Senate Republicans' Version of Tax Bill Retains Johnson Amendment Restrictions

As previously reported, the tax cut legislation introduced by Republicans in the House of Representatives eliminates some of the restrictions on political speech by non-profits currently imposed by the Johnson Amendment.  Senate Republicans have drafted their own version of a tax bill.  As reported by The Hill, Republicans on Thursday released a 253- page description of the bill (full text), though not the full legislative language.  It does not appear that the Senate is proposing any change to the Johnson Amendment's current restrictions on political intervention by non-profits. The Senate bill is scheduled for markup by the Finance Committee on Nov. 13.

Barrett Confirmed For 7th Circuit After Controversy Over Her Religious Beliefs

The Hill reports that the U.S. Senate yesterday confirmed the nomination of Notre Dame Law Professor Amy Coney Barrett for a seat on the U.S. 7th Circuit Court of Appeals.  Three Democrats joined Republicans to approve the nomination by a vote of 55-43.  Barrett's nomination had become controversial because of her views on reproductive rights, abortion, LGBTQ rights, as well as her statement in a 1988 law review article urging Catholic judges to recuse themselves in capital cases because of Catholic teaching opposing capital punishment. (See prior posting.) After the Senate's confirmation vote, a spokesperson for The Catholic Association said:

Amy Coney Barrett's qualifications for the federal judiciary are undisputed, but abortion industry advocates continue their smear campaign by attacking Barrett's Catholic faith.  The full Senate rejected their attempt to hang a ‘Catholics need not apply’ sign outside the Senate chamber when it considers candidates to the judiciary.

Roy Moore Wins Republican Runoff In Alabama

Former Alabama Supreme Court Chief Justice Roy Moore won yesterday's Alabama Republican U.S. Senate primary runoff, prevailing over Luther Strange who has served in the U.S. Senate for six months.  Moore won by a vote of 55% to 45%. (Official results).

As reported by CNN:

Moore now faces Democratic nominee Doug Jones in a December general election in the race to replace Attorney General Jeff Sessions.

Moore's win Tuesday night will thrust his long history of homophobic and racially tinged remarks into the spotlight.

He has campaigned on a platform of placing Christianity at the center of public life. In 2003, Moore was removed as state Supreme Court chief justice for refusing to take down a Ten Commandments monument. He was re-elected to the job, and then ousted again in 2016, when he refused to follow the US Supreme Court's ruling legalizing same-sex marriage.

Though Alabama is a solidly red state, Democrats hope Jones, a former federal prosecutor who rose to prominence by leading the government's case against two perpetrators of the 16th Street Baptist Church bombing, can make the race competitive.

Here is additional background on Moore from Wikipedia.

Moore Tweeted from his victory rally: "There's one person you don't see on this stage that's done more for my campaign than anybody, and that's almighty God."  In a second Tweet, he added: "We have to return to the acknowledgment of God, and the United States Constitution."

Today Is Alabama Senate Primary Runoff Between Moore and Strange

Today in Alabama, Republican voters go to the polls in the runoff U.S. Senate primary race between incumbent Luther Strange and former Alabama Supreme Court Chief Justice Roy Moore.  Moore is known for his high profile battles in which he refused to remove a Ten Commandments monument from the Alabama Supreme Court building and his defiance of the U.S. Supreme Court's same-sex marriage ruling.  Al.com reports that in his final campaign rally last night, Moore told a large crowd: "For whatever reason, God has put me in this election at this time and all of the nation is watching."

7 U.S. Senators Write Netanyahu Over Jewish Pluralism In Israel

As reported by JTA, on Monday seven U.S. senators (all of them Jewish) sent a letter (full text) to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu expressing concern over Israeli governmental recognition of Orthodox Judaism over the more liberal branches of Judaism.  Signed by Senators Wyden, Feinstein, Frankin, Blumenthal, Cardin, Schatz, and Sanders, the letter read in part:

[W]e applaud your recent decision to put a hold on a conversion bill under consideration by the Knesset. As we understand it, this bill would invest full oversight of conversions in Israel to the Chief Rabbinate.  We fear this would have significant ramifications for the religious equality of all Jewish movements in Israel and we worry that our Modern Orthodox and non-Orthodox constituents will see this as an attack on their Jewishness and the status of their rabbis....

We are also very concerned by the Israeli government's recent decision to freeze a widely-agreed-upon plan to establish an egalitarian payer space at the Western Wall....

We fear actions like [these] ... will strain the unique relationship between our two nations, particularly if the majority of American Jews see the movements to which they are committed denied equal rights in Israel.  Given all the challenges Israel faces on the international stage, we urge you not to alienate committed Zionists.

Roy Moore Announces Run For U.S. Senate Seat From Alabama

In Alabama this week, Roy Moore who has been suspended for the rest of his term as Chief Justice of the Alabama Supreme Court because of his defiance of same-sex marriage rulings (see prior posting) announced that he will formally resign from his judicial position in order to run for the United States Senate.  The Republican primary for the seat is scheduled for August (with a potential run off in September). The special election itself is scheduled for December 12.  The Senate seat initially opened up when former Senator Jeff Sessions was appointed U.S. Attorney General. According to AL.com, Moore will face several opponents in the primary, including incumbent Sen. Luther Strange who was appointed on an interim basis to Sessions' seat by Alabama Gov. Robert Bentley, and Dr. Randy Brinson, president of the Christian Coalition of Alabama.  In his announcement, Moore said in part: "My position has always been God first, family then country. I share the vision of President Donald Trump to make America great again."

100 Senators Call For Action On Jewish Community Center Bomb Threats

All 100 members of the U.S. Senate yesterday signed a letter (full text) to the Attorney General, the Secretary of Homeland Security and the Director of the FBI calling for "swift action with regard to the deeply troubling series of anonymous bomb threats made against Jewish Community Centers (JCCs), Jewish Day Schools, Synagogues and other buildings affiliated with Jewish organizations or institutions across the country."  Sen. Gary Peters issued a press release announcing the letter. Politico called the letter "a rare moment of bipartisanship."