Posted on 02/05/2021 2:42:06 PM PST by RandFan
MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — U.S. Sen. Richard C. Shelby of Alabama, the Senate’s fourth most senior member, has told confidantes that he does not intend to run for reelection next year — prompting some Republicans to urge the powerful, establishment politician to reconsider, even as potential replacements prepare to run for his seat.
The senator in recent weeks told one close Alabama ally that he was not planning on running in 2022 for what would be his seventh term, according to the ally, who was not authorized to discuss the matter and spoke with The Associated Press on condition of anonymity. The person said some in the state were still trying to get Shelby to change his mind out of concern about losing clout and worries that the senator might be replaced by a fringe candidate who would not be as effective.
A titan of Alabama politics, the 86-year-old politician has spent 42 years in Washington, serving first in the House and the Senate. His stepping down would leave a power void for the region. It would also set off a free-for-all primary in a national party deeply divided between traditional Republicans like Shelby and those who model themselves on former President Donald Trump.
Shelby will announce his decision “in the next few weeks,” spokeswoman Blair Taylor said earlier this week.
(Excerpt) Read more at apnews.com ...
Alabama is safe as long as they don’t do something insanely stupid. again.
I’ll take Mo. He is better than any of the others we have around here.
Saban was friends with Doug Jones I thought? I don’t think he is a Republican.
Repeal the 17th amendment.
I got an email from the DNC to send money to grab this seat!
==8-O
Would be interested in Rand’s explanation for this vote. The other nine’s likely match, but Rand’s is apt to be different AND honest although not necessarily to my taste.
It was his turn, Mitch told him to.
>> I still shake my head at Denton's loss. A genuine war hero and a solid moral conservative <<
You guys comparing Shelby to his predecessor Admiral Denton remind me of why I never warmed to Zig Zag Zell Miller, when most FReepers were fawning over him at the time.
What happened in Georgia is very similar to what happened in Alabama, IMO. Sure, Shelby turned out to be "much more conservative" than anyone could have guessed when he got the job in 1986, but it was irrelevant since he took the seat of a beloved and iconic GOP senator, so anyone would have been a downgrade from that.
In Georgia, the only difference was Coverdell died rather than being defeated for re-election, and Zig Zag Zell insisted he would remain a RAT to his dying day (which he did) rather than join the GOP to be on the "winning side" like opportunist Richard Shelby did. Otherwise, you had the same example: some longtime RAT politician in the state took over the job from the solid true believer conservative Republican, "evolved" to sound much more conservative than he had been in the past, and threw conservatives a bone now and then because he realized he "had to" be a good conservative boy on television to continue getting elected in the deep south.
Of course, given the commie scum representing Georgia NOW, Zig Zag Zell looks like Ronald Reagan in comparison. But by the same token, so does Shelby!
IMO, it's always about the cards we are dealt.
“U.S. Sen. Richard C. Shelby of Alabama”
Another piece of dead wood. Thirty-six years in the House of Lords and not a memorable thing has he done for the Republic.
Howell Heflin was actually slightly more Conservative than Shelby when the latter arrived in the Senate in 1987. They both scored a 46 and a 43 Conservative rating from the ACU, respectively. Of course, by 1996, Heflin was still at 40, but his overall lifetime had declined to 30%. Shelby was over twice as high, then a 90%. He has since deteriorated to a 68%. The leftist Jones that Shelby supported over Moore got an 18% in 2019.
With a lot of these establishment cretins, they peak and start moving leftward in time, as Shelby has done. Since after 2011, he has only scored above 90% once, in 2015.
Mo Brooks is the real deal. He’s certainly not a deep-stater. In fact, he’s one of the very few that stood up for Trump after the election was stolen.
Again, if you compared Zig Zag Dell’s ACU rating to Paul Coverdell’s, I think the results were similar. Coverdell scored near perfect ratings year after year. I think Zig Zag got to 90 once or twice, near the end of his tenure when didn’t have to run for re-election as a RAT. Earlier in his Senate career, he was “very conservative” by RAT standards, but didn’t even get close to the ACU rating of a typical RINO.
Zell Miller got a jaw-dropping 96% rating from the ACU in his last year (2004). Now if a Demonrat gets higher than a 10% rating, they’re called a “Conservative.”
Another chance to pick up a seat from the Establishment.
Cards
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E2RlFfFnhUI&ab_channel=ThingsICantFindOtherwise
1986 Senate elections were sickening, so many close loses.
He's probably earned enough $$$ as a senator to very much enjoy his retirement. If he took advantage of what one might call 'perks' on The Hill, he has very much enjoyed his time as a senator.
I’m ready to confess.
I processed the data and lists for Shelby’s ‘86 campaign.
So many people have forgotten that years ago Shelby was the deciding vote that killed tort reform. He also led the opposition to Roy Moore who, even though he’s a nut, would have been a darn sight better than Doug Jones. Good riddance.
Good possibilities include Mo Brooks, Robert Aderholt and Bradley Byrne. The current Lt. Gov is also a possibility (forget his name though). I expect Byrne or the Lt. Gov. to end up as Gov. when Meemaw Ivey retires.
Yes!!
About time!
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