In the past 24 hours, after the WaPo broke the news that right-wing Bible-banging pedophile Roy"Teen Spirit" Moore fondled a 14 year-old when he was a 32 year-old Assistant District Attorney, the cowardly, tribalist reaction from Rethuglican politicians was revolting.
First, keep in mind that Moore had inappropriate contact with not one but four teens who have risked their reputations in sharing their accounts of Moore's disgusting behavior. They have nothing to gain, and much to lose at the hands of an enraged wingnut mob who wants to discredit them. Second, there are also contemporary corroborations of the accounts from family and friends who were informed at or near the time of Moore's behavior. Third, Moore's position as an Assistant District Attorney -- the office that would have to prosecute Moore -- had to chill any desire of the victims to come forward. After becoming a judge, it must have been even more daunting for them to think that any justice would be served in coming forward.
The reaction of Rethuglican operatives in Alabama was truly the worst, as the Toronto Star's Washington correspondent Daniel Dale found when he contacted Alabama's Rethuglican county chairmen and other officials. From statements like "14 year olds don't make good decisions," to "I don't really see the relevance of it," they've utterly disgraced themselves. In Washington, Rethuglicans uniformly stuck to the "if the allegations are true" dodge, as if these women would go on the record and cavalierly lie about Moore's behavior, again with nothing to gain and much to lose.
For now, the despicable Moore will lie, smear and resist. He's already raising funds off of the scandal, appealing to fellow Bible-banging hypocrites in a demagogic appeal. He knows he likely has enough Trumpist support to win in December's special election. That's all you need to know about today's Rethuglican / New Confederate / Sexual Assault Party and why they need to be stopped.
BONUS: Matt Welch, editor of the right- wing libertarian magazine "Reason," had this observation -
"The Republican party right now is a party that doesn't have room for someone like Jeff Flake, who's a very decent guy, he's a traditional Republican, he's interested in fiscal conservatism, he's pro-immigration. No, we don't like him, but we like this culture-war lawless troll, right, even before he was heavily petting 14-year-olds in the woods.""Culture- war lawless troll... heavily petting 14- year- olds in the woods." Luckily for Moore, the vast majority of Republicans have no shame or spine.
