Former Auburn football coach Tommy Tuberville is a rookie on the political scene, but he already has a healthy head start on becoming one of the GOP's latest batch of morons.
A hedge fund Tuberville helped start in 2009 was the subject of a criminal investigation in which Tuberville’s business partner pleaded guilty to fraud. Tuberville, who denied wrongdoing, later settled a lawsuit filed by investors who lost millions. Tuberville said in a deposition that he had no daily duties with the hedge fund, and was unwitting participant. Tuberville was also duped into participating in a Ponzi scheme run by a former Georgia football coach Jim Donnan.
In 2014, Tuberville started the Tommy Tuberville Foundation, which has given only a small portion of its money to charity while spending tens of thousands of dollars to stage annual golf tournaments. An Associated Press review of its public tax records showed the foundation reported spending about one-third of the money it raised on charitable giving.
In the lead-up to his Senate campaign, Tuberville became the center of controversy after posting a derogatory message on Facebook about a group of drag queens that took part in a Christmas parade in Opelika. “Hard to believe that right in my own backyard the city of Opelika allows drag queens in the city Christmas Parade which was held this weekend,” Tuberville wrote on his campaign Facebook page. “What is next?” In response to the universal condemnation of the post, Tuberville said “Christmas is about celebrating with family. Our public celebrations out to be family friendly for young and old.”
In an interview after the election, tepid Tommy invited ridicule when he said, “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.”
He also flubbed up later in the same interview: “What’s concerning to me, that we’re to the point now where we’ve got almost half the country voting for something that this country wasn’t built on. I tell people, my dad fought 76 years ago in Europe to free Europe of socialism.” Ooops!
Tuberville also inaccurately said that former Vice President Al Gore, who was the Democratic presidential nominee in 2000, was called the president-elect for 30 days during the infamous legal battle over a recount in Florida. Tuberville also asserted that he planned to use his new Senate office to fund raise for the two Republican senators from Georgia-- but it is well know that political fundraising out of a federal office building, and using official federal resources for campaign purposes, is barred by Senate ethics rules. Hope that he didn't follow through on that one!
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