If Democrats have learned anything from Republicans and their voters during the first chaotic weeks of Donald Trump’s presidency, it’s that government spending is terrible, the worst, just out-of-control, and it must be frozen or cut—WAIT! NO, NOT THAT SPENDING. THAT SPENDING IS GOOD!
That’s the difference between us and them. Republicans only care when they are directly affected, and now it’s Alabama’s turn to suffer the consequences of their lopsided 65-34 vote for Trump in 2024.
“Alabama’s junior U.S. senator said she will work with President Donald Trump’s health secretary nominee Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. to ‘ensure our nation remains at the forefront’ of innovation, research and care after funding cuts announced Friday night by the National Institutes of Health,” reported AL.com, Alabama’s main media outlet.
That junior senator is Katie Britt, who you might remember from that creepy State of the Union rebuttal speech last year (which was mocked so well by Scarlett Johansson on “Saturday Night Live”). It turns out Trump’s funding cuts to the NIH will deeply affect the University of Alabama system.
Freedom-loving Alabama’s university system depends heavily on federal dollars (from blue states, mind you). In fact, the University of Alabama-Birmingham bragged that in 2023, it was among the top 1% in recipients of federal research dollars—to the tune of $774.5 million. Taking a break from fighting socialism, the university bragged that “This milestone marks a $247.5 million increase in funding over the past five years and a 73 percent growth over the past nine years.”
But hey, perhaps I’m being unfair. Universities are bastions of pointy-headed elitist intellectuals. Of course they would love things like “science” and “medicine” and “research” and socializing those costs—all things that modern Republicans supposedly despise and oppose. So we can assume that the state’s all-Republican congressional delegation would be cheering the cuts, right? Isn’t this what they voted for and supported, after all?
“Every cent of hard-earned taxpayer money should be spent efficiently, judiciously, and accountably—without exception,” Britt told AL.com. “While the administration works to achieve this goal at NIH, a smart, targeted approach is needed in order to not hinder life-saving, groundbreaking research at high-achieving institutions like those in Alabama.”
Ah yes, the research in Alabama that’s life-saving and groundbreaking and must not be hindered, unlike all that other inefficient research that’s funded haphazardly in all the other states with all the other programs. I’m sure Britt’s concern has nothing to do with the fact that the University of Alabama is the state’s largest employer, right?
It’s so weird that the biggest moocher states like West Virginia, Louisiana, and Alabama suddenly love socialism—as long as the dollars are spent on them and no one else. And Alabama, the eighth-biggest moocher state in the country which gobbles up twice as much in federal funds as it pays in taxes, really needs to learn a lesson. Trump’s draconian cuts (instigated by his co-President Elon Musk and his shady DOGE cabal) won’t hurt blue states as much as they will decimate red states. If Republican legislators and voters alike want those federal dollars, maybe vote for the party that believes in sharing the wealth and uplifting everyone?
Which brings us back to the difference between us and them: We are capable of empathy, even when something doesn’t affect us directly. Republicans only care when it does.
Meanwhile, the University of Alabama will need to pinch pennies. Maybe they can start with football coach Kalen DeBoer’s $10 million annual salary, which will add up to over $80 million through 2031.
