Doug Jones refuses to commit to acquit; trails most GOP opponents

No Alabama voter in their right mind thinks that a vote to acquit President Trump will let Doug Jones sneak in and be reelected as the junior U.S. Senator from Alabama. No... his vote against Trump's Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh in 2018 has almost certainly sealed that fate. But here he is trying to play the uncommitted juror in an appearance on ABC News this morning. Axios won't let me embed the video but you can click through if you want, and you tell me if that's the face of an honest man.

So... given that the man is fundamentally dishonest and slipperier that a Goat Hill piglet, how can his 2020 electoral fate be almost certainly sealed? Well, we have some recent polling of the 2020 Alabama Senate seat race and Jones trails almost all of his GOP opponents.

Tommy Tuberville beats him 47/40. Sessions wins 46/41, my guy Bradley Byrne beats him 44/40.  Who does he almost certainly not beat?

Jones did beat former Alabama Chief Justice Roy Moore in a head-to-head match-up, leading him 47% to 33%, with 20% undecided. He also led Rep. Arnold Mooney, R-Indian Springs, 40% to 34%, with 25% undecided. The incumbent senator also consistently led his opponent among voters under the age of 35; African-American voters, and non-evangelical voters.

There really are only two people who could lose to Doug Jones in November: Me, and Roy Moore. Though Mooney trails Moore in the Advertiser poll, that's simply a function of name recognition. Mooney is a solid conservative with very little (known) baggage.

I'm not running--I missed the primary ballot deadline because my wife grabbed my ankle and wouldn't let me make it to the courthouse.

That leaves Creepy Uncle Roy Moore.

The sexual misconduct allegations against Brett Kavanaugh failed to derail his SCOTUS nomination because they were provably false. The sexual misconduct allegations against Creepy Uncle Roy were credibly true. If things had ever come to a trial, the well of other victims with other lurid and disgusting stories would have never run dry. Let's just say that the women who came forward were the brave ones.

A vote for Creepy Uncle Roy in the March primary is the same as a vote for Doug Jones in the general election. Please don't.

Alabama voters have already made it clear that they'd rather have a dishonest Democrat than a creepy dude who was twice removed from office by members of his profession elected from his own party. If Republican lawyers and judges can't stand the man, Republican voters shouldn't either.

Fox10tv's exclusive interview with Jeff Sessions on 2020 run

Bob Grip is a Titan in Gulf Coast journalism, so it's not surprising that the semi-retired legendary anchor scored an exclusive interview with former Senator and U.S. Attorney General.

Sessions talks about his decision to run for his old Senate seat, and also opens up a bit about his relationship with President Trump.


Fox 10 News promises more from this interview in the days ahead. This can't be better for Sessions, and can't be worse for either Sessions' primary opponents or more importantly Doug Jones. Grip can't be bought and can't be spun.

Democrats desperately need to hold this seat to have any hope of flipping the Senate and Sessions will obliterate Jones. Democrats know this, so they will go all out to kill his candidacy in the primary. They would rather take their chances with anyone else.

Believe absolutely nothing you hear from national media outlets in the next four months when it comes to this story. There are no "sources close to the matter" who would even take a call from CNN, NY Times, Washington Post, ad nauseum. If those folks tell you a story, believe the precise opposite to be the truth.

If the media says President Trump is torn over how to respond to this race, believe instead that he is indifferent. If they say Sessions is seeking Trump's endorsement, believe instead that they have not spoken about it.

Jeff Sessions has qualified for the U.S. Senate GOP primary

He's in. And he's hit the track running hard for his old spot as the Junior Senator from Alabama. He made his public announcement in very friendly territory, chatting it up with Fox's Tucker Carlson.


He's also gotten some very big guns from the upper chamber behind him, led by the Senior Senator from Alabama, Richard Shelby:

Fox News has learned that Alabama’s senior senator, Richard Shelby, is circulating an “open letter to conservatives” signed by at least 11 Republican senators who are endorsing Sessions’ candidacy. Sessions served in the Senate from 1997 to 2017 until he joined the Trump administration as attorney general.

“Each of us has served in the United States Senate with Jeff Sessions,” the letter, obtained by Fox News, states. “We have seen him work diligently in the public eye and behind closed doors, when things were both good and bad, under stress and in success.”

The letter is signed by Shelby, Oklahoma Sen. Jim Inhofe, Kansas Sen. Pat Roberts, Wyoming Sen. Mike Enzi, Idaho Sen. Mike Crapo, Georgia Sen. Johnny Isakson, Wyoming Sen. John Barrasso, Missouri Sen. Roy Blunt, Arkansas Sen. John Boozman, Wisconsin Sen. Ron Johnson and Nebraska Sen. Deb Fischer.

Polling with an official Sessions campaign hasn't been done yet. But if the official polling tracks anywhere near the polling on a hypothetical race with Sessions in the mix, he's the new leader in the clubhouse:

In late June, Brent Buchanan’s firm Cygnal surveyed 612 likely Republican voters with a margin of error at +/-3.96%. His ballot test numbers – WITHOUT Sessions in the race – showed:

Tommy Tuberville 29%
Bradley Byrne 21%
Roy Moore 13%
John Merrill 12%
The ballot test – WITH Sessions in the race – showed:

Jeff Sessions 29%
Tommy Tuberville 21%
Bradley Byrne 13%
Roy Moore 9%
John Merrill 8%

Sessions is expected to draw votes from "establishment" lane dwellers, Byrne and Merrill, but also from the "outsider lane" candidates Tubs and creepy Roy Moore. If these numbers hold and Byrne or Merrill can't find a way to get past Tubs, Sessions will face Tubs in the ultimate establishment vs outsider battle.

One way Sessions can get Tubs to suffer a little is by showing up tomorrow with President Trump at the Alabama-LSU game. Tubs can't do that; Sessions can because he's a Capstone Alumnus.

The question is, would Trump do this? Washington Examiner indicates that he wouldn't. Remember folks, Trump is a showman. What better show could there be than having the President and Prodigal Senator reunited before 100,000+ potential Alabama voters and millions more on national TV?

How could Trump not have his heart of hearts warmed by this ad, and how does he resist?

This is a crucial time in our nation's history. The left has become unhinged and they are threatening the very things that make America great. I'm running for U.S. Senate because we have to fight back. Let's go! https://t.co/E1Ti9aYKNT pic.twitter.com/IlueZhTiT4

— Jeff Sessions (@jeffsessions) November 8, 2019

Tommy Tuberville is a stone cold lock for the Republican Senate nomination

The reason Tommy Tuberville is guaranteed to win the Republican Party's nomination for the U.S. Senate isn't what you think it is. He's gonna get it because he's a really, really good recruiter.

For ten years as Head Coach of Auburn University, Tubs went head-to-head with the best salesmen on the planet--his rival head coaches in the Southeastern Conference. 

For ten years he went to every corner of the state (indeed, every corner of the country) and convinced complete strangers to send their sons to play football in a remote corner of Alabama.

For ten years he went before our friends Cam and Mike and sold the media and public that everything on The Plains was going just fine, y'all.

He didn't get everyone he went after but he signed the majority of them. He never won a college football national championship either,  but he won the majority of his games.

He says he's a Donald Trump supporter. He touts conservative Christian values. He's for cutting taxes and reducing the size and influence of the federal government. Tubs can play the Washington Outsider role to perfection, too--he's never held public office. As any college football fan will tell you though, every coach serves at the instant pleasure of the fans, boosters and assorted "friends of the program." Run afoul of them and post a bad season and you're out the next day.

You can't do that with a U.S. Senator, who is elected to a six-year term with no recall and no recourse if the horse changes color a few weeks after being sworn in.

My guy is current U.S. Congressman Bradley Byrne. I've met him, I've donated to his campaign and I've spoken with his congressional and campaign staff. I don't think there's a more qualified candidate running. Byrne will be able to read a legislative proposal and decide whether it makes sense or whether he can offer a better alternative.

Tubs might be able to read a team roster but I doubt he'll be able to tell if a Senate Resolution is even written in English.

He's a helluva recruiter though. He's never gotten them all and he's ok with that. That's all he has to do to get the GOP nomination. For a state GOP electorate that was dumb enough to nominate Roy Moore in the 2017 special election, it's no heavy lift for Tubs to get the nod in the primary about six months from now.

In fact, he's a stone cold lock.