OT: Tommy Tuberville wins AL Senate primary

Submitted by crg on July 15th, 2020 at 5:44 AM

Link: https://nypost.com/2020/07/14/tommy-tuberville-beats-jeff-sessions-in-alabama-senate-primary/amp/

So Tommy Tuberville (former head football coach at Ole Miss, Auburn, Texas Tech, and Cincinnati) has won the Alabama Republican Senate primary and will stand for election in the fall (beating Jeff Sessions in the process).  Political topic, I know (Tuberville was apparently supported by Trump over Sessions), yet I post this because of the interesting career path and connection to CFB.

If elected (not a guarantee, but very probably considering the state), let's hope he has better results than his last few football stints (his Texas Tech and Cincinnati teams were generally not great... although he did have a 13-0 season at Auburn in 2004 along with a winning record against Alabama).

Bio: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tommy_Tuberville

Bill Brasky

July 15th, 2020 at 1:12 PM ^

XM, I appreciate your truth.

I am getting really sick of COVID/Mask etc topics. I love reading the board, but this is getting so annoying. Everyone either agrees or persecutes the ones they don't agree with. I miss the sports topics and the fun topics. Covid topics aren't fun anymore (not sure if they ever were). 

crg

July 15th, 2020 at 6:56 AM ^

Of course, we all know what Washington really needs right now is some of the fine, upstanding ethics practiced by those in SEC football.

ThePonyConquerer

July 15th, 2020 at 7:37 AM ^

Reminds me a couple years back when Nick Saban got the third place votes in an Alabama election.

1VaBlue1

July 15th, 2020 at 8:19 AM ^

This is certainly not a stretch to believe.  I mean, Tuberville had almost half of Alabama's votes for just beating Alabama on the football field.  Add in the Trump endorsement, along with the vile that Trump has been throwing at Sessions for years, and this is as close to a no-brainer as one can get in the state of Alabama.

I honestly don't know why anyone would be surprised in the least about this.

crg

July 15th, 2020 at 8:27 AM ^

I wouldn't say it was a surprise he won this particular primary.  I think it is more surprising that a CFB coach, who has worked at many high profile schools with varying degrees of success, would want to jump into politics now (at this stage of life and starting off at the National Senate level).  Not completely unprecedented, but certainly not common.

Cam

July 15th, 2020 at 8:46 AM ^

The fuck is wrong with this country? I don't care what party you support, a former football coach with zero relevant education or experience should not be a U.S. senator. Christ almighty. 

Cam

July 15th, 2020 at 9:37 AM ^

The solution to poor representation isn't lowering the bar on qualifications. I figured that was obvious, but I guess not. 

If you go to a doctor and he does a poor job treating your ailment, the answer isn't to hire a mechanic.

Wendyk5

July 15th, 2020 at 10:12 AM ^

John McCain opened that door with Sarah Palin. Qualified to be governor of Alaska? Sure. Qualified to be president if John McCain went down? Whatever our politics, we should demand that a candidate be well-informed about the world, and not just their own small world view and backyard. If a body in Washington has to be partisan, let it be congress. They can duke it out. But a president should be able to reach across the aisle. Have we had a lot of those? No, but we should. 

Teeba

July 15th, 2020 at 11:55 AM ^

I'm having trouble following the door-opening analogy, but I think you mean George H. W. Bush picking Dan Quayle. Say what you will about his politics, senior Bush was highly qualified to be VP. Quayle wasn't qualified to compete in a grade school spelling bee. 

1VaBlue1

July 15th, 2020 at 10:50 AM ^

McCain was his own worst enemy with that choice.  I'm amazed he didn't do a better job vetting that dingbat.  A decent record as governor of Alaska, a state with a yearly oil stipend to ALL of it's drug and alcohol addicted citizens, has nothing in common with running an entire country.  But she is far from the first 'unqualified' VP candidate.  Dan Quayle comes to mind...

And yes, a President MUST be able - and willing - to hold hands with both sides of the aisle.  The last one I can recall that did so willingly was Bill Clinton (I fully understand that this is an opinion, and is open for legit debate).

Wendyk5

July 15th, 2020 at 2:48 PM ^

I agree wholeheartedly. Clinton was great at that. I wasn't a fan of his at the time, but it's tough to argue against that political strength. Sarah Palin was an embarrassment to John McCain's career. I didn't agree with a lot of his politics, but he was principled and I respected him. She was an unprincipled choice, more about personality and appeal than about real qualifications. I think about Nikki Haley, whom I loathe, but she's very qualified to be either Pres or VP.  

crg

July 15th, 2020 at 9:12 AM ^

Just as much as a former comedian becoming a senator.  Or a singer be coming a congressman.  Or an actor becoming governor.  Or an actor becoming a congressman.  Or a professional wrestler becoming a governor.  Or becoming a senator because you were married to a previous president.  Or a real estate tycoon becoming president.  Or an NBA star becoming a senator.  Or someone just with the right last name becoming senator.  Or a doctor be coming senator.

We could make an entire thread about prominent politicians that have been elected (from both major parties as well as the larger independent parties) who had little to no "proper" qualifications and experience to be in their positions.

God Bless America...