New Alabama GOP senator Tommy Tuberville says his WWII GI grandfather liberated Paris from 'communism,' claims Al Gore was president-elect in 2000 and says he needs six months to 'learn the rules' of the Senate
New elected Tommy Tuberville has already committed a number of flubs botching such critical subjects as the U.S. ideological enemy of World War II and the structure of American government – and he hasn't even been sworn in as a senator yet.
Tuberville, the retired football coach, defeated incumbent Doug Jones, an attorney and prosecutor who helped put away Klan members for the 1963 church bombing.
Although he was a hero at Auburn, Tuberville must have made faculty at numerous departments cringe with his series of flubs.
Senator-elect Tommy Tuberville of Alabama botched the three branches of government in an interview where he also wrongly said the U.S. fought against socialism in World War II
In the first, after attending orientation for new lawmakers, he botched the famed three branches of government, which is central to the structure of American governance.
'I don't care if you're a Republican or Democrat,' he told the Alabama Daily News. 'Our government wasn't set up for one group to have all three branches of government — wasn't set up that way,' he said. 'You know, the House, the Senate, and the executive' – leaving out the Judicial branch of government.
That is the branch that President Trump – the executive branch – is turning to in hopes he can overturn the election results in key states – and the matter could get settled by the legislative branch (the House and Senate together).
In another fundamental error, he took his zeal against socialism – a key feature of Trump's campaign as well – and managed to contort the U.S. effort to defeat fascism during World War II.
Tuberville defeated Sen. Doug Jones, a Democrat running for reelection in a heavily Republican state
'I tell people, my dad fought 76 years ago in Europe to free Europe of socialism,' said Tuberville
Tuberville also had an ahistorical telling of the 2000 Florida recount
Head Coach Tommy Tuberville, Steven Ross #74 and Matthew Motley #20 of the Auburn Tigers enter the field for the game against the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets on September 3, 2005 at Jordan-Hare Stadium in Auburn, Alabama. Georgia Tech won 23-14
It was the fascists who U.S. troops liberated from Paris. The communists were battling German Nazi forces on the Eastern Front
THERE ARE ONLY THREE OF THEM! Tuberville left out the judiciary when naming the three branches of government as he prepares to join one of them (the legislative branch)
He claimed Biden's approach 'leads more to a socialist type of government.'
His next comment gave the impression Tuberville had spent time in film rooms studying the wrong kind of blitz.
'That's concerning to me, that we're to the point now where we've got almost half the country voting for something that this country wasn't built on,' Tuberville said. 'I tell people, my dad fought 76 years ago in Europe to free Europe of socialism.'
Not only did he blow the effort to defeat fascism in Europe, he left out that the communists – the former U.S.S.R. – were a critical ally in the effort, sustaining horrific losses on the Eastern Front.
Having misstated the structure set up by the founders and the signature achievement of the Greatest Generation, Tuberville tossed in misinformation about the recent past.
He claimed Al Gore was president-elect for 30 days during the bitter recount battle in Florida in 2000.
In fact, Gore first conceded to George W. Bush, then pulled it back, and the Supreme Court ultimately intervened to stop a recount. But the race was razor-thin and no winner got called until after that point.
'I remember in 2000 Al Gore was president, United States, president elect, for 30 days – 30 days – and after 30 days, it got to the Supreme Court and the Supreme Court says, no, George Bush is going to be the president,' Tuberville said.
He used the inaccurate comment to illustrate the need to wait before declaring Biden the winner – in a race where he leads by thousands of votes in multiple states.
'I don’t think it’s over with. I think it’s going to go to three , maybe longer than that. I might be wrong, and it still could go to Joe Biden. I’m not saying that,' he said. 'I’d just say right now we’ve got to wait and see what happens.'
Even if he misstated facts, Tuberville has time to get them straight. He said in six months or so, he may have a handle on the complex rules of the Senate.
'There’s a there’s a lot of little things, just like a football game,' said Tuberville, who coached multiple programs.
'You know, how you slow down the clock, how to run the clock in a two minute drill. And it’s no different. It’s just the fundamentals of the little things. ... And as I’ve talked to people, most senators who have gone in up there never do it. I mean, they just kind of hit the ground running, and I’m going to do that, but I’m going to learn the rules because when something happens, I want to know why it happened. I think in six months, I’ll be well versed in it, you know, if you can learn as you go along,' he said.