One week before the Alabama Senate election to replace Jeff Sessions (R-AL), who left the comforts of the Senate to be President Trump's Attorney General, there are still Republicans who are trying to manipulate the race.
The appointed replacement Senator Luther Strange (R-AL), who had the backing of Beltway Establishment and President Trump, was defeated in the primaries by former Alabama Supreme Court Justice Roy Moore (R-AL).
Since then, the Washington Post has been printing bombshell reports that Moore had indecent relations with minors and had a penchant for dating teenagers when he was a 34 year old Assistant District Attorney. Even though Moore had been in the spotlight for nearly forty years and never had such allegations come to light, partisans on both sides agitated over these accusations.
Democrats saw the Moore allegations as a way to make trouble and pick up an unexpected Senate seat. They will paint Moore's continued presence in the race with Republicans being creepy child molesters and pair him with Donald Trump. Alabama Law does not allow for substitute candidates, so if Moore dropped out at this point (or there was a write in effort), it creates trouble and still gives Democrats a chance to have virtual control of the 115th Congress (with a united 49 seat Democrat minority).
Republican Party partisans fear that they might lose an otherwise dependable seat, so they sought to either have Moore drop out or have a credible Republican write in option. The latter strategy would have party bosses choose the candidate thereby mooting the voice of the voters in Alabama. There are few instances in successful Senate write in candidates, and the exception to the rule was Senator Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) in 2010, an incumbent who had plenty of time to run as a write-in. Even so, there were problems with misspelling and discerning voter intent. Centrist Republican media personality Hugh Hewitt suggested that if Senator Strange resigned, it would preclude the 12/12 special election and Alabama Governor Kay Ivey (R-AL) could appoint another substitute Senator until November 2018. That did not happen.
The Republican National Committee and the Republican National Senate Committee had withdrawn support from Roy Moore to disassociate themselves with the candidate and possibly nudge him to step aside. But the Alabama GOP and Governor Ivey stuck by Moore, even with the unsavory allegations. At first, President Trump just did negative campaigning against Democrat Senate candidate Doug Jones (D-AL). One week before the special election, Trump gave full support. Senator McConnell relented as did the RNC.
Senator Thune's (R-SD) cri-de-coeur on Cavuto epitomizes the Establishment's animus against Roy Moore. Even before he is elected, the GOP leaders threaten an ethics probe. Does the Republican Senate leadership just want to maintain a whiter than snow aura to them? Could Roy Moore's social conservative politics have anything to do with last minute appeals discouraging voting for the firebrand. Perhaps Moore's vow not to continue support for Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell have something to do with the cable TV hit?
Roy Moore may be a lightning rod in the District of Calamity in 2018. Democrats will want to run on character assassination and majority ineptitude. Establishment Republicans want to keep power but not rock the boat, thus it is to the GOP Senate leadership's advantage to keep a firebrand out of office, even if it means having a virtually divided Senate.
Alabama was one of the states which rocketed candidate Donald Trump to the Republican Presidential nomination. This conservative state filled with old time religion embraced the flawed character of Mr. Trump. Pollster George Barna postulated that SAGE-Cons (Spiritually Aware Governmentally Active Conservatives) looked beyond the human flaws of Trump to see someone who now embraces their core beliefs and one who is willing to shake up the system of get things done.
On December 12th, Alabamans will make their choice.
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