Alabama Sen. Richard Shelby is 81 years old, has been in the Senate for three decades, and is up for re-election this cycle. In fact, the Republican stalwart's primary is Tuesday. Now, barring a minor miracle this seat is not about to turn blue, but Shelby's occupation of it is suddenly looking like less of a sure thing. In fact, there's a panic afoot that Shelby won't come out of Tuesday with a big enough chunk of the vote to avoid a run-off. That's thanks to the fact that Donald Trump is on the ballot, and the problem he and his fellow Republicans refuse to confront: Trump is bringing out the racists.
In a previously unreported development, the National Republican Senatorial Committee quietly deployed many staffers from its Washington headquarters to pull Shelby across the finish line. The senator is saturating the airwaves with commercials that portray him as one of the biggest thorns in President Obama's side and attacking his opponent—a retired Marine captain—as "a con man." […]
"I think he's going to be all right, but the problem is there's so much anti-incumbent attitude amongst the electorate," James W. Bennett, the chairman of the Calhoun County Republican Party, said of Shelby's chances on Tuesday. "A lot of people aren't thinking. They're going to throw the baby out with the bath water just because they're so angry."
Bennett, who owns a lumber company, supports Marco Rubio in the presidential race, but he thinks Trump is likely to carry the state. "They're angry, they're lashing out, and they're easy to get motivated and revved up," he said of Trump's supporters. "It kind of reminds me of George Wallace. George Wallace was very populist, and it was just all about rhetoric. The anger should be directed at Obama, but a lot of people don't understand. They're very impatient, and they know they're hurting. They're out of jobs. They're disappointed about the direction this country is headed, the morals and everything else. There's going to be people turning out to vote who never have. And it is not part of any voter registration drive."
Right, George Wallace was all about "populism" and that's what's driving Trump's supporters now. Uh huh. Shelby is refusing to confront that particular brand of "populism" and is making sure voters remember how much he's stood in Obama's way. All to avoid alienating the Republican base in Alabama—which is not voting for Trump because they like his economic message.
Meanwhile, on the day Trump was refusing to condemn KKK leader David Duke, Shelby's colleague and own junior senator, Jefferson Beauregard Sessions, III, was endorsing Trump. Which makes perfect sense, considering his own very special history when it comes to racism. But that didn't do Shelby any favors.
And face it, it's Alabama and the primary—calling out Trump's racism would be suicide for Shelby. But not calling out Trump's racism? That’s potential suicide for the whole GOP. And since that's the biggest chunk of their base, it's not going to happen.
Please donate $3 today to help turn the Senate blue. The future of the Supreme Court depends on it.