Alabama Politics
SOUTH UNION STREET: Senator plans to run again in 2014, hopes to maintain state job despite ‘double-dipping’ ban
State Sen. Quinton Ross knows there is a ban in place beginning in 2014 that would keep him from continuing to serve in the Legislature and maintaining his job in the state’s two-year college system.
Ross, a Montgomery Democrat who is also the director of the adult education program at H. Trenholm State Technical College, said he plans to run again in 2014, but hopes for divine intervention to allow him to continue serving in both roles.
In December 2010, a month after wresting the majority in the Legislature from Democrats for the first time in more than a century, Republicans voted to prohibit so-called “double-dipping,” when state lawmakers also work as state employees or work in public education.
Ross vehemently disagrees with the prohibition and said it keeps one class of people, education employees, from serving in the Legislature, while attorneys and small businessmen can continue to serve. He said it will limit the voices of those determining state policy.
DAILY CALLER: Jeff Sessions on Mayors against Chick-Fil-A: “Give me a break”
“People in Alabama basically admire a company that respects traditional religious views and doesn’t open on Sunday,” Sessions said. “I’m going to tell you — you know, I think people respect that. I think these mayors and their complaints and attacks represent one of the most overt unacceptable curtailments of individual freedom I can imagine. It wouldn’t last 15 minutes in a court of law. The idea that you’re not going to allow business to operate in your city because you don’t agree with the owner’s personal views on a matter that is consistent with 3,000 years of Judeo-Christian heritage — I mean, give me a break. I’m just flabbergasted that they would say that, frankly.”
National & International Politics
WASHINGTON POST: Tea party retools as network of field operatives, keeps pushing GOP rightward
For much of the past year, things looked bad for the tea party. Polls showed little new interest from voters, and its favorite presidential contenders flopped in the face of Mitt Romney, who was denounced within the movement. But the final days of the Republican Senate runoff in Texas suggest that the tea party may be reshaping itself into a political operation with long-term viability.
On Tuesday, GOP voters will choose between former state solicitor general Ted Cruz, who has benefited from intense tea party support, and Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst, an establishment Republican and protege of Gov. Rick Perry. Dewhurst finished first in the primary in May but did not win a majority, forcing the runoff. According to recent polling, Cruz may be in the lead.
BUZZFEED: Romney Says Russia Is America’s Number One Adversary
BUZZFEED: Republican Moderates Tire of Leaders’ Tea Party Tilt
As Republicans prepare for yet another show vote on abortion Tuesday, Speaker John Boehner and his leadership team are facing a rising tide of frustration from Republican moderates angry over the rightward tack the conference has taken under his leadership.
Tuesday’s abortion vote – which would ban late term abortions in the District of Columbia – has rubbed a number of moderates wrong. Given that the bill may not pass the House – and would never be taken up by the Senate – moderates and even some conservatives have questioned leadership’s decision to force another vote on a divisive social issue rather than remain solely focused on the economy.
Those dissatisfied moderates hit Boehner with a one-two punch Monday.
GALLUP: In U.S., Bill Clinton at His Most Popular
Two-thirds of Americans — 66% — have a favorable opinion of former U.S. President Bill Clinton, tying his record-high favorability rating recorded at the time of his inauguration in January 1993. Clinton nearly returned to this level of popularity at two points in his second term, but has generally seen lower ratings, averaging 56% since 1993.
DAILY CALLER: Dept. of Homeland Security Funded Video Advises How to Survive Shooting Attack
Following the Aurora, Colo., movie theater massacre that left the nation in horror, the city of Houston has released a Department of Homeland Security-funded video showing what to do in the event of a shooting.
“We hope our residents are never confronted with such an event, but we want to prepare them with some important information if they ever find themselves in this situation,” said Dennis J. Storemski, director of the Mayor’s Office of Public Safety and Homeland Security.
The video, “Run.Hide.Fight. Surviving an Active Shooter Event,” produced by the City of Houston Mayor’s Office of Public Safety and Homeland Security, advises those in the midst of a shooting attack to run, hide and fight.
Watch video:
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