Alabama Loss, Tuberville's Fault

Donald Trump has been indicted again by federal authorities, and there is also one more expected from the state of Georgia in a few weeks. What was once thought as unthinkable for a former president to face the kinds of legal troubles that are facing Trump should show us that everything has its limits. As they say in sports, Trump went “to the well one too many times” and it appears that he came up dry. In addition to Trump begging for money to pay his lawyers (we thought he was a billionaire), a trial is still a long way off, leaving him to campaign on social media and wherever the next rally takes him. By this time next year, we will know on whom the balloons will fall. In the meantime, life goes on as usual in Washington with the latest flap between Democrats and Republicans. It seems that Alabama Senator Tommy Tuberville’s dandruff is riled up, his state has just lost a high-stakes gamble regarding a military installation. It has to do with the U.S. Space Command Headquarters currently based in Colorado, widely held belief that its new headquarters would be in Huntsville, Alabama based on a decision by Trump before he left office. The only thing was that it never became official because the Air Force didn’t make a final decision before Trump left office. That meant that whoever the next president was, would make the final decision based on if the base would move from Colorado. By now, every Republican in Alabama knows that President Joe Biden has made the decision to keep the base in Colorado, leaving Republicans to howl about “partisan” politics. Really? Congressman Mike Rogers, chairman of the House Armed Service Committee launched an investigation in an effort to “get to the bottom” of Biden’s decision, knowing that there is hardly anything that they can do to change things. Biden did not break any laws, but only used his executive powers as president to make his decision only after hearing from top military officials. Perhaps the Alabama delegation should ask Trump why he didn’t move quicker to make the change.

If Republicans from Alabama want to jump on anyone for losing Space Command, they should look no further than their own senator, that being former Auburn football coach Tommy Tuberville. They will not talk about the months-long hold on military promotions that under any other administration would not have been in the media as a national issue. That’s because Tuberville as the lone U.S. senator is protesting a military policy that provides paid leave and reimburses travel costs for service members who cross state lines for an abortion. Senators from both sides of the aisle implored Tuberville to relent, but the senator stuck to his decision to hold up those needed promotions. Tuberville clearly wants more than what the Supreme Court gave Republicans when it comes to the issue of abortion. So instead of going for a “safe fourth and 1” call, he decided to go for it all without considering all of the consequences. He must have thought that Space Command coming to Huntsville was in the bag. Someone forgot to tell him that senators do not make decisions that only the president can. Yes, Tuberville is new to politics, but it didn’t take him long to stake a claim as one of the partisan senators on the Hill.

The question now becomes, who in Alabama will tell Tuberville that he “blew” it? Will Gov. Kay Ivy tell the junior senator that his antics cost their state an estimated 1,400 jobs for an estimated annual $1 billion impact? Alabama is still one of the poorest states in the South. Huntsville has a history of developing major space rockets to its credit. Even so, it is unfortunate that we live in a nation where men at one time of sound judgment and thinking, made decisions for the benefit of all instead of making them for “me, myself, and I”. Joe Biden has once again has proven himself to be more than a match for Republicans. They started it with the offensive “Let’s go Brandon” chant, and now the president has taken on the new “Dark Brandon” approach, showing Republicans like Tuberville that he has been in political fights (ask Kevin McCarthy) longer than he has been as a football coach. Remember, the world is watching. So is God.