Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey (R) announced in a video that she is undergoing treatment for recently-discovered lung cancer, CNN reports.
Said Ivey: “The good news is I am one of the fortunate ones where this was discovered early, and it is very treatable. The better news is Alabama is home to some of the world’s leading physicians. My team of doctors have assured me this treatment has a very high rate of success and will have a minimal impact on my schedule.”
“Today the state of Alabama marks the birthday of Jefferson Davis, who served as president of the Confederate States of America from 1861 to 1865. A state holiday, state offices are closed throughout Alabama. Davis, who at one point owned more than 100 slaves, led a government resting on the principle of white supremacy.”
In response, the Montgomery Advertiser published “the testimonies of nine African Americans held in human bondage, all interviewed in Alabama in 1937.”
A federal judge in Jackson, Mississippi said that the state’s controversial “fetal heartbeat” law “smacks of defiance” after hearing arguments seeking to temporarily block the anti-abortion legislation, WJTV reports.
“Judge Carlton Reeves, an Obama-appointed federal judge, heard arguments from the Center for Reproductive Rights which challenged the state’s recently-passed ban, which would outlaw abortions after about six weeks. The new law was signed by the governor on March 21 and is scheduled to be implemented on July 1. Reeves is the same judge who struck down Mississippi’s 15-week ban late last year.”
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Gov. Kay Ivey (R) told the Associated Press that she expects people will still want to visit the state, despite recent protests over the state’s new abortion law.
Said Ivey: “Alabama has a lot of different variety of things to visit and enjoy and our visitors will continue to come.”
“It is time for women to rise up, to be heard, to run for office. I mean all women.”
— Alabama state Sen. Linda Coleman-Madison (D), writing in Elle, after her colleagues passed a law outlawing abortion in the state.
House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) said that he opposes a new Alabama law that outlaws virtually all abortions, even in cases of rape and incest, arguing that it “goes further than I believe,” the Washington Post reports.
Said McCarthy: “I believe in exceptions for rape, incest and life of the mother, and that’s what I’ve voted on.”
Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey (R) signed a law banning abortion in almost all cases, including rape and incest, the AP reports.
From her statement: “To the bill’s many supporters, this legislation stands as a powerful testament to Alabamians’ deeply held belief that every life is precious and that every life is a sacred gift from God.”
“I think that we raped women last night.”
— Alabama state Sen. Bobby Singleton (D), in a CNN interview, on passing a bill outlawing abortion in his state.
“Ahead of Alabama’s potential vote on a near-total abortion ban, the state’s lieutenant governor took to Twitter to urge his fellow lawmakers to pass the legislation without exceptions for rape or incest,” CBS News reports.
Said Lieutenant Governor Will Ainsworth (R) in a video: “Abortion is murder. Those three simple words sum up my position on an issue that many falsely claim in a complex one.”
He that “there should be no amendments, which appeared to be a reference to exceptions for rape or incest.”
“After a fight broke out, Alabama Senate on Thursday voted to table a controversial bill to criminalize abortions by making the act of performing a woman’s pregnancy a felony punishable by up to 99 years imprisonment,” the Washington Post reports.
“The bill, which appeared to pass by a vote of 23 to 6, was then tabled. Democrats shouted demands for a roll-call vote.”
“The vote was then tabled until next week. The bill would be the most restrictive in the country and would impose what is in effect a near-total abortion ban.”
A bill making it a crime for a doctor to perform an abortion passed in the Alabama House of Representatives Tuesday 74 to 3, the Birmingham News reports.
The bill “does not include any exceptions for instances of rape or incest, which has garnered criticism from both pro- and anti-abortion groups.”
“Alabama’s governor has cut off a gravy train for the state’s sheriffs: the unspent money for prisoners’ meals that the sheriffs have long been allowed to keep for themselves,” the New York Times reports.
“The practice, born of a bickered-over ambiguity in a state law, has let sheriffs pocket likely millions of tax dollars over decades. To end it, Gov. Kay Ivey ordered in a memorandum to the state comptroller that payments of funds related to jail food “no longer be made to the sheriffs personally.” Instead, the governor wrote, the money must be paid to county general funds or official accounts.”
Alan Abramowitz: “When Alabama voters were asked which party they would prefer to control the Senate, 50% chose Republicans while 45% chose Democrats. That is a stunning result — perhaps even more stunning than Jones’s victory. Moreover, only 43% had a favorable opinion of the Republican Party while 47% had a favorable opinion of the Democratic Party.”
“As long as I’m secretary of state of Alabama, you’re going to have to show some initiative to become a registered voter in this state.”
— Alabama Secretary of State John Merrill (R), quoted by Mother Jones.
Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey (R) “signed into law a bill allowing adoption agencies in Alabama to follow faith-based policies, such as not placing children with gay couples,” the Birmingham News reports.
The Alabama Supreme Court “allowed the impeachment of Governor Robert Bentley to start next week, staying a temporary restraining order from a lower court that had blocked hearings,” Reuters reports.
“Bentley, a Republican, has been battling impeachment efforts over the last year related to political fallout from his relationship with a former aide.”
Alabama House Speaker Michael Hubbard (R), “whose sharp-elbowed approach to politics propelled the Republican Party to dominance in his state, was convicted Friday on 12 felony ethics charges, leaving him stripped of power and facing the possibility of decades in prison,” the New York Times reports.
“The verdict…deepened the political crisis in Alabama, where some of the most influential state officials are facing inquiries and threats of ouster.”
New York Times: “The chief justice of the state’s Supreme Court has been hit with ethics charges for defying federal courts on same-sex marriage, and could be removed from his seat. The governor, caught on tape engaging in salacious banter, apparently with his powerful chief adviser, is facing criminal investigations and calls for impeachment.”
“That the governor’s racy calls became public at all is because of what may be the most significant and sweeping crisis of the lot: the impending trial of the Alabama House speaker, Michael G. Hubbard, described by friends and foes as the most powerful man in state politics.”
Taegan Goddard is the founder of Political Wire, one of the earliest and most influential political web sites. He also runs Political Job Hunt, Electoral Vote Map and the Political Dictionary.
Goddard spent more than a decade as managing director and chief operating officer of a prominent investment firm in New York City. Previously, he was a policy adviser to a U.S. Senator and Governor.
Goddard is also co-author of You Won - Now What? (Scribner, 1998), a political management book hailed by prominent journalists and politicians from both parties. In addition, Goddard's essays on politics and public policy have appeared in dozens of newspapers across the country.
Goddard earned degrees from Vassar College and Harvard University. He lives in New York with his wife and three sons.
Goddard is the owner of Goddard Media LLC.
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