In the race for the U.S. Senate, Doug Jones cast himself as a moderate Democrat who would work across the aisle and get things done; now one wonders if this was all just a marketing ploy. On the day of his swearing in, Jones decided to choose former Vice President Joe Biden to escort him down the aisle for his swearing in. Traditionally, the senior senator from Alabama, Richard Shelby, would be given the honor. But according to WAAY-31 TV, that wasn’t in the cards:

“Senator Shelby’s office tells WAAY 31 no one from Jones’ team ever asked Shelby to do the honor.”

Why this matters: If Jones is going to be a moderate, he will have to work with Republicans. An immediate insult to Shelby and Senate traditions won’t endear him to his colleagues. You would think Jones would like to thank Shelby because Shelby really put his neck out when he voted for “a distinguished Republican” over Roy Moore.

The details:

— Sen. Shelby urged his fellow Alabama Republicans to cast write-in ballots knowing it could cost Republicans a U.S. Senate seat.

— 22,819 write-in votes were cast, Jones won by 21,924.

— Jones victory was only made possible by large numbers of Republicans sitting out the election altogether.

— For Doug Jones to win re-election in 2020, he will have to be more Richard Shelby and less Joe Biden.

Dale Jackson hosts a daily radio show from 7-11 a.m. on NewsTalk 770 AM/92.5 FM WVNN and a weekly television show, “Guerrilla Politics,” on WAAY-TV, both in North Alabama. Follow him @TheDaleJackson.