If you don’t know yet, Twice-defrocked Alabama judge and gun-slinging theocratic racist homophobe Roy Moore, currently Alabama’s Republican candidate for the U.S. Senate, has been accused of sexually abusing a 14-year-old girl. He was 32 years old at the time and an assistant district attorney. Three other women have claimed he tried to make it with them when they were teens, too, and he plied one with wine when she was underage. There have been rumors of Mr. Moore’s “woman issues” for years, and a former colleague says it was common knowledge he dated high school girls.
Roy Moore has said he “didn’t generally” date teenage girls when he was in this thirties, attacked and threatened to sue the Washington Post for running the story (reported by three women), and started raising money behind the scandal (the GOP has cut off his funding). Yesterday another woman came forward and described in detail how Mr. Moore sexually assaulted her when she was 16 and threatened her to keep her quiet. He can’t say he didn’t know her then since he signed her high school yearbook. Said Mitch McConnell: “I believe the women, yes.” That’s when Republican officeholders stopped hedging and called for the candidate to withdraw. He isn’t going to quit the race, though, and might even win it, since his evangelical Alabama base would rather vote for a child molester than a Democrat. If Roy Moore is elected, there’s a good chance the senate would expel him.
The Alabama Special Election is on December 12th.
More:
“New Accuser Wants Moore to Testify Before Senate Judiciary,” Eric Garcia, Roll Call
“Former Moore colleague: ‘Common knowledge’ that he dated high school girls,” Max Greenwood, The Hill
“Local residents: Moore was known for flirting with, dating teenage girls,” Jacqueline Thomsen, The Hill
“Gadsden locals say Moore’s predatory behavior at mall, restaurants not a secret,” Anna Claire Vollers, AL.com
“Locals Were Troubled by Roy Moore’s Interactions with Teen Girls at the Gadsden Mall,” Charles Bethea, The New Yorker
“If Moore could be banned from a mall, he can be kept out of the Senate,” Jennifer Rubin, Washington Post
“Roy Moore Is Not the World’s Brightest (Alleged) Child Molester,” Jonathan Chait, New York Magazine
“Roy Moore Says He Didn’t Date Any Girls Without Their Moms’ Permission,” Gabriella Paiella, The Cut
“Roy Moore admits his wife, who is 14 years his junior, first caught his eye ‘when she was just FIFTEEN and performing in a junior college dance recital,’” Hanna Parry, Daily Mail
“Roy Moore Is Being Persecuted ‘Like Jesus,’ His Brother Says In Interview,” Mary Papenfuss, Huffington Post
“The unholy excuses of Roy Moore’s allies,” By Daniel Burke, CNN
“God Should Sue Roy Moore,” Nicholas Kristof, New York Times
“Moore seeks to refocus campaign on conservative religious values amid firestorm,” Elise Viebeck, Dino Grandoni and John Wagner, Washington Post
“Roy Moore defense: Unbuckling the Bible Belt,” John Archibald, Birmingham News
“Maher: Liberals ‘arrest our alleged rapists,’ conservatives ‘elect them,’” Mallory Shelbourne, The Hill
“Why Liberals and Conservatives Act Differently About Sexual Predators,” Seth Masket, Pacific Standard
“Roy Moore, Alabama Senate Candidate Under Siege, Tries to Discredit Accusers,” Alan Blinder and Jonathan Martinnov, New York Times
“#MeAt14: Women tweet photos of when they were age Roy Moore’s accuser was,” Dylan Stableford, Yahoo News
“GOP Senator: Allegations Against Moore ‘Have More Credibility’ Than His Denial,” Esme Cribb, TPM Livewire
“Editorial in 3 Alabama newspapers blasts Moore as ‘unfit for public office,'” Louis Nelson, Politico
“McConnell: Roy Moore should step aside,” Jordan Carney and Rebecca Savransky, The Hill
“GOP Sen. Pat Toomey says Roy Moore should drop out of Alabama Senate race,” Deirdre Shesgreen, USA Today
“Graham: Moore Would Be Doing ‘A Service’ By ‘Stepping Aside,’” Matt Shuham, TPM Livewire
“GOP rep: Moore disqualified himself from Senate long ago,” Brett Samuels, The Hill
“GOP campaign chairman says Senate should expel Moore if he wins,” Axios
“Paul Ryan says Roy Moore should step aside,” Mark Moore, New York Post
“Sessions says he has ‘no reason to doubt’ women who have accused Roy Moore of sexual misconduct,” Sean Sullivan, Washington Post
“Poll: Large majority believes Moore should drop out,” Josh Delk, The Hill
“Kellyanne Conway Says Public Officials Who Have Committed Sexual Assault Should Maybe Step Aside,” Amanda Arnold, The Cut
“Cruz Pulls Endorsement Of Moore, Stops Short Of Calling For Him To Drop Out,” Caitlin MacNeal, TPM Livewire
“Roy Moore is an embarrassment. Doug Jones deserves to win.” George F. Will, Washington Post
“No, Roy Moore Is Not Entitled to Due Process Before We Believe the Claims Against Him,” David French, National Review
“Whether Roy Moore wins or loses, there is no good outcome for Senate Republicans,” James Hohmann, Washington Post
“Roy Moore’s alleged pursuit of a young girl is the symptom of a larger problem in evangelical circles,” Kathryn Brightbill, Los Angeles Times
“Allegations Against Roy Moore Roil US Evangelical Ranks,” David Crary, Associated Press
“For Roy Moore’s insistent defenders: Here’s ‘why now.'” By Philip Bump, Washington Post
Backgrounder:
“The Republican Party’s Roy Moore catastrophe, explained,” Andrew Prokop, Vox
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Mike Licht. Download a copy here. Creative Commons license; credit Mike Licht, NotionsCapital.com
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