“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.”-Sarah Huckabee Sanders
From BUSINESS INSIDER:
- Republicans are split over what should happen to GOP Senate candidate Roy Moore after Thursday’s revelations about sexual misconduct allegations.
- Some want him to quit immediately, others are saying he should step aside “if” the accusation that Moore sexually abused a teenager almost 40 years ago is true, and a third camp is defending Moore.
Three camps are emerging in the Republican Party regarding what it believes should happen to Alabama’s Republican Senate nominee Roy Moore after The Washington Post reportedThursday that he initiated a sexual encounter with a 14-year-old girl when he was 32.
Moore has vehemently denied the allegations made against him in The Post. Multiple women told the publication that Moore pursued relationships with them while he was in his 30s and they were teens, and one woman described a sexual encounter she had with Moore when she was 14. He has shown no signs that he will drop out of the Senate race with just a month left before the election.
…snip…
Almost immediately after The Post published its investigation, Republican senators were asked about whether they still supported Moore or thought he should stay in the race.
And nearly every Republican senator said he should leave the race “if” the allegations were true.
The problem with that stance is that the “if true” qualifier left the door open to speculation over how much additional proof would be possible to obtain for instances that occurred decades back.
…snip…
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and other top Republicans qualified their statements by saying he should drop out if the allegations were true.
“It’s devastating,” Republican Sen. David Perdue of Georgia, a top congressional ally of President Donald Trump, told a reporter Thursday. “I think if those allegations are true, he should step aside. I mean, I’m sorry but this is untenable — if they’re true. I have no facts, I just saw the story. But it’s very serious.”
“These are serious and troubling allegations,” Republican Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas, who endorsed Moore, said in a statement. “If they are true, Judge Moore should immediately withdraw. However, we need to know the truth, and Judge Moore has the right to respond to these accusations”
President Donald Trump decided to join with the Republican senators in the “if true” camp.
…snip…
It should be noted that both Trump and Sanders have accused the dozen women who claimed last year that the president sexually harassed them of lying.
…snip…
A number of prominent Alabama Republicans and members of the insurgent right have taken to bashing The Post or the accusers, or suggesting that the revelations were made with a political motive.
Some also suggested that the allegations are not a big deal even if true.
Former White House chief strategist Steve Bannon pointed to The Washington Post as having been the outlet to publish both the Moore allegations and Trump’s “Access Hollywood” tape last fall, suggesting there is a political motive at play.
…snip…
Daniel Dale, a reporter with the Toronto Star, contacted dozens of Republican state officials in Alabama after the Moore story went live. Those who returned his inquiries defended Moore from the accusations.
“It was 40 years ago,” Alabama’s Marion County Republican Party chair, David Hall, told Dale. “I really don’t see the relevance of it. He was 32. She was supposedly 14. She’s not saying that anything happened other than they kissed.”
“It does not really surprise me,” John Skipper, the chair of Alabama’s Mobile County Republican Party, reportedly said. “I think it is a typical Democratic — Democrat — ploy to discredit Judge Moore, a sincere, honest, trustworthy individual.”
Alabama State Auditor Jim Zeigler said the report was “much ado about nothing,” even if true.
…snip…
Zeigler even compared Moore’s alleged actions to biblical figures.
“Take the Bible. Zachariah and Elizabeth for instance. Zachariah was extremely old to marry Elizabeth and they became the parents of John the Baptist,” Zeigler told The Examiner. “Also take Joseph and Mary. Mary was a teenager and Joseph was an adult carpenter. They became parents of Jesus.”
“There’s just nothing immoral or illegal here,” Zeigler said. “Maybe just a little bit unusual.”
…snip…
A handful of Republican politicians aren’t worrying about qualifying their statements with “if true.” They are simply calling for Moore to drop out immediately.
“Innocent until proven guilty is for criminal convictions, not elections. I believe Leigh Corfman,” 2012 Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney tweeted. “Her account is too serious to ignore. Moore is unfit for office and should step aside.”
Republican Sen. John McCain of Arizona, the 2008 GOP presidential nominee, was the first major Republican politician to call for Moore to quit the race immediately.
…snip…
Ohio Gov. John Kasich, often a critic of Trump, joined the camp as well.
HYSTERICAL RAISINS 
It’s nice to have you back Nonnie!
Thanks Don. I can’t promise a poster a day, but it’s nice to be back. I love my kind and compassionate Raisinettes. ❤️💖💙
How are you doing, my friend?
Hi Elyse. 👋🏻 I have my moments, but I’m okay. It’ll just take time, I guess. And a few boxes of tissues. 💕
Time helps, but doesn’t erase. And that’s as it should be. ❤️❤️❤️
I’ll get by with a little help from my friends. 🌻
Absolutely. It’s been a difficult year for you. 💔❤️
Nice to have you back. I hope you are coping ok.
Leave it to the bible belt folks to come spout happenings from the bible. Jim Zeigler has no shame. I would hang my head in disgrace if I were quoting such an asinine piece of crap. It is a laughable. Have those in support of Moore, no shame?
Hi PPP. Nice to see you. 💛
They will thump their bibles louder and louder. They’re hoping it will drown out the sound of little girls crying.
Yep. I agree. Bastards.
Regards,
Yvionne
It is good to see your email and know you are back. I hope you are doing better after your Sister’s passing. The political outrages continue. The need to respond never ceases. Here’s something I did for Roy Moore. Most of these extreme Bible thumpers are perverts.
Thank you, tiggytiggy2. It’s good to be back. Sometimes, a semblance of normal is good for the soul. ♥
This administration and everything associated with it and the Rethug party are exhausting. Whenever we feel like we couldn’t be more outraged, they find a way to be even more disgusting. We have a moral obligation to fight them tooth and nail and let the rest of the world know that they do not represent the majority of Americans. We have to let children know that what they do is not acceptable.
welcome knoodles. we missed you! you bring truth to power & i agree that we should never allow the neanderthal segment of our society a free pass. our youth is depending on that.
I missed my Raisinettes, Loony. What’s going on in this country is so disgusting and disturbing that we all have to call out the shitheads every chance we get. It doesn’t have to be anything big. Any sign of resistance will bolster those who usually remain silent but who are so incensed by what the Rethugs have brought this county to.
How good to see you back, Nonnie.
This is impossible to ignore, and the hypocrisy is absolutely stunning. Posters on The Hill are saying that we lefties are defending Weinstein, which is totally backwards to the truth. I haven’t seen anyone siding with him, particularly not in the political sphere, any more than we stood up for the ditzy Weiner. Please tell me, anyone, if I’ve missed the stories where we did. However, we have the evangelicals on record as standing up for Josh Duggar, so it’s no surprise that they’ll do the same for Moore. Never mind that a twice-unbenched judge who disrespects the Constitution is already a poor candidate for a Senate seat.
Thank you Chezmoi. It’s good to see you, too.
Other than a handful of his personal friends (most of whom I have ever heard of before), i have not heard anyone do anything but bash Weinstein. The both-siderism that has overtaken the media will have you believe that, but it’s bullshit. If anything, the media have covered up for the Rethugs. They continuously ignore the preachers and the Duck Dynasty assholes and the Duggars speak at Rethug gatherings and endorse the behavior Roy Moore is accused of. Time to hold their feet to the fire, too.
I am shocked and outraged. The “original campaign poster” has a flagrantly incorrect comma in it. Is there no limit to the illiteracy these Trumpanzees will foist upon the nation?
Notice that some of them not only believe Roy Mo[lest]ore’s denials, but insist that even if the accusations are true, it’s no biggie. Biblical morality seems to be infinitely elastic where fellow fundies are concerned. Then again, there’s a long history of fundie pastors and politicians being caught at various illicit behavior, so their sheep have plenty of experience making excuses for such cases.
If Moore wins the election, I predict that all the Republicans now calling on him to drop out will fold and welcome him into his new position. It’s what the “never Trump” Republicans did as Trump won the nomination and then the Presidency, and I doubt their cowardice and capacity for waffling has abated any.
Welcome back online.
I noticed the comma, too, and I wondered why anyone would have put one there. I’ve seen misplaced commas before, but the misplacement sort of made some kind of sense. Apparently, along with the whole dating underage girls rule, grammar rules are different in Alabama.
The people backing Mo[lest]ore (you need to trademark that!) are just as despicable as him, perhaps moreso. Mo[lest]ore is someone of no character and weak impulse control and made some very, very, very bad decisions. The people backing him now are not acting on impulse. They have thought about what he did, and they are still okay with backing him. Therefore, I have to assume that, after careful deliberation, they have decided that child molestation is okay. It’s at moments like this that I wish there was a Hell, because they all deserve to burn there.
I shake my head at their argument that it happened 40 years ago, and nobody said anything at the time, so it didn’t happen. Funny, but I don’t recall any Rethugs saying that Dennis Hastert was not guilty. After all, his vulgar and illegal conduct happened 40 years before it was disclosed. Is the difference that it was boys who were molested? Is man-on-boy abuse worse than man-on-girl abuse? Is it because the girls are asking for it? Maybe it’s just that girls are valued far less than boys in this society, and especially in the culture of Alabama.
It’s good to be back, Infidel. I’m not up to speed, because my keyboard broke, and I had to switch it out to an old Microsoft dinosaur keyboard that is about as high as a manual typewriter and makes even more noise. I’ll get over to Best Buy one of these days.