Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

Skip to comments.

When Moore Is Less
Townhall.com ^ | Dec 14, 2017 | Laura Hollis

Posted on 12/14/2017 5:31:35 AM PST by Oshkalaboomboom

The loss of the Alabama senate seat to a Democrat -- never-Trumper I-told-you-so's and DNC reveries notwithstanding -- says a lot less about President Trump than it does about the Republican Party leadership. The most important takeaway from Roy Moore's loss is the same one from Donald Trump's win:

Articulately and unabashedly defend conservative principles or lose.

Conservative voters want Republican candidates to champion conservative positions and, once elected, to act on those principles.

The GOP leadership, regrettably, has gotten so good at playing it safe that they no longer know how to lead; their entire strategy seems to consist of trying not to lose. How many times have they propped up lackluster and uninspiring candidates as "electable" because their views wouldn't offend the leftist media (which is going to oppose and mischaracterize conservative policies no matter what)?

We now have a Republican-controlled House and Senate that can't seem to cobble together a single legislative victory, filled though they are with "electable" people. Why are we surprised? Timid candidates chosen to win congressional seats by not rocking the boat don't change their stripes once they get there.

And this assumes that they do win. Often, they lose because they can't mobilize the base to get out and vote, whereupon they are both castigated by the press as "extremist" and defeated by the Democrat on the ticket. At which point, the GOP says, "Golly, we need someone who's even squishier on the issues."

Lather, rinse, repeat. How often do we have to watch this movie?

Too often. This was the backstory in Alabama.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and the RNC backed establishment candidate Luther Strange for Jeff Sessions' vacated senate seat, over the more conservative candidate Mo Brooks. Strange was already tainted by the circumstances of his special appointment by the outgoing governor of Alabama, who resigned in a sex and financial scandal -- that Strange was investigating as Alabama attorney general at the time. But Strange was viewed as more "electable." And a Republican seat in Alabama was always safe, right?

This inscrutable ignoring of the message voters sent the GOP in 2010 and 2014 and 2016 set the stage for someone -- anyone -- else to enter the primary race. Cue Judge Roy Moore and the predictable disaster on Dec. 12. It's a mark of how frustrated voters are with GOP leadership that so many would stand by Moore even as multiple credible allegations came in about his penchant for dating teenaged girls when he was in his 30s. (And this amidst a national sexual harassment and assault scandal of unprecedented proportions.)

In 2016, Trump proved that a broad cross-section of voters would rally behind someone who could both push back against the media and make a case for conservative principles. Trump -- hardly a rock-solid conservative -- has done a surprisingly good job emphasizing issues important to conservative and moderate voters: a smaller federal government, lower taxes, pro-business, pro-military, pro-middle class, border enforcement.

In spite of Trump's victory, the GOP -- aided and abetted by the #NeverTrump conservative media personalities -- distances itself from the president, unable to distinguish the difference between personality -- which is Trump's -- and policy -- which is the voters'.

The pundits don't see it that way. National Review's editors wrote that Steve Bannon and Moore's supporters want to "tear down the GOP for fun and profit." I can't speak for Steve Bannon, but what voters want is for Republicans to get in there and do something. We gave them the House; we gave them the Senate; we gave them the White House. Trump's incendiary tweets, Ronan Farrow's investigative journalism, and the newly empowered #MeToo revolutionaries have exposed and discredited much of the press. For heaven's sake -- what are they waiting for?

It looks all-too likely that the GOP will yet again learn the wrong lesson from Moore's embarrassing defeat and make two catastrophic mistakes.

The first would be to retreat to their familiar "electable" argument instead of backing a fearless conservative (without a pervy past next time, thank you very much). To do that will all but ensure that even a hysterically leftist Democrat candidate would defeat a bland pabulum Republican, with disillusioned and betrayed conservative voters staying home.

The second mistake is a paralyzed and moribund Congress in 2018. If the GOP doesn't come out swinging and get things done legislatively early next year, they're setting the stage for primary challenges. Some of these may be breaths of fresh air. But others will be -- a la Richard Mourdock, Todd Akin, Christine O'Donnell and Roy Moore -- truly execrable. Enough of those, and Republicans will have squandered the opportunity of a lifetime to lead the country, and will hand control of Congress to a Democratic Party that is further left than anything we've had so far. The next candidates the DNC throws us will make Barack Obama look like Barry Goldwater.

Don't say you weren't warned.


TOPICS: Constitution/Conservatism; Culture/Society; News/Current Events; Politics/Elections
KEYWORDS:
Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first 1-2021-24 next last
We have leaders in the House and Senate who don't care if they win or lose as long as they maintain their personal power.
1 posted on 12/14/2017 5:31:35 AM PST by Oshkalaboomboom
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | View Replies]

To: Oshkalaboomboom

Paper Ballots Are Being Destroyed in Alabama:
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/3613485/posts?page=17

With a gathering of more supporting evidence, improprieties should be taken to the US Supreme court with a petition to nullify the election. A new election with better safeguards should be ordered. Voter fraud must not be tolerated.


2 posted on 12/14/2017 5:41:23 AM PST by Swirl
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Oshkalaboomboom
their entire strategy seems to consist of trying not to lose.

Make no mistake, the GOPe wanted to lose this one in the worst way as Moore would have been yet another thorn in their globalist aspirations.

3 posted on 12/14/2017 5:41:52 AM PST by Robert DeLong
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Swirl

Makes the stay of preserving ballots understandable, doesn’t it.


4 posted on 12/14/2017 5:43:38 AM PST by Robert DeLong
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 2 | View Replies]

To: Oshkalaboomboom

Agreed. However, McTurdel, et al apparently don’t care. They’ve got theirs. Until they die.

I think we all know what the problem is. But how do we fix it? Therein lies the rub.


5 posted on 12/14/2017 5:45:28 AM PST by upchuck ("Ex-obama" ... That phrase itself honors America. ~ h/t glennaro)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Oshkalaboomboom

In Alabama, Bannon was defeated by leaders in the House and Senate


6 posted on 12/14/2017 5:46:07 AM PST by granada
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Swirl

The entire U.S. election process, be it federal, state, county or local has been completely destroyed in this country when an election such as this can be literally “stolen” right before your eyes and NOTHING is done to prevent it from every happening again. At one time, many years ago, I believed we had a pretty good election process system but NO LONGER. Talk about a swamp that needs draining.


7 posted on 12/14/2017 5:49:02 AM PST by DaveA37
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 2 | View Replies]

To: Oshkalaboomboom

We better get used to it. There will be no rock ribbed conservative without a ‘pervy past’. The media and Dems will make sure of that since the precedent has been set. Our ‘leaders’ allowed that to happen.


8 posted on 12/14/2017 5:59:32 AM PST by taterjay
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Oshkalaboomboom
Don't for one second think that Judy Roy Moore lost that election !
Can't you see DemocRAT generated FAKE VOTES right in front of you ?

The information in the article Vote Fraud of Alabama from TUESDAY, DECEMBER 12, 2017, deserves saving.


9 posted on 12/14/2017 6:02:49 AM PST by Yosemitest (It's SIMPLE ! ... Fight, ... or Die !)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Oshkalaboomboom

Their entire strategy is to protect the 30 year bipartisan policy of non-enforcement that has flooded the country with foreigners and changed the demographics of the country against the will of the citizens.


10 posted on 12/14/2017 6:09:54 AM PST by Lurkinanloomin (Natural Born Citizen Means Born Here Of Citizen Parents - Know Islam, No Peace -No Islam, Know Peace)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Oshkalaboomboom

We have to live within the confines of political reality. Radical candidates are generally going to lose. Roy Moore was a radical conservative of a very idiosyncratic, egomaniacal cast. He was not selected by the state’s Republican Party, but by a corrupt open primary process.

People forget, or never knew, that Moore was the nominee because of the sordid career of the prior Republican governor of Alabama, who was ousted after, among many sins, what was perceived as a corrupt bargain whereby he appointed Luther Strange, the state’s Attorney General, to Session’s Senate seat in return for not prosecuting the gov. Whether true or not, this was a millstone around Strange’s neck, and one of two main reasons Moore won the primary, the other being crossover voting orchestrated by the ultra-Dem Alabama Education Association (teachers’ union). Without the accusations of going after very young women/girls, Moore might have squeaked it out, but it was almost inevitable that he would create controversy and marginalize himself — it’s what he does best. He was an outsider to Alabama Republican Party, and not beloved by its base, as the low R turnout indicates.

I think conservative candidates who combine libertarian rhetoric with pragmatism and action (example: Ronald Reagan) can win elections.


11 posted on 12/14/2017 6:16:35 AM PST by Chewbarkah
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Oshkalaboomboom

During the entire election process, I was never against Roy Moore. Now that the election is over, the only news I want to hear about Roy Moore is that he is taking every accuser to court for false claims and damages to his reputation and anything else he can throw at them. If he won’t do that, maybe he’s not all that innocent after all. Same for his accusers. Take Roy Moore to court or admit it was all a scam and hand over to the FBI, the DNC/SOROS ATM card they gave you.


12 posted on 12/14/2017 6:22:08 AM PST by Dixie Yooper (Ephesians 6:11)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Oshkalaboomboom

The only thing that beat Moore was the uncertainly of Moore dating those young girls and maybe molesting one of them. Whether he did it or not it put enough uncertainty into the minds of voters in Alabama and the fact he was not very articulate in explaining those instances.


13 posted on 12/14/2017 6:24:34 AM PST by wild74
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Yosemitest

Here is more:

http://ladiesofliberty.net/congratulations-doug-jones/


14 posted on 12/14/2017 6:25:42 AM PST by DarthVader ("The biggest misconception on Free Republic is that the Deep State is invulnerable")
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 9 | View Replies]

To: Oshkalaboomboom

http://www.truthrevolt.org/news/secular-hollywood-thanks-black-female-god-defeat-roy-moore


15 posted on 12/14/2017 6:31:16 AM PST by KeyLargo
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Yosemitest

Bkmk


16 posted on 12/14/2017 6:34:53 AM PST by southland ( I have faith in the creator Republicans freed the slaves. Heb 13:2 Deplorable...)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 9 | View Replies]

To: Oshkalaboomboom

Roy Moores flaw was he did not admit a possibility that he might have known these people -but trusted his denial -though probably true —of any wrongdoing would be enough. Secondary he trusted Republicans to do the right thing and defend the States Republican Party Choice for the Senate. He did not seem to understand the POWER of Sodom and the hold the Homosexual Mafia has on American politics.


17 posted on 12/14/2017 6:52:41 AM PST by StonyBurk
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Oshkalaboomboom

The allegations against Moore were never “credible”.

Anyway, I’m about the same age as Moore; I knew several older men who dated younger women. It’s legal. Not to my taste, but if the man and woman like it, so what?


18 posted on 12/14/2017 7:31:38 AM PST by chesley (What is life but a long dialog with imbeciles? - Pierre Ryckmans)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Oshkalaboomboom

I don’t respect this article as it makes two unfair presumptions:

1: The 40 year old allegations against Moore are true. If this were the case why did it take 40 years for them to come out, and where is the evidence?

2: That Moore was a risk, This we know wasn’t true Roy Moore had already proven he could win several state wide elections being twice elected to the state supreme court after being removed by the federal injustice system. If Moore were an amoral man this would have come out during either of those elections or one of the numerous elections before him where his morality was a far more important issue.

Nobody in their right mind expects a senator to be more moral and good character than a judge. The senate is the definition of amorality.


19 posted on 12/14/2017 7:33:27 PM PST by Monorprise
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Yosemitest

This is what you might expect from an Alabama election.

But half the national republicans and even a few state republicans basically campaigned against Roy Moore. They told their supporters to stay home, and so a great many of them did.


20 posted on 12/14/2017 7:46:36 PM PST by Monorprise
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 9 | View Replies]


Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first 1-2021-24 next last

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.

Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

FreeRepublic, LLC, PO BOX 9771, FRESNO, CA 93794
FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson