Straight Dope Message Board

[JohnT]

This oughtta be good:

"Source confirms Sessions is IN - the consultants he’s hired have conferred with the NRSC, per the person briefed on events."

https://twitter.com/maggieNYT/status...160372224?s=20

Given how much Trump hates Sessions, this one is an automatic entry in the top-10 interesting races of 2020. Let the good times roll! 1

[JohnT]

Lololol, this could be the most enjoyable race over the next months:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/polit...5a8_story.html

Jeff Sessions, ex-attorney general forced out by Trump, plans to run for former Senate seat in Alabama

The president has discussed attacking Sessions with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), and McConnell has shared that he also has concerns about Sessions running, according to people familiar with the matter. He has repeatedly denigrated Sessions to allies and White House aides in recent days.

Trump has even joked to senators and White House aides that he would move to Alabama and primary Jeff Sessions himself, two people familiar with his comments said.

First Bolton, now Sessions. (Dis)honor among thieves. 2

[CarnalK]

Heh I remember wondering why the heck he took the job and gave up the rest of his lifetime in the Senate. Seems he thinks he can have his cake and eat it too. We'll see if Mitch and Trump know Aabama politics better than Sessions. 3

[Chronos]

I'd definitely rather have him in the Senate than Moore.

For a more detailed look, in the long run, we need two sane parties in this country. And that means that we need sane Republicans winning elections. Now, I'm a liberal: I'll almost always prefer the Democrat over the Republican, even if the Republican is sane. And I'd be upset if even a sane Republican won in, say, California or New York. But Alabama? We'll almost never have a Democrat there, anyway. A sane Republican in Alabama would be about the best outcome that could be hoped for. 4

[scr4]

Originally Posted by Chronos

But Alabama? We'll almost never have a Democrat there, anyway. A sane Republican in Alabama would be about the best outcome that could be hoped for.

You do know the seat is currently held by a Democrat, right? A Republican win in 2020 is not a foregone conclusion. (Though it would be tougher, since 2017 was a special election, and even with Trump's attacks, Roy Moore was more despised than Sessions ever was.)

If you mean Jones winning in 2017 and Sessions in 2020 is better than Roy Moore winning 2017 and 2020, I'm not sure. I think Sessions is more loyal to the Republican Party than Moore is, but Moore may have been more disruptive (think Rand Paul). 5

[FlikTheBlue]

Originally Posted by scr4

You do know the seat is currently held by a Democrat, right? A Republican win in 2020 is not a foregone conclusion. (Though it would be tougher, since 2017 was a special election, and even with Trump's attacks, Roy Moore was more despised than Sessions ever was.)

If you mean Jones winning in 2017 and Sessions in 2020 is better than Roy Moore winning 2017 and 2020, I'm not sure. I think Sessions is more loyal to the Republican Party than Moore is, but Moore may have been more disruptive (think Rand Paul).

I consider myself a liberal and of course Jones 2017 and Jones 2020 would be the best outcome. But between Jones / Sessions and Moore / Moore it’s not even close. Sessions is much better than Moore. Being “disruptive” is probably not of any benefit. 6

[iiandyiiii]

The current version of the GOP is unsalvageable, IMO. Sessions is an enabler and tolerator of bigotry, misogyny, and other terrible things that the current GOP tolerates and institutes. "Better than Moore" doesn't really tell us anything. The best possible scenario is for Jones to win, and the likeliest scenario for Jones winning is for Moore to win the nomination (or maybe run 3rd party, but I think he'd have to do that from the get go rather than run for a party nomination), so I'll continue to hope that Moore gets the nomination to increase the chance of Jones winning.

The GOP needs to be politically crushed, and then maybe something salvageable can come from it. 7

[CarnalK]

This isn't really a thing that will be affected by Democrats' wishlist. 8

[iiandyiiii]

Originally Posted by CarnalK

This isn't really a thing that will be affected by Democrats' wishlist.

You just aren't wishing hard enough. 9

[BobLibDem]

Sessions is like a bad penny that keeps coming back. He's a racist little fucker that tolerated abuse from the psycho in chief so he could remain as AG and do what he could to roll back civil rights. Sure, he's better than Moore, but there are few who are not. 10

[JohnT]

On the other hand, Sessions vs. Trump, with Mitch caught in the middle, is comedy gold. The more time, attention, and money the Pubs spend fighting each other in Alabama, the better. Not exactly a "wishlist" item, but definitely a "nice to have". 11

[Gyrate]

If the Democrats don't cover Alabama with billboards of things Sessions and Trump have said (or will have said at that point) about each other with the caption "Which one do you believe?", they'll have missed a trick. It's a win-win for the Democrats. 12

[The Stainless Steel Rat]

Originally Posted by Gyrate

If the Democrats don't cover Alabama with billboards of things Sessions and Trump have said (or will have said at that point) about each other with the caption "Which one do you believe?", they'll have missed a trick. It's a win-win for the Democrats.

You obviously don't know what a fuster-cluck the Democratic Party is in Alabama. The 'old guard', which is satisfied with the status quo (meaning they are in power) are being challenged by younger members of the party and by the Democratic National Committee, who would like to see somebody try and re-invigorate the party. So all the Dems are tied up with intra-party fighting which is no way to win elections in a very, very red state.

My prediction; if Sessions does go in, he'll win it, albeit a Roy Jones-Jeff Sessions primary could be quite entertaining if Trump gets involved...

We shall see. 13

[aurora maire]

Trump may hate Sessions but he's not going to lose Alabama over it. Trump will just tell his fans that even a loser piece of shit who is strong on the border, crime, military and 2nd amendment and who will keep kissing his ass like the dog he is will be better than a Democrat. And his folks will eat it up. They aren't voting for weak dumb Sessions, they are voting for Trump and they better not disappoint him! And Sessions will thank him and say "Sir, can I have some more?" 14

[septimus]

Originally Posted by FlikTheBlue

... Sessions is much better than Moore....

Better as Senator? Or better as GOP nominee for Senate?

Originally Posted by iiandyiiii

The current version of the GOP is unsalvageable, IMO. Sessions is an enabler and tolerator of bigotry, misogyny, and other terrible things that the current GOP tolerates and institutes. "Better than Moore" doesn't really tell us anything. The best possible scenario is for Jones to win, and the likeliest scenario for Jones winning is for Moore to win the nomination (or maybe run 3rd party, but I think he'd have to do that from the get go rather than run for a party nomination), so I'll continue to hope that Moore gets the nomination to increase the chance of Jones winning.

The GOP needs to be politically crushed, and then maybe something salvageable can come from it.

Mr. IIII and I are in full agreement!

Originally Posted by aurora maire

Trump may hate Sessions but he's not going to lose Alabama over it. Trump will just tell his fans that even a loser piece of shit ...And Sessions will thank him and say "Sir, can I have some more?"

I think you're over-estimating the Trump. At this point he's literally been reduced to a brat just whining for someone to change his diapers. He'll be happy to barf on Sessions just out of spite.

Originally Posted by Gyrate

If the Democrats don't cover Alabama with billboards of things Sessions and Trump have said (or will have said at that point) about each other with the caption "Which one do you believe?", they'll have missed a trick. It's a win-win for the Democrats.

I hope you're right! 15

[Gyrate]

Originally Posted by septimus

Better as Senator? Or better as GOP nominee for Senate?

"Better" in general. But saying "a corrupt racist is better than a corrupt racist pedophile who's been kicked out of his job twice for Constitutional violations" is setting the bar so low it's basically in the sewer. 16

[septimus]

Originally Posted by Gyrate

"Better" in general. But saying "a corrupt racist is better than a corrupt racist pedophile who's been kicked out of his job twice for Constitutional violations" is setting the bar so low it's basically in the sewer.

I asked the question because I'd certainly prefer Moore as the Republican candidate.

I can vaguely understand thinking Sessions would be a better Senator, but it's not as though he would ever vote the correct side on any issue.

Kudos to Sessions anyway, for recusing himself instead of turning criminal. That's better than most of Trump's appointees have done. 17

[septimus]

From the trivia desk:

As soon as Sessions was confirmed to be the nation's top law enforcement official (and he abstained on his own confirmation), it was the replacement Luther Strange who cast further Alabama votes in the Senate. So Sessions participated in very few of the 2017 Senate confirmation votes.

However he did vote 'Aye' for Betsy DeVos — appointed as Secretary for Destroying Public Education — and thereby made history: On February 7, 2017, DeVos was confirmed by the Senate by a 51–50 margin, with Vice President Mike Pence breaking the tie in favor of her nomination. This was the first time in U.S. history that a cabinet nominee's confirmation was decided by the Vice President's tiebreaking vote. 18

[Chronos]

Yes, of course it's possible for a Democrat to win, and yes, of course that's preferable to Sessions. But even given that Jones is the incumbent, he still only has a very small chance of winning in 2020. We should be supporting him and fighting for the seat (because we should fight for every seat everywhere), but we should also be making plans for the very likely contingency that he loses.

It's like being a Browns fan. Of course I'd like for them to win the Superbowl. But in practice, I'm rooting for the Steelers. 19

[Lance Turbo]

Originally Posted by Gyrate

If the Democrats don't cover Alabama with billboards of things Sessions and Trump have said (or will have said at that point) about each other with the caption "Which one do you believe?", they'll have missed a trick. It's a win-win for the Democrats.

Republicans are way ahead of Dems here.

A Pac supporting Tommy Tuberville has released this ad... Traitor Jeff. "He's bad. He's a bad, bad guy." - DJT on Sessions in the ad.

Tuberville hasn't been mentioned yet in this thread. He is running for the seat and is known and loved statewide for coaching Auburn to five SEC championships. 20

[Lance Turbo]

Tuberville seems to have the lead in sparse polling that exists so far. None of the polls included Jeff Sessions.

I don't think Roy Moore is going to be a factor this time. Even in the primary. 21

[BobLibDem]

Originally Posted by Lance Turbo

Tuberville hasn't been mentioned yet in this thread. He is running for the seat and is known and loved statewide for coaching Auburn to five SEC championships.

But is he loved by fans of Alabama? Could having coached at Auburn be a negative for fans of the Crimson Tide? 22

[Lance Turbo]

Originally Posted by BobLibDem

But is he loved by fans of Alabama? Could having coached at Auburn be a negative for fans of the Crimson Tide?

I don't know enough to know for sure, but my guess is football coach trumps namby pamby politician in a non-football context regardless of school for a bunch of folks. I could certainly be wrong. 23

[JohnT]

I'm definitely thinking "good ol' boy football coach turned easily-pliable Senator" is far more appealing to McConnell than "grizzled veteran of the highest stakes, this time with a possible grudge". 24