7. Birmingham mayor tests positive
- Just before the new year, Birmingham Mayor Randall Woodfin tested positive for the coronavirus. He reported that he’s experiencing mild symptoms.
- Woodfin said after announcing he had the virus, “Remember everyone – COVID is real. Please be safe and protect yourselves and your loved ones this holiday weekend.”
6. Probably just more right-wing violence
- Due to the $2,000 stimulus checks failing, vandals went to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s (D-CA) and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell’s (R-KY) houses and wrote messages in spray paint such as “WHERES MY MONEY” and “MITCH KILLS THE POOR.”
- At Pelosi’s house, someone left a pig head on her driveway with fake blood, and the messages “$2K,” “We want everything,” and “Cancel rent!” across the garage door. McConnell said they aren’t intimidated, adding, “Vandalism and the politics of fear have no place in our society,” and said this incident was a “radical tantrum.”
5. Alabama’s newest senator and congressmen sworn in
- U.S. Senator Tommy Tuberville (R-AL), U.S. Representative Jerry Carl (R-Mobile) and U.S. Representative Barry Moore (R-Enterprise) were all sworn in during ceremonies in Washington, D.C.
- Tuberville said, “The people of Alabama sent a football coach to Washington because they wanted a fighter who would uphold and protect the Constitution. They can rest assured that I’m going to wake up every day with one mission – to speak for the people of Alabama.”
4. Gohmert’s lawsuit against Pence fails, and he embarrasses himself
- U.S. Representative Louie Gohmert (R-TX) previously brought up a lawsuit that would force Vice President Mike Pence to change the results of the election, but a federal judge blocked the lawsuit. Now, Gohmert is insisting that he isn’t advocating for violence, but he brought it up.
- In an appearance on Newsmax, Gohmert said, “Basically, in effect, the ruling would be that you’ve got to go to the streets and be as violent as Antifa and BLM” if a case like this isn’t taken up by the courts.
3. Vaccine pace is picking up
- Following the lead of President-elect Joe Biden, the American media and their Democrats spent their holiday breaks complaining about the number of vaccines being doled out across the country by different states. The complaints were all directed at President Donald Trump by people who insisted that a vaccine would not even be available right now. Alabama’s pace is accelerating as well.
- Dr. Anthony Fauci, a member of Trump’s coronavirus task force, says that this navel-gazing is not helpful or accurate. He advised, “It’s just trying to get a massive vaccine program started and getting off on the right foot. The important thing is to see what’s happening in the next week, to week and a half.”
2. Trump put pressure on officials in Georgia
- In a recording of phone conversations between President Donald Trump and Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, which was published by The Washington Post, Trump pushed for Georgia “to find 11,780 votes, which is one more than we have. Because we won the state.”
- During the call, Trump also repeated several times viewpoints about fraud and the election being stolen. He advocated that the officials in Georgia should want a fair and secured election, to which Raffensperger insisted they’ve had.
1. Senators joining plan to object Electoral College votes
- U.S. Senator Josh Hawley (R-MO) was the first senator to say that he would be joining the objection of the Electoral College votes, which was initially brought forward by U.S. Representative Mo Brooks (R-Huntsville). Now, many other senators have also voiced support for this objection.
- U.S. Senators Tommy Tuberville (R-AL), Ted Cruz (R-TX), Ron Johnson (R-WI), James Lankford (R-OK), Steve Daines (R-MT) John Kennedy (R-LA), Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), Mike Braun (R-IN), Roger Marshall (R-KS), Boll Hagerty (R-TN) and Cynthia Lummis (R-WY) have also said they will object to certifying the vote on January 6.
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