott Chick-fil-A due to the CEO’s anti-gay marriage position, but by the end of 2012, Chick-fil-A’s profits were up to $4.6 billion from $4.1 billion in 2011, and by the end of 2018, their sales had increased to $10.46 billion, despite there being occasional calls for boycotts since the 2012 beginning.

5. “Rebuild Alabama Act” supporters tout road construction and low gas prices

In early 2019, a controversial gas tax was passed to speed up road construction in the state; now counties are on a public relations blitz to show the effects of the plan while promoting accountability and transparency by making all 67 county commissions’ road and bridge construction plans available for public inspection.
As for gas prices, even with the six-cent fuel tax increase Alabama still has the third-lowest average fuel price with only Mississippi and Louisiana lower. If you compare them to neighboring states, Alabama is over 20 cents cheaper than Georgia, 15 cents cheaper than Florida and five cents cheaper than Tennessee.

4. Democrats are threatening subpoenas

Democrats are trying to get everything together and gather the facts on President Donald Trump’s July phone call with Ukraine’s president, but most don’t care, Democrats are demanding the whistleblower’s complaint, and are now threatening to subpoena the information.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) has already been asked by Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) to hold hearings and issue subpoenas, but McConnell said, “It is regrettable that House Intelligence Committee Chairman [Adam] Schiff (D-CA) and Sen. Schumer have chosen to politicize the issue.”

3. Roby is probably just tired of defending Trump

Spokesperson Emily Taylor stated U.S. Representative Martha Roby (R-Montgomery) has decided not to run for reelection because she’s “chosen to close this chapter.” One of Roby’s aides told the Washington Post that Roby was actually leaving the House because she was tired of acting like she supports Trump.
It would be easy to draw the conclusion that part of her decision is because she doesn’t want to fight with a Republican opponent about how much she loves Trump, which seems to be what every other Republican primary candidate is running their campaign on.

2. Nancy Worley doesn’t care about the Alabama Democratic Party

Alabama Democratic Party chairwoman Nancy Worley appeared on Alabama Public Television’s “Capitol Journal” where she let everyone know that she doesn’t think her convention credentials matter and that she won’t be stepping down as chairwoman.
Worley also took aim at the Democratic National Committee and U.S. Senator Doug Jones (D-AL) by emphasizing that he is one of the “people that just can’t accept that blacks vote in such high numbers for the Democratic Party, and as a result of that they get more representation.”

1. Democrats love calling people racist — Even one of their own

As if the current state of the Alabama Democratic Party wasn’t embarrassing enough, now party vice-chair Randy Kelley is accusing Alabama’s junior Senator Doug Jones (D-AL) of being racist, again, in a baseless charge that is usually reserved for Republicans
Kelley, an African-American, is right in the middle of the Civil War in the party and was one of the candidates opposed by the Jones-led faction’s attempted takeover of the party last August. When Kelley’s faction won, Jones took his fight to the Democratic National Committee to effectively seek to decertify the Alabama Democratic Party.