After Democratic gubernatorial nominee and Tuscaloosa Mayor Walt Maddox on Thursday held a press conference to spread unsubstantiated allegations about Governor Kay Ivey’s health and accuse her of a coverup 19 days before Election Day, the governor’s campaign responded by giving the Democrat a new moniker – “Lying Liberal Walt Maddox.”
“Apparently Walt Maddox isn’t just a liberal. He’s a lying liberal,” Ivey’s campaign said in a statement. “The people of Alabama will see this for what it is – a desperate false attack from a shameless politician who will say or do anything to get elected.”
Ivey has repeatedly denied the allegations about her health since last year, and her doctor even refuted them this week, providing a detailed letter to back up the conclusion that Ivey is in good health.
Besides the allegations regarding the governor’s health, the Maddox camp is alleging that then-Lieutenant Governor Ivey had a member of her protective detail demoted and transferred over her 2015 hospitalization in Colorado.
Ivey’s campaign said, “As it relates to the officer, that’s another Maddox whopper. News outlets reported last year that the officer actually received a promotion and raise in late 2015.”
Polling has shown Maddox losing by 20 – 25 points, and now Planned Parenthood and other out-of-state liberal pro-abortion groups have funneled in approximately $1 million to Alabama in an effort to drive Democratic turnout up and defeat a pro-life constitutional amendment that Maddox also opposes. Additionally, billionaire funder of liberal causes George Soros this week put $200,000 into a group of Tuscaloosa PACs that is Maddox’s biggest contributor, accounting for approximately 30 percent of his total funds raised over the course of the campaign.
“Walt Maddox is pushing these last second lies because his half baked liberal ideas have him losing in a landslide. With less than three weeks to go, not even $200,000 from George Soros can save him,” Ivey’s campaign commented.
In a separate press release later on Thursday, the Ivey campaign pointed to another of Maddox’s “lies,” this time saying his own words even prove his deceit.
“It appears that Walt Maddox has gotten tangled up in his own twisted web of lies,” the statement began.
The campaign then detailed a three-day timeline that seemingly reveals a glaring contradiction.
“It all started on Tuesday when Spencer Collier told Al.com ‘he has not been contacted by the campaign of Tuscaloosa Mayor Walt Maddox,’” Ivey’s campaign outlined. “On Wednesday, Maddox followed up with a statement to the AP that he was ‘shocked to learn’ about these allegations.”
The governor’s campaign continued, “But today, Walt Maddox accidentally admitted that both he and Collier lied. When asked by Al.com during a press conference today whether he had contact with Collier, Walt Maddox provided a detailed account of a meeting he held with Spencer Collier several weeks back. Maddox admitted, ‘Spencer contacted me a few weeks ago and wanted to meet… He told me what he was going to do.’”
As reported by John Sharp, Maddox campaign spokesman Chip Hill confirmed Thursday afternoon that Collier and Maddox had not initially told the truth about having contact before the allegations were made on Tuesday.
Hill said Maddox and Collier have known each other for 25 years, when they both played football at UAB.
“They talk often,” Hill admitted. “Spencer contacted Walt and told him what he wanted to say.”
This revelation has led many observers to question why Collier waited until three weeks before the election to come forward, if the allegations are not politically motivated as he claimed.
“Another day. Another lie. Another broken promise from Walt Maddox,” Ivey’s campaign concluded.
Sean Ross is a staff writer for Yellowhammer News. You can follow him on Twitter @sean_yhn
