Republican U.S. Senate candidate Moore hit by sexual misconduct allegations

[webfact]

Republican U.S. Senate candidate Moore hit by sexual misconduct allegations

By Joseph Ax

 

FILE PHOTO: Alabama Republican candidate for U.S. Senate Roy Moore speaks with reporters as he visits the U.S. Capitol in Washington, U.S. October 31, 2017. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst/File Photo

 

(Reuters) - A woman has accused Roy Moore, the Republican nominee for the U.S. Senate in Alabama, of initiating a sexual encounter with her when she was 14 years old and he was 32, the Washington Post reported on Thursday, prompting top Republicans to say he should step aside if the allegations prove true.

 

Moore, 70, the state's former chief judge, vehemently denied the allegations, calling them "completely false and a desperate political attack."

 

U.S. President Donald Trump would want Moore to step aside if the allegations against him are true, White House press secretary Sarah Sanders said on Friday.

 

"Like most Americans, the president believes we cannot allow a mere allegation, in this case one from many years ago, to destroy a person’s life," Sanders said. "However, the president also believes that if these allegations are true, Judge Moore will do the right thing and step aside," she said, as Trump arrived in Vietnam on his 12-day Asia tour.

 

In a series of Twitter posts later in the day, Moore cast the published allegations against him part of a bid to "silence and shut up Christian conservatives like you and me," adding "I will NEVER GIVE UP the fight!"

 

Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell, working with a slim 52-48 majority, called on Moore to drop out of the race "if these allegations are true." Several other Republicans, including Texas Senators John Cornyn and Ted Cruz, and Utah Senator Mike Lee, all of whom endorsed Moore, echoed that sentiment.

 

At least two Republican senators, John McCain of Arizona and John Thune of South Dakota, said Moore should step aside immediately, with McCain calling the accusations "deeply disturbing and disqualifying."

 

Leigh Corfman, now 53, told the Post she met Moore at a courthouse in 1979 when Moore offered to keep her company on a bench outside of a hearing room while her mother was inside for child custody proceeding.

 

Moore, at the time an assistant district attorney, asked for the girl's phone number and days later took her to his house, where they engaged in sexual activity before she asked to be taken home, Corfman said.

 

The story also quoted three other women who said Moore dated them when they were between 16 and 18 years of age and he was in his early 30s, though none said they had sexual contact with Moore.

 

Reuters was unable to independently confirm the allegations.

 

The Moore campaign accused the Post of colluding with Democrats to tarnish his reputation with false accusations.

 

The Post said none of the women had donated to or worked for Moore's Democratic opponent, Doug Jones, or for his Republican primary rivals, and that Corfman said she had voted for Republicans in the past three presidential elections, including for Donald Trump in 2016.

 

POPULAR WITH ALABAMA REPUBLICANS

 

Moore has consistently led in polls over Jones. He was considered a heavy favourite in deeply Republican Alabama in the Dec. 12 special election to fill the seat of U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions.

 

It remains to be see whether Thursday's allegations can buoy Jones' long-shot bid, which would represent a major upset for Democrats and narrow Republicans' current edge in the Senate.

 

Jones' campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the Post story.

 

No matter what happens, Moore will remain on the ballot on Dec. 12 since a candidate’s name cannot be removed within 76 days of the election, according to the office of Alabama's secretary of state.

 

If, however, the state party tells election officials that it wants to withdraw its nominee, or if Moore himself decided to do so, election officials would not certify any votes cast for Moore. Write-in candidates are also allowed under state law.

 

Alabama political strategist David Mowery, who has worked for candidates of both parties, said the chance of Moore bowing out of the race was "less than zero," and that it was almost as improbable for state party officials to abandon him in favour of a last-minute write-in candidate.

 

Mowery cited Moore's overwhelming popularity with Alabama's Republican voters, who he said would tend to distrust allegations published in the Post. Nevertheless, he said Democrats would seize on the scandal to boost fund-raising.

 

Moore, who has made his moral and religious beliefs the heart of his pitch to voters, prevailed over several Republican opponents in a closely contested primary that saw Trump, McConnell and most Senate Republicans support the incumbent who had been appointed to Sessions' seat, Luther Strange.

 

The race exposed rifts between the Republican Party's conservative base and its Washington-based establishment. Moore's candidacy was heavily promoted by former Trump strategist Steve Bannon, who has vowed to support grassroots challengers next year to take on Republican incumbents.

 

On several occasions, Moore has made controversial statements and taken positions that have cost him his job. He has condemned homosexuality and said he believes some U.S. communities are living under Islamic religious law.

 

He first became a national figure in the early 2000s, when he lost his position as Alabama chief justice after refusing a court order to remove a Ten Commandments monument from outside the courthouse.

 

After winning his position back in 2012, he was again forced out after defying the U.S. Supreme Court decision legalizing gay marriage by ordering probate judges not to give marriage licenses to same-sex couples.

 

On his Senate campaign website, Moore said he was suspended "for upholding the sanctity of marriage as between one man and one woman."

 

(Reporting by Joseph Ax; Additional reporting by Steve Gorman and Dan Whitcomb; Editing by Ben Klayman, Mary Milliken and Michael Perry)

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2017-11-10

[Jingthing]

I doubt he'll drop out and trumpists will vote for him anyway. But on the other hand, there is now a real chance that ALABAMA (of all places!) will be electing a democratic senator! Interesting times. 

Edited November 10, 2017 by Jingthing

[lannarebirth]

9 minutes ago, Jingthing said:

I doubt he'll drop out and trumpists will vote for him anyway. But on the other hand, there is now a real chance that ALABAMA (of all places!) will be elected a democratic senator! Interesting times. 

If he doesn't thoroughly dispel the allegation in the next day or two I think the GOP will try to drum up a write in campaign for another candidate. There is precedent for that having sucess but it is a long shot.

[Berkshire]

It's actually a win-win scenario for the Dems.  If Moore loses, they'll win another seat in the Senate.  If Moore wins, the Republicans will have a pedo in their ranks.  Not a healthy prospect. 

[Jingthing]

1 hour ago, Berkshire said:

It's actually a win-win scenario for the Dems.  If Moore loses, they'll win another seat in the Senate.  If Moore wins, the Republicans will have a pedo in their ranks.  Not a healthy prospect. 

Moore was already an embarrassment to republicans. His history of favoring the death penalty for gay people isn't even in that sick party's mainstream. It's still better if he loses. I agree if he wins, he will be a political liability to them but he'll also be a vote for trump policies. The biggest way decent Americans (anti-trumpists) can lose is if a write in campaign for Mr. Strange works. Seems really really unlikely.

Edited November 10, 2017 by Jingthing

[daoyai]

ah hail in 'Bama 14 is nearly over the hill I reckon....

[Thakkar]

Rick Wilson (@TheRickWilson)

10/11/2017, 4:36 AM

A meaningful % of my party are insisting nothing is real in a carefully research story with four on the record statements from victims.

In related news, a meaningful % of my party believed Hillary Clinton was part of a child cannibalism and sex ring in a pizza restaurant .

[CaptHaddock]

Moore won't drop out and the national Repub leadership cannot force him to.  Moore will run and he will win, unfortunately.  Alabama voters know Moore for years and they love him.  However, the Senate can at any time expel him with a two thirds majority.  Or the Republicans can refuse to admit him to their caucus.  However, in the end neither of those things will happen because McConnell needs the votes.

 

A write-in campaign for Strange to split the Repub vote and hand the election to the Democrat is a long shot.  Repubs would rather have a child molester than a Dem.

[Thakkar]

Meanwhile, Anthony Weiner is in jail for sexting a 15 year old.

 

Bet he’s sitting in his cell wishing he’d joined the Republican Party—then he’d have the party bigwigs defending him.

[Jingthing]

Well, if Moore did drop out (I agree he probably won't) then the republicans could at least organize a coherent write in campaign for Strange. In any case, Moore's name will be on the ballot as that's 'Bama law. 

[Slip]

4 hours ago, CaptHaddock said:

Moore won't drop out and the national Repub leadership cannot force him to.  Moore will run and he will win, unfortunately.  Alabama voters know Moore for years and they love him.  However, the Senate can at any time expel him with a two thirds majority.  Or the Republicans can refuse to admit him to their caucus.  However, in the end neither of those things will happen because McConnell needs the votes.

 

A write-in campaign for Strange to split the Repub vote and hand the election to the Democrat is a long shot.  Repubs would rather have a child molester than a Dem.

Trump drained the swamp, and then replaced it with a proper slurry pit.  Only the worst type of creatures can live (let alone flourish) on liquid <deleted>.

[attrayant]

6 hours ago, Berkshire said:

If Moore wins, the Republicans will have a pedo in their ranks. 

 

the Republicans will have another pedo in their ranks. There, I fixed that for you.

 

Mitt Romney isn't mincing words.

 

 

 

[attrayant]

I hope you haven't had your shower yet, because you're going to need to take another one after you see these statements in defense of Moore:

 

Alabama state auditor Jim Ziegler:  Mary was just a teen and Jesus was a grown man, so it's okay.

 

Republican Alabama State Representative Ed Henry: Moore's accusers should be prosecuted for not coming forward sooner.

 

Breitbart: Moore's alleged sexual abuse of a teenager was okay because he was romantic.

[Thakkar]

13 minutes ago, attrayant said:

I hope you haven't had your shower yet, because you're going to need to take another one after you see these statements in defense of Moore:

 

Alabama state auditor Jim Ziegler:  Mary was just a teen and Jesus was a grown man, so it's okay.

 

Republican Alabama State Representative Ed Henry: Moore's accusers should be prosecuted for not coming forward sooner.

 

Breitbart: Moore's alleged sexual abuse of a teenager was okay because he was romantic.

Some of the things I didn’t think we’d be re-litigating merits of in 2017:

Pedophilia

Treason

Slavery 

White Supremacism

 

[Opl]

"Trump, Who Once Bragged About His Own Sexual Assault, Tries To Distance Himself From Roy Moore "

"They’re very serious allegations,” Short said. “And if true, then, yes, there’s no path forward.”

http://www.politicususa.com/2017/11/09/trump-bragged-sexual-assault-distance-roy-moore.html

 

"Alabama Republican State Auditor and alleged Christian Jim Zeigler used the Bible to defend Republican Judge Roy Moore from accusations of child rape, claiming that Joseph was an adult, while Mary, Jesus’ mother, was a teenager. Republicans can find any excuse to justify assault of women and girls. They called Trump’s assaults “locker room talk” and now, the Bible said it was okay. "

http://www.politicususa.com/2017/11/09/alabama-republican-defends-roy-moore-accusation-child-rape-bible.html

 

Watch Mitch McConnell And Senate Republicans Silently Laugh As They Are Asked About Roy Moore "Trump isn’t leading the country, and the congressional majority is laughing about claims that one of their future colleagues sexually assaulted underage girls. "

http://www.politicususa.com/2017/11/10/watch-mitch-mcconnell-senate-republicans-silently-laugh-asked-roy-moore.html

 

 

3

Edited November 10, 2017 by Opl

[bendejo]

He won't step down, he'll run and win.  Southern culture.  DT's GOP is ok with this kind of stuff, and the rest of the Americans are getting used to it.  The fish rots from the head down.  Did someone say classless society?

Guy from Ohio told me this one: 

Q: what's a Kentucky virgin?

A: an eleven year old girl who can outrun all her brothers.

 

 

[CaptHaddock]

How could Alabama voters be so benighted as to swarm to a degenerate like Moore?  Let's consult my favorite map that compares US states with foreign countries that have comparable high school graduation rates as one measure of educational success.  How does Alabama compare? 

 

Uh-oh.

 

[Thakkar]

7 minutes ago, CaptHaddock said:

How could Alabama voters be so benighted as to swarm to a degenerate like Moore?  Let's consult my favorite map that compares US states with foreign countries that have comparable high school graduation rates as one measure of educational success.  How does Alabama compare? 

 

Uh-oh.

 

 

That’s not fair. Guatemalan high school grads can all read, and fewer of them have fathered/mothered children.

[Scott]

An inflammatory post has been removed.   Keep your remarks civil.  

[Samui Bodoh]

I am certain that Moore will continue to run and that he will win. Defeating a Democrat is more important than dealing with a pedophile.

 

What has happened to the US? Is there no more morality? Are there no more ethics? All those religious conservatives in Alabama; do you not have a problem with this?

 

No wonder the US is in decline...

[Thakkar]

15 minutes ago, Samui Bodoh said:

What has happened to the US? Is there no more morality?

‘Course there is. Don’t you remember how morally outraged The Right was when Michael Obama appeared in a sleeveless gown?

[Berkshire]

26 minutes ago, Samui Bodoh said:

I am certain that Moore will continue to run and that he will win. Defeating a Democrat is more important than dealing with a pedophile.

 

What has happened to the US? Is there no more morality? Are there no more ethics? All those religious conservatives in Alabama; do you not have a problem with this?

 

No wonder the US is in decline...

Just saw an interview on CNN where some Alabama State House guy named Ed Henry was defending Moore.  Boy oh boy are these people evil.  Henry suggested that these women should be prosecuted for not coming forth sooner, i.e., complicit.  You can't defend evil without becoming evil yourself.  Trump supporters should take the hint.

[phantomfiddler]

American politics is going mad :)