Trump Vs. Sessions: An Alabama Battle Royale?

Trump Vs. Sessions: An Alabama Battle Royale?

Bias

Moderate Left Bias
This article has moderate left bias with a bias score of -72.76 from our political bias detecting A.I.


Opinion Article
This is an opinion article. As such, the content below expresses the viewpoint of the author, not our site as a whole.


Your browser does not support the canvas element.

Janet Ybarra
Democrat
Former Washington Journalist
Contributor on The Bipartisan Press

Hover to Expand



Regular readers of The Bipartisan Press know that we’ve been working with a new artificial intelligence to calculate and characterize the political bias of any given article on the site.

This article today likely will challenge that AI to its limit as to where it might come down.

That’s because, when it comes to a political observer looking at next year’s Alabama election to US Senate, it could appear as a chess game, the picture through a blue/red kaleidoscope or a potential grudge-match in the mud between Jeff Sessions and Donald Trump, which could easily tear at the Republican party in Alabama and possibly beyond.


Former attorney general and Trump punching bag Jeff Sessions reportedly is considering jumping into the race for Senate seat he held for 20 years before giving it up to become the attorney general Trump says he never wanted.

It is said that Trump will be enraged should Sessions make the race, which likely makes it all the more tempting for Sessions, after taking so much flak from Trump, for so long, for doing the right thing and recusing himself from the Robert Mueller-led investigation into Russia interference in the 2016 presidential election.

The fact is in ruby-red Alabama, Trump and Sessions are both beloved political figures and a direct feud between the two could surely test loyalties and friendships.

If Sessions were to regain the seat, certainly much of his agenda would track that of Trump’s. But that doesn’t mean Sessions would make things easy for his old boss. It’s easy to imagine Sessions making Trump beg and grovel here and there just as a little pay back.

However, Sessions wouldn’t be the only Republican candidate interested in the seat. A number of others have already filed for the primary, including well-known child molester Roy Moore, who already narrowly lost last year’s special election to fill the balance of Sessions’ remaining term when he resigned to become attorney general.

While it’s certainly possible most of the other Republicans might clear the field for Sessions, it’s unlikely that the headstrong and controversial Moore would join them.

Which leaves us with the current incumbent, Sen. Doug Jones, the final piece in our chess match, who is also frequently referred to as the most vulnerable Democrat among senators up for reelection in 2020.

As the first Democrat to win statewide in Alabama in decades, Jones is said to have won a once-in-a-lifetime miracle election.

Even as a moderate Democrat in red state Alabama, Jones is in a bit of an impossible political spot, and while I don’t always agree with his positions, I do believe that he is doing his honest best to represent his home state every day.

The fact that he is in a sort of impossible political spot can be freeing in a sense, and I hope that’s what’s happening for the senator.

Which leaves us with the conclusion that as much fun as a Trump/Sessions rematch would be to watch as new soap opera in the nation’s capital, that’s not what Washington DC is there for.

Despite what Trump might believe, it’s not supposed to be a reality show.

Politicians were never supposed to be celebrities first. There is a reason these folks are referred to as public servants.


As a moderate trying to represent his state, Senator Jones is the one who best represents that tradition.

I hope that in the face of people and pundits writing him off in next year’s elections that he once again defies the odds.

Content from The Bipartisan Press. All Rights Reserved.



Please note comments may not immediately appear as they pass through our spam queue.

COMMENTS