302 Comments

I'm so mad that your fellow Alabamians chose this dangerous, monumentally stupid person to be a US Senator over the very qualified Doug Jones. America is a dumb country.

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I'm uncertain as to your broad conclusion and I definitely feel your complete frustration at this Senator's choices and actions.

When confronted with these kinds of seeming power plays for the sake of being seen as a strongman <or woman> i feel a deeper desire to know more SO THAT when those with few facts begin spouting emotion and waving a flag I am armed with rebuttals of FACTS rather than an outburst of frustration. This is where our strength as citizens lie in our communities, in being as well informed as possible and always asking more questions. I always have more to learn!

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And why does one person bottleneck the process? Something g is wrong with the system that allows this

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I've been asking the same question. How can one person block anything in our government??? Even a veto by the President has an override available. Something is definitely wrong with the system. Can someone answer this for me???

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Thank you, Mimi Champlin. It still seems to be undemocratic to me.

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So the Republican Party is acting as one person. That’s not a free and fair republic without debate and conversation on important issues that affect all the people. Republicans have become irrelevant.

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In principle, I agree with you. However, over the recent years, I've noticed that Dems usually have the facts, but Republicans persuade with pure emotion. And it's these emotional appeals that get support from most voters. So many voters are too busy with work and children to take the time to learn the facts. So they believe those emotional appeals and vote accordingly. It's very sad, but true, and I don't know what we can do about it.

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Yes, reminds me of a quote I have been using frequently of late, from former Senator Daniel P. Moynihan, "You are entitled to your own opinion. You are not entitled to your own facts."

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Well, actually, no. More voters choose Democrats, consistently.

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You're right, but so many Dems are in gerrymandered districts or are prevented from voting, so more of us doesn't always count.

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Alabama has been taken to task for gerrymandering. But for the case of Tommy Tuberville, it was a federal election.

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Exactly, Ms. Buchanan: facts are meaningless to entirely too many Republicans these days. They campaign on outrage and hatred--emotions that the Repubbie candidates deliberately incite and keep fueling.

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Jul 11, 2023·edited Jul 11, 2023

Queen for a Day was a very popular show in the way way before times. The more you, the contestant/victim of life’s challenges, were able to draw tears from the audience, the greater your chance to be QFAD. Should have been the canary in the coal mine. A big chunk of the GOP seems to revel in victimhood, and TFG reinforces that daily. Not sure what policies these folks will want explained or if there are actually policies they want changed. Seems to me they just want the crown.

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Yes! I remember that show well (from when I was a whole lot younger.) That's it exactly...all emotion and victimhood.

You've put me to thinking about Bill Clinton's town hall style talks to voters. He'd tell a story about somebody who was affected by a program he wanted to impliment. He made people feel like he really cared about them. Trump does this too, making folks think he cares, but Trump is negative and says the Dems don't care, whereas Clinton was positive about how he could make things better.

Maybe we just need to present the facts in a way that sounds more personal and that we care about how folks are affected.

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Agree. Every time we talk policy, I hear snores. Funny you mention Clinton. My husband suggested this am that if the GOP ever gets its version of him, and that mythical soul makes it past the primary, there’s a decent chance there will be a GOP pres. I’m confident that candidate will remain imaginary for decades. And sadly, this mess we’re in won’t end for some time either. Good thing AI will put us all out of our misery. Kidding…sorta.

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Even if this mythical candidate were elected, I would still fear many of his cabinet appointments, etc., would include some of the current wackos. After so many republicans have supported trump, even just by remaining silent, I don't think there's a single one of them I'd trust to be a dogcatcher.

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I don't know whether Republicans are busier than Democrats, just think a lot of them are being led by people who 1) flatter them into thinking they are better than others because of their skin color (or in the case of Clarance Thomas, despite it), or 2) they watch too much tv and don't understand reality, or 3) are part of the Evangelical pseudo Christian movement and do not think for themselves, having been brainwashed by their communities, in which case many do not know anything else.

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Well said Mimi Champlin; we all have more to learn.

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Your observations are right on point, Mimi. Some people react too quickly by making hyperbolic and sweeping characterizations that do not lead to improvements.

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And not be misled by all the noise.

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Jul 11, 2023·edited Jul 11, 2023

Why does one senator elected by a fraction of the US population have the power to turn this country into a banana republic?

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Between Tuberville, Mansion & the rest of the Senatorial Trump cult clowns, I am exhausted, beyond frustrated & fearful. I have to hold onto the hope that TRUTH will prevail. When will the liars & enablers be exposed, brought to justice & restore our faith in our government? I know there is no current answer. Are all waiting for some deus ex machina to arrive? I need it to arrive soon!

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Alabama is a heavily gerrymandered state.

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That doesn't matter for Senate races because they are statewide.

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With 3 fascist Republicant voters for every Democrat voter.

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No. That would be 1.5 to 1, fascists to Dems.

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Depends on which election you look at.

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No it doesn’t. It’s been very consistent, with one notable exception...when Doug Jones defeated Roy Moore. The fascist to Dems ratio in that election was 0.96 to 1.

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I've lived briefly in both Birmingham and Mobile but the rest of my life in SEC Country (BTW, not "Securities and Exchange Commission"...). He was elected because he was the football coach at Auburn. It had less to do with what he stood for, etc. Bear Bryant could have been elected and today so could Nick Saban (I would take him in a NY minute!).

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He was elected because he was a fascist Republican.

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Half of America.

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Indeed, and as Liz Chaney said "we elect idiots".

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Why cant the Pentagon announce it will close all its Alabama military bases as a cost cutting measure?

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The Pentagon cannot close bases. But I think the President can because he is the Commander in Chief of the military. I'm not sure if Congress would be able to stop a closure. However, it would be horrid to punish an entire state because of a single warped senator. Joyce has outlined the best approach: we need to work at the ground level to inform all of our friends, family, colleagues about Tuberville's behavior. Be sure to outline the dots connecting him to Trumped Up. This is a problem the Republican party needs to address, so the pressure has to be ramped up. But we all need to speak up! And it's something Taylor Swift needs to know about. She has encouraged her 'Swifties' to speak up about the outrageous behaviors of Republican Party members (without naming the 'party' by name). A recent market research report showed that 53% of American adults call themselves 'Swifties.' That is huge - so let's call on the Swifties for help. In a word, Tuberville is atrocious.

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Taylor Swift kicks ass.

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She does indeed. She can take Tuberville to the negotiating table.

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She’ll take his cracker ass to the whipping post. Intellectual whipping post

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Woot!!

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The entire state elected him.

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40% did not vote for him.

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Count me among that 40%

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...and me, as well

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And me.

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Well, sorry I spoke about driving through Alabama without stopping. If you own a gas station along the way, I’ll stop and fill up, lol.

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Outside of Joyceand Doug Jones and maybe 100 other white people there, there are no "good" white Alabamians.

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I belong to a north Alabama FB GROUP of Woke Women … more than 2,000 of us. Our presence belies your way off the mark observation

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Yeah, but Jeri's idea sounds a lot more fun.

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All military bases should be moved out of the South. They were put there in World War II because the Jim Crow Southern Democrats controlled all the congressional committees that funded them.

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With even a whiff of a suggestion of closing even One base in the South, - - Can you Imagine the flagwaving roar of hostility and hatred that would deafen anybody north of the Mason-Dixon line?? We Democrats would be accused of everything from stealing candy bars to murder to espionage.

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Jul 11, 2023·edited Jul 11, 2023

Not closing, but moving the bases in states whose Senators and Representatives do not support the military fully especially in these times of increased needs for national security should be called out when these politicians use any blanket "hostage taking" to make unrelated laws. Democrats, Independents and non MAGA Republicans have to start calling these blocks out loud and clear! We can no longer call the Republican Party, the Party that supports our Military and National Security--they are not!!!

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The Republicans should be made to own this!!

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What’s the alternative? Morale as low as the Russian military? What is the % of women and minorities serving?

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We need to expel the South. And then, after being sure to provide migration assistance for the good folks, nuke the place from orbit.

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So, are appointing yourself as the adjudicator of good and evil in “The South?”

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Just observing what I've seen when I was down there, and what I observed when I was among them in the service.

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Reverse bigotry is not a solution to anything.

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The south is not the only place where women are stationed where abortion is illegal. Think of NATO posts, think of bases all over the world. https://www.vox.com/2015/5/18/8600659/military-bases-united-states

A former colleague is going to teach at a DOD school in Germany. Abortion is actually illegal there it has been explained to me because of the genocide in the Holocaust, so one has to have consultation meetings with a therapist and other delaying stressful stuff to get one. One has to say one cannot manage if one has the child. Of course, if there is a health risk that is an exception.

https://www.dw.com/en/germany-moves-to-reform-abortion-law/a-62014740

Still, one might go to Vienna, Austria where you can get the 2 pills and no muss, no fuss. What about African countries. It is a bigger picture issue than one thinks, and the Southern states are not alone in the repression of women, preventing them from complete access to health care. The reality is that we went from having the most liberal abortion laws in the world, to not having them.

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Only way to be sure

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We already are.

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Good point. Failure not to do that, as recruiting goes down, I doubt R’s kids will fill that void in the ranks.

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It would probably be too expensive to move them. I have been thinking the same thing. Also, there are US military women stationed in countries that do not allow abortion. How will that be handled? If one is in Poland can one get an abortion on a USA base, which is then considered the USA, or does one have to travel to say, Austria for an abortion? What if you are stationed in an African country where abortion is illegal. The best bet would be to have military doctors who can perform abortions on each base.

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They should and I bet the Space Force does not come to AL as was previously committed.

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I don't understand how one man could have this much power and why senators cannot change the rule that allows this. Can someone please tell me how such an idiotic "undemocratic" rule came to be?

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We The People: Trump's stolen documents threatens National Security in the worst way.

Tuberville: Hold my beer.

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It was set up to be this way. The Senate should be abolished.

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Why haven’t you already gone to DC and gotten this done? All talk and no action???

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And I should be in charge of everything. Get er’ done.

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I don’t think so!

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TCin: Alternate form of government? What's your plan?

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Tuberville is an f’ing moron and a hypocrite.

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What's the definition of someone who weakens our military? What's the definition of someone who is an obstacle to hard earned military careers? What's the definition of someone who imposes his RELIGIOUS views on our women in uniform?

Searching, searching for the words. Got it. Fascist Traitor.

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Tubs instead of Doug Jones: vomit inducing.

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That sorry excuse for a Senator needs to be taken to the woodshed. If Mitchy-Poo had a real backbone he would do it and threaten him with not every seeing a dime of defense, VA, NASA, or infrastructure money ever if he doesn’t relent on his crusade to punish women in the military who are dealing with crisis pregnancies whether they want an abortion or not. Of course we cannot hold harmless the Trump Taliban for MAGAbama for electing this bozo. How they could vote out Doug Jones for Tuberville is beyond me.

Thank you for expressing my feeling is a far more erudite and civil manner than I can. When I see him pulling this BS, I become over the top angry. I spent nearly forty years of service as a Commissioned officer in Army and the Navy. Seven years of my Navy career were spent with the 2nd Marine Division and Marine Security Forces including with 2nd Marine Division during the Iraq Surge.

Of course these are the same people who even if they weren’t alive at the time still hate Jane Fonda for her stupid anti-war protest in North Vietnam, that he has apologized for so many times. The same people that “Swift-boated” John Kerry, an actual war hero with a conscience. The same people who still support Don the Draft Dodging cadet bone spurs leader of their so called “Republican Party.”

I am sorry, but thank you for what you wrote.

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I'm still wondering how Don the Draft Dodging cadet can play golf with bone spurs?

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Mitch McConnell is useless. He’ll never “threaten” “Coach” (oh for God’s sake, he wants to be called that? Go back to college, “Coach!”) because he sees in him a useful lackey who will vote exactly as Yurtle McTurtle demands of his Republican cohorts.

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Joyce, you know the problem with people trying to “talk” to the r’s. I actually talked to my Dr. today, a very special person in my life right now. (Cancer. Fighting for my life) he was on the same page as me and he WAS a Republican. You just have to feel out the person you want to talk to. I refuse to loose Family or Friends over tfg!!!🇺🇸

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Good point, Ruth. Heal well.

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Thank you so much, Lynell.

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My best wishes as you fight your battle against cancer. ❤️🐼

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The lowest of the low. A disgrace.

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Oh, he’s not alone in AL. There’s Roy Moore, pedophile, religious bigot, and white supremacist who has been trying to get the 10 commandments posted in every courtroom in AL for years. And, don’t forget Mo Brooks who exhorted violence from the platform with John Eastman on 6 JAN.

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Where are those two now?

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Roy Moore has resumed making noises about AL Supreme Court chief Justice. His noise about succeeding Richard Shelby’s Senate seat went nowhere. The wound he took in losing to Doug Jones was still pretty fresh.

Mo Brooks is keeping his head very low. Richard Shelby’s protégé Katy Britt flattened Mo’s shot at succeeding Shelby and Dale Strong took his backstop AL-05 House seat both in the same primary.

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In other words, they are nowhere politically right now. Let’s keep it that way.

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Doug Jones replaced Roy Moore.

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No. Roy Moore has only held elective office on the Alabama Supreme Court.

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True that the bar is lying on the ground.

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So a man who got just over 1,300,000 votes out of a population of just over 5,000,000 is able to block the votes of significantly more people representing significantly more people. What archaic rule permits this stupidity? This complete disregard for any norm ,for any honor of our service members and actually a disregard for our national security .Truly disgusting,shameful and pathetic.

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Thank you for reminding me that we are all in this together, in spite of the histrionics of one unqualified senator.

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I agree except for one point. All Republican congressman/woman is responsible for stupid acts to their constituents and Our Country. I pray everyday that Justice will prevail.

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Globally, you are correct in that they are all reprehensible. 90% of this essay was on Tuberville, ergo my focus on him.

To mess with our armed forces like this is incomprehensible.

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Let me apologize to you Ally. I did not mean to imply that you were wrong about anything, just took the chance of elaborating a bit more. Please, I did not mean to offend or anything like that. Sorry.🥰🇺🇸

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Once again, I am mortified to be from this state. I truly am considering leaving this state because of our bad laws, petty politicians, and hostile environment for women.

“Coach”, as he prefers to be called (and that is worth an entire other discussion), is single-handedly going to ensure Huntsville does not get the Space Force HQs and may push military to close some of our five bases. In the state.

I’m in touch w a number of military members awaiting promotions who will now have to wait another 12-18 months, which seriously delays and/or sidetracks their careers.

The Senator’s petty behavior is harmful to the military and to the state. What is his point?

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The point is -- power. My way or the highway. He's using his power to obstruct, as Senate rules allow. (Not that that's a good thing.)

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As a voter whose home was “Sweet Home Alabama” until after retirement to SC (Lindsey Graham country 🙄🙄) I’ve always wanted to get back to my home state, beloved in every way except of course for George Wallace, all misogynists, racists, KKK, and the GOP. I grew up with the stigma of the South, traded one for another but Tuberville must be a profound idiot to think he can get away with this national security breach! To force access to women’s health care be banned in the military or nationwide? Really? Who does he think he is? To put our entire nation at risk, compromising the defense of our country with the world upended everywhere? HE SHOULD BE CASTRATED AND HUNG UP BY HIS TOES! I try to keep Substack a place of “Civil Discourse” but this holding up confirmations of 250 military appointments is extremely risky and puts all Americans in harm’s way. Including the women needing health care! Am I mistaken that he was a football coach? That could explain the ignorance and attitude. But NEVER THE BEHAVIOR. Thomas Wolfe said “you can’t go home again.” Well, I think he was right. I’ll stay in SC with power hungry two faced Lindsey Graham and our own carefully selected bigots!

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Before he was elected, Tuberville apparently didn’t even know we have 3 branches of government - he is an idiot pretending to be some deep thinker. He should have stuck with football. It makes me ill to think he is able to wield this power “no-vote” over our entire country. I hate these faux-Christians and their forced birth beliefs.

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“Carefully selected bigots”...that’s rich 😂😂😂😂😂!!!!!!

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"Truth is increasingly of no importance to elected officials in the Republican party." The understatement of the decade..Someone needs to take Tommy into a back room and rearrange that face of his until he stops this bullshit! Sorry for my potty mouth Joyce, but I have had enough of this Republican nonsense and the Democrat's feckless managing of it..

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Can we do more of a full reno?

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...renovation.

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Ah..These people need to be made an offer they can't refuse..I'm sick of this..

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Agreed

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The "Justified" sequel starts next week. Raymond should pay Tommy a visit.

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Raylon

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I may not be the brightest bulb around, but I’m not stupid either. Why is it that I simply cannot understand people like Tuberville and those who stand by him?

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My thought on your comment “understanding how the r’s (Tuberville in this instance) because we don’t think like these people, we don’t hate like these people and never will. Again, I hope from the bottom of my heart that they are destroyed.

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Because they aren’t on the level.

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You're not alone in that!!!

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At every opportunity presented to me, I will tell listeners of this man’s treachery and deceit.

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As an Army Veteran who lives a few miles from the campus of Texas A&M, it gauls me to see Senator Tuberville hold up our military promotions. Apparently, Republicans in Alabama love their football coaches far more than they should. I mean, Nick Saban wouldn't be this stupid, but then Saban has shown himself to be a winner year after year. Tuberville never was much of a coach. You can look it up! Maybe the Commander in Chief should pull out every member of the military in Alabama and close those 5 posts. That would be a hellacious undertaking, but might be the kind of lesson Tuberville needs to be taught. Wish there was a way for the President to use an executive order to move the needle on this! Carry on.

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You’re from Texas, huh. 😂😂😂😂

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Born and raised. Fingers crossed it'll be blue again some day. Take care.

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