Are we heading toward a Roy Moore 2.0 (even though he ran like 10 times)?
The media and their Democrats sure hope so. They want Tommy Tuberville as the nominee. They want a blank slate that they can paint however they desire.
Look at the stories about Tuberville’s past that are being floated by national media outlets in the last two weeks of the election.
Keep in mind that this is the GOP oppo research, not Democrats with their deep-pocketed allies and their slim hopes to hang on to a blue seat in a red state.
U.S. Senator Doug Jones (D-AL) knows that he needs people to vote against the GOP candidate and not for him. This is just a math question at this point.
Can Jones and his allies in the media (national and local) damage his opponent and make people skip the race?
Doubtful, but I bet there are zero surprises in former Senator Jeff Sessions’ (R-AL) record. It’s the main reason so many Republicans are mad at him. They know all about his recusal as U.S. Attorney General and how mad that made President Donald Trump.
Trump wants Tuberville, and Trump may get his way.
But, if Tommy Tuberville is not the Republican nominee after next Tuesday, it will not be the fault of Jeff Sessions, Donald Trump, Clifton Robinson, John David Stroud, the Washington Examiner or the New York Times.
It will be his own fault.
The former football coach has run a campaign for the attention of President Donald Trump while running the least Donald Trump campaign of all time.
The premise that Trump would sit on a lead and run out the clock is absurd, but Tuberville has said that is what he is doing.
Trump wants 10 debates with his opponent, but Tuberville won’t do one.
People say Trump is a counter-puncher, but that is a lie. Trump is an aggressive punch-thrower and is constantly looking to knock his foes out of the fight.
Whether they are worthy of the fight or not, Trump swings away.
Tuberville does not.
When the Washington Examiner brought to the surface a story that has been bubbling on social media and in text messages about a more than 20-year-old allegation that then-coach Tuberville was soft on a player charged with statutory rape, his campaign barely responded.
The most that was mustered in response was from Tuberville campaign chairman Stan McDonald during a weekly appearance on WVNN’s “The Dale Jackson Show,” who said, “It is something that originates from people who are trying to bring Tommy Tuberville down. So, that is not something we’re going to participate in.”
This was a different time in America, obviously, which is why it will get new legs in a 2020 general election.
Is this politics? Yes. Last-minute campaign noise? Obviously. A reason to swallow the whistle? Nope.
When the New York Times reported on a shady hedge fund that Tuberville was involved in, did his campaign respond?
Nope.
There are allegations that Tuberville’s business partner was involved in a massive fraud that saw him sentenced to 10 years in prison, and the Tuberville response was one of weakness.
McDonald and pro-Tuberville Grit PAC employee Brad Presnall both begged off the question by claiming that the coach was just a small-time football coach who didn’t know any better. The big city folks conned him, too.
Tuberville said he was just a swindled pawn, a victim, and he was manipulated.
“They sued me because I invested in it, and he used my name to get other people to put money in,” he stated.
Could you ever see that from Donald Trump? I can’t.
The facts also paint a different story, but not a better one:
But a review of public court records shows that he had a broader role. While he was not picking stocks, or even a frequent presence in the office, Mr. Tuberville made introductions to potential investors, had business cards identifying himself as managing partner, and leased a BMW and got his health insurance through the company. Its offices in Auburn were filled with his coaching memorabilia. In 2010, he traveled to New York with Mr. Stroud to meet potential brokers for the fund, and was kept in the loop on decisions about hiring, according to email traffic.
But what would Trump do here?
Why would the Trumpian candidate sit back and let this all go on around him without firing off a few tweets taking on the New York Times or the fake news media?
Why wouldn’t Tuberville seek out the cameras, which he could summon at any time, to come take his testimony about what really happened?
None of this dooms Tuberville on July 14. Everyone knows he has a lead.
And we all know the media and their Democrats can’t wait to attack Tuberville on these issues, but the idea that Alabama voters will go into a polling place to vote for President Donald Trump in November while also pulling the lever for soon-to-be-former U.S. Senator Doug Jones is laughable.
The real question in all of this is where is Tommy Tuberville, and why isn’t he punching back? Trump supporters want a fighter and an outsider. His huge early lead was indicative of the outsider part, but the fighter part never materialized.
If that is who Tommy Tuberville is, then he needs to get out there and prove it.
Right now he is taking body blows. Maybe he can withstand them, but that is harder to do while sitting on a lead and hoping he can run out the clock.
Listen:
Dale Jackson is a contributing writer to Yellowhammer News and hosts a talk show from 7-11 AM weekdays on WVNN.
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