Alabama Senator Tommy Tuberville decided one term in the Senate was enough, and now is running for Governor. It might not be the easy coronation ole Tommy had envisioned. It seems Tommy ‘Tub-O-Lard’ promised during his Senate run and even after taking office he wouldn’t take any of his salary. Instead, he’d donate it all to Veterans. He didn’t. I for one doubt he ever had any intention of doing so.
Courtesy of Alternet we get what isn’t a pretty picture. Oh, and it includes another interesting tidbit that calls into question Tuberville’s eligibility to run for the Governor’s Mansion. Alabama has some important military posts and it’s not going to go down well with folks there that ‘Coach Tommy’ reneged on his promised to veterans but he did:
“Tommy Tuberville promised Alabama voters he would donate ‘every dime’ he made in Washington, D.C., to Alabama veterans — and even present checks on a monthly basis,” reported Lagniappe Daily’s Scott Johnson on Tuesday. The news outlet serves Mobile, AL and Baldwin County. “Six years later, tax records and his own nonprofit show no evidence that ever happened.”
Instead Johnson reported that Tuberville’s tax returns in the seven years since taking office do not “show in-kind charitable gifts. The returns list $35,672 in what appears to be interest paid or charitable gifts in 2021, no listed amount in 2022, $2,500 in 2023 and no listed amount in 2024.” If all of that money went to causes that support veterans, “the total is only $38,172 over four tax years. Tuberville’s wages reported in Alabama were $529,419 over that same span. He reported income of more than $2.9 million when factoring in real estate and investment earnings.”
Alternet goes on to note that this won’t play well with Alabamans. The only reason Tuberville got elected was his fame as a football coach including a stint at Auburn University. Given the multi-million dollar contracts he got from Auburn and at other big schools the dude is rich. He didn’t need a dime of the salary paid to him as Senator. In fact, given his tenure at Auburn and other schools came with some controversy vowing to donate his salary was a pretty good way to smooth things over with voters. They DO love their college football in those southern states!
Coach Tommy made public promises to Veterans and didn’t keep them. Given how easily he could browbeat news outlets as a big-time football coach he likely figured even if someone did do some checking he could squash the story. Turns out he was wrong and I suspect in Alabama at least his stiffing Veterans on his promise is going to come up again and again. He also has another problem that’s going to take a lot of explaining:
This is not Tuberville’s only major controversy as he seeks to replace Gov. Kay Ivey in the Alabama governor’s mansion. Earlier this month it was revealed that a lawsuit from “Brooke Lynn Dorgan and Justin Jude Le Blanc, as Realtors” alleged that Tuberville is not even a legal resident of the state he wishes to lead as governor. As broken by MS NOW legal analyst Joyce Vance, a former Alabama prosecutor, the litigation blatantly claims that Tuberville has admitted he is not an “everyday resident” of the state.
“At a meeting of the Shoals Republican Club on August 3, 2019, Tuberville candidly conceded that he ‘has property’ in Alabama but is not an ‘everyday resident of Alabama,’ describing himself as a ‘carpetbagger,’” the suit alleged.
I’m not going to go crazy and say Democratic nominee Doug Jones can win. This IS Alabama after all. Still, Jones managed to beat the notorious and badly flawed Roy Moore in an election to serve out the remainder of Jeff Session’s term. Jones is measure, credible and respected. If he were a Republican he could win any statewide office there in a walk. Tuberville isn’t as damaged as Moore (a pedophile) was but who knows? Tuberville has a credibility problem. Lying about donating hundreds of thousands of Senatorial salary to VETERANS is going to hit home with people.
So will a steady theme of pointing out that Tuberville doesn’t even think enough of Alabama to make it his actual home. Having a residence or two there he briefly visits while admitting he’s a ‘carpetbagger’ might not sit well with folks either. Jones is a longtime son of Alabama and should be able to play this up big. As I said I still doubt Jones can win but consider one last thing. It would be hugely embarrassing for the GOP to lose a Governor’s race in freaking Alabama! If Jones can use what this article lays out to get traction it will be another case of GOPers having to invest time and money into what should have been a safe seat. That’s money that can’t be spent elsewhere.
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