Earlier today, The President of the United States had this to say about aspiring Alabama Senate candidate Doug Jones:
Okay, so where is he getting these arguments against Doug Jones? I decided to do some poking around to compare and contrast what Jones says he is for with what the President is saying to see if it is possible to draw any conclusions.
Doug Jones is “Bad on Crime”
Doug Jones, a former US Attorney (in other words he prosecuted criminals at the Federal level) is known primarily for two cases:
1. Prosecuting the case against Domestic Terrorist Eric Robert Rudolph
On January 28, 1998, Eric Robert Rudolph left a fake Fed-Ex package at an Alabama abortion clinic. The bomb exploded when it was opened by Robert Sanderson (an off-duty police officer) who died immediately (it also seriously injured Emily Lyons who was a nurse at that clinic). This was Rudolph’s third bombing attempt. Mr. Jones got the indictment against Rudolph.
2. Prosecuting the case against Domestic Terrorists Thomas Blanton and Frank Cherry
If you have seen Spike Lee’s powerful documentary “4 Little Girls,” you are probably familiar with the story of the 16th Street Baptist Church Bombing. Mr. Jones is the prosecutor who reopened the case in 1997 and won convictions for both Blanton and Cherry.
In addition, Mr. Jones is for DACA and against building Mr. Trump’s wall. Last I checked, immigration does not increase crime, his idiotic wall would not decrease crime, and most of the President’s claims are based on using the politics of fear to solidify his racist base.
It is probably also important to mention here that “tough on crime” itself is a dodge and is the worst form of public safety policy.
So, if you are keeping score, Mr. Jones prosecuted three bombers as part of his career as a Prosecuting Attorney, but is “Bad on Crime?”
Translation: I am guessing this is coded language suggesting that Jones is pro-abortion, pro-civil rights, and against Trump’s extreme (and failed) immigration and crime policies.
Bad On “Life”
Yes, this one is 100% true, Doug Jones is pro-choice (and with apologies to my Catholic friends, good for him).
Bad On “The Border”
If by bad on the border President Trump means against the administration’s idiotic and cruel immigration policies? Yes, Doug Jones is “Bad on the Border” (but kind of like a bald person being nicknamed “curly” or an overweight person being nicknamed “slim”).
Bad On “Vets and the Military”
Pretty sure President Trump made up the veterans part, not even Alabama publications are reporting any Jones position suggesting that he wants to cut benefits to military veterans <If I find something later, I will certainly come back and edit>.
As far as being bad on the military goes, I can only find two reasons Mr. Trump may be alleging this:
1. Doug Jones thinks funding the military is important but that we should be smarter and more accountable for spending.
Given Mr. Trump’s blank check approach to defense contractors, I could see if this is what he was talking about but Mr. Jones has never said anything that suggests he is anti-military and we all know that there are massive amounts of waste in defense spending.
2. Doug Jones is against Mr. Trump’s order prohibiting Transgender soldiers from being in the military.
Given Mr. Trump’s love of coded language, I suspect this is really what he is referring to and like most of his policies, it isn’t a particularly good idea, is clearly discriminatory, and is really all about pandering to base voters.
Bad On “Guns”
By bad on guns, President Trump apparently means that Doug Jones is for background checks. Here is Jones position:
“We’ve got limitations on all constitutional amendments in one form or another,” Jones said. “I want to enforce the laws that we have right now. The biggest issue, I think, that’s facing the Second Amendment right now is that we need to make sure we shore up the National Crime Information System, the NCIC system for background checks, to both keep guns out of the hands of criminals, but at the same time, cut down on error so that law-abiding citizens can get those.”
Jones said he loves to hunt and has a case full of his own guns, but wants to make sure regulations are “smart.”
That’s it. He is an avid hunter and gun owner and is pro-second Amendment, but wants smarter background checks.
Not exactly a radical Constitutional revisionist here.
So, In Conclusion
What President Donald Trump was really saying (using my universal Trump translator) was that Doug Jones:
* Cares about LGBTQ and black people
* Prosecuted the KKK
* Wants background checks
* And doesn’t like giving the Pentagon a blank check
Meanwhile, today we got word that the President’s preferred candidate, Roy Moore, responded to the question “when do you think America was last great” with this answer:
"I think it was great at the time when families were united—even though we had slavery—they cared for one another…Our families were strong, our country had a direction."
Maybe we shouldn’t see Trump’s support for Roy Moore as simply a cynical attempt to shore up his Senate vote-count but ask instead what it is that makes Moore such a reliable vote for his agenda.
Roy Moore and Donald Trump are not just similar, on questions of difference and discrimination, they are the same.
What Trump is really saying is that Roy Moore is a reliable vote for the politics of maintaining white and straight/cis privilege and that Doug Jones will fight for equality.