7 Things: New poll in Alabama’s U.S. Senate race, Ukraine seems closer to resolution with Russia every day and more …

7. Senators want us out of the Iran nuclear deal

• There have now been 49 Republican U.S. Senators pledge support for ending and reversing agreements made for the Tehran nuclear program, with U.S. Senator Rand Paul (R-Ky.) saying that any “major agreement that does not have strong bipartisan support in Congress will not survive.”
• In their joint letter, the 49 Republicans wrote, “By every indication, the Biden administration appears to have given away the store.” They also appear “to have agreed to lift sanctions that were not even placed on Iran for its nuclear activities in the first place, but instead because of its ongoing support for terrorism and its gross abuse of human rights.”

6. Rand Paul pushing to eliminate Fauci’s position

• It’s no secret that U.S. Senator Rand Paul (R-Ky.) and Dr. Anthony Fauci have shared tense exchanges in committee hearings, and now Paul is recommending eliminating the position of director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.
• Paul said of the coronavirus pandemic, “We’ve learned a lot…but one lesson, in particular, is that no one person should be deemed dictator-in-chief. No one person should have unilateral authority to make decisions for millions of Americans.” Under Paul’s proposal, the one position would be dissolved and there would be three positions to increase transparency and accountability.

5. Unemployment is holding steady

• Alabama’s unemployment rate has remained at 3.1%, staying unchanged for several months, according to the Alabama Department of Labor (ADOL), but there were a large number of jobs created in 2021.
• In 2021, Alabama saw the creation of 33,000 new jobs. ADOL secretary Fitzgerald Washington said, “Alabama’s healthy economic environment is carrying on, with our unemployment rate holding steady yet again for a fourth consecutive month…Alabama is maintaining positive employment trends.”

4. Anti-CRT bill will get another shot in the Alabama State House

• Last week, State House Committee on State Government was unable to get the HB 312 through committee to ban “Divisive Concepts” from Alabama schools. Today, they will take it up again, and it should pass the committee and House easily because it has 38 different co-sponsors.
• Even though there was some heartburn about this bill last week, it still holds broad support. The Alabama State Senate has already passed a similar bill, and if given a vote on the floor of the State House, the bill would surely pass. Georgia has already passed a very similar bill, as have many other states.

3. Parents should have more say in education

• State Senator Arthur Orr (R-Decatur) has voiced support for Alabama adopting policies similar to what the Florida Legislature is currently considering, which has been deemed the “Don’t Say Gay Bill” since it restricts teaching some types of sexual education before third grade.
• Orr said, “This is something that I think we need to establish as policy in this state.” He went on to add that a way to include this type of policy could be by amending “the CRT legislation that’s floating around the statehouse that I currently hope we’re able to pass.”

2. Ukraine and Russia could be close to a peace deal

• As the war in Ukraine rages on with Russia making it clear that it has no problem with heavy losses on their side and decimation of civilians on Ukraine’s side, a peace deal could be emerging that gives Russia what it apparently wanted from day 1.
• Reports have indicated that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is prepared to  “consider” giving Crimea to Russia, recognizing two independent republics and forgoing any hope of joining NATO or the EU. How much longer it takes to get to this inevitable deal is unclear, but Zelensky has said he wants to meet directly with Russian President Vladimir Putin, and pressure to surrender is building.

1. New U.S. Senate poll shows Durant in the lead

• U.S. Representative Mo Brooks (R-Huntsville) has regularly polled in first place in Alabama’s U.S. Senate race, but new data released by ForestPAC and conducted by McLaughlin & Associates shows candidate Mike Durant in the lead with 33.8%.
• The poll was taken from March 10-13 and only included 500 primary voters, but after Durant, there was candidate Katie Britt with 32.0%, Brooks with 17.6% and 16.6% still undecided. A portion of the poll also showed that 44.8% view Brooks unfavorably, compared to 21.2% for Britt and 13.6% for Durant. According to the poll, “Only 49.4% of participants knew Trump had endorsed Brooks.”