(Opinion) The senior senator from Alabama narrowly avoided being censured by his own party last weekend. The vote was far closer than many thought it would be. His alleged crime was refusing to support failed Senate candidate Roy Moore after allegations of sexual misconduct surfaced during the campaign; however, Shelby was never a fan of Moore. Shelby’s stand took character and this week Shelby showed that quality again when he defended his former colleague Attorney General Jeff Sessions:
“He’s a good man,” Shelby said in an interview for Fox Business. “He’s going through a lot. He has a lot of challenges.”
Why this matters: That is obviously faint praise when it follows comments about how Shelby would resign if Trump treated him this way. He’s sending a message to Trump to quit pummeling Sessions. Shelby, by defending Sessions, is actually protecting the president from himself. If Jeff Sessions is run off by the president, that will become another Trump scandal, and Shelby is trying to stop the bleeding. Senator Shelby is trying to save Trump and Trump Republicans from themselves.
The details:
— There was a movement at the ALGOP Winter Meeting to censure Sen. Shelby for his failure to support Senate candidate Roy Moore; it failed 58-42.
— Shelby did not vote for non-senator Doug Jones; he wrote in a “distinguished Republican.”
— The president has criticized his attorney general numerous times over the last year-plus for not using his office to prosecute the previous administration.
— This week Sessions announced the inspector general is investigating alleged surveillance abuse by the FBI and others. Trump wants the DOJ to do it faster.
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.
