The Alabama Senate Race Just Got a Lot More Interesting...

[RayThom]

[BoSoxGal]

For many years I’ve thanked my lucky stars for not being born in the South (including Texas); it’s a nice place to visit but I wouldn’t want my character formed there.

Apologies to progressive Southerners - I know there *are* some, but it’s just too risky.

[RayThom]

A fundamental belief in almost any faith based, political ideology is destine to breed ignorance, contempt, and hypocrisy. The #MeToo Movement is destined to turn over more slimy rocks in the Garden of DC (and LA-LA Land) in the upcoming days and weeks.

Gender equality shouldn't have to be fought for. These last few weeks have definitely been a shot across the bow to the dogs who have for too long used their power for seduction and submission.

The time is nigh.

[ex-khobar Andy]

From LJ:

Gee whiz, you'd think that somebody who had served as chairman of an organization called "The League Of Christian Voters" might know something as basic about Christianity as that Joseph is not supposed to be the biological father of Jesus...

There is also considerable doubt (I say this as an atheist but also as someone who has read the gospels in Ancient Greek which is how they survived for about 1000 years) on whether Joseph was a carpenter. The word used in Matthew 13.55 (KJV rendering "Is not this the carpenter's son? is not his mother called Mary? and his brethren, James, and Joses, and Simon, and Judas?") is τέκτονος (English rendering tektonos). The root of this word is τέκτῶν (tekton, long o) - the same root from which we get technical, technician etc. - which is much more general than carpenter and is usually translated as builder or generator, in the sense of someone who makes things. it's possible than in 1600 England they surmised that a builder worked in wood; I would be more comfortable using 'craftsman.' The KJV guys were not infallible: they translated Ἰωσὴφ in this verse as Joses while it is clearly Joseph.

The same word appears in Mark 6.3 and is again translated as carpenter in KJV - and, to be fair, every other translation I have looked at except the International Standard Version which uses 'builder.'

So I'd add to his demerits, in addition to being a fucking idiot, a misunderstanding of Joseph's trade based on a 400-year-old mistranslation. Probably the least of his sins . . .

[Econoline]

Well, the guy who actually knocked up Mary (biblically, allegedly) was God Himself, so the age difference (biblically, allegedly) would be even greater...

[Bicycle Bill]

Well, the guy who actually knocked up Mary (biblically, allegedly) was God Himself, so the age difference (biblically, allegedly) would be even greater...

If God knocked up Mary, then why did those other three strange men show up on his birthday with presents?

-"BB"-

[MajGenl.Meade]

The man sounds insufferable.

I'd give him a pass on the Joseph/Mary thing. Whatever difference in age he conceives (aha ha ha) there to be, there's no doubt* that Jesus had actual brothers and sisters so . . .

But on all else, he is monstrous.

*except for Romanists who cannot bear (aha ha ha) the idea that Mary did not remain a virgin and therefore Jesus only had "cousins", no matter what God's word may say.

PS Luther was very much aware of the meaning of the Greek word translated "carpenter" to refer to construction in many materials

[Lord Jim]

The longer he stays in it, the more it improves Doug Jones's chances. Moore was already an embarrassment to the GOP; this should make him a pariah.

I'd say that's a pretty fair assessment...

Moore was already going to be the #1 Poster Boy for the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee in the mid-terms, but this obviously raises his star value for opposition commercials even higher...

The fact is that from a strategic point of view, the Senate GOP is much better off with a 51-49 majority without Roy Moore, than a 52-48 seat majority with Roy Moore....

A fact I suspect that most Republican Senators (starting with Mitch McConnell) fully understand. I see that the National Republican Senatorial Committee has cut off ties with Moore:

Senate GOP Campaign Arm Severs Financial Ties to Roy Moore

The National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC), the Senate GOP’s campaign arm, will no longer help fundraise for Alabama GOP Senate nominee Roy Moore, according to paperwork filed with the Federal Election Commission.

The split follows allegations that Moore had inappropriate sexual conduct with a minor decades ago.

I think Mitt Romney got it exactly right:

Romney: 'Unfit' Moore 'should step aside'

Calling Alabama Senate candidate Roy Moore “unfit for office,” Mitt Romney on Friday advised the fellow Republican to “step aside” following allegations that he had a sexual encounter with a 14-year-old girl when he was 32 years old.

“Innocent until proven guilty is for criminal convictions, not elections,” Romney, a former Massachusetts governor and 2012 GOP presidential nominee, tweeted. “I believe Leigh Corfman. Her account is too serious to ignore. Moore is unfit for office and should step aside.”

https://www.politico.com/story/2017/11/ ... ney-244778

Hell, even Mike Lee managed to find an acorn:

One of Alabama GOP Senate candidate Roy Moore's most prominent backers pulled his support Friday evening in the wake of sexual assault allegations against the former state Supreme Court chief justice.

Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, posted on Twitter that "having read the detailed description of the incidents, as well as the response from Judge Moore and his campaign, I can no longer endorse his candidacy for the U.S. Senate."

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2017/11 ... gures.html

Lee is one of only a handful of Republican Senators who had formally endorsed Moore. So far, only one other who did, Steve Daines (Mont.) has withdrawn that endorsement.

One who endorsed him and hasn't withdrawn the endorsement is Ted Cruz. Ol' Roy already has the cash register ringing for Cruz's likely Democratic opponent:

Cruz’s Democratic challenger fundraises off support of Roy Moore

Sen. Ted Cruz's (R-Texas) Democratic challenger Rep. Beto O'Rourke (Texas) blasted Cruz in a fundraising email for supporting Alabama Senate candidate Roy Moore (R) in the wake of allegations that Moore initiated sexual contact with a minor decades ago.

"It's not that complicated, Ted Cruz: we're talking about potentially elevating a man who preyed on young girls to the U.S. Senate," O'Rourke wrote in an email obtained by the Dallas Morning News.

http://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/35 ... -roy-moore

I suspect Judge Moore is going to prove to be quite an effective fundraiser....

[Lord Jim]

from absolute zero to snowball's chance in hell.

The early indications are that the chances are considerably better than that:

Alabama poll: Moore and Jones tied following scandal

Embattled Alabama GOP Senate nominee Roy Moore is tied with Democrat Doug Jones in a new poll on Friday, one day after accusations surfaced that Moore had inappropriate sexual contact with a 14-year-old girl decades ago.

Moore and Jones are tied at 46 percent in the new poll by Decision Desk and Opinion Savvy, with 82 percent of respondents aware of the new allegations leveled by named accusers in The Washington Post.

In RealClearPolitics's average of polls, which does not yet include the new poll, Moore is leading by 6 points. All of those polls were taken before the allegations of Moore’s sexual conduct were reported.

http://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/35 ... ng-scandal

Last Tuesday, Democratic voters demonstrated an ability to do something they have not recently shown a great facility for...

The ability to turn out in large numbers at the polls for non-Presidential elections...

If they can do that on Dec. 12th in Alabama, given the dynamics of the race Jones has a very real chance to win....

[ex-khobar Andy]

The fact is that from a strategic point of view, the Senate GOP is much better off with a 51-49 majority without Roy Moore, than a 52-48 seat majority with Roy Moore....

Not sure I understand why you say that, LJ. Do you mean that Moore is so toxic that his very presence would not be worth his (possibly slightly unreliable) vote? Or do you mean that he would be a very unreliable vote? I would expect him to vote with the mainstream Rs most of the time in a Rand Paul sense.

[Crackpot]

Meaning the rallying cry he will be for the mid terms will harm the republicans far more than the gain of one short term seat.

[ex-khobar Andy]

Meaning the rallying cry he will be for the mid terms will harm the republicans far more than the gain of one short term seat.

I am not sure I buy that. The fact is that with a 52- 48 majority and an imminent election to focus the mind, the Republican Senate might get a little more done in 2018 than they did in 2017: enough to dim the 'bunch of incompetents' vote. I'm still cheering for Jones.

[Lord Jim]

That excerpt I included in my last post about O'Rourke's (the Texas Democratic Congressman who is likely to Ted Cruz's opponent next year) fundraising letter is just a little taste of what every Republican Senate candidate, incumbent and challenger, running next year can expect...

In close Senate races, (and there's likely to be a number of them) having a Senator Moore to wrap around the Republican candidate's neck in the election could cause more losses than would otherwise be the case...

[rubato]

Well, the guy who actually knocked up Mary (biblically, allegedly) was God Himself, so the age difference (biblically, allegedly) would be even greater...

If God knocked up Mary, then why did those other three strange men show up on his birthday with presents?

-"BB"-

Mon Dieu. Who knew?

The origin of the "three men and a cradle" story!



yrs,
rubato

[Lord Jim]

I'm still cheering for Jones.

I think this election is a win for the Dems, no matter how it goes...

If Jones wins, they pick up a seat they never had any reason to believe they could win, and they make the very daunting math for taking back control of Senate slightly less daunting, needing a net pick up of two with only eight GOP seats in play, (while defending 10 seats in states Trump won) rather than three...

If Jones loses, they have Moore giving fits to the Senate GOP, and also to use in races all across the country...

Either way, it will also probably mean a boost for fundraising, and help energize the Dem base...

[rubato]

Four out of 52 Republican Senators ave come out against Moore. 48/52 are moral cowards. About par for them. This is the party who wants to treat women like farm animals who have no right to control their reproduction.


yrs,
rubato

[Lord Jim]

Mitch McConnell Tells Roy Moore To Leave Senate Race, Says ‘I Believe The Women’

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) is now calling on Roy Moore, the Republican running for Alabama’s open Senate seat, to withdraw his candidacy, telling reporters in Louisville on Monday that he believes the women who have accused Moore of sexual misconduct.

After giving remarks on tax reform efforts, McConnell was asked about the four women who have accused Moore of preying upon them when they were teenagers and he was in his early 30s. Moore has denied any wrongdoing and has not indicated he plans to drop out of the Dec. 12 special election to fill Attorney General Jeff Sessions’ former Senate seat.

McConnell, who previously said Moore should leave the race if the allegations against him “are true,” gave a more forceful condemnation on Monday.

“I believe the women, yes,” he said.

McConnell also said he thinks Moore should “step aside.”

When asked if Republicans are encouraging a write-in campaign for another GOP candidate, McConnell said it’s “an option we’re looking at, whether or not there is someone who could mount a write-in campaign successfully.”

He declined to say if that someone would be Luther Strange, who was appointed to the seat earlier this year but lost the GOP primary to Moore. “We’ll see” if Republicans will throw their support behind Strange, he told reporters.

Many of McConnell’s colleagues have also called on Moore to leave the race, and several who endorsed him have since withdrawn their support. [Only five GOP Senators ever endorsed Moore in the first place, rube's repeated dishonest claims about forty plus GOP Senators supporting him not withstanding...]

https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/mi ... 648a0caa60

This obviously won't get Moore to withdraw, but it should greatly increase the number of Republican Senators calling on him to do so...(and drop the "if true" qualifier....)

There was a report on MSNBC that a fifth accuser is expected to be coming forward today...(I wonder if Mitch got wind that there'd be at least one more shoe dropping...)

[Guinevere]

Of course, McConnell has made the same calculation you did earlier - in his view the Senate with Moore maybe more damaged then the Senate with one less seat in republican hands.

I would bet that his position has nothing to do with “believing” the women.

Running against the party that elected Moore and Trump in 2018/2020 isn’t going to help Mitch hold on to his majority.

[Bicycle Bill]

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/11/13/us/p ... enate.html

WASHINGTON — An Alabama woman accused Roy S. Moore on Monday of sexually assaulting her when she was 16, the fifth and most brutal charge leveled against the Republican Senate candidate. Senate Republicans are now openly discussing not seating him or expelling him if he wins the Dec. 12 special election.

The new accuser, Beverly Young Nelson, told a packed news conference in New York that Mr. Moore attacked her when she was a teenager and he was a prosecutor in Etowah County, Ala. Ms. Nelson was represented at the news conference by Gloria Allred, a lawyer who has championed victims of sexual harassment.

“I tried fighting him off, while yelling at him to stop, but instead of stopping, he began squeezing my neck, attempting to force my head onto his crotch,” Ms. Nelson said, growing emotional as she described the assault, which she said happened one night after her shift ended at a local restaurant, where she was a waitress.

Must be Moore's turn to be on the bottom of the dogpile.

-"BB"-

[Bicycle Bill]

And from another article:
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world ... 53181.html

Beverly Young Nelson claims Mr. Moore sexually assaulted her when she was 16. The Alabama resident, now 56, says Mr. Moore was 39 years old and working as a district attorney when he allegedly forced himself on her in his car.

Ms. Nelson told reporters on Monday that Mr. Moore had been a regular at the restaurant where worked as a teenager. Through tears, she described a night in which he allegedly offered to drive her home.

Instead of taking her home, Ms. Nelson claimed, the candidate drove into a dark area, locked the doors of his car, and began groping her breasts. When she fought and screamed, she alleged, he grabbed her neck and attempted to force her head toward his crotch.

If for no other reason than the benefits that are to be gained in the fight against Alzheimer's, we really must find out what these women are eating or drinking that allows their memories to remain so sharp, vivid, and accurate three or four decades after the fact.

-"BB"-