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Alabama AG Luther Strange to be tapped for Sessions' Senate Seat

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U

ultratruman

Banned
Strange29.jpg
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With Jeff Sessions confirmed as the nation's top law enforcement official, Luther Strange, Alabama's attorney general, will be named Thursday morning to replace him in the Senate, according to multiple GOP sources.

Alabama Gov. Robert Bentley will formally announce Strange's selection at a news conference in Montgomery on Thursday morning, and then the two will travel to Washington for Strange's swearing-in as senator, the sources said.

There has been an effort inside Alabama GOP circles during the past 24 hours to persuade Bentley to choose another candidate due to the potential conflict-of-interest over Strange, who was reportedly conducting an investigation into the governor over a sex scandal. Bentley, however, refused to back away from his decision to appoint Strange to the vacant seat.

A special election is expected to be held in November 2018, followed by the regularly scheduled election in November 2020.

Strange is an Alabama native who attended Tulane University for his undergraduate and law degrees. At 6 feet 11 inches, "Big Luther" was a star basketball player in college.
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http://www.politico.com/story/2017/02/strange-sessions-alabama-senate-234827
 
N

NYCmetsfan

Banned
There has been an effort inside Alabama GOP circles during the past 24 hours to persuade Bentley to choose another candidate due to the potential conflict-of-interest over Strange, who was reportedly conducting an investigation into the governor over a sex scandal. Bentley, however, refused to back away from his decision to appoint Strange to the vacant seat.
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Let me guess, Bentley gets to pick the new AG who will continue the investigating him
 
L

Lonestar

I joined for Erin Brockovich discussion
it's like "hey, Jeff Sessions isn't our problem anymore" but now it's "Jeff Sessions is WAY more our problem, as well as everyone else"

Then yeah, there's the whole scummy "Strange investigating the Governor, lets get rid of him" on top of the possibility that Strange was slow rolling the investigation as a favor to the Governor.

Basically, Alabama thangs are still Alabama thangs.
 
S

Stumpokapow

listen to the mad man
Not to take away from the fact that this guy is almost certainly an evil windbag, but he'll also be the tallest U.S. Senator in history and tied for the tallest member of Congress at all.
 
U

ultratruman

Banned
univariate said:
Im not sure how you extrapolated that from the article.
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There has been an effort inside Alabama GOP circles during the past 24 hours to persuade Bentley to choose another candidate due to the potential conflict-of-interest over Strange, who was reportedly conducting an investigation into the governor over a sex scandal. Bentley, however, refused to back away from his decision to appoint Strange to the vacant seat.
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.
 
C

Crayons

Banned
When you're strange
Faces come out of the rain
When you're strange
No one remembers your name
When you're strange
When you're strange
When you're strange
 
Trojita

Trojita

Rapid Response Threadmaker
It's like his parents knew they wanted a comic book villain child.

Stumpokapow said:
Not to take away from the fact that this guy is almost certainly an evil windbag, but he'll also be the tallest U.S. Senator in history and tied for the tallest member of Congress at all.
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I have to ask how you knew this.
 
Squirrel Killer

Squirrel Killer

Member
5taquitos said:
Well, the AG would oversee that investigation. Now the Governor gets to name a new AG.
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Yeah, but that "stink of scandal" is on Bentley, not Strange. Strange was planning on leaving anyway, he'd already announced he was going to run for Session's vacated speech in 2018.

Doctor Robofinger said:
"This investigation could make me look bad, and I want it to go away. How would you like to be a senator?"
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He was already hoping to become a senator on his own accord. This just accelerates that and there will be a new AG (sure, less likely to go after Bentley over consensual sex,) but again, that stink is on Bentley.
 
S

sangreal

Member
Lonestar said:
it's like "hey, Jeff Sessions isn't our problem anymore" but now it's "Jeff Sessions is WAY more our problem, as well as everyone else"

Then yeah, there's the whole scummy "Strange investigating the Governor, lets get rid of him" on top of the possibility that Strange was slow rolling the investigation as a favor to the Governor.

Basically, Alabama thangs are still Alabama thangs.
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where is Patrick Fitzgerald with his wiretaps
 
S

scurker

Member
Oh boy, are you guys in for a treat. Let me fill you in on some of the details as a resident of Alabama.

So Gov. Bentley has been involved in a sex scandal and an alleged misuse of his position. His family suspected he was cheating on his wife and somehow recorded him on the phone with one of his staff. You can find the recording, but it contains gems such as, "When I stand behind you, and I put my arms around you, and I put my hands on your breasts, and I put my hands on you and just pull you real close. I love that, too." and "Baby, let me know what I am going to do when I start locking the door. If we are going to do what we did the other day, we are going to have to start locking the door.". That's the short story to a much longer one, if you're interested in reading it.

So obviously there's been calls for him to resign and/or be impeached. Impeachment was being investigated by the state legislature up until Luther Strange announced he was conducting a criminal investigation. However before the appointment, he had announced he wasn't, "finding any dirt" so it's likely the appointment helps solidify that Strange won't further pursue it. In addition, as everyone has mentioned Bentley gets to announce the AG who would potentially oversee his own investigation.

Welcome to Alabama politics at its finest.
 
S

studyguy

Member
scurker said:
Oh boy, are you guys in for a treat. Let me fill you in on some of the details as a resident of Alabama.

So Gov. Bentley has been involved in a sex scandal and an alleged misuse of his position. His family suspected he was cheating on his wife and somehow recorded him on the phone with one of his staff. You can find the recording, but it contains gems such as, "When I stand behind you, and I put my arms around you, and I put my hands on your breasts, and I put my hands on you and just pull you real close. I love that, too." and "Baby, let me know what I am going to do when I start locking the door. If we are going to do what we did the other day, we are going to have to start locking the door.". That's the short story to a much longer one, if you're interested in reading it.

So obviously there's been calls for him to resign and/or be impeached. Impeachment was being investigated by the state legislature up until Luther Strange announced he was conducting a criminal investigation. However before the appointment, he had announced he wasn't, "finding any dirt" so it's likely the appointment helps solidify that Strange won't further pursue it. In addition, as everyone has mentioned Bentley gets to announce the AG who would potentially oversee his own investigation.

Welcome to Alabama politics at its finest.
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Must be nice to be able to undermine your own seat of power knowing full well the state will back your fuckery if you're caught.
 
S

scurker

Member
studyguy said:
Must be nice to be able to undermine your own seat of power knowing full well the state will back your fuckery if you're caught.
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Well it doesn't help that corruption breeds corruption. I don't think I've ever seen a state with more corrupt local politicians, so we have a long history of it being such so it doesn't come as a great surprise. As a matter of fact, one of our former governors only just recently got released from prison.
 
L

Lonestar

I joined for Erin Brockovich discussion
frankie_baby said:
Am I understanding this right, people can just be appointed to empty seats in America? That seems really fucked up
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Senate and house members have been replaced for various reasons, and it's the governor of that state that chooses. It can vary on how long that fill in can stay in place, but I think it's only until the next national election. The seat should be up for public voting in 2018 (rather than Session's 2020 date), but who knows what they'll do to avoid that.

It's another reason why state governors are an important vote. Not sure what could stop one from changing parties. As an example, say a democratic senator dies in a plane crash, and the republican governor fills in that spot with a republican. Not sure if there are rules against that or not, but it feels about right, with how screwed up the political process is.


Here's some official information that probably proves me completely wrong:

http://www.ncsl.org/research/elections-and-campaigns/vacancies-in-the-united-states-senate.aspx

For Alabama:
On such a day as the governor may direct, unless vacancy occurs between 2 and 4 months before the next regularly-scheduled general election, in which case it is held at that election. If vacancy occurs within 60 days of the next regularly-scheduled general election, a special election must be held on the first Tuesday after 60 days have elapsed since the vacancy occurred.
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