A long time ago there was a republican senator from Illinois named Everett Dirksen. He was a friend of Joseph McCarthy, also a republican, but from Wisconsin. In the early 1950s Joe McCarthy was and, by the way, still is widely considered one of the most evil men to ever sit in the upper house. The two of them were such buddies when the senate voted to censure McCarthy for being a run amok witch hunting asshole, Dirksen refused to go along with the resolution.
It was a different age back then though. Dirksen, despite his conservatism, still had some sense of morality plus a connection to a guy named Abraham Lincoln. In his later years he co-wrote and helped democratic president Lyndon B. Johnson pass the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and a second Civil Rights Act in 1968. The two laws, among other things, kick started the mass migration of conservative southern democrats, known as the dixiecrat wing, to the republican party.
All of which leads us to one, Roy Stewart Moore. Moore is the current republican candidate for the United States Senate from the state of Alabama. He was elected twice as the Chief Justice of the Alabama Supreme Court and was removed both times because of his firm belief the constitution of the United States of America--you know, the document he swore to defend--doesn't mean shit.
There is also pretty solid evidence he was, at least at one point in his life, a dirty old man.
Old, of course, is a relative concept. A guy in his early 30's, which Moore was when all this alleged philandering took place, looks young to someone on the far side of 65. However, to girls who were at the time, 14, 16, 17, and 18 it's really fucking old, not to mention creepy.
The most serious allegation came from Leigh Corfman who was the 14 year old. She told a reporter from the Washington Post, Moore had touched her genitals--or as Don Trump would say, grabbed her pussy--through her underwear, then forced her to touch his.
The Post broke the story last week and Moore immediately claimed it was not only fake news, but a political hit job.
Actually it probably is a hit job, but that doesn't mean it isn't true. Besides the four women, the Post lists nearly 30 witnesses who say Moore was quite the Casanova when it came to teenaged girls back in the day.
Unfortunately for the democratic nominee, Doug Jones none of Moore's lascivious and possibly criminal behavior will make any difference to huge numbers of voters in Alabama. They checked their moral outrage at the door as soon as they cast their ballots for Donald Trump a year ago.
Alabama's Bibb County GOP chairman, Jerry Pow put it this way, "I would vote for Judge Moore because I wouldn't want to vote for Doug. I'm not saying I support what he did."
That's how low some republicans, including nearly 40 U.S. senators, have sunk. Pedophilia is forgivable--being a democrat isn't.
Yesterday Moore told a group in Huntsville he was going to sue The Post. He said he was currently uncovering more background on the allegations. He also promised to provide, "revelations about the motivations and context," of them. In other words his people are working as busy as beavers to make Leigh Corfman and the other women look like they are the ones who are to blame for this sordid affair.
Well, what else should we expect from a man who claims homosexual acts should be criminal offenses and Muslims shouldn't be allowed to serve in congress--despite that bit in the constitution which forbids any person who seeks federal office from facing a religious test.
Yes, the political and ethical descendents of Joe McCarthy, as we see in Roy Moore, are still around. And worse, just like Everett Dirksen, the vast majority of republicans, no matter how noble their intentions might be, refuse to repudiate them.
Now, ask me again why I'm a democrat.
11-13-17
Poor leadership is doing this country in. :-(
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