Alabama Megathread: Bombshell allegations

[The Other Castro]

Lindsey Graham‏ @LindseyGrahamSC 5 minutes ago
In light of the most recent allegations and the cumulative effect of others, I believe #RoyMoore would be doing himself, the state, the GOP, and the country a service by stepping aside.

If he continues this will not end well for Mr. Moore.

https://twitter.com/LindseyGrahamSC/status/930188993370771457

Graham sounds like he may be implying expulsion.

[Greedo punched first]

John Cornyn has pulled his support from Moore:



This leaves just Cruz and Paul.

Watch Cruz stick with him until the end. I legitimately wouldn't be surprised if he's guilty of the same shenanigans as Moore.

In any case, I think the ball might finally be in Jones' court. The signature is a fatal blow.

If allegations about Cruz surface, O'Rourke wins.

[Santander]

Lindsey Graham‏ @LindseyGrahamSC 5 minutes ago
In light of the most recent allegations and the cumulative effect of others, I believe #RoyMoore would be doing himself, the state, the GOP, and the country a service by stepping aside.

If he continues this will not end well for Mr. Moore.

https://twitter.com/LindseyGrahamSC/status/930188993370771457

Graham sounds like he may be implying expulsion.

Why are people talking about expulsion now? There's about zero chance Moore wins after all this even in Alabama, so the point is moot

That's exactly why they're talking about it. The easiest thing to do is to say you'll do something "principled" that is both completely uncontroversial and you know you'll never have to do.

[Cactus Jack]

John Cornyn has pulled his support from Moore:



This leaves just Cruz and Paul.

Watch Cruz stick with him until the end. I legitimately wouldn't be surprised if he's guilty of the same shenanigans as Moore.

In any case, I think the ball might finally be in Jones' court. The signature is a fatal blow.

If allegations about Cruz surface, O'Rourke wins.

There are already allegations floating about that paint Cruz as being one of those creepy alpha male types in college. He's just the type to do something like this.

[Santander]

There are already allegations floating about that paint Cruz as being one of those creepy alpha male types in college. He's just the type to do something like this.

Lyin' Ted is a lot of things, but alpha he is not. Wannabe alpha, perhaps.

[Frozen Sky Ever Why]

Lindsey Graham‏ @LindseyGrahamSC 5 minutes ago
In light of the most recent allegations and the cumulative effect of others, I believe #RoyMoore would be doing himself, the state, the GOP, and the country a service by stepping aside.

If he continues this will not end well for Mr. Moore.

https://twitter.com/LindseyGrahamSC/status/930188993370771457

Graham sounds like he may be implying expulsion.

Why are people talking about expulsion now? There's about zero chance Moore wins after all this even in Alabama, so the point is moot

Are you kidding me?  Alabama is not Louisiana. Scandal or no scandal, AL is way too racially polarized to vote Dem. Maybe if the election was this week there would be a chance for Jones to win by 0-0.5%, but a month from now? Ancient history.

[Arkansas Yankee]

 Congratulations Doug Jones

I believe Bannon and Moore hate McConnell so much they would rather lose the Senate seat than back a write in or step aside tallow an attempt to alter the ballot.

Moore might bow to Sessions.  But I think Bannon hates Trump now and would undermine any such campaign.

To bad.  If Moore would step down,the GOP could pick Brooks or Sessions.  Go to court using the New Jersey case as precedent.  There is no reason new ballots cannot be printed for one race or computers to be reprogrammed.  

Everyone is allowed to dream.

[Mr. Morden]

Lindsey Graham‏ @LindseyGrahamSC 5 minutes ago
In light of the most recent allegations and the cumulative effect of others, I believe #RoyMoore would be doing himself, the state, the GOP, and the country a service by stepping aside.

If he continues this will not end well for Mr. Moore.

https://twitter.com/LindseyGrahamSC/status/930188993370771457

Graham sounds like he may be implying expulsion.

Why are people talking about expulsion now? There's about zero chance Moore wins after all this even in Alabama, so the point is moot

As I said upthread, arguably talking about expulsion makes him more likely to win, since it gives a pass to any wavering R voters in Alabama to vote for him, on the understanding that he'll be expelled from the Senate anyway, and replaced by another Republican.  Whereas if Jones wins, then they're stuck with a Dem.

[The Other Castro]

At this point, it seems unlikely to me that Moore will be in the Senate in 2018. Even if he wins, I really do think that he will be expelled.

[Santander]

Are you kidding me?  Alabama is not Louisiana. Scandal or no scandal, AL is way too racially polarized to vote Dem. Maybe if the election was this week there would be a chance for Jones to win by 0-0.5%, but a month from now? Ancient history.

The kind of evidence coming forward is reaching a point where it will break all but the most rabid Moore supporters. It's not really a matter of people refusing to believe the media anymore. Things will only get worse for Moore, not better.

The real question is what happens to Bannon's relevancy as a public political player. He has thrust himself into the spotlight and his signature project after leaving the White House is backfiring spectacularly. This may actually force him to retreat behind the scenes, at least temporarily.

[IceSpear]

Moore is still going to win.

[Frozen Sky Ever Why]

Moore is still going to win.

Absolutely, probably by a pretty decent margin.   

[IceSpear]

Are you kidding me?  Alabama is not Louisiana. Scandal or no scandal, AL is way too racially polarized to vote Dem. Maybe if the election was this week there would be a chance for Jones to win by 0-0.5%, but a month from now? Ancient history.

The kind of evidence coming forward is reaching a point where it will break all but the most rabid Moore supporters. It's not really a matter of people refusing to believe the media anymore. Things will only get worse for Moore, not better.

The real question is what happens to Bannon's relevancy as a public political player. He has thrust himself into the spotlight and his signature project after leaving the White House is backfiring spectacularly. This may actually force him to retreat behind the scenes, at least temporarily.

All but the most rabid Moore supporters, and those that would support Satan (R) over Jesus (D), i.e. a majority of Alabama voters.

[Holy Unifying Centrist]

I wonder where Greedo the hunter is now.

[IceSpear]

Moore is still going to win.

Absolutely, probably by a pretty decent margin.   

I'll add the caveat that it may be possible if there is a serious write-in candidate. I just know there's no way in hell Jones is cracking 50%.

[DrScholl]

Moore is done, so let's not even pretend like he isn't. The strategy by Republicans now seems to be "vote for Moore so we can expel him", which is totally absurd, but Jones not winning is still a higher priority for them.

[EnglishPete]

The Bible may not have specified age restrictions on romantic and sexual relationships, but it does have a commandment that states: Thou shalt not lie. Or will the Evangelicals defending him explicitly disregard the 10 Commandments now too?

He actually didn't deny dating or approaching young girls in his early 30s when asked explicitly about it on Hannity. He just deflected and made non-denial denials.

I listened to that Hannity interview and commented in another thread in another part of the forum here how both the details of the WaPo article could make many evangelical Christian voters highly suspicious of the claim that he had molested a 14 year old. I repost it here as I think it answers this point you raise:

My observation would be that firstly they would be unlikely to believe the fourth story as the pattern of behaviour in that story is so entirely different from the pattern of behaviour in the other three and that furthermore the pattern of behaviour in the other three cases is not only not unChristian but is in fact highly Christian and highly ethical.

Consider first that the age of consent in Alabama at which someone is judged capable of consenting to sex and marriage is 16 in Alabama. You might think that too low but that's not what Alabama law contends. I suspect that some of you might think that the age of consent for sex ought not be the same as the age of consent for marriage, i.e. that it should be both socially and legally accepted and even encouraged that young people should be sexually active for some years before getting married and starting a family. This is of course quite contrary to the traditional Christian ethics that Moore so  strongly advocates. That ethics teaches strict chastity before marriage and strict faithfulness within it.

In three of the accounts Moore is said to have behaved in an utterly proper way in this respect. They all said that he always asked the parent's consent to court her daughter and respected their authority in doing so. That is very much in line with traditional Christian teaching. Furthermore he behaved in an entirely chaste and rather courtly manner, doing no more than kissing and cuddling, which the ethical code followed by evangelicals proclaims is all any Christian man is permitted to do with anyone who is not his wife.

Whilst most parents would suspect a man in his early thirties wanting to date a young woman in her late teens  its important to remember the cause of this suspicion. The cause is that they would be worried that the man was looking for a mere mistress to take advantage of and then discard. It is very clear from the cases described of the two women that he dated that he was not looking for a mere mistress but for a wife, and by all accounts he has been a devoted and faithful husband so its no wonder that the mothers of those two girls thought that he would make a great son in law.

You compare that to the fourth case where the pattern of behaviour is totally different. In this case he is described as behaving in a manipulative and abusive way towards a child, seeking out an underage child, molesting her, acting in a way that was exploitative, dishonest and unchaste. That is so completely out of character with the other stories and with everything else known about Moore that it makes it hard to believe.

If you just look at the other three cases Moore behaved in a way that was not only not immoral but was in fact highly ethical. Alabama Evangelicals may very well then see this as a case where someone who not only preaches but practises a strict Christian code of sexual ethics and is being persecuted and slandered for it by a GOP establishment that is full of people who are admitted adulterers and who otherwise fall short of the Christian ethical ideal.

[Yank2133]

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Ha.

[Chancellor Tanterterg]

Lindsey Graham‏ @LindseyGrahamSC 5 minutes ago
In light of the most recent allegations and the cumulative effect of others, I believe #RoyMoore would be doing himself, the state, the GOP, and the country a service by stepping aside.

If he continues this will not end well for Mr. Moore.

https://twitter.com/LindseyGrahamSC/status/930188993370771457

Graham sounds like he may be implying expulsion.

Why are people talking about expulsion now? There's about zero chance Moore wins after all this even in Alabama, so the point is moot

Are you kidding me?  Alabama is not Louisiana. Scandal or no scandal, AL is way too racially polarized to vote Dem. Maybe if the election was this week there would be a chance for Jones to win by 0-0.5%, but a month from now? Ancient history.

Ok dude. If you had asked me on Friday I would've agreed with you, but at this point, the question is probably if Jones wins by double digits or single digits. Not whether he wins. Unless a write in happens

I now accept my accolades

[America's Sweetheart ❤/𝕿𝖍𝖊 𝕭𝖔𝖔𝖙𝖞 𝖂𝖆𝖗𝖗𝖎𝖔𝖗]

I think the race is Lean D right now, but we'll so where it is on election day.

[Blair]

Flake says 'if it's a choice between Roy Moore and a Democrat, I'll go with the Democrat''.

After today's round of accusations, the increase of proof and the relatively strong pushback from McConnell and Co I have a feeling that this may be seriously shifting

[Holy Unifying Centrist]

Roy Moore's deflection to this is transgenderism.

Alabama disapproved of Trump's trans military ban by 39 - 61. This isn't a winning issue even in Alabama.

Source: http://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/news/345315-report-majorities-in-every-state-oppose-trumps-transgender-ban

Also remember: Doug Jones is nowhere near as offensive to Alabama as Hillary.

Also remember that Roy Moore isn't a billionare like Donald Trump and is complete garbage at controlling the media narrative. Roy Moore is a terrible campaigner. Doug Jones has been slaying him on the air waves even before this came out.

Doug Jones was only down by 8 before this pedophile story came out.

Roy Moore is done for.

[SATW]

I hope Doug Jones crushes Roy Moore on election day.

[Mike Thick]

Flake says 'if it's a choice between Roy Moore and a Democrat, I'll go with the Democrat''.

After today's round of accusations, the increase of proof and the relatively strong pushback from McConnell and Co I have a feeling that this may be seriously shifting

This feels less like Greg Gianforte and more like David Duke at this point

[GeorgiaModerate]

Flake is the first prominent Republican to choose Jones over Moore: "If the choice is between Roy Moore and a Democrat, a Democrat no doubt."