The Real Jeff Sessions vs. The Media Myth

Sen. Jeff Sessions discusses Trump's past and policies on ABC's "This Week" (Photo: Screenshot)
Sen. Jeff Sessions discusses Trump’s past and policies on ABC’s “This Week” (Photo: Screenshot)

With the announcement that President-elect Trump was going to nominate Alabama’s own Senator Jeff Sessions, the hysteria from the far left has reached an all-time high. More than 63% of Alabamians voted to elect Donald Trump as our next President, whose win defied all polling and conventional wisdom in the media. The message sent is simple: Alabamians and countless Americans are tired of business as usual and the status quo in Washington. Sadly, the liberal national media just doesn’t seem to get it.

Selfishly, I would like nothing more than to see Jeff Sessions remain in the US Senate and guide that body through the confirmation of one or more Constitutional Conservative Supreme Court justices. However, I am excited for the future of our country to have a conservative stalwart like Senator Sessions taking over as the United States Attorney General – because I know what his leadership on issues such as immigration, protecting the second amendment and going back to respecting the rule of law will mean for our state and our entire nation.

The response from the mainstream media has been, if not predictable, disappointing and a distortion of facts. Since his appointment Senator Sessions has been accused of supporting some of the most despicable moments in United States history. Not only are these accusations false, they are accusations made without merit.

Take for example, the exchange between Fox News host Tucker Carlson and Roll Call columnist Jonathan Allen. Allen calls Sessions “unfit” to be Attorney General and accuses him of being a racist despite providing no evidence to support his claim. Allen goes on to call Senator Sessions views on immigration “fringe” when his views (as Mr. Carlson points out) are shared by a majority of Americans. In fact, many of the views portrayed as fringe are laws already in the books that will simply require enforcement, and as Attorney General I am confident Jeff Sessions will do just that. The Senator Sessions portrayed as an extremist is far from the Senator Sessions I know, and that portrayal is a myth created by the mainstream media.

The truth is that as Attorney General, Sessions will fight to uphold the law – as he always has. His record as a US Attorney is remarkable– he filed cases to desegregate Alabama schools, and successfully investigated and helped to secure the ultimate punishment, the death penalty, against one of the leaders of the KKK for a 1981 murder of an innocent African American man in Alabama.

I have had the honor of working with Senator Sessions and he has always kept an eye on Alabama with his door open and our traditional Christian values firm in hand. He has long been a supporter of the reform-minded Republican Legislature and has remained a solid fiscal and social conservative voice in Washington. In speaking with him personally, his views on immigration reform are based only in the interest of protecting all people whether they are U.S. citizens or those who wish to legally immigrate into this country.

Senator Sessions has devoted his entire life to public service. He has served as a captain in the Army Reserve, as United States Attorney, as Alabama’s Attorney General, and has been our Senator in Congress since 1997. Liberals like Mr. Allen may believe Jeff Sessions beliefs are fringe, but here in Alabama we call him a friend.

I am proud to support Senator Sessions as he continues his next chapter in fighting for our conservative values and defending the Constitution against the liberal special interests.

The political newspaper Politico has reported that President-elect Trumps favorability has risen 9 points while his unfavorability has dropped 15 points. It is clear that the American people are willing to give their newly elected President and his appointees a chance, perhaps now it is time for the far left elites to do the same. Maybe the appointment of a Constitutional Conservative like Jeff Sessions has contributed to the rise in those favorable numbers- I would like to think so.

In Alabama we know the real Jeff Sessions, the media does not. Perhaps if they took the time to investigate the truth, they would also know the Jeff Sessions that you and I know so well.