FILE - Sen. Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala., listens during the Senate Armed Services Committee hearing to examine the nomination of Army Lt. Gen. Randy George to be reappointment to the grade of general and to be Chief of Staff of the Army, July 12, 2023, on Capitol Hill in Washington. Tuberville is waging an unprecedented campaign to try and change Pentagon abortion policy by holding up hundreds of military nominations and promotions, leaving key positions unfilled and raising concerns at the Pentagon about military readiness. (Mariam Zuhaib/AP)
(Tribune News Service) — A plurality of Alabama voters stand with Sen. Tommy Tuberville’s decision to hold up more than 300 military nominations over Department of Defense policies over abortion, according to a poll released Wednesday.
The survey of 500 registered Alabama voters by WPA Intelligence contradicts polling from earlier this month that found a majority of voters in the state — 58 percent — prefer Tuberville end the months-long hold on military promotions.
Tuberville began the hold in February over Defense policies that expand abortion access, including reimbursing military members for travel to obtain an abortion if they are serving in an area where the procedure is illegal. The senator believes the policies are illegal and can only be made by Congress.
It wasn’t immediately clear who commissioned the WPAi poll, which found 45 percent of respondents agree more with Tuberville’s tactics than the White House position that the hold is damaging military readiness, straining military leaders and creating hardship for military families.
A third of Alabama voters sided with the Biden administration while 11 percent said they didn’t approve of either side and 10 percent said they didn’t know how or refused to answer, the poll showed.
Of the 45 percent who back Tuberville, 42 percent said they did so because they were either pro-life or believe taxpayer dollars should not be used for abortion. Another 30 percent said they support Tuberville because Alabama’s senior senator is fighting Biden or they don’t trust the White House.
Six percent said they stand with Tuberville because he is “being honest” or “a good leader,” the survey found. And 4 percent said they agree with the senator because “other things are hurting the military” and/or “woke [ideology] is the problem.”
The WPAi poll contrasts with a Public Policy Polling survey on behalf of the liberal veterans’ advocacy group VoteVets that found 58 percent of Alabama voters want Tuberville to end the hold.
Last month, Biden claiming Tuberville’s tactics are causing “a growing cascade of damage and destruction.”
“Military families, who already sacrifice so much, [are] unsure of where or when they change stations, unable to get housing or start their kids in a new school because they’re not there yet,” he said.
“A growing cascade of damage and destruction all because one senator from Alabama and 48 Republicans who refuse to stand up to him, to lift the blockade over the pentagon policy offering servicemen and women and their families access to reproductive health care rights they deserve if their stationed in states that deny it,” Biden said. “I think its outrageous.”
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