Is national politics now a fly stuck in amber? Trump kicked off his 2020 reelection campaign Tuesday, kvetching about emails, “complete exoneration, no obstruction” and all of his usual talking points. Thursday, Roy Moore announced that he was back in politics, set up to do a rematch with incumbent Democratic Senator Doug Jones. This looks to be a doozy already, with Moore slinging mud out of the gate. CBS News:
Taking a page out of President Trump’s playbook, Moore also lambasted Democrats for carrying out what he claimed was “evidence of intent to disrupt a state Senate race.” He said such “collusion” by Democratic operatives in Washington would not be tolerated and claimed Jones was the “beneficiary of election hacking.”
Very ugly rhetoric, but then that’s why Moore is known for. Now interestingly, despite the fact that Trump and Moore use an identical playbook, Trump isn’t backing Moore for the Senate. At least, he wasn’t last month.
“Republicans cannot allow themselves to again lose the Senate seat in the Great State of Alabama,” the president tweeted. “This time it will be for Six Years, not just Two. I have NOTHING against Roy Moore, and unlike many other Republican leaders, wanted him to win. But he didn’t, and probably won’t. … If Alabama does not elect a Republican to the Senate in 2020, many of the incredible gains that we have made during my Presidency may be lost, including our Pro-Life victories. Roy Moore cannot win, and the consequences will be devastating….Judges and Supreme Court Justices!”
Republicans are also reportedly wary that Moore’s second shot could potentially boost Democratic turnout. African American voters, who make up a sizable portion of the Alabama Democratic party, voted overwhelmingly for Jones 96 percent to four percent, and African American voters made up three in ten voters in 2017, according to a CBS News exit poll.
Look for this to be a particularly ugly race in an election year which is going to be one for the books. And I take no happiness in predicting this. I grieve that our national discourse has been dragged through the sewer in the Trump era. Having seen one Moore/Jones dust up, I have no desire to see another. But, Moore is driven, apparently, and in any event, he’s back.
The arrogance never ends. This is going to be a very, very difficult time for all of us. I hope he gets creamed. The alternative is too awful to contemplate.
2020 is going to be a slug fest. This race won’t help. In other news I’m at the dentist. I couldn’t eat on my left side last night. I have no idea what’s going to happen. Maybe another root canal.
I’m sorry to hear you are again at the dentist. Yuck!
I’m seeing mine tomorrow – scheduled cleaning, which is pretty easy.
If Moore wins the primary (not crazy – he was re-elected to the AL Supreme Court after getting kicked off over the Ten Commandments flap) I’ll guarantee you Trump will publicly support Moore.
“If he wins the primary…” may be a fetch. I’ll bet even Alabaman Republicans more or less believe his sell-by date is long passed.
God I hope you’re right. What a revolting development, as some comic used to say.
From your keyboard to the noodly appendages of FSM!
Why I don’t think it’s a crazy notion he could win the primary is the GOP base in that part of the country. “Evangelicals” will be out in droves in the GOP primary and Moore has been their guy. Here’s the thing to watch. The Southern Baptist Convention/leadership has started making noises about addressing the treatment, or more accurately mistreatment of women including girls. IOW preachers, elders and even the rank & file’s sexual assaults and grooming girls to start being sexual “partners” for older men has been accepted practice with those folks for generations. IOW women are around to serve men including those who want what they call sex – which not all those guys do if you can believe it. Some of them consider it dirty and only engage in it for procreation, but of course a much larger swath of them only pretend sex is only for procreation and act like the bulk of them meaning women are theirs to use to tend to the house and kids and satisfy the men’s sexual urges.
The question & hence the thing to watch is whether the talk that came out of their last meeting leads to any actual action. Talk is cheap. If the leaders were only making a show to placate media exposing their shitty beliefs & practices (not only possible but I fear likely) then the “We have to fix this” public statements will be quietly followed up behind the scenes with “For chrissakes be a little more discreet in the future dammit!” and nothing will change. THAT means the not so good folks in the Alabama GOP won’t see a thing wrong with Roy Moore’s pursuit of underage girls. And look right past all that or at least rationalize it in the name of getting a “God fearing” (what a dumbass concept – fear god?) anti-abortion, anti-birth control, put the ten commandments in every govt. building and even privates businesses (as a condition of getting a business license) asshole back in the Senate.
It all depends on whether the Southern Baptist Leadership publicly cracks down on pastors and prominent leaders (at least) for their sexual misconduct or sweeps it under the rug. If it’s the former another candidate will take out Moor in the primary – maybe. Old attitudes die hard there as we know. If it’s the latter then you heard it here first – Roy Moore will be the GOP nominee for Senate next year.
Agree. Trump is only distancing himself because Moore is toxic. The minute Moore becomes the least bit viable, watch Trump flip
Toxic, is a beautiful word, it says so many things about this individual, which as a younger school kid, we would have said, “He’s just GROSS”.
Truth is, he is still the person he always has been, which includes a number of incidences with younger girls …. I never heard any stories about that, “bolt of lightning”, struck him while he was high in the saddle one day, horse was OK, Ole’ Moore was a changed man, has to steer clear of malls, all those young girls clamoring for his attention, takes so much time away from his new Senate run …
Moore is toxic? He and the entire GOP are more like Chernobyl.
Lock up your daughters.
*smirk*
Twitter chimed in about calling the mall cops, schools, all that. Moore is claiming innocence of course. Political hit job all that.
Innocence is what I get from looking at this guy.
aaahahaha!!!……
“Lock up your daughters…” Truer words never spoken, though I’d add the adjective “underage”.
And why not? Trump’s a pervert, pedophile and sexual assaulter and he’s president…so Roy Moore can be senator again if he rigs the polling places, intimidates Black voters, makes sure the voting machines mal-function, etc.
Reminder: he had all those advantages last time and it didn’t help. Why should we believe this time could work any different?
Someone remind me…didn’t this moron lose to the current sitting senator? Yeah, that’s what I thought. A man who wants his ass kicked this bad should get what he asks for.
I do hope moore pervert wins the republican nomination, that is Doug Jones best hope of retaining the seat.
On the one hand, this could be how we get an unlikely seat for six years. On the other, this could be how Moore gets a seat for six years.
Hmm…this is one of those times I’m going to just say we let representative democracy do its thing, and push this mess off onto Alabama. Enjoy, guys.