6. As Canada legalizes marijuana, a new report tells how much marijuana costs Alabama.

— The Southern Poverty Law Center is claiming the enforcement of pot laws cost the state $22 million dollars a year, clogs up forensic labs, and as a kicker, they also claim that drug laws are racist.

— Madison County District Attorney dismisses the claims of racism and says law enforcement is just doing their jobs, “I can tell you law enforcement officials on the street do not care what color you are, they do not care whether you’re a man or a woman, if you’re breaking the law, they’re going to address it.”

5. Nick Saban endorses an old friend in West Virginia; Alabama liberals want him to endorse Walt Maddox here.

— Sen. Joe Manchin’s campaign in a red state looked to Saban, a native son and life-long friend, for a boost to swing voters in the state President Donald Trump won big.

— Every election year people wonder if Nick Saban will wade into Alabama politic; he never does even though some people fake it.

4. A Speaker Nancy Pelosi would make you pay if you disagree with her; an Alabama Democrat won’t support her if she is elected.

— Former Speaker Pelosi knows there is a good chance she will get her hand on the gavel again, and if she does there may be some pain. Pelosi said, “If there’s some collateral damage for some others who do not share our view, well, so be it, but it shouldn’t be our original purpose.”

— In what is becoming a bit of a ploy for Democrats looking to distance themselves from the national Democratic Party, Mallory Hagan who is running for Congress in Alabama Congressman Mike Rogers 3rd District, has declared she isn’t voting for Pelosi. Hagan said, “Sixteen years is too long for Mike Rogers and too long for Nancy Pelosi.”

3. George Soros involvement in Alabama elections is not as complicated as some are pretending.

— After a report that George Soros donated $200,000 to Tuscaloosa PACs this week, PACs that have given Mayor Walt Maddox $600k+ overall this cycle, people are equivocating, saying the PACs donated to Ivey in the past.

— The fact is PAC funding is a mess, the pass-through process is a joke, but the idea that Soros is giving Ivey money is comical deflection that no one with any scruples would try to make and Ivey’s response is perfect: “Bottom line is [if] George Soros puts $200 [thousand] in Alabama elections, for sure it’s not for conservatives like I am.”

2. Phase two of “The Governor is sick” rollout is underway, Maddox allies allege a cover-up, and he then demands it be explained.

— Phase one of this sad charade included revisiting a previous smear that Governor Kay Ivey is secretly-ill, but adding a twist of a grudge-holding former state employee who is also Maddox’s friend.

1. There was a shouting match at the White House over the plan to actually enforce our borders.

— White House Chief of Staff John Kelly and National Security Adviser John Bolton got into an argument over a proposed policy to step up border enforcement in the lead up to the election. Trump sided with Bolton and threatened to send the military to the border to stop a caravan of future illegal aliens.

— Trump’s threats of military action and cutting foreign aid payments have apparently pushed Mexico into attempting to stop the flow at their southern border; they are sending federal police and reaching out the UN for help.

6. The media continues to push the completely bogus narrative that tax cuts are driving the deficit while also pretending all spending must continue

— Republicans have not done their part to reign in the deficit, that is true, but the argument that the tax cuts drove this problem is just not true. Tax cuts actually spurred job growth, tax collection and economic activity, but spending just kept going.

— The drivers for the deficit are actually the three entitlement programs (Social Security, Medicaid, and Medicare); any attempts to reign in those problems is seen as an assault on America by a biased media and their Democrats.

5. A caravan fleeing South America swells to 4,000 and keeps heading towards the United States

— A day after the President threatened to cut off any funding to Honduras ($175 million) if they do not stop this caravan of future illegal immigrants, the group continued to grow, split in two and kept heading towards the U.S.

— Mexican authorities are sending additional police resources to the border with Guatemala to potentially stop the caravan. Trump has also threatened Guatemala’s foreign aid as well.

4. President Trump continues to wait for more confirmation of Saudi Arabia’s involvement in a journalist’s death

— Our second strongest ally in the Middle East is embroiled in a controversy over a dead journalist, and the American Secretary of State was dispatched to get the official story, while pressure mounts at home for a strong reaction to this crime.

— President Donald Trump, seeing that we have a transactional relationship with the kingdom, is not keen on dropping the hammer on them because of security and economic concerns without hard evidence of official wrongdoing, which seems pretty obvious.

3. Tuscaloosa mayor and Democratic candidate for governor is confused about Medicaid, again

— The campaign of Walt Maddox is based on a complete misunderstanding of how government works. This was highlighted when Maddox declared “[t]he first thing I do as governor would be signing an executive order expanding Medicaid” but without a real plan to fund this the plan means nothing.

— Further misunderstanding his role, Maddox says he will “propose to the Legislature that the payroll taxes generated from new jobs that are created from the expansion — which is an estimated 30,000 new jobs — would be escrowed to pay off any offset to the expansion of Medicaid.” This is silly because the legislature would have to budget this expenditure first.

2. A liberal columnist admits that Walt Maddox’s gubernatorial campaign is doomed

— al.com’s Kyle Whitmire says Maddox had a shot but has blown it and has “already lost” after a weak campaign ad and a weaker series of attacks on Governor Ivey.

— Whitmire argues Maddox’s “name ID” ad where he declares himself to be a pro-life, pro-gun, 45-year-old who won’t lie is nothing more than a “blank stare and an empty promise.”

1. The media and their Democrats’ “October Surprise” is very lame and a retread from last year

— The hook here is they claim Governor Ivey had a series of strokes but her doctor denies, so they trot out a disgruntled state employee to make the allegation again. This is Roy Moore 2.0 where we are told that Ivey is unacceptable so you have to vote for the other guy regardless of what he believes.

— Once again, Gov. Ivey puts this accusation to rest by telling Birmingham’s WVTM reporter who asked if she was in good health, “You’re right about that, friend, no step too high for a high-stepper.”

Pretty damning? I guess.

Or not. Kim Chandler from the Associated Press used the APR report as a jump-off into a story on Ivey’s health. The big takeaway? Ivey’s doctor calls BS.

Ivey said she had altitude sickness during the trip and released a letter from her doctor saying he saw no evidence of a mini-stroke when he examined her a day after her discharge and that hospital tests in Colorado were also negative.

I guess the Collier angle is new, but is this it? The Governor is sick, trust us? Her opponent says she is too sick to be Governor, so vote for him?

There are no public incidents, except clear deception by APR’s Josh Moon and NBC’s affiliate in Mobile portraying some meltdown. There have been no spills, no stumbles, and don’t pretend she not out there on the trail because she is.

If I believed she was too sick to be Governor, why would I vote for a guy I disagree with on most things instead of voting for her and a Lieutenant Governor from the same party with the same general views?

This is Roy Moore 2.0, she must be viewed as unacceptable so you have to vote for the other guy regardless of what he believes.

To further highlight how sad this all is, al.com’s Kyle Whitmire finally got around to writing about how disastrous Walt Maddox’s first campaign ad was and declaring the gubernatorial election over. Whitmire used the APR story in his piece, too, talking about how it is all too little too late.

Don’t bank on that. This is literally the only thing Maddox and his media allies have going for them.

This will get much worse.

Yes, it is October, but this is hardly a surprise.

@TheDaleJackson is a contributing writer to Yellowhammer News and hosts a conservative talk show from 7-11 am weekdays on WVNN

6. Another red state Democrat is lying about where they stand on the issues (gun control and abortion) in order to get elected.

— Embattled Missouri Senator Claire McCaskill is on camera saying, “Of  course!” when asked if she supports some gun control as her staffers, who include staffers from Mom’s Demand Action, say she truly supports a ban on semi-automatic weapons and that “[p]eople just can’t know that” McCaskill and President Barack Obama have the same policies.

— Meanwhile, Nancy Pelosi is being pretty honest about the liberal agenda she wants to enact if she wins and it isn’t going to help red state Democrats one bit.

5. Alabama Senator Doug Jones still doesn’t get it, he is not Sen. Chuck Schumer’s personal senator.

— Over the weekend, Jones weakly employed the over-used “country over party” trope when discussing the fact that he voted against the wishes of the people of the state of Alabama.

— Jones failure to vote for Kavanaugh is another mark against him and further damages any chances he hopes to have for re-election. The more he votes with Sen. Chuck Schumer on major issues, the less likely he is to return to Washington D.C. after 2020.

4. An Alabama polling firm says that Taylor Swift’s endorsement of Tennessee Democrat candidate Phil Bresden did not help him.

— Cygnal, a Montgomery-based firm, found her endorsement did little to sway people and those that were swayed were actually more likely to vote for Congresswoman Marsha Blackburn instead of the Swift-backed candidate (5 percent for the Democrat vs. 6 percent for the Republican).

— While millennials are aware that Swift made the endorsement, because of glowing media coverage of said endorsement, Cygnal’s VP of Research & Analytics Matt Hubbard said, “Swift’s endorsement is providing a boost to get-out-the-vote efforts, but we’re seeing minimal impact on the race.”

3. The President of the United States and a porn star are attacking each other on Twitter.

— After getting a big win in court, that included a ruling for Daniels to pay President Donald Trump’s legal fees, Trump fired off a Tweet calling Stormy Daniels “Horseface” and her lawyer “3rd rate” while promising to go after them at a Texas rally.

— The porn star Daniels responded by saying Trump’s penis is small and implying she was ready to win a game of insults. The American media claimed they found it all terrible while covering it non-stop.

2. Q3 fundraising numbers are in for 2018 elections in Alabama, and some incumbents are raising tons of money.

— Governor Kay Ivey has doubled her Democratic opponent Walt Maddox in fundraising and has a huge lead in cash on hand, but Democratic candidates for Attorney General and the Alabama Supreme Court raised more money and have more money on hand than their Republican incumbent opponents.

— All incumbent members of Congress who filed on time are crushing their opponents in the fundraising game, with Congresswoman Martha Roby’s opponent the only one over $100k. This further drives home the fact that these races are not as competitive as the media and their Democrats would have you believe.

1. Governor Kay Ivey continues to pound on Democratic candidate Walt Maddox for being disingenuous about his stances on the issues.

— Outside of not having a debate or Maddox’s half-baked schemes to expand Medicaid, the issue of abortion is the only other issue getting any attention in the race at the top of the statewide ticket in Alabama, this is partially because of a constitutional amendment the candidates for Governor are split on.

— Gov. Ivey questions Maddox’s pro-life credentials in a scathing message saying, “it is unconscionable to me that Walt Maddox would join abortion rights activists from across the country in opposing this measure that simply recognizes the rights of our precious unborn babies” as he accepts an endorsement from Planned Parenthood and opposes the amendment that will “affirm that it is the public policy of this state to recognize and support the sanctity of unborn life and the rights of unborn children.”

Alabamians wanted Kavanaugh confirmed, polling indicated this clearly:

While Kavanaugh has the lowest net support among SCOTUS nominees since Robert Bork in 1987 according to Gallup polling, his confirmation was backed by 54 percent of registered voters in Alabama in a July survey from the conservative advocacy group Judicial Crisis Network.

Still, Jones voted “no.”

ALGOP Chairwoman Terry Lathan referred to Jones’ actions as “arrogance.”

Jones’ obstinance put that confirmation in danger. Granted, Jones is free to vote as he sees fit, but he knew what his constituents wanted.

Jones election to the U.S. Senate was hardly a rejection of President Donald Trump’s worldview. Rather, it was a rejection of Roy Moore’s body of work and a deluge of uncorroborated and unconfirmed negative attacks by the national and statewide media in Alabama.

Jones was elected for the same reason he chose to vote “no” on Brett Kavanaugh’s confirmation, a series of completely uncorroborated charges made at the 11th hour. This may be considered consistent but it is NOT choosing country over party.

Jones has no options at this point; he is essentially New York’s third Senator. Jones continues to be is a placeholder Senator and he should not look at buying a house in Washington D.C. anytime soon.

@TheDaleJackson is a contributing writer to Yellowhammer News and hosts a conservative talk show from 7-11 am weekdays on WVNN

The facts are simple, the Alabama legislature, which will probably retain their super-majority status, will have to budget for any expansion. This is a wildly unpopular idea amongst Republican legislators, but now lame-duck State Senator Gerald Dial is stepping out and advocating for it.

He writes:

For years, we have used state dollars to recruit industries to locate in Alabama, and we have been very successful. We now have an opportunity to support existing health care jobs and make sure every Alabamian has access to care when they need it, and where they need it. Investing in Medicaid expansion will keep our rural hospitals open, save hundreds of local jobs, and provide basic insurance coverage to almost 300,000 Alabamians. These are our friends and neighbors, hardworking Alabamians who don’t earn enough to afford health insurance. They work in our local restaurants, in our local retail shops and build our houses. Medicaid expansion would enable them to continue working while keeping their family healthy.

Now there is nothing earth-shattering about this suggestion or the argument being made here. The expansion would bring in buckets of federal tax dollars, and that money would be spent in the state of Alabama. It will also boost the bottom lines of hospitals and provide money that will matriculate its way around the Alabama economy.

The argument could easily be made that the fight against ObamaCare is lost politically. “Pre-existing conditions coverage” has led to higher costs, but that aspect remains popular. Republicans failed to repeal and replace it in 2017, and they don’t seem to keen on revisiting that fight right now.

Even with those battles fought and lost, Republican voters still dislike ObamaCare.

But lawmakers’ desire to acquire new spending in Alabama may be leading us toward a push to expand Medicaid after this round of elections.

There is a history for taking on politically unpopular issues in Alabama shortly after elections take place. In 2007, legislators gave themselves a pay raise. In 2015, Governor Robert Bentley (and the real Governor Rebekah Caldwell Mason) found himself advocating for additional revenue after running a campaign saying that very thing would not be necessary.

Senator Dial seems to be on an island by himself on this issue right now, and he may be a lone voice in the Alabama Republican Party making this call.

But don’t be surprised if this changes after November 5th.

@TheDaleJackson is a contributing writer to Yellowhammer News and hosts a conservative talk show from 7-11 am weekdays on WVNN

Jackson and Burke are joined by former State Senator Tom Butler to talk about his campaign to reclaim his old seat in November.

Jackson closes the show with a “parting shot” directed at those who can’t call an obvious mob a “mob”.

https://www.facebook.com/YHN/videos/1546555135444844/

— A New York man is facing charges for making a 200-pound bomb and planning to blow himself up in Washington, D.C., on Election Day. On Wednesday, FBI agents continued searching a home just north of New York City, which is where they discovered the device.

— According to court papers, over the past two months, Paul Rosenfeld allegedly sent letters and text messages to a Pennsylvania resident detailing his plan to detonate the bomb on the National Mall to draw attention to the “sortition” political system, in which government officials are randomly selected.

5. President Donald Trump will talk to special counsel Robert Mueller via written communications instead of a face-to-face interview

— President Donald Trump’s legal team is putting together answers to written questions that have been provided by Mueller and this could mean that the Mueller investigation could be entering a final phase with regard to the president and he won’t answer questions during an interview.

— This investigation has been going on for over a year and a half. Negotiations over this part have taken almost a year, and while this doesn’t end the investigation because there could be follow-ups to this phase, it appears the end is near.

4. Governor Kay Ivey is surveying the damage and urging patience in the recovery following Hurrican Michael

— Gov. Ivey spent time in the Houston County Emergency Management Center and conducted a flyover and land tour of damage in the Wiregrass area as she urged people to be patient with recovery crews.

— The governor also was thankful that there was no loss of life in Alabama as of yet, saying, “I’m grateful to learn that there’s no loss of life in this area that we know of yet.”

3. It is becoming more evident that the Saudis killed a journalist and resident of the U.S. in their embassy

— The plot continues to thicken in the apparent death of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi as the Turkish government says it has audio and video recordings that appear to show he was tortured and killed in the Saudi embassy and dismembered.

— An anonymous source told The Washington Post, “You can hear his voice and the voices of men speaking Arabic,” and, “You can hear how he was interrogated, tortured and then murdered.”

2. Tennessee has their own Sen. Doug Jones in Democratic Senate nominee Phil Bredesen

— Our cowardly caretaker junior senator from the great state of Alabama publicly hemmed and hawed on where he stood on President Donald Trump’s Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh. Most believed he was already a “no,” but was trying to appear as if he was being sincere on his pledge to have an open mind.

— In Tennessee, Phil Bredesen is now trying to play the same game. His lie was a little more brazen, but his staff has told Project Veritas that Bredesen is only saying he’d vote for Kavanaugh to “get the Republican vote.”

1. Kanye West has an amusing and weird meeting with the president of the United States

— The much-anticipated lunch with Kanye West and Donald Trump finally happened and it was all you would have expected: it was strange, it was silly, it was bizarre and the media bit on the troll job hook, line and sinker.

— West spoke extemporaneously about liberal Hollywood not being happy with him, daddy issues, North Korea, MAGA hats, Hillary Clinton, opportunity zones, jobs, African-American unemployment, opioids, high-crime rates and clemencies, but he also brought Trump a hat that read “Make America Great” and Yeezys. Ivanka Trump got a hat with “Make Earth Great Again” and Jared Kushner received a “Travel Space Again” hat.

During the confirmation fight, and before the coveted Taylor Swift endorsement, Bredesen told potential Tennessee voters he would vote for Trump’s Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh.

It’s just not true.

James O’Keefe’s Project Veritas got the following quotes from the Bredesen team and they accidentally told the truth:

When asked to clarify that Bredesen is only saying he’d vote for Kavanaugh to “get the Republican vote,” Amalla, a field organizer for Bredesen’s campaign, affirmed, “Yes.”

Amalla reiterated, “[Bredesen] thought that like by coming out in support [of Justice Kavanaugh] that it would get more republicans on his side. He wasn’t doing as well in the rural parts.”

“[B]etween you and me, once Phil actually gets into the Senate, he’ll be a good Democrat.”

So, if you listen to Bredesen staff, given the opportunity, he would have more likely than not cast a vote against Kavanaugh just like Jones did.

The chances of Southern red state Democrats getting elected if they tell the truth is very slim. It is becoming clear that they know this and they are willing to deceive the public. And the media will help them win elections.

How they can stay after showing their true colors is becoming their biggest problem.

@TheDaleJackson is a contributing writer to Yellowhammer News and hosts a conservative talk show from 7-11 am weekdays on WVNN

— The Trump administration gave people options to buy cheaper plans for one year vs. 90 days under the Obama administration. Democrats wanted to block it because the plans didn’t require pre-existing conditions to be covered, which made the plans cheaper.

— In the last 10 years, healthcare costs have gone from an average employer-sponsored deductible of $303 to $1,350.

5. Apparently, the fear of Brett Kavanaugh on the Supreme Court has been realized — He is for following the law

— Justice Kavanaugh spoke out in defense of a Trump administration idea that that legal immigrants who have committed crimes can be arrested and deported, including immigrants who have completed their sentences.

— The crimes at hand include violent felonies to simple drug possession. The law is clear. It says the government “shall take into custody any alien” with a deportable offense even “when the alien is released” from jail.

4. Congresswoman Terri Sewell (D-Birmingham) would not sign a resolution against illegal aliens voting

— It was just a simple resolution, but it allowed Congress to speak out against illegal aliens voting in elections in light of San Francisco allowing them to vote in their elections. On top of that, a “mistake” may have sent voter ID cards to illegal immigrants in California.

— A total of 141 representatives voted “no” or “present” on this vote, including Rep. Sewell, who gave a cowardly “present” vote which means she was there but wouldn’t take a position — which is taking a position.

3. Now former Attorney General Eric Holder is saying to “kick” the opposition and Rand Paul is worried someone is going to get killed

— The attempted assassination of multiple congressmen, an attack on Senator Rand Paul (R-KY) and mobs harassing leaders in restaurants isn’t enough because the former AG told cheering Democrats, “Michelle [Obama] always says ‘When they go low, we go high.’ No. No. When they go low, we kick them.”

— Hatred of our fellow Americans who have different political views is growing rapidly and shows no signs of stopping.

2. Governor Kay Ivey is still the nation’s third most popular governor

— As Alabama Democrats attempt to swing back to the right and away from their national mob, Governor Ivey continues to get great numbers and waltz her way to victory with an approval rating of 65 percent.

— Also, Alabama is back to being the most pro-Trump state in the nation.

1. President Donald Trump savages Democrats’ “Medicare for All” scheme

— Trump accurately points out that the plan would cost $36 trillion dollars over 10 years and eliminate all private insurance plans. The plan would place every person in the government system and raise taxes to pay for it.

— In what the Washington Post calls a “scare scenario” that they admit would occur in their “fact check” of the president’s piece, the president notes, “The Democratic plan would inevitably lead to the massive rationing of health care. Doctors and hospitals would be put out of business. Seniors would lose access to their favorite doctors. There would be long wait lines for appointments and procedures. Previously covered care would effectively be denied.” 

There is nothing controversial here. It’s just an acknowledgment that only those who can legally vote in our elections should be voting in our elections.

But, somehow, 141 representatives voted “no” or “present” on this vote. All but one of the “no”/”present” votes were Democrats.

Included in this count is Alabama’s own Terri Sewell, who gave a cowardly “present” vote. This means she was there but wouldn’t take a position, which is taking a position.

The fact that Democrats are fine with illegal aliens voting should not come as a surprise to anyone.

Yesterday, Alabama representatives Bradley Bryne, Mo Brooks and Robert Aderholt joined with 20 other members of Congress urging Attorney General Jeff Sessions to combat voting by illegal aliens.

Congressman Brooks explained how dangerous this is for America’s electoral system, saying, “Every single illegal vote by a foreigner in American elections dilutes and cancels the votes of American citizens and rightful voters! All Americans, whether Democrat or Republican, should agree that foreigners should not be influencing U.S. elections.”

For those who think this not an issue, the problem is being exacerbated by states like California giving drivers’ licenses to illegal immigrants and then registering them to vote.

This issue is real; the fact that our congressional representatives are unwilling to stand united against this is unacceptable.

@TheDaleJackson is a contributing writer to Yellowhammer News and hosts a conservative talk show from 7-11 am weekdays on WVNN

— After saying he liked musician Taylor Swift “25 percent less” following her endorsement of two Democrats, President Donald Trump welcomes rapper and Trump super-fan Kanye West to the White House for dinner.

— West will meet with the president and his son-in-law to discuss job opportunities for ex-cons and how to bring more manufacturing jobs to Chicago.

5. Hurricane Michael is giving illegal immigrants a reprieve 

— The spokesperson for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) told the media that illegals have no fear of enforcement. He said, “In consideration of these circumstances, there will be no immigration enforcement initiatives associated with evacuations or sheltering related to Michael, except in the event of a serious public safety threat.”

— The pretend narrative here is that illegals won’t ask for help because they fear ICE will arrest and deport them and, as a result, they will end up being hurt by the storm.

4. United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley resigns and surprises everyone but President Trump

— President Trump praised Haley’s job performance after accepting her resignation, saying, “She’s done a fantastic job and we’ve done a fantastic job together. We’ve solved a lot of problems and we’re in the process of solving a lot of problems.” He added that he has known about her desire to resign for six months.

— As the media does with every departure, they stop attacking Haley and declare her “one of the adults.” Potential successors include Republican Sen. Bob Corker and Trump’s former deputy national security adviser, Dina Powell.

3. Hillary Clinton can’t go away

— The multi-time failure of a presidential candidate feels like she has to insert herself in every single hot-button political issue. Clinton argued that civility is overrated, stating, “You cannot be civil with a political party that wants to destroy what you stand for, what you care about”

— Clinton declared civility can return, but only when her team has power. She said, “I believe, if we are fortunate enough to win back the House and or the Senate, that’s when civility can start again. But until then, the only thing that the Republicans seem to recognize and respect is strength.”

2. Alabama Democrats love guns in election years, but the rhetoric is hollow

— Democrats across the state are declaring themselves “pro-Second Amendment” or posing with firearms in an election year tradition of pandering to people you clearly don’t like. Both Democratic gubernatorial candidate Walt Maddox and Congressional candidate Tabitha Isner have taken this route this week.

— The National Rifle Association isn’t buying much of this act as they are rating another Alabama Democratic candidate, Mallory Hagan, with an “F” rating, which means, she is a “true enemy of gun owners’ rights,” and “a consistent anti-gun candidate who always opposes gun owners’ rights and/or actively leads anti-gun legislative efforts, or sponsors anti-gun legislation.”

1. Governor Kay Ivey continues to say she won’t stand in the way of a lottery

— In what is clearly her most pro-lottery statement yet, Governor Kay Ivey made it clear that she expects a lottery to be proposed very early on in the 2019 legislative session. She thinks it could pass “if it’s a pure and simple plain lottery, just a real simple sure-enough plain lottery.”

— Ivey didn’t get into where the lottery money should go, but she warned against funding essential services, explaining, “There’s a principle in public policy that says never fund an essential service of government with an unstable source of funding. So, you’ve got to be careful what you do with the money.”

Candidate firing guns? Check.

Same candidate offering support for Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders-style gun reform? Also check.

Candidate declaring himself pro-2nd Amendment? Check.

Same candidate saying he is open to restriction on the 2nd Amendment? Also check.

“[L]et me make my position clear. I will never favor taking any existing constitutional right away from any American unless we, as a people, come to the conclusion that restraint of some rights helps ensure the pursuit of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness by all.”

Their signaling to a pro-gun electorate right before an election is transparent pandering, and no one believes them.

Mostly because it is obviously untrue.

These groups who support the actual positions of these candidates are out campaigning for them while the candidates state very different positions.

Moms Demand Action was out this weekend campaigning for Democrat candidates:

Does this sound like a group that gets Alabama voters?

Do they sound like a group that supports Alabama values?

The real question is where are the Democrats who see all these people they are giving their money, time and vote to pandering on positions they don’t believe in?

@TheDaleJackson is a contributing writer to Yellowhammer News and hosts a conservative talk show from 7-11 am weekdays on WVNN

— Former Hillary Clinton vice presidential candidate Tim Kaine is running a new ad tying his Republican opponent to Moore, saying he chose to campaign for an “accused child predator” as opposed to vote on opioid assistance legislation in his capacity as chairman of the Prince William Board of County Supervisors.

— The real rub here is that Kaine is attempting to depress turnout for Republican House candidates in Virginia and they think Roy Moore’s unpopularity could do that.

5. Alabama gubernatorial candidate Walt Maddox slams pro-life legislators as his lies are completely ignored by the mainstream media

— In Maddox’s TV spot, he claims to be pro-life and pro-Second Amendment in spite of endorsements from far left groups and opposition to an actual pro-life constitutional amendment. His reasoning for opposing this pro-life law is because, as he puts it, it victimizes those who disagree. He went on to call the lawmakers who proposed it “disgusting.”

— The Alabama political press has written numerous stories about Gov. Kay Ivey refusing to participate in a partisan questionnaire, but few have said a sniveling word about Maddox’s first major foray into television advertising.

4. California and New York forces are sending money to Alabama to beat a pro-life constitutional amendment

— Last week, a PAC working to defeat the amendment called “Alabama for Healthy Families” took in donations totaling $750,000 from a New York City-based Planned Parenthood Action Fund, Planned Parenthood Federation of America and Planned Parenthood of Orange and San Bernardino counties.

— The amendment those groups are opposing “would add language to the state constitution acknowledging the sanctity of unborn life and stipulating that the state constitution provides no right to abortion.” It is expected to pass easily.

3. Women are not fleeing the GOP — This won’t stop people from pretending they are

— After Brett Kavanaugh was sworn in as a Supreme Court justice, multiple hours of cable news have been spent lamenting the GOP’s female problem, but this problem may be overblown and/or wishful thinking because new polling shows “55 percent of women thought Judge Kavanaugh should be confirmed as long as the FBI investigation didn’t turn up anything.”

— This information isn’t shocking. It is the identical threat that the Democrats and the media were using in 2016 when they said now-President Donald Trump would doom the GOP with women and sink his chances of winning. But he eventually beat a female candidate.

2. President Donald Trump’s polling numbers look better as the Kavanaugh confirmation fight concludes

— CNN’s polling indicates that Trump’s approval has jumped a good portion. Now, 40 percent approve of the job Trump is doing, which is up five points from a September poll. His disapproval decreased six points to 52 percentage points, which is an 11 point swing.

— Granted, these numbers are not great, but every point Trump picks up in approval ratings improves his chances of helping his party keep the House and Senate.

1. President Trump is being criticized for saying Judge Brett Kavanaugh was found “innocent“

— The president’s swearing-in ceremony for Kavanaugh included an apology for the hell the new judge and his family were put through. Trump said, “On behalf of our nation, I want to apologize to Brett and the entire Kavanaugh family for the terrible pain and suffering you have been forced to endure.” He added, “You, sir, under historic scrutiny, were proven innocent.”

— The fact that this is an attack line is rather amusing considering the media spent the better part of three weeks declaring he was guilty of everything from attempted rape to a series of gang rapes.

The other reason this ad is ignored? Walt Maddox is lying, and not just about lying.

Walt Maddox is not pro-life like he claims, nor is he pro-Second Amendment like he claims.

On abortion, Maddox wrote:

“Although I am personally opposed to abortion, under the law of the land a woman has a right to choose up until the point of fetal viability. The federal Hyde Amendment prohibits use of federal funds to pay for abortions except those that endanger the life of the woman, or that result from rape or incest, and Alabama law does not provide any state funds for abortions. The courts will ultimately decide which of Alabama’s several laws regulating abortion are constitutional, including any restrictions on new abortion clinics. As a governor sworn to uphold the federal and state constitutions and the laws of Alabama, I will faithfully execute Alabama’s laws within the constitutional limits defined by the Supreme Court.”

That’s obviously not a pro-life position. It’s a series of reason to not act to end abortion.

He’s also opposed to a legit pro-life constitutional amendment and is endorsed by Planned Parenthood. In no way does that resemble the characteristics of a pro-life candidate.

On guns, Maddox stated:

“[L]et me make my position clear. I will never favor taking any existing constitutional right away from any American unless we, as a people, come to the conclusion that restraint of some rights helps ensure the pursuit of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness by all.”

He’s also endorsed by former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s anti-gun group Mom’s Demand Action.

This stuff is not even close to believable.

The media has to be disappointed in Maddox. They view him as a progressive hope who was going to carry the momentum of Doug Jones, who the media allowed to lie as well, to a Medicaid expansion and a new era in Alabama politics.

Instead, he is going to get destroyed because this entire act is unbelievable and embarrassing.

@TheDaleJackson is a contributing writer to Yellowhammer News and hosts a conservative talk show from 7-11 am weekdays on WVNN

— The media and their Democrats believe there is some inherent unfairness in the way the founding fathers designed the legislative branch to protect against mob rule. NBC’s Ken Dilanian wants to strip power from smaller states and hand it to the metros across the country.

— The Democratic Party that has already spent much of the last few weeks attacking the presumption of innocence now attacks the founding principles of our nation that are being carried out.

5. Democratic gubernatorial candidate Walt Maddox announces he is pro-life and pro-Second Amendment in a strange new campaign ad — he’s neither

— Channelling every failed Democrat gubernatorial candidate of the last 20 years, Tuscaloosa’s mayor told Alabamians watching TV this weekend that he is just as conservative as they are, claiming he loves guns and is pro-life.

— Gov. Kay Ivey responded to this ad by pointing out the obvious contradictions between Maddox’s publicly available positions. He has the endorsements of former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s Moms Demand Action and Planned Parenthood.

4. Governor Kay Ivey supported Judge Brett Kavanaugh, her opponent refused to take a position three straight interviews

— A protracted Supreme Court battle over Judge Kavanaugh has led to renewed enthusiasm for Republicans and worry for red-state Democrats. Gov. Ivey supported the new Supreme Court justice by saying he “should be confirmed.”

— When Walt Maddox was asked, he demurred in three straight interviews including a nonsensical word salad where he stated, “We watched a very compelling testimony that people on both sides of the aisle readily admitted it was powerful and needed to be vetted. I’m glad that process is happening. I believe the governor should do the same.”

3. Alabama’s Senators Richard Shelby (yes) and Doug Jones (no) explain their votes by referencing the allegation by his accuser

— Sen. Shelby did not find the allegation to be credible, explaining, “I also found the subsequent FBI report to be thorough. As a senator, my job is to carefully consider and review all available information. After doing so, it is evident that the accusations against Judge Kavanaugh are uncorroborated, and there is no confirmation of any of the alleged misconduct.”

— Sen. Jones, who doesn’t feel representing his state’s wishes is the “the be all to end all,” said even though he doesn’t think the case was made against Kavanaugh, he didn’t like how angrily he defended himself.

2. Alabama’s Republicans react to Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh

— The state’s Republican officeholders put out press releases, tweets, and statements applauding the Senate for voting for Kavanaugh. Congressman Bradley Byrne, who is expected to challenge Jones for Senate, said, “This process and the shameful tactics used have been an embarrassment to our nation, but I hope we can now move forward as a country and not return to these pathetic political games again.”

— ALGOP Chairwoman Terry Lathan ripped into Sen. Doug Jones, calling him “One and done Doug,” and congratulated the new judge. She stated, “The Alabama Republican Party congratulates Judge Brett Kavanaugh on his confirmation. Judge Kavanaugh has our full support as he begins his honorable journey serving the American people on our nation’s highest court.”

1. After Judge Brett Kavanaugh was confirmed, the Democrat freakout commenced

— A mob appeared at the doors of the Supreme Court literally clawing at the door and chanted, “Shut it down!”

— Now that Kavanaugh is on the nation’s highest court, Democrats are wondering if they are the “wet rag party” and pretending that they actually live up to Michelle Obama’s “When they go low, we go high” motto. Some want to go more radical.

Jackson and Burke are joined by Democratic candidate for State Senate (SD-02) Amy Wasyluka to talk about her campaign.

Jackson closes the show with a “parting shot” directed at those in the media who will not stop being dishonest about their intentions.

— Senator Jones lamented how Republicans and Democrats were both treated during the process, declaring his hope that this “does not reflect who we really are as Americans.”

— Jones is clearly a long-shot to keep his Senate seat in 2020, but fivethirtyeight.com‘s Nate Silver believes Jones could be a 2020 presidential nominee. This might explain why he is running around red states trying to get Democrats elected.

5. If there isn’t a Judge Roy Moore isn’t on the ballot, try to create one

— Democratic nominee for Supreme Court Chief Justice Bob Vance is running an attack ad against his Republican opponent, and Moore ally, Associate Justice Tom Parker, comparing him to Moore because Vance almost beat the former judge in 2012.

— Vance is outraising Parker, a rarity for Alabama Democrats, but he is still polling far behind in the race with a little more than 30 days left before the general election.

4. Congressmen Bradley Byrne and Gary Palmer denounce how the Supreme Court nomination was handled

— Byrne says this process is bad for the country. He stated, “It hurts the country.” Palmer said he believes people will look at how this was handled and worry, “This could be your father, your brother, it could be your husband, it could be your son.” He added, “I think that really resonates with a lot of people.”

— Republican enthusiasm is boosted by the confirmation battle as the FBI investigation failed to turn up corroboration of any wrongdoing. Republicans feel like they can rally behind Kavanaugh and fire up their base.

3. The votes appear to be in order for a Judge Brett Kavanaugh confirmation vote. Democrats say this is a “coverup”

— The Senate is ready for a critical vote this morning on Brett Kavanaugh’s Supreme Court nomination as they hope to move it forward, but one member may hold up the final vote because Sen. Steve Daines (R-MT) says he will be in Montana for his daughter’s wedding.

— Democrats are still trying everything to stall the process. They have said there is a coverup, a secret sexual misconduct or alcohol abuse and they think Kavanaugh being frustrated about being called a gang rapist is disqualifying.

2. This whole issue is far more than “Republicans said, Democrats said“

— The premise that this is a partisan issue with wrongs on both side is an angle the traditional media is pushing, in spite of the fact that the FBI investigation turned up nothing close to corroborating evidence of any of the claims against Judge Brett Kavanaugh.

— So, the media and their Democrats can not pretend this hasn’t been investigated. Democrats threw every dirty trick in the book at this man and still came up empty. Confirmed or not, it will be clear that Brett Kavanaugh was subjected to a level of unfairness, anger and dishonesty that should terrify fair-minded Americans.

1. Judge Brett Kavanaugh himself pens an op-ed defending his behavior at the confirmation hearing

— Kavanaugh’s piece titled “I Am an Independent, Impartial Judge” which ended with an apology for some words spoke at his hearing, read, “I was very emotional last Thursday, more so than I have ever been. I might have been too emotional at times. I know that my tone was sharp, and I said a few things I should not have said. I hope everyone can understand that I was there as a son, husband and dad. I testified with five people foremost in my mind: my mom, my dad, my wife, and most of all my daughters.”

— The purpose of this op-ed is to explain to some Republicans why he was so angry at his hearing, ” I was subjected to wrongful and sometimes vicious allegations. My time in high school and college, more than 30 years ago, has been ridiculously distorted. My wife and daughters have faced vile and violent threats.”

— The women must be believed.
— The lack of evidence is evidence.
— The lack of corroboration is evidence.
— There must be a hearing.
— There must be an FBI investigation.

In spite of this, at every turn, the media and the Democrats acted in complete bad faith.

— They held the initial letter from Kavanaugh’s accuser until the 11th hour.
— They declared allegations of gang rape brought by Michael Avenatti as credible.
— They declared anonymous allegations as credible.
— They declared anyone willing to make an allegation about Kavanaugh’s drinking credible.
— They all but ignored any questions of Kavanaugh’s accuser’s credibility.
— They investigated whether Kavanaugh throwing ice in a bar in 1985 was disqualifying.
— They defended Kavanaugh’s accuser’s delays in responding to the Senate Judiciary Committee.
— They defended Kavanaugh’s accuser’s delays in testifying before the Senate Judiciary Committee.
— They defended Kavanaugh’s accuser’s refusal to share information with the Senate Judiciary Committee.
— They defended Kavanaugh’s accuser’s attempts to offer information after the FBI investigation was complete.

After all of this, there is still not a single shred of corroborating evidence available. Every person alleged to be at the event described by Kavanaugh’s accuser either denies the event took place or has no recollection that said event took place.

So the media and the Democrats can wail and scream about Brett Kavanaugh, but they can not pretend this hasn’t been investigated.

So, no, this is not a “Democrats said, Republicans said” situation. It is a situation where Democrats threw every dirty trick in the book at this man and still came up empty.

Whatever happens this weekend, confirmed or not, it will be clear that Brett Kavanaugh was subjected to a level of unfairness, anger and dishonesty that should terrify fair-minded Americans.

@TheDaleJackson is a contributing writer to Yellowhammer News and hosts a conservative talk show from 7-11 am weekdays on WVNN

— As we enter the last 30+ days of the general election, Governor Kay Ivey and her opponent Walt Maddox have roughly the same amount of money on hand but Ivey has raised over four million more dollars in the course of the campaign.

— The only statewide race where a Democrat has outraised their Republican opponent is the race for the chief justice of the Alabama Supreme Court, where Bob Vance has outraised Tom Parker by more than $200,000. Vance also has $550,453.82 on-hand versus Parker’s $181,999.81.

5. The Alabama political media’s theme that “Governor Kay Ivey is sick” falls apart if you leave the cities of Birmingham and Montgomery

— When Walt Maddox’s allies in the media aren’t ranting about how he can’t get a debate scheduled, they are declaring the governor of the state of Alabama is terribly ill and the state is being run by a shadow government.

— Yellowhammer News’ Jeff Poor followed Ivey on the campaign, found her to be accessible, posing for pictures and delivering speeches in the unseasonably warm Monroe County heat. Not one of the reporters who has questioned her health was there.

4. Walt Maddox is headed towards a slaughter if he doesn’t change course

— Polling shows Governor Kay Ivey is up on Walt Maddox with over 50+ percent of the vote while he has between 26-32 percent even though they both have about the same amount of money.

— It is “Hail Mary” time for Maddox. It is time for him to stop being a generic Alabama Democrat. He must go on the attack, draw (metaphorical) blood, and he must explain how he is going to accomplish his more ambitious goal.

3. The cowardly caretaker junior senator from the great state of Alabama is ignoring constituents while endorsing liberals across the country

— Senator Doug Jones dealt his own re-election a blow last week when he declared he would not support Judge Brett Kavanaugh. Some of his constituents have attempted to reach out to Jones’ office and they are either being ignored or hung up on.

— Against this backdrop, Jones continues to reach out to other states attempting to play the role of “kingmaker” for Senator Clair McCaskill (D-MO), which comes after he endorsed Sen. Heidi Heitkamp (D-ND), Sen. Tim Kaine (D-VA), Democratic House candidate Danny O’Connor (OH-12) and now-Rep. Conor Lamb (PA-18), and even traveling to Democratic Party events in Georgia, Tennessee and Mississippi.

2. Media is wish-casting that President Donald Trump’s crass words on Judge Brett Kavanaugh’s accusers’ accusation could cost him Senate votes

— Senators Flake (R-AZ), Murkowski (R-AK) and Collins (R-ME) were swarmed by reporters seeking condemnation, which they got. Speculation then ran rampant that the senators would not vote for a Supreme Court judge over this.

— The same media misinterpreted the words of Sen. Lindsey Graham as he explains how ugly the left and media were to President Bill Clinton’s accusers.

1. The Kavanaugh report is out today. Kavanaugh’s accuser tried a last second delay, and Democrats claim there is a secret in the last six investigations

— The report is in the hands of the White House and Senate. Parts could be released to the public, but only after all 100 senators get a chance to see what is in it.

— Some members of the Democratic minority on the Senate Judiciary Committee say there are previous allegations of sexual or alcohol misconduct in Kavanaugh’s background checks that they never brought up for some reason. The majority responded forcefully, stating, “[N]owhere … was there ever a whiff of any issue – at all – related in any way to inappropriate sexual behavior or alcohol abuse.”

It’s clear the campaign and his supporters are never going to acknowledge these things, but the Alabama political press has an obligation to offer sober analysis during the coverage of the lead up to the election.

Instead, the silliness of the Alabama political media is apparent, no better exemplified by this clip of the “The V”:

Yes, this is an opinion show, but the coverage by the leading political media in this state would lead those reading just those outlets to believe Maddox is a savior with a serious chance of upsetting Governor Ivey.

He’s not.

It is “Hail Mary” time for Walt Maddox.

Ivey is not Roy Moore.

If he wants to get close, he needs to do a couple of things.

First, he has to attack. And I am not talking about whining about debates — this makes him look like a little kid whose mommy won’t let him go outside to play with his friends. He needs to (metaphorically) draw blood.

Secondly, Maddox needs to explain how he plans on accomplishing his goals.

I have been asking his campaign for weeks about how they plan on paying for their Medicaid plan, and this is the best they have done so far:

As we have said for months, GKI says jobs solve all ills. We agree with that and the Alabama Hospital Association who say the jobs saved and created by Medicaid expansion more than pays for the initial investment – just like with any other economic development project.

— Chip Hill (@Chip_Hill) October 3, 2018

But, it’s just not true.

The tax revenue generated by massive government spending doesn’t come close to paying for it.

A report in the Montgomery Advertiser laid it out pretty clearly, saying, “The 2012 UAB study estimated that Medicaid expansion could generate $2.2 to $4.6 billion of new economic activity in the state annually and between $12 and $26 million in new tax revenue each year.”

Mayor Maddox himself put the price tag at close to $200 million. He has no plan to close that, at a minimum, $124 million dollar gap.

Maddox better get serious or he is going to get wrecked come November.

@TheDaleJackson is a contributing writer to Yellowhammer News and hosts a conservative talk show from 7-11 am weekdays on WVNN

— For better or worse, a USA Today poll indicates that Donald Trump is the leader of the Republican Party, with 54 percent choosing him, 23 percent saying they don’t know and “there currently isn’t a leader” coming in third at six percent.

— The Democratic Party has a much bigger leadership void problem. Thirty-three percent say they “don’t know” who their leader is, 14 percent say former President Barack Obama is leading them and “there currently isn’t a leader” comes in third again at 13 percent.

5. While Walt Maddox is right about the Governor Ivey’s Alabama Sentry Program, his plan is just as silly

— Maddox rightly believes that Ivey’s announcement of her plan right before her primary was “asinine and political rhetoric at its best. There is no way to know if a single school has taken up the plan at all.

— Maddox, Tuscaloosa’s mayor, believes there should be no firearms on school campuses unless they are in the hands of law enforcement. Instead, he wants trained law enforcement at every school, which is a plan that is expensive and completely unlikely to ever be implemented. This leaves schools vulnerable.

4. Alabama Democrats do not understand how taxes work, they want to raise yours

— Republicans in Washington D.C. are planning on making the Trump tax cuts permanent. Democrats used the temporary status as one of the reasons to oppose it last year but that was largely a disingenuous tact.

— Rep. Terri Sewell (AL-7) and Democrat candidate for Congress Tabitha Isner have expressed concern about the tax cuts, with Isner repeating the canard that the tax cuts drove the deficit while, in reality, tax receipts are at record levels.

3. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell is still planning a vote for the end of the Supreme Court confirmation mess this week

— Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell continues to show his frustration and he has now doubled down on his plans to hold a vote on Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh before this week is over.

— He mocked the non-stop deluge of silliness being pushed by the media and his Democrat colleagues by pointing out, “One can only imagine what new bombshell might be published today or tomorrow,” including a college bar fight that was used as one of the reasons “why we need an FBI investigation.”

2. Alabama’s cowardly caretaker junior senator Doug Jones is not interested in hearing from his constituents on Judge Brett Kavanaugh

— Yellowhammer News attempted to contact the Washington D.C. office of Senator Jones and his staff had no interest in hearing from his constituents.

— Jones is also replying with a form letter, which is not unheard of, to all those who contact him about this matter stating, “I am concerned about the message that this vote will be sending to our sons and daughters, as well victims of sexual assault. Therefore, I will be voting no on Judge Kavanaugh’s nomination.”

1. Americans blame Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), Democrats and partisanship for this mess with Kavanaugh

— The poll shows 75 percent blame Feinstein for her handling of Kavanaugh’s accuser’s letter, 69 percent call the hearing “a national disgrace” and 55 percent say Democrats have been “completely partisan” in the process.

— This nonsense could be fatal for Democrats’ hopes for the House and Senate. Their lead in a generic ballot has been cut in half.