By: Donald V. Watkins
© Copyrighted and Published on March 15, 2020
In the midst of a universally acknowledged global coronavirus pandemic and a declared national emergency to stop the virus from infecting and killing Americans across the nation, two Republican candidates who are vying for the U.S. Senate in the March 31, 2020 Alabama run-off election are talking about "building the wall," "draining the swamp," whether one of them is really a Florida resident," and which one of them is fully committed to supporting President Donald J. Trump. These two candidates are Tommy Tuberville, Auburn University's former head football coach, and Jeff Sessions, Alabama's former U.S. Senator and the former Attorney General of the United States.
Nationwide, the coronavirus is spreading at an alarming rate. Test kits are in short supply. Deaths and illnesses from the virus are skyrocketing. Schools are closing. The stock markets are plunging. Sports events have been canceled. Employers are asking employees to work from home. Government agencies are struggling to contain the virus. The list of catastrophic consequences from the coronavirus outbreak is endless.
Tommy Tuberville and Jeff Sessions, however, seem to be stuck in an alternative universe. Neither candidate has offered a single suggestion for addressing and mitigating the adverse effects of the coronavirus pandemic. No lucid person in America today is talking about building the "wall."
If there is a "swamp" in Washington today, it is filled with swamp creatures and political cronies who are feeding off of the Trump administration's greatly expanded patronage contracts. Just this week, the Federal Reserve System announced a liquidity injection of $1.5 trillion into the U.S. economy, while FEMA announced $50 billion in non-bid coronvirus-related contractual opportunities. These two government actions constitute political patronage on steroids. Nearly all of this money will go to Republican-leaning companies.
If Tuberville is truly a Florida resident, as Sessions claims, federal law and party rules would have prevented Tuberville from running for the Senate seat in Alabama. Interestingly, Sessions has not filed a complaint with the Republican Party to disqualify Tuberville based upon an alleged failure to meet the residency requirement.
Trump Endorsed Tuberville
Tuesday night, President Trump endorsed Tommy Tuberville for the Senate seat. This is no surprise. The morning after the March 3, 2020 Republican primary elections, Trump trashed Jeff Sessions, again. He tweeted a message to his supporters that Sessions didn't have the "wisdom or courage to stare down & end the phony Russia Witch Hunt."
Prior to this tweet, Trump labeled Sessions as "incompetent", an "idiot," a "disaster", and an "embarrassment." Trump has stated publicly that his biggest regret after becoming president was appointing Jeff Sessions as Attorney General. The President has mocked Sessions' college education and his deep southern drawl. Trump has made it clear publicly and privately that he despises Jeff Sessions.
Trump is correct in his claim that Jeff Sessions deserted him after the President appointed him as Attorney General. Immediately after Sessions' desertion, Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein and Special Counsel Robert Mueller teamed up to launch a full-scale, politically-motivated war on Trump, his family members, and closest friends. This war lasted more than two years and ended with Trump crushing Mueller's team of prosecutors.
In early 2018, a publicly humiliated Sessions joined a group of coup d'etat participants consisting of disgruntled Trump administration officials, several cabinet members, a handful of highly-placed White House officials, and other Republican power players who wanted Trump removed from office. The coup leaders believed that Trump was mentally "unfit" for the presidency. They intended to remove the President from office by invoking the disability clause in the Twenty-Fifth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.
Tuberville is Favored to Win the Run-off Race
Tommy Tuberville led the March 3rd primary election by 12,000 votes over second place finisher Jeff Sessions. Tuberville is favored to win the run-off race.
Barring divine intervention, Trump will be re-elected in November. Tommy Tuberville will become the next U.S. Senator from Alabama.
After Trump is re-elected, Jeff Sessions is expected to be indicted by the U.S. Department of Justice early next year for lying to Congress as Trump continues his purge and punishment of the unsuccessful coup d'etat leaders and participants.
Tuberville may be a great football coach but we don't need that. Given that the Senate runs on seniority. Seniority determines office space and location, committee assignments, heck probably even which stall a Senator can use in the bathroom. Senator McConnell has indicated that should Sessions win, he'll receive his former seniority. On the other hand, Tuberville will start as the lowest man on the totem pole. In light of that, I'd like to see what Committees assignments he intends to seek and what legislation he'll originate or support within the Committee assignment.
If he can't tell us that, perhaps he needs to watch the cartoon "How a Bill becomes a law" a few more times.
Candidly, I'm tired of…