Welcome to what is the 1174th original profile here at “Fanatical Republican Extremist of the Day”, where we’re profiling the former U.S. Senator from Alabama, Richard Shelby, who just retired in 2022 after serving in office since 1986, and stabbing Democrats in the back by cravenly switching parties in 1994 after the Red Wave election of that year. Sen. Shelby was once, of course, brave enough to show extremists nominated by Republican presidents the door, like he did when Robert Bork was nominated and he was a Democrat, but he rubber-stamped in Justices Thomas, Alito, Gorsuch, Kavanaugh, and Coney-Barrett during his tenure, just falling into partisan territory to assure he’d be the longest serving Senator from Alabama. And of course, he supported replacing Ruth Bader-Ginsburg immediately following her death in 2020 while Trump was in office, reversing his position from four years earlier when Barack Obama nominated Merrick Garland to replace Antonin Scalia. He of course, celebrated when the Dobbs decision to overturn Roe v. Wade was made.On guns, Sen. Shelby was in the NRA’s pocket for decades, going as far in 2016 to vote against a bill that would deny firearms sales to anyone on a terror watch list. When asked why he voted against it, he admitted he didn’t want terrorists to easily get guns… but hey, the 2nd Amendment being without limit means more to him, alright?Shelby was cowardly enough in his final term in office to sign off on Donald Trump’s policies on the U.S. border, and like most of his party, ran from reporters for four years rather than make excuses for the Orange Menace’s non-stop gaffes, failures, and outrages. A man who voted to impeach Bill Clinton for lying about a blowjob saw no problem with Donald Trump withholding Congressionally approved funds for Ukraine in exchange for political favors, or for literally staging a coup that centered on his workplace of 36 years. He also voted “abstain” on the creation of the Jan. 6th committee, because that would make certain people in his party face consequences. All the way back in 2001, he was in league with Fox News, leaking classified intercepted messages he was privy to as a Senator that were from Al Qaeda to the fearmongering cable news network, but after an investigation confirmed he did it in 2004, the Bush administration’s Dept. of Justice looked the other way BECAUSE OF COURSE THEY DID, they were using Fox News as a propaganda arm for the War on Terror the whole eight years they were in power. (Shelby’s actions could have, of course, led to agents in the field being revealed to the enemy as informants.)He should have been in jail two decades ago, but Republican crimes don’t matter to Republicans, provided they’re the ones doing them with whatever power they’re given, rather than been pitching a flat tax in 2021 that would have imploded the American economy in an act of legislative malpractice, but hey, it would benefit him after he inflated his own wealth to $19 million by the time he retired. Richard Shelby has retired at the age of 87, and his career was a string of decisions that are a straight line answer to the question, “How did the United States political system damn its working class and get so dysfunctional?” We now send him off with our finest “GOOD RIDDANCE” salute.
One Year Ago, January 12th, 2022: Tom Morrison (IL)… 2022 Update
Two Years Ago, January 12th, 2021: Tom Morrison (IL)… 2021 Update
Three Years Ago, January 12th, 2020: Tom Morrison (IL)… 2020 Update
Four Years Ago, January 12th, 2019: Tom Morrison (IL)… 2019 Update
Five Year Ago, January 12th, 2018: Tom Morrison (IL)… 2018 Update
Six Years Ago, January 12th, 2017: Tom Morrison (IL)… 2017 Update
Seven Years Ago, January 12th, 2016: Tom Morrison (IL)… Original Profile
Eight Years Ago, January 12th, 2015: Jon Kyl (AZ)