GOP Needn't Despair About Alabama

Townhall.com ^ | December 15, 2016 | David Limbaugh

[Kaslin]

Republicans should not be disheartened by Roy Moore's loss in Alabama, because the election had little to do with Doug Jones -- and probably even less with Donald Trump or the Republican agenda.

Don't get me wrong. It's quite troubling that the GOP's thin Senate majority just became anorexic, but this election by itself is not a predictor of a Democratic rout in 2018. Republicans could sustain substantial losses, to be sure, but the Alabama election doesn't make that foreseeable.

Roy Moore was a uniquely problematic candidate with more baggage than many Republicans believed they could excuse. Though it is remarkable that a Republican candidate lost in crimson-red Alabama, it is also noteworthy that even with his problems, he came close to winning.

The vast majority of Alabama Republicans did not want to sit home or to vote for Jones, because they understand the magnitude of the stakes before us. Yet enough of them did. Apparently, the fact that he would have doubtlessly voted as a conservative at a time when every single Republican vote is critical wasn't enough to overcome the sexual allegations and other concerns about Moore for these voters.

Also, America's political situation is particularly fluid, and there are too many variables and important events yet to play out for us to reliably forecast the 2018 election results. One savvy politician told me this week that he could see Republicans losing the majority in both houses in 2018 -- but he also wouldn't be surprised if they were to actually gain seats if the economy remains strong and Trump's agenda continues apace.

Democrats have more Senate seats to defend in 2018 (26) than Republicans (eight), 10 of which are in states Trump carried in 2016 -- five by double digits. Even CNN concedes that the electoral map "still clearly favors Republicans." But like other liberals, they are counting on Trump's supposed unpopularity and soaring passion in the Democratic base to offset any GOP advantages.

Moreover, prudent analysis has to factor in the adage that people vote with their pocketbooks -- even young people, the demographic reputed to be least enamored with President Trump. A Bank of America/USA Today Better Money Habits survey conducted before the 2016 election showed that 65 percent of voters ages 18 to 26 would base their votes more on economic policies than on social issues.

Economic indicators are decidedly positive now, and notwithstanding Barack Obama's delusional post-presidential assertion that he deserves the credit for it, it's hard to dispute that Trump deserves the lion's share of credit.

The economy is humming well above 3 percent -- a threshold the Obama malaise architects had already written off as no longer attainable. Unemployment is way down, and the stock market is surging significantly above impressive Obama-era levels.

This is real growth, as opposed to the fake growth Obama defeatists were touting when the economy was stagnating at 1 percent. And it can be traced to Trump's actions and the attitude he carried into office, just as Obama's stagnation can be traced to his business-hostile bearing.

Trump is bullish on America, the free market and American business. Entrepreneurs have responded accordingly, as have consumers. (Look at Christmas season sales already this year.) Trump has also been aggressive in rolling back stifling bureaucratic regulations across the board, and no one should underestimate the impact of his decision to back out of the Paris climate accord -- or his support of the coal and natural gas industries.

Trump also tried, albeit unsuccessfully, to substantially revise, if not wholly repeal, Obamacare, and he is determined to try again. He and congressional Republicans have done a better job so far with the tax reform bill. Though it is imperfect and not the bill I would craft if I were king, it would meaningfully improve the existing law and is very close to being passed.

If it passes, I believe we'll see even more growth and far more revenues than the experts -- the same ones who predicted that our days of 3 percent growth were over -- are forecasting.

Yes, things could so south, especially if Trump and Congress are unable to move the tax bill and other major items of legislation before the 2018 elections, but I'm feeling upbeat.

My main concern is chaos within the Republican Party. The angst toward Trump among many Republicans is palpable, and unfortunately, a disproportionate number of these opponents are influential in the media.

I understand the naysayers' disapproval of Trump's style and various other complaints. But I don't understand why they won't acknowledge the positive developments that are occurring during his presidency -- even if they have too much pride to give him credit for them. I get (and sometimes share) their distaste for his tweets, but it's baffling that they won't concede that on policy, at least, he has been far different from -- and almost entirely better than -- what they gloomily warned he would be.

He's not governing like a so-called populist nationalist, and he certainly hasn't advocated liberal policies as many feared. No matter what you think of Trump personally, he is advancing a largely conservative agenda.

Unlike some of Trump's perpetual critics, I don't worry that Trump is going to usher in an era of alt-right dystopia or that the country is going to descend into Bannonism -- whatever that means. The critics shouldn't fear that Trump will forever taint the conservative movement or that America will descend into darkness.

America was descending into darkness under Obama's eight years, and that process would have accelerated into warp speed had Hillary Clinton been elected. So could we please lighten up and support the president when he's advancing salutary policies, which is often, and go into 2018 with a spirit of warranted optimism?

[Dapper 26]

Roy Moore’s campaign was more like President Trump’s campaign. Moore’s opponents are the Democrats, media, the Republican Establishment, the talking heads on TV, to include some at FOX, Hollywood, much talk about false claims THAT WERE NEVER FILED WITH THE POLICE, and Obama who dumped $4 million into the Doug Jones campaign in the last few days before the election. Even Sen. Shelby, Republican from Alabama, said he would not vote for MOORE. NOW..............now we hear that a recount of the votes has, so far, thrown out an entire voting district votes because fraudulent votes have been found - 26,000 votes in a district of 1,100 voters. It ain’t over till the Fat Lady sings................Moore got 48.40% or 650,436 votes. Jnes received 49.95% or 671,151 votes. At the encouragement of the Republican Establishment, Republicans WROTE-IN 22,819
votes or 1.7% of all votes. Had those votes gone to Moore, we would not be talking about this at all.

[MountainWalker]

I’m just a realist. The propaganda machine can be defeated, but Trump is the only person I’ve ever seen do it.

He is successful because he doesn’t care what the media says and is constantly on the attack, but he also has his finger on the pulse of what is a real outrage and a media-manufactured outrage. He picks up an issue that people agree with but sends the media into a meltdown and sits back and watches the show. He is also aided by the fact that the media has spread so many debunked lies about him that even significant charges are dismissed as somewhat or totally untrue.

Roy Moore didn’t have any of those attributes. He’s also a terrible retail politician. GOP politicians can still be successful within the propaganda machine paradigm if they don’t do or say anything that the media can frag you for, and if you do get tripped up on one, you can give an acceptable explanation to get yourself off the hook. Roy Moore certainly couldn’t do either of those things either.

[Slyfox]

Though it is remarkable that a Republican candidate lost in crimson-red Alabama, it is also noteworthy that even with his problems, he came close to winning.

Correction - The big red George Soros was a huge factor.

[pepsionice]

Being from Alabama, I will offer this observation.

This entire ‘mess’ is triggered mostly because of our former Governor (Bentley), and his ‘woman-trouble’. One long affair, the hiring of the woman at roughly $200k a year, and the hiring of her husband at a high pay rate....all drew attention and Bentley was at the level to be impeached.

But to get facts, you needed the Attorney General of the state (Luther Strange) to get involved. Luther just didn’t have a speedy process, and this dragged on and on.

Then comes the Trump win....Sessions leaving, and a shock...Bentley appoints Strange. Days later, Bentley announces that he’s leaving (before any impeachment). About 90-percent of GOP voters in the state felt this was all a corrupted mess, and Strange was a crook as well.

The new governor arrives (Kay Bailey), and she decides that she has the power to call for a new election, and force Strange to compete for the job. On ethics, most everyone agree with her idea.

The shock then occurs that Moore intends to compete. No one expected that. If you go and talk to most Alabamian GOP folks....Moore is a bit unusual, and even half of the Republicans in the state will say that he’s a ‘nut’. But we are a forgiving crowd, and Moore had popularity with the Baptist folks of the state.

So Strange shows up to compete against Moore, and a ton of money was dumped from McConnell’s PAC to Strange. It didn’t work. Moore won.

I would offer this view of Jones and what happens in two years with the next election. He won’t ever get 40-odd million of outside-Alabama campaign funding ever again. He also won’t get national news media attention. He won’t get GOP support for a write-in candidate (22,000 votes wasted there). So in my humble opinion, Jones has a limited period of time. He won’t be able to win in the next election.

The whole saga, from the Bentley start-up to now....is an epic piece and worthy of a 500-page story.

[fortheDeclaration]

It wasn't just the false accusations.

It doesn't seem like he campaigned too hard.

[Erik Latranyi]

To defeat Roy Moore, it took the entire mobilized DNC, the corrupt media and most of the RNC.

They won by 1.5%.

That is not a victory, it is a whimper.

The Democrats and media are already claiming this is a mandate, etc. They will over play their hand. They call Doug Jones, the Scott Brown of 2017.

In 2 years we will replace Doug Jones with a Republican.

As long as we do not replace Doug Jones with a fake Indian, we will be OK.

[DoodleDawg]

I agree that Alabama was the product of a flawed candidate. But it wasn’t the first time the GOP lost a seat due to a flawed candidate and it won’t be the last.

[arthurus]

Roy Moore’s “baggage” was the Republican Party.

[TADSLOS]

The reason he lost, is the GOPe abandoned him.

Abandoned him? Hell, the bastards did everything short of shooting Moore to ensure his defeat.

[Vigilanteman]

Round 2 will be on March 13

Special election to fill the seat of Tim Murphy, who got caught with his pants down, in our Pennsylvania district which is almost as +R as Alabama. (In 2016, the jack@$$ party didn't even bother to run a sacrificial lamb against him. This time they are all in with a candidate named, I kid you not, Lamb, who has a political pedigree.)

[Angels27]

It’s not what I am suggesting we do, it’s what I see happening....Yes, if the the Democrats gain control of both houses of congress, Trump will be impeached. I think that is what most Republicans in congress want too.

[Yosemitest]

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.

...

There is absolutely not any way that Roy Moore lost the Alabama election for United States Senate. This was a matter again of vote rigging in population centers.

Simply look at the massive margins which Doug Jones had to pile up in concentrated population areas. To put it plainly, Alabama is a state of 6 out of 10 voters are Republicans, in remembering this 60 to 40 percent margin, look at these numbers in percentages for Doug Jones.



 Bullock 80.4%
Macon 88.1
Montgomery 72.1
Dallas 74.7
Perry 79
Wilcox 76.7
Hale 87.6
Sumter 80.9
Jefferson 69.6
Mobile 57.2
Madison 56.9


One only sees numbers like this in Pyongyang, Tehran and Peking. In a state of 60% Republicans who were highly motivated for Roy Moore, while Doug Jones was getting Hillary Clinton no shows at his events, and we are to believe that in Macon County 90% of the voters voted for Doug Jones?


County


	Jones	Moore	Write-Ins	Rpt.
Jefferson	121,169	49,910	3,121	85%
Madison	65,664	46,313	3,446	100
Mobile	57,715	41,398	1,300	71
Montgomery	48,186	17,705	743	100
Shelby	27,251	36,424	1,718	100
Baldwin	22,131	38,445	1,699	98
Tuscaloosa	30,858	22,064	1,007	100
Lee	19,810	14,017	672	100
Morgan	10,901	19,187	668	100
Etowah	10,518	15,693	617	100
Calhoun	11,705	14,567	399	100
Limestone	9,606	14,298	515	100
Houston	9,107	14,796	285	100
Lauderdale	9,908	12,775	382	100
St. Clair	6,203	15,876	459	100
Elmore	7,711	14,411	338	100
Cullman	4,156	16,602	324	100
Talladega	9,967	9,698	223	100
Marshall	5,134	13,828	449	100
Walker	4,317	11,909	259	100
Colbert	6,865	7,762	171	100
Autauga	5,606	8,752	253	100
Blount	2,405	11,621	180	100
Dallas	10,492	3,485	60	100
DeKalb	3,559	10,097	234	100
Coffee	3,715	8,052	202	100
Tallapoosa	4,590	7,171	148	100
Dale	3,842	6,988	136	100
Jackson	3,328	7,316	154	100
Russell	6,761	3,622	55	100
Chilton	2,298	7,555	132	100
Covington	2,102	6,825	88	100
Escambia	3,640	4,985	87	100
Lawrence	3,028	5,314	61	100
Clarke	4,346	3,984	43	100
Pike	3,989	4,154	97	100
Chambers	4,247	3,308	75	100
Marengo	4,495	2,804	62	100
Geneva	1,289	5,431	93	100
Marion	1,311	5,268	68	100
Monroe	3,244	3,276	40	100
Macon	5,780	758	20	100
Barbour	3,680	2,699	41	100
Pickens	3,057	2,961	46	100
Franklin	1,770	4,214	48	100
Butler	2,914	2,756	41	100
Winston	911	4,680	67	100
Cherokee	1,525	3,996	110	100
Hale	3,894	1,691	32	100
Bibb	1,567	3,599	66	100
Washington	1,799	3,320	48	100
Henry	1,896	3,014	38	100
Randolph	1,692	3,229	23	100
Lowndes	3,779	988	13	100
Fayette	1,142	3,491	50	100
Sumter	3,527	814	18	100
Wilcox	3,344	999	16	100
Choctaw	2,273	1,949	17	100
Conecuh	2,259	1,815	18	100
Perry	3,138	821	11	100
Greene	3,340	462	9	100
Crenshaw	1,320	2,347	56	100
Lamar	779	2,847	29	100
Clay	985	2,586	44	100
Bullock	2,712	656	7	100
Coosa	1,414	1,867	30	100
Cleburne	594	2,465	30	100



I did an inquiry of the matrix and the numbers which returned were a long the lines of a month ago in Roy Moore won by 62% and Doug Jones lost in 28% of the vote.

This is what the deep state looks like when it steals an election. FOX comes out with a bogus poll to repress voting, but is more to prepare the Republicans for defeat, as Matt Drudge bashes the Alabama Citizens over the head for months, for the fag vote mafia.

What took place is e vote fraud, write ins, vote fraud and busing in voters. At one point Doug Jones somehow got 60,000 votes in a few moments.

...

[stars & stripes forever]

[The “Fat Lady” has yet to sing!!!!!!!!!!!]

It is not over until the fat lady sings
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dIVfbylUU-M

[redgolum]

I think that is what the GOP wants.

They would rather lose everything and watch Trump get impeached. Which would end the GOP, at least for me.

I am not going to vote for a party that keeps spitting in my face.

[Georgia Girl 2]

Indiana and Missouri are in play for the GOP next year. We might pick up two seats.

[DiogenesLamp]

You still keep trying to put the fault for this loss on Moore, when the fault for this loss belongs primarily on the Media attack machine, and secondarily on his backstabbing party "allies." (Like Jeff Flake and Richard Shelby, among others)

Had either one not happened, Moore would have walked away with it handily. Moore may not have been an awesome candidate, but he was good enough before people meddled with it. Again, he won in 2013. A win is all that is necessary. He had a winning methodology until outsiders threw a monkey wrench into it.

I appreciate your belief that a better candidate could have won this, but I constantly notice when the media attack machine destroys one of our candidates, this is always the claim. "We should have had a better candidate."

The Democrats do not need better candidates, they get by fine with the incompetent sleazeballs they constantly put forth. Why must we have supermen candidates, and they get by with "Jokers and Penguins"?

Well i'll tell ya. The media attack machine doesn't attack them. It only attacks us. Also their party doesn't backstab their slimy candidates, it goes into full tilt support mode.

Bill Clinton is a full fledged F***ing serial rapist, and the entire media/democrat empire denounced anyone who even suggested it.

You say you are a realist, but the constant call for better candidates is unrealistic. The vast majority of people are a little squirrely in one way or another. You just don't get people from central casting, and it's asking too much of the available options to insist on Captain Perfect before you try to win an election.

Stop the media attack machine, and stop the party backstabbing. We have a better chance of controlling those factors than finding those elusive perfect candidates.

Just being real here.

[DiogenesLamp]

It wasn't just the false accusations.

He was leading by as much as 28 points before the false accusations occurred. How can you say it wasn't just the false accusations? Yes, it pretty much was the false accusations that torpedoed him.

It doesn't seem like he campaigned too hard.

Richard Shelby (the other Alabama Senator) urged Alabamans to "write in" another candidate's name, and not vote for Roy Moore. There were 22,000 "write in" ballots. I'm pretty sure none of the Democrats wrote in any names, they just voted for Doug Jones.

21,000 extra votes for Moore would have won it for him. How hard he campaigned wouldn't have made a bit of difference. When your entire party behaves like you are a child molester rapist, nobody wants you to show up anyways.

[fortheDeclaration]

The fact is that he did not get Republicans to vote for him.

You can't take off from your campaign the weekend before an election.

And what is that nonsense of being interviewed by a 12 year old girl?

[DiogenesLamp]

The fact is that he did not get Republicans to vote for him.

So we just go round in circles because you refuse to grasp the essential point here. HE COULDN'T GET REPUBLICANS TO VOTE FOR HIM BECAUSE HE WAS ACCUSED OF BEING A CHILD MOLESTING RAPIST AND HIS PARTY TOLD PEOPLE TO NOT VOTE FOR HIM!

You can't take off from your campaign the weekend before an election.

Because somewhere in the state of Alabama after d@mn near six months of campaigning, there might have been two people left who hadn't yet made up their minds, and perhaps those two people might have swung the election for him?

There were nearly 800,000 registered Republicans who voted for Trump, but who did not vote for Roy Moore. Do you think more campaign appearances by someone accused of being a child molesting rapist was going to induce them to vote for him?

If they didn't listen to Trump when he said he needed Roy Moore in the Senate, why would you think they would want to hear more from Moore? His own party was treating him like a child molesting rapist, so who wants to be seen with someone like that?

[MountainWalker]

Listen to Moore’s interview with Hannity again and tell me he was a good candidate. I would cede your point if he lost after giving a full throated repudiation of the charges, but that’s not what happened. It’s one thing to complain about our guy getting railroaded. It’s another to complain about it after he helped the left/media tie him down to the train tracks.

I know the media is corrupt and are the communications wing of the DNC. It sucks that the enemy has that advantage, but the enemy can be beaten anyway. The Democrats have no marketable platform. Some extremely high percentage of their caucus comes out of two states: NY and CA. The only way they can win elections is with identity and personal destruction politics, so we shouldn’t be picking candidates who think they can win by running head long into their machine gun nest because it’s not fair that their guys don’t have similar troop movement worries.

We can pick fantastic, God-fearing Christan reps - we have quite a few of them in Congress already, but they at least have to have the political IQ to not leave themselves vulnerable to a hostile media that is always looking for opportunities to frag them.