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

Jeff Sessions out as Attorney General, mulling a return to his Senate Seat? Well…

He’s leaning against returning to the Senate even though he’d be a strong candidate for his old seat, now held by Democrat Doug Jones.

Everyone saw Sessions’ exit from the Department of Justice as a foregone conclusion. His fumbling of questions regarding his contact with Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak led to him recusing himself from oversight of Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s probe of Russian influence during the 2016 campaign. This immediately angered President Donald Trump and has led to near constant discord between Trump and the first sitting Senator to endorse his Presidential campaign.

Sessions is 71 and he’s spent the better part of four decades in federal service. People he’s spoken to tell IBCR that a decision hasn’t been made whether to start a moderately “uphill comeback” or just enjoy retirement. He is personally irritated by the the rancor with the White House but embraced his role in the Senate. He particularly relished his time and work on the Senate Judiciary Committee.

Meanwhile, current Senator Doug Jones is widely seen as the weakest of the Democrat incumbents seeking reelection in 2020, and this has attracted a great deal of interest from a very deep candidate field. The possibles include Alabama political heavyweights like former Alabama Attorney Luther Strange and Representatives Bradley Byrne and Martha Roby. Sessions would almost certainly face formidable primary opposition. Also, Donald Trump is still very popular in the state and his criticism of Sessions’ handling of the Russia has taken its toll.

The political terrain in Alabama is simple and flat: Anyone not named Roy Moore will destroy Doug Jones in the 2020 General Election.  The primary campaign  is where this election will be decided.  Sessions must decide if he wants to get up close and personal with candidates that he knows and personally likes, and who began preparing to unseat Jones last January.

He hasn’t yet.

Perhaps the most telling indication of Sessions’ current thinking is this statement from his Senate colleague, Richard Shelby:

“Thank you to my good friend, Jeff Sessions, for over 40 years of noble service to Alabama and our country. Jeff was a respected colleague of mine in the Senate for two decades and represented our nation with honor as the U.S. Attorney General. I wish him all the best in his future endeavors.”

Stay tuned, though.

Do Republicans have a torpedo for Kagan's confirmation?

Do Senate Republicans on the Judiciary Committee have a torpedo that could sink Elena Kagan's all but otherwise certain confirmation to the U.S. Supreme Court?  They might, if Ms. Kagan and/or the Obama regime are forthcoming in answer to a recent letter transmitted by committee Republicans earlier today.

Led by ranking member Jeff Sessions (R-AL), every one of the Republicans signed off on a letter with 13 specific questions:

---

(CNSNews.com) - All seven Republicans on the Senate Judiciary Committee sent a letter today to Solicitor General Elena Kagan demanding information about whether she at any time as a member of the Obama administration discussed the suit filed by Florida and numerous other states challenging the constitutionality of the health-care law signed by President Barack Obama--an action that under federal law could require Kagan to recuse herself from the case if she is confirmed as a justice and it comes before the Supreme Court.

In the letter, the Judiciary Committee Republicans pose 13 questions to Kagan. The first seven directly probe whether she was in anyway involved in the administration’s planning or response to the lawsuit brought against Obamacare by Florida and other states. Questions eight and nine probe whether she discussed the underlying constitutional issues involved in the health care legislation. Question ten asks her why she should not recuse herself from ruling on Supreme Court challenges to the health-care law if she discussed it or the underlying constitutional issues during her service in the Obama administration.

---

Obamacare was the centerpiece policy goal of the regime, and its passage was the most painfully won prize of this Congress.  The regime is not about to give it up, and you can count on a tooth, nail and claw battle throughout the process of judicial review.  Is it likely that, as Solicitor General, Ms. Kagan was asked to provide advice on the suits filed by Florida et al and Virginia?  The answer is almost certainly "yes."  There's no way that an ambitious regime lawyer sat idly by whilst the regime determined its response to the lawsuits challenging the regime's most precious trophy.

The question is whether the regime invokes executive privilege or privilege of counsel in refusing to answer the GOP's letter.  If they do, all 41 Senate Republicans have sufficient grounds for supporting a filibuster of her nomination.  If they don't, then they disclose that yeah, she did provide counsel and well... yeah, she's gonna have to recuse herself from the case when the matter comes before the Court (and it almost certainly will).


Do the Senate Republicans get the answer?  Remember, Senator Sessions is himself a very good lawyer, having served as a US Attorney in Mobile.  Good lawyers never ask questions that they don't already know the answers to.

The regime probably won't answer.  The White House will probably claim privilege, giving the GOP a good reason to filibuster her and facing that, giving the White House a good reason to pull her nomination.

"Fire control, give me a solution on that target, load torpedo bay alpha and fire on my command."


Gimme some feedback in the comments.