Thursday, November 2, 2017

Why Progressives, And The Democratic Party, Should Support Doug Jones

Thanks to the presence of Jeff Sessions in the Trump Cabinet, Alabama is having a special election this December to select a replacement for the balance of Session's U.S. Senate term, due to expire in January of 2021.  Hillary Clinton lost to Trump by nearly 28 percentage points, so it's not surprising that the Republican nominee, Roy Moore, is every bit as incendiary as Trump when it comes to rhetoric and political stances. 

Moore, for the benefit of those who don't know, was twice removed as the chief justice of the Alabama Supreme Court, both times for defying court orders.  One order related to his insistence on a Ten Commandments monument at a court building, while the other related to his opposition to marriage equality.  And this is but the tip of the iceberg when it comes to Moore's willingness to jump off the deep end, bounce back up with the help of Alabama Republicans, and promptly jump off the deep end again (as they say on shampoo bottles:  lather, rinse, repeat).

You can, assuming your stomach is sufficiently strong, read more about Moore here.  But the good news--the surprising news, in fact--is that you can also read about Moore's strong Democratic opponent, Doug Jones.

Past Democrats from Alabama on the national scene (and by past, I'm talking about decades) have tended toward the conservative side of the spectrum.  And, given the history of the state and the South as a whole, that shouldn't be surprising.  Nor should it be surprising that, as the national party has moved further to the left, Democratic fortunes in Alabama have crashed and burned.

All of this makes Jones a pleasant surprise.  A U.S. Attorney who successfully prosecuted the bombing of an African-American church by the Ku Klux Klan, he supports the Affordable Care Act, acknowledges the need to address climate change, and even supports a woman's right to choose.  From a down-the-line progressive perspective on the issues, Jones is as good as it gets.  From the perspective of traditional Alabama politics, his election would send a real shock wave through the nation's political system.

Alas, that shock wave may not occur.  Although Jones' poll performance is stronger than might be ordinarily expected in Alabama, especially given his progressive stances on issues, he is no better than deadlocked with Moore in any of them.  In most of them, he is behind by low double digits.

Is that an excuse for bailing on Jones?  No, it isn't.  Bailing is what Democrats do best, and it is often what hands undeserved election victories to Republicans.  Bailing is what makes a party a permanent minority.  Bailing is what fails to prepare a party for a change in the political win that might favor it.  And bailing is what fails to prepare a party, once elected, to fight for what it allegedly believes in.  Just like revolutions, elections aren't won by people chasing what is popular and doable.  They are won by people whose self-esteem rests on commitment, and whose ambitions are defined by what is right.

That's why I'll do everything I can to help Doug Jones become a U.S. Senator.  And that's why I hope that you will, too.

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