The fact that the Alabama GOP selected as its senatorial candidate a fanatical rightwing Christian who, while in his thirties, attempted to seduce teenagers as young as 14 years puts the onus on the erstwhile party of evangelicals to take a stand on his suitability to serve. Given that many were just fine with President P**** Grabber, that may be expecting a little too much. But if not now, when do folks stand up for basic decency and intelligent government?
Every GOP senator needs to let us know whether they’re willing to welcome a Bible-thumping pedophile into the Senate just so they can retain the necessary votes to pack the court with unqualified right-wing nutjobs, cut taxes for wealthy donors, pay for them by shafting the working and middle class, cripple Obamacare, Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid, and, appropriately, given Moore’s dominionist leanings, eviscerate women’s reproductive health rights.
So far as I know, our Missouri Republican Senator Roy Blunt has tacked for cover. He has, evidently bailed on a scheduled fundraiser for Moore, discretion being the better part of valor after all. Nevertheless I can’t find a statement from ol’ Roy anywhere – if you know of one, please let me know. Blunt needs to come clean about whether he’s going to welcome Brother Moore into the Senate or stand up for what we’ve been told are the outstanding GOP family values.
What will Sen. Blunt do when push comes to shove (besides trying to avoid getting to shove)?:
- Does Sen. Blunt think it’s OK to allow a man into the Senate who has been the first to condemn and attempt to punish others for their sexual orientation – to the point of defying the law – while, as an adult, preying on inexperienced young girls?
- Surely Sen. Blunt won’t resort to justifying such predatory behavior by pointing out that in the past social mores sanctioned the marriage of very young women – as others in the GOP have? Or that it’s sanctioned by the Bible? As Kathryn Brightbill points out in an Op-ed in the Los Angeles Times, justifying the sexual exploitation of very young women is not unknown in extreme evangelical circles all too willling to put the onus on the morally inferior “seductive” female.
- Will he try Donald Trump’s dodge? When Trump isn’t saying that nothing’s been proven, he tells us hat he’s just been too busy governing to pay attention to a major scandal stalking his party? Sounds like alot like the way Blunt often attempts to avoid controversy.
- Will he stand up for Moore and take his denials at face value? Easy, but dangerous. In spite of Evangelical Rev. Jerry Falwell’s knee jerk support for Moore, it’s a hard case for an intelligent human being to make and Bunt’s not dumb. As Sen. Pat Toomey (R-PA) declared “the allegations against Alabama Republican Senate candidate Roy Moore are more credible than Moore’s denial.”
- Or there’s the noncommittal strategy employed by many Republicans – Moore should step aside “if the accusations are true,” even though statements by the young women have been shown to be highly credible and correspond to rumors that had been circulating in Alabama for years.
I’m taking odds that Roy will go for number five. More his “wiggle room” style. Neither here nor there, but right where he needs to be to do the work of his big money cronies. Maybe he’ll sprinkle in a little bit of the “attending to business” meme as well.
Of course, he could do the right thing and condemn the hypocrite and refuse to go along with seating him in the Senate should Moore win his election.
Nah … not Roy. Moral stands aren’t going to become his thing this late in the game.
UPDATE: Maybe Bunt will follow the latest shift in the response of the Senate leadership and disavow Moore after all – a new poll shows Moore’s Democratic challenger up 4 points. In Alabama. And Sen. Blunt’s a good little team player.
