New Alabama senator flubs his basic civics
Misidentifies three main branches of government
WASHINGTON – Incoming Sen. Tommy Tuberville, R-ala., botched several basic historical facts during a recent interview – such as misidentifying the three branches of government.
Tuberville, a former Auburn University football coach who won his Senate race on Nov. 3 by defeating incumbent Democratic Sen. Doug Jones, did an interview on Thursday with The Alabama Daily News after he attended orientation in Washington for new senators.
He was asked whether he thought the
GOP could utilize their potential majority in the Senate to pass legislation as Democrats will control the House of
Representatives and the White House. This prompted Tuberville to answer he doesn’t care “if you’re a Republican or Democrat” and that he has been given a mandate to help people.
“Our government wasn’t set up for one group to have all three branches of government – wasn’t set up that way,” Tuberville continued, saying incorrectly, “You know, the House, the Senate, and the executive.”
Those are not the three branches of government. As laid out in the Constitution, the three branches of the federal government are the legislative, which includes the Senate and House; the executive, which includes the presidency, and the judicial, which includes the Supreme Court.
Tuberville also inaccurately said former Vice President Al Gore, who was the Democratic presidential nominee in 2000, was called the president-elect for 30 days during the legal fight over a recount in Florida.
Neither Gore nor Republican nominee George W. Bush were considered the president-elect during that process, as neither were determined to have clearly won enough votes.
Tuberville also asserted that he plans to use his new Senate office to raise funds for the two Republican senators from Georgia who are facing crucial runoff elections that will determine control of the Senate.
Political fundraising out of a federal office building, and using official federal resources for campaign purposes, is barred by Senate ethics rules.