After any major election, especially one that garners national attention, those of us who work in media can expect to receive an enormous number of press releases. Party committees, advocacy groups, political action committees, candidates with national ambitions all weigh in with their own spin on the outcome.
Naturally, the volume of press statements after Alabama’s Senate special election was high, though my personal favorite came by way of the National Republican Senatorial Committee.
NRSC Chairman Cory Gardner made the following statement regarding the results of the Alabama special election:
“Tonight’s results are clear — the people of Alabama deemed Roy Moore unfit to serve in the U.S. Senate,” said NRSC Chairman Cory Gardner. “I hope Senator-elect Doug Jones will do the right thing and truly represent Alabama by choosing to vote with the Senate Republican Majority.”
Look, I’m not unsympathetic to the circumstances. The NRSC — which, to its credit, withheld support from Roy Moore — probably can’t remain completely silent in response to a Senate race the whole country was watching.
But, c’mon. A progressive-minded Democrat just pulled off an improbable victory in one of the nation’s reddest states. Jones should now ignore his own platform and vote with the opposing party? Remind me, when Massachusetts’ Scott Brown won a Senate special election in 2010, did anyone tell him that in order to “truly represent” his blue-state constituents, he should choose to vote with the Senate Democratic majority?
Steve Benen is a producer for "The Rachel Maddow Show," the editor of MaddowBlog and an MS NOW political contributor. He's also the bestselling author of "Ministry of Truth: Democracy, Reality, and the Republicans' War on the Recent Past." Recommended
