Posted on 11/29/2017 11:08:32 PM PST by Oshkalaboomboom
It is a political, tactical and moral mistake for Republicans to continue backing Judge Roy Moore for Alabama's Senate seat.
In brief, he has been accused by multiple women of, decades ago, making unwanted and inappropriate sexual advances toward them when they were teenage girls -- one as young as 14 -- and he was in his 30s. At least four women say he initiated sexual contact with them.
When asked if he thought the Moore allegations were true, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., said, "I believe the women, yes. ... I think he should step aside" -- a sentiment shared, publicly and privately, by nearly all Republican senators.
President Donald Trump at first struck the right chord. After his handpicked Republican candidate lost the primary election, Trump called Moore to congratulate him. Everything was fine, until the allegations. Then Trump said, "If the allegations are true, he should drop out." When the Republican National Committee withdrew its funding for Moore, Trump went along with it.
Then Trump began to twist, and he now says that Moore is innocent until proven guilty, that these are all old claims and that we can't have a lefty in the Senate:
"(Moore) denies it," the President said last week. "Look, he denies it. I mean, if you look at what is really going on, and you look at all the things that have happened over the last 48 hours, he totally denies it. He says it didn't happen. And, you know, you have to listen to him also. You're talking about, he said 40 years ago this did not happen."
Trump then blasted Moore's Democratic opponent, Doug Jones, via Twitter: "The last thing we need in Alabama and the U.S. Senate is a Schumer/Pelosi puppet who is WEAK on Crime, WEAK on the Border, Bad for our Military and our great Vets, Bad for our 2nd Amendment, AND WANTS TO RAISES TAXES TO THE SKY. Jones would be a disaster!"
These are not good enough reasons.
Again, Moore was not Trump's guy. Luther Strange -- the incumbent appointed to complete the term of former Sen. Jeff Sessions, who became Attorney General -- was Trump's choice. But Steve Bannon, Trump's former aide, wanted Moore, presumably because the former judge supported Bannon's desire to ditch Senate leader Mitch McConnell. Yet during the Luther Strange and Roy Moore debates, the candidates fell all over themselves to argue who would be more closely linked to the Trump agenda. So, no matter who won, he figured to be an ally to the President.
Defenders of Moore ask, why now? After decades in public service, why are these allegations only now coming out? A better question, why the allegations in the first place? Are they credible? But to answer the timing question, the more likely "culprit" is not Democratic opposition, but Harvey Weinstein, whose sexual abuse and misconduct opened the door for other accusers in other fields to come forward. That these allegations are only now being taken seriously is too little too late, but the timing could not have been worse for Moore.
Of course he is "innocent until proven guilty." This is not a court of law. This is politics. Are the defenders of Moore willing to discount all of his accusers but believe the accusers against Bill Clinton?
The voluminous allegations against Harvey Weinstein, a friend and patron of the political left, have forced the Democrats to reconsider their adoration for the likes of Bill Clinton and Ted Kennedy, whose resumes include credible allegations of sexual assault, allegations long ignored.
For now, Republicans occupy the high moral ground, as Democrats, already dealing with allegations of sexual misconduct by Sen. Al Franken, D-Minn., and Rep. John Conyers, D-Mich., squirm to explain how and why they ignored, downplayed or accepted the sexual behavior of party icons Clinton and Ted Kennedy.
With Moore defenders, in part, circling the wagons on Moore, many Trump voters apparently cannot answer this question: Why did you "overlook" the allegations made by some dozen women against now-President Donald Trump?
That's easy.
Trump was not running against Mother Teresa. Trump ran against Hillary Clinton, a woman against whom a credible allegation was made that she verbally intimidated Juanita Broaddrick just two weeks after Bill Clinton allegedly raped her. Conservative Barbara Olson's book "Hell to Pay" and liberal Christopher Hitchens' book "No One Left to Lie To" depict Hillary as the Toscanini of the "nuts or sluts" strategy effectively employed to malign and marginalize her husband's accusers.
This is the person against whom Donald Trump ran. So, no, Republicans need not apologize for supporting Trump against a person whose actions enabled, covered up for and therefore perpetuated her husband's misconduct.
By supporting Roy Moore, Republicans, on the issue of sexual misconduct, risk turning into the my-guy-wrong-or-wrong hypocrites from across the aisle.
The guys an idiot. Moore did nothing illegal or immoral even if true on every count. The 14 year old was a lie. Moore never even came close to harassing anyone unless aakibg for a date with parents permimission counts.
Just as a matter of Christian principles, that position has to be rejected. There can be no forgiveness without repentance and the act of repentance by its very nature has includes an acknowledgement that the deed was actually committed. If you don’t think so, go and argue with Jesus Christ….. Luke 13:3 “I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish.”
I believe Moore is a Christian who very well understands the concepts of someone ‘bearing false witness against him’ and ‘weapons backfiring on his accusers’…..and frankly, so far it seems to be working. Exodus 20:16 “Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour.” Isaiah 54:17 “No weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper; and every tongue that shall rise against thee in judgment thou shalt condemn…..”
NOW this assclown denounced Moore? This close to the election, after the worst has already been seen and beaten back? What a moroon.
By all means, Lawrence, let’s allow the Swamp to eliminate any candidate they don’t like by equating accusation with guilt.
A good take on this insanity from Larry.
But I wonder: Who has serious dirt on Larry Elder that he cannot allow to be made public?
Larry must be auditioning to get his own show on Faux News.
The statute of limitations for sexual harassment claims in Alabama is 3years. There a reason for that. So he can only be tried in the media...kangaroo court at its best.
Larry Elder can slowly roast in hell. Roy Moore will win easily on 12 December.
We will dump Moore, right into the US Senate
Maybe he was assaulted by matt lauer. Or he was in scarborough’s old WDC office and fell, hitting his head.
I think Larry is hiding something. We need to get to the bottom of it.
I’m off to the nearest mobile home park with my fishing rod and $20.
“Wouldn’t it still be better to let him win, force him to resign if anything concrete turns out to be true and let the Governor appoint another Republican replacement than to just give the seat away to a pro-abortion anti-gun Democrat?”
Exactly. Plus, we’re sure not seeing the Senate oust Franken despite there being actual evidence in that case. Plus, things were very, very different in the South 40 years ago...remember Elvis?
I think Moore should issue the following statement:
“I strongly condemn any adult taking advantage of children in any way. If you have doubts about my past despite my declaration of innocence, I ask that you extend me the same forgiveness and tolerance extended to Robert Byrd, an acknowleged Ku Klux Klan member.”
Trump then blasted Moore’s Democratic opponent, Doug Jones, via Twitter: “The last thing we need in Alabama and the U.S. Senate is a Schumer/Pelosi puppet who is WEAK on Crime, WEAK on the Border, Bad for our Military and our great Vets, Bad for our 2nd Amendment, AND WANTS TO RAISES TAXES TO THE SKY. Jones would be a disaster!”
These are not good enough reasons.
It’s frightening that he would say that. The issues are not good enough reasons. They are the only reasons!!
Larry Elder. That figures.
What he doesn’t realize from his cushy place is that we need warriors, not gentleman in this war.
At this point, I could care less if Moore hit on teens when he was 30, as long as he can help us get this country back; that our recent ancestors built; that the lawyers stole and sold to the highest donors.
Disappointed in Larry for this.
Larry, you do what is right, not what is politically cautious or expedient.
To cave now would only encourage further use of this political dirty trick.
Don’t cower in fear to the, ‘risk of turning into the my-guy-wrong-or-wrong hypocrites from across the aisle’.
Buck up!
He seems so sane .. yet.. even good people make errors in judgment and /or seek to pass judgment without fact or cause.
I seriesly doubt we would have ever made it to a revolution much less a civil war if the Founding Fathers were held to the same scrutinies of todays misguided media and talking heads.
I suspect the Catholic Church would disagree with your interpretation here, and I certainly disagree. Confession is performed in private and does not necessarily include a public admission of our sins. If Judge Moore did anything wrong (and I suspect the recent rumors are either vastly overstated or complete fiction), he could very well have sincerely repented in private, reformed (as demonstrated by the complete absence of any claims from the past couple decades), and become a model citizen and Christian.
Hear, hear!IMHO there are at least two reasons:
The two facets compound each other. What is the point of straining to adjudicate something that isn’t important - and what is the point of splitting hairs on the significance of a charge, when it is so hard to get at the truth of it???
- As memories degrade and witnesses die, it becomes impractical to adjudicate the truth. And,
- ”What difference, at this point, does it make?” That comment by a presumed presidential candidate, about a relatively very recent event which happened on her watch, was cynical and fatuous. But the same comment has validity in reference to behavior not nearly as evil as hanging ambassadors out to dry without security. Being interested in young unmarried women - without committing violence against them, and without even keeping their parents out of the loop - falls in the relatively minor category.
And in this is compounded in this case by the real cost to society of preventing the election of the preference of the voters for an important office which is not, however, the presidency. It does not have any executive function.
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