Hugh F. Culverhouse, Jr. is at it again.
Alabamians probably remember the backstory. He bought the naming rights to the University of Alabama School of Law last year, but he thought he bought the school itself.
After souring relationships with university administration finally passed the point of no return, University of Alabama System Chancellor Finis “Fess” St. John recommended that Culverhouse’s record donation be returned.
The Floridian then came out in an untethered interview and cursed God, the university, the Yellowhammer State and just about anyone else that was on his mind.
Oh — and of course, Culverhouse tried to “cover up” what was really going on by saying the riff was about his opposition to a new state abortion ban law, one that is not in and almost certainly will never go into effect, and one that the university had nothing to do with.
That huge Culverhouse falsehood — let’s call it what it was, a lie — was propped up by certain outlets in-state initially, which allowed national outlets like The Washington Post to run with the abortion-narrative fact-free.
The university then produced records definitely proving Culverhouse was lying, but most national outlets could not be bothered with correcting the record, and he even doubled down afterward, proving that truth does not matter to him in this vendetta.
This was over three weeks ago now. Time has passed. But, as his actions Tuesday proved, the tantrum is not over.
Culverhouse bought a full-page ad in the Wall Street Journal on July 2 entitled, “When we sing ‘God Bless America’ on the fourth, in Alabama some will whistle Dixie.”
The premise is obvious: Alabama is a backward place and Culverhouse is superior to it. Media outlets in the state like Alabama Media Group and across the country will run with it because they agree with the premise, never mind it being based on more lies.
The most glaring falsehood in the WSJ ad is Culverhouse’s claim that Alabama state law would allow “a father who has sex with his daughter to obtain custody rights.”
Yellowhammer News has recently debunked this claim, similarly made by The Washington Post and Alabama Media Group alike.
For an attorney, Culverhouse also displayed dubious knowledge of the law in his ad, reminding people that he did not graduate from the prestigious University of Alabama School of Law.
In one part, he brags that the abortion ban “will not pass judicial review.” Of course, this is the point — Alabama’s lawmakers openly and consistently have said they do not want the law to go into effect, rather, they want the law to go through the judicial review process and reach the Supreme Court for consideration.
Additionally, just sentences after crowing about that, Culverhouse asserted the abortion ban “will lead to cruel, unthinkable results.”
Simply put, he cannot logically have it both ways and say that the law 1) will never be in effect, but at the same time claim 2) the law’s effects will be devastating. This is a fear tactic — a bad one — that is working, in part, because of outlets who continue to publish what Culverhouse says despite the facts.
At some point, the guy who goes from saying, “Maybe his God and my God are schizo-fu**ing-phrenic,” to singing “God Bless America” needs to go into the good Sarasota night. If his lies stop getting published, this can finally happen — whether he goes quietly or just with no-one around to hear his fit.
Sean Ross is a staff writer for Yellowhammer News. You can follow him on Twitter @sean_yhn
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