The tale of Senator Doug Jones’ terrible, horrible, no good, very bad year should be a children’s book in its own right.
It is a story of blind idealism run rampant and outwardly statesmanship masking naivety. But, when push comes to shove, all of the plot lines point to this: Jones’ time in the United States Senate has been selfish and ineffective.
Now, Jones’ actions and words are set to sink Alabama Democrats, and the progressive causes Jones cares about deeply, in November and for years to come.
It all started with Jones’ first speech on the floor of the Senate after he was inaugurated in January. After amassing political capital, through a campaign in-which he promised to be an independent, moderate voice whose focus was on the people of Alabama, Jones gave this maiden address on gun control.
The debate here is not whether his argument had merit. At the end of the day, politicians need to weigh their words and actions in cost/benefit terms. On his gun control speech, Jones spent considerable political capital with moderates and independents who helped get him elected by running with a hot-button Democratic issue. And, unfortunately for him, no benefit existed, certainly not enough to warrant the cost.
No one cared what Alabama’s junior senator thought about the issue – meaning it was not going to alter the national debate, with partisans deeply entrenched on each side. It is a hypothetically admirable thing for politicians to speak from the heart on issues important to them, but in practice, it is self-indulgent and self-destructive when one’s need to be “right” drowns out any kind of strategic thinking of how to tangibly advance these values and policy goals. Simply put, “it’s not always enough to be right.”
This kind of naivety has become Jones’ mode of operation, and he would do well to remember that a leader without deliverables is just a guy taking a walk with a bunch of like-minded people in tow. This pattern of “ideals over results” might not be maliciously intended, but it will imminently be the end of Jones’ in-state political career. From gun control, to voting against a ban on pain-capable, late-term abortions, the evidence of Jones’ political malpractice can not be ignored.
Which brings us to the coup de grâce – Jones’ handling of the three-month-long confirmation process of now-Justice Brett Kavanaugh. Calling it a debacle would not do it justice; an analysis of Jones’ contradictions, his waffling, his posturing and, ultimately, his “no” vote reasoning shows a senator that is simply in way over his head.
Up until the early September confirmation hearings, Jones refused to meet with Kavanaugh and he told the public as much. He said he would meet with him afterwards, even though other “moderate,” red-state Democrats met with the nominee beforehand. That was Jones’ “process,” he said it would be best that way.
Well, fast forward to today, and Jones never met with Kavanaugh. The junior senator said this broken promise was because the nominee’s schedule would not permit, but with a confirmation that was right on the edge of not happening, this excuse is laughable at best. Yet, Jones took to the Senate floor again on Friday to profess his supposed innocence; not meeting “was through no fault of me or my staff,” he griped to a national audience.
Jones could have met with the nominee anytime between July 10 and September 4. Not his fault, though. He was following his process. Great in theory, maybe, Unarguably, devoid of results. Time after time.
His Friday speech was filled with prime examples of his overarching plague. In a 25-minute verbal pity party, Jones held himself up as the bastion of independence. He – a United States Senator, elected in a hail of dark-money and out-of-state spending for goodness sake – decried that advertising efforts were focused on Alabama for the Kavanaugh confirmation. Jones slammed partisanship. He droned on and on about the “unfair” process. He complained unceasingly.
To what end? Well, if you have read up to this point, you probably know the answer. Jones’ speech, without getting into a point-by-point debate on its merits, had no end in mind. It will not be followed up by action. Alabama’s junior senator is a broken-record of virtue signaling, plagued by an inability, or unwillingness, to set unchecked idealism aside for the sake of tangible results.
This is in stark contrast to Senator Richard Shelby, who has provided the perfect blueprint for picking and choosing your partisan battles in order to deliver positive, meaningful outcomes for the people of Alabama. Make no mistake – Jones just plays a “statesman” on TV, when in reality, he goes around being “the process police.”
Not only has Jones failed to produce, he has effectively shot dead his fellow Alabama Democrats electorally and the progressive causes that he (very genuinely) believes in for the foreseeable future. Just look at Walt Maddox’s first campaign ad of the general election season. The gubernatorial candidate had to end the spot with, “I will never put my party ahead of the people. And I will never lie to you.” That is a tough sell regardless for a Democrat in the Yellowhammer State, but it now has been made purely unbelievable thanks to Jones.
What is a progressive who can not deliver progress? Rather than shunning Shelby at his inauguration, maybe Jones should have just been willing to listen for once. Instead, Alabamians have a children’s book lesson for a junior senator.
Sean Ross is a staff writer for Yellowhammer News. You can follow him on Twitter @sean_yhn
