How far the Republican Party has come in the past generation, from a party that had some principle and dignity to a party that is afraid to stand up against hypocrisy and evil.
In 1991, David Duke, the former Imperial Wizard of the Ku Klux Klan, was the Republican nominee for Governor of Louisiana, but many Republicans repudiated him, and President George H. W. Bush condemned him in a public statement, and refused to endorse and support him.
In 1995, Oregon Senator Bob Packwood, a mainstay of the chamber, who had been in the Senate for nearly 27 years, and actually had a decent record as a progressive oriented Republican, was shown to have engaged in sexual harassment for the previous two decades, and the Senate censured him, and he resigned from office in disgrace.
Now, in 2017, a despicable human being named Roy Moore, who has hatred and prejudice as part of his mantra, and is seen as a pariah by many Republican Senators, is accused of sexual harassment and more against teenage girls decades ago, and he refuses to leave the Senate race in Alabama, and while many Republicans have called for him to exit the race, only Senator John McCain has been forceful on the issue, and the only conservative intellectual who has clearly condemned him is Weekly Standard Editor Bill Kristol, who worked for Vice President Dan Quayle, but has been a Trump critic from Day One when Trump announced for President nearly two and a half years ago.
One would hope that many of the Senators who said Moore should withdraw show the courage of John McCain and Bill Kristol, and refuse to support, endorse, or finance his race for the Senate on December 12 in Alabama.
Alabama deserves a decent, hard working, principled US Senator, and forgetting party lines, they can get that in Doug Jones, who prosecuted two Ku Klux Klansmen in the infamous Birmingham Church bombing in 1963, which killed for young African American girls, a case pursued nearly forty years after the horrible events.
This is the kind of Senator all members of that body should welcome into their club.
If Alabama, a state with already corrupt leadership that puts the state in the top ten worst governed states, and with a horrible reputation of being ignorant, prejudiced, and backward, not all that different than in the era of civil rights and George Wallace in the 1960s, goes ahead and elects Roy Moore to the Senate, the Republicans should join with the Democrats, and refuse to seat him, which is within their rights as a legislative body. They forced Bob Packwood out on sexual misconduct in 1995, and further back Democratic Senator Thomas Dodd of Connecticut in 1982, and more recently Republican Senator John Ensign of Nevada in 2011, both on financial improprieties, so they can do the same to the infamous, despicable Roy Moore.
Since there was horror when Moore won the nomination to replace Attorney General Jeff Sessions over Senator Luther Strange, the Sessions replacement, on the part of Republicans in the Senate, it should not be hard to refuse to seat him, and to hell with Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, and their ilk demonstrating no morality, no ethics, and supporting a so called “good Christian”, who is anything but that in his views on women, gays and lesbians, Muslims, and on separation of church and state, which he does not believe in.
Right now, Senator Ted Cruz of Texas is the most disliked member of the Senate by his own colleagues, but Roy Moore, if he wins and is seated, will far surpass Cruz, and will become an albatross around the neck of the GOP.
How far the Republican Party has fallen since the early to mid 1990s!
Ronald writes, “How far the Republican Party has fallen since the early to mid 1990s!â€
Part of this comes from Republicans having sold their party to major corporations and industries—including the financial sector—for electoral success.
These big money people do not focus on the social issues of the Republican Party. They are supportive of the Republican Party continuing the Ronald Reagan model of lower taxes. So, all this stuff about abominable Republican candidates—well, it’s just part of the world of U.S. Politics, from the perspective of these big money donors.
With the Democrats having won 2017 New Jersey (in a pickup of the governorship by former Goldman Sachs multi-millionaire Phil Murphy) and the outcome with the House of Delegates in Virginia—and the consideration of other states (like in Washington and Georgia)—it would not surprise me if big money comes pouring into the coffers of the Democratic Party and the DNC. Big money, I would figure, likes to keep track of the political winds. And the Democrats are in position—thanks to the low job-approval ratings for Republican U.S. President Donald Trump—to flip the U.S. House, the U.S. Senate (which, although a tossup, will happen especially if the special election in Alabama flips Democratic), the majority count of governorships, and a number of state houses with the upcoming midterm elections of 2018.
The No. 1 problem in U.S. politics is money. Big money. Wall Street. Banks. Corporations. Numerous industries. Special interests. Etc. They are okay with Alabama U.S. Senate nominee and Republican Roy Moore if he is not a loser of a candidate. This latest—the harassment accusations—is making him appear that he may be a loser. It would not surprise me if the Alabama voters go against their usual pattern and flip the seat Democratic [for nominee Doug Jones]. (Here is a report: “National Republican Senatorial Committee Withdraws Support of Roy Moore,†http://www.weeklystandard.com/national-republican-senatorial-committee-withdraws-support-of-roy-moore/article/2010444 .)
I find the parallels between the “Access Hollywood” tape and Moore’s behavior more than a bit troubling. Both men apparently feel that they can dominate women (and girls!) without consequence, and both deny any wrongdoing. Sadly, too many voters choose to overlook this. Let’s hope there are more sane people in Alabama than not.
This is one reason why I think the anti-Dem messaging from the left is going to have less impact now than it did in the ’16 campaign, at the end of eight years of a D presidency. With Trump in the White House, and the GOP in power in Congress, there is actually quite a movement toward Dem unity. It’s not built on ideology, but on diversity. That was clear on Tuesday, in Virginia and other states.
Bernie has a “How to Fix the Democratic Party” piece in Politico today. That might have meant something different if Dems had been whupped this week. But on the heels of big Dem wins, it seems like he’s preaching to an ever-smaller choir.
Women and minorities are where the energy is today. That’s one reason why Weinstein and Moore are big news, and why Dems are electing a new wave of candidates this month.
Comedian (Cosby, Louis C.K.)
Actor (Spacey)
Movie mogul/director/producer (Weinstein, Ratner, Toback)
Political analyst (Halperin)
Celebrity chef (Besh)
Amazon programming chief (R. Price)
Photographer (T. Richardson)
Editor/writer (Wieseltier)
NPR VP (Oreskes)
We seem to have reached a moment. If you are a powerful person who engaged in predatory sexual behavior, your secret is now front page news, and beyond legal repercussions you will face one form of immediate punishment: your career is over.
There is one occupation that so far seems to have escaped that last part:
GOP politician (Trump, Moore)
I believe that we are having this moment now in part because of the election of Trump one year ago this week. Women have had enough. Everyone understands the need for change.
Moore is still running. Nobody can stop him, and some GOPers will cover for him. Shame on all of them. And yet as much as I get cynical at times, I’m not convinced he’s going to win next month. For one, this is a different moment than the one that allowed Trump in. And two, the allegations are especially stomach-churning, which will make it even harder for GOP voters, especially fathers and mothers of daughters, to cast a vote for a creep who commits this kind of criminal behavior. I don’t expect them to vote for Jones. But maybe they stay home. Maybe they cast a write-in vote for Luther Strange. Maybe Dems should start their own write-in campaign for Strange just to split the GOP vote. Do something, anyway. Be creative.
If Moore is elected, his seat will not be safe. Criminal prosecution can proceed, as I understand it (no statute of limitations, I believe), and if convicted, he should resign or be kicked out of the senate. Better if he’s not elected in the first place. Dems should do everything to get Jones elected. Anyone who can afford to should donate. A D win may be a hard task but would be a big help for D’s hopes to take the senate next year.
Fox News has managed to find a way to blame Hillary Clinton for Roy Moore’s illegal sexual contact with underage girls.
http://www.politicususa.com/2017/11/10/fox-news-loses-mind-blames-hillary-clinton-roy-moores-pedophilia.html
We need a vomiting icon hear for every time we talk about the GOP. They make me sick literally.
“Ditto!†to this: https://twitter.com/caitlin__kelly/status/928817412304236544?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwashingtonmonthly.com%2F2017%2F11%2F10%2Fquick-takes-trumps-complete-incoherence-on-trade%2F
Southern Liberal writes, “This is one reason why I think the anti-Dem messaging from [the left] is going to have less impact now than it did in the ’16 campaign, at the end of eight years of a D presidency. â€
This sentence makes it appear that you are not on the left.
Nope, D. It does no such thing.
Also, D. You didn’t read the whole post, only choose a part you didn’t like.
D – Southern Liberal’s post talks about the Dems are unified and it’s women and minorities that are leading the charge! 🙂
Polling is showing that Doug Jones is now leading.
http://www.politicususa.com/2017/11/12/democrat-doug-jones-leading-roy-moore-alabama-senate-race.html
Southern Liberal, that is GREAT news!
Another woman has come forward. http://www.cnn.com/2017/11/13/politics/gloria-allred-roy-moore-alabama/index.html
Two more women have come forward, making it 7 now.
It’s a total of 9 women now.
Also, Al Franken has a sex scandal now. http://www.cnn.com/2017/11/16/politics/al-franken-sexual-harassment/index.html