Rumors & Rumblings

“Rumors and Rumblings” is a weekly feature that runs each Wednesday. It includes short nuggets of information that we glean from conversations throughout the week. Have a tip? Send it here. All sources remain confidential.

AEA Gets beat again
One of the most-discussed topics on the seventh floor of the State House Tuesday night was that AEA got beat again in spite of spending hundreds of thousands of dollars in March and April hammering Republican Senators for passing the Accountability Act.

“They tried to intimidate legislators into submission and it didn’t work,” a lobbyist texted Yellowhammer after the Senate voted to provide state-funded liability insurance to teachers. “They blew a million bucks they won’t have in 2014.”

But a few Republican senators did side with AEA on the issue. The liability insurance amendment passed by a razor thin margin of 18-16.

One senator told Yellowhammer he believed it was “unnecessary,” another said it was a “swipe at the AEA.”

First of all, if the teachers’ union doesn’t want to get swiped at, maybe they should consider not carpet bombing Republican districts with disingenuous negative robocalls and radio ads.

But on top of that, I would encourage everyone to put down the AEA tabloid and consider this:

If the AEA was truly doing their “job” instead of trying to hold teachers hostage for their union dues, would they not have for years been demanding the state provide liability insurance for teachers like they do for every other state employee?

Regardless, union boss Henry Mabry took another loss in what for him must seem like the session that would never end.

Rep. Barry Mask making a move?
Rumors have been quietly making their way around the fifth floor of the State House that Rep. Barry Mask may be interested in making a move out of the legislature.

Some insiders have speculated that he might fill the open executive VP slot at the Realtors’ Association.

Others have speculated that if Perry went to Finance, and Galliher moved to chief of staff, Mask could be a candidate for legislative director… But that’s speculating about speculation, which is kind of like dreaming inside a dream — at some point it becomes impossible to tell what’s reality.

The legislative director angle, while it’s fun to try to map out, is highly improbable.

The only thing we are fairly certain about is that Mask is at least entertaining the idea of making a move, and the Realtors’ position is the most likely scenario as of right now.

Everyone and their mom is looking at running for the PSC
What’s the quickest way to get yourself challenged in a GOP primary in Alabama? Apparently it’s align yourself with leftwing environmentalists… then double and triple down on your position when you’re challenged. At least that’s what Republican Public Service Commissioner Terry Dunn seems to be finding out.

Republicans are coming out of the woodwork to challenge Dunn in the 2014 GOP primary.

Names in the rumor mill over the last couple of months have included journalist Steve Flowers and former College Republicans national chairman Alex Schriver.

But the lastest names are Beeker and Barbee.

Chris “Chip” Beeker ran for the PSC back in 2010, and it looks like he’s throwing his hat in the ring again.

Jonathan Barbee is a Birmingham-area communications consultant who most recently served as interim press secretary for the Alabama Republican Party. Barbee’s position was eliminated as the state Party’s finances made it necessary to cut some staff. But sources say he’s ready to jump in the PSC race as well.

Boehner not rushing Internet Sales Tax
After the Senate moved the Marketplace Fairness Act through the body fairly quickly, it looks like Speaker Boehner is planning to slow things down in the House.

When Boehner was asked about the bill earlier this week he said, “I would probably refer you to Chairman [Bob] Goodlatte of the Judiciary Committee. They have jurisdiction over this. I have not talked to him about it. I don’t know what his intent is in terms of whether he’s interested in moving it through his committee or not.”

Boehner is clearly in no rush to get it to the floor, but instead will allow the bill to be vetted through the Committee process.

This bill poses an interesting challenge for House Republicans. A decent sized group of them are privately supportive of the measure, but are concerned with the political ramifications of voting for a new tax.

Comprehensive immigration reform bill gaining unlikely supporters?
According to POLITICO, leaders from Tea Party Express, TheTeaParty.Net and Revive America, as well as Americans For Tax Reform’s Grover Norquist, are expected to be among the more than two dozen grassroots leaders huddling with the Florida Senator Marco Rubio in an effort to build conservative support for the Gang of Eight’s comprehensive immigration reform bill.

Here in Alabama, Tea Party leaders want no part of it.

“My understanding is that POLITICO has misrepresented the national Tea Party groups’ standing on this issue,” Rainy Day Patriot founder Zan Green told Yellowhammer. “Don’t misunderstand the Rainy Day Patriots stance. Secure the border, build a proper fence, find the trespassers and send them packing.”

“No self-respecting Tea Party member supports this bill. Our government has no idea of what this is going to cost,” added RDP member Ann Eubank.

The Heritage Foundation released a controversial report earlier this week that claims immigration reform could cost U.S. taxpayers upwards of six trillion dollars.

Heritage’s study has been heavily criticized by some groups who they would usually count on to be allies.

These groups, like the libertarian-leaning Cato Institute and anti-tax champions Americans for Tax Reform, point out Heritage’s use of “static scoring” rather than “dynamic scoring.” We won’t even get into what that means right now, but the immigration debate will hinge in part on whether or not Rubio & co. are able to drive home their “dynamic scoring” narrative to conservatives.

Other top conservative groups, including Freedom Works and Club for Growth, have been largely silent on the immigration debate to this point.

What else is going on?
1. Internet sales tax bill advancing in D.C.
2. Alabama delegation punches above its weight
3. Who will be the next finance director?
4. Heritage Foundation report eviscerates Gang of Eight immigration reform bill
5. So what should we expect this week in the legislature?