One of the most nauseating moments of the 2016 campaign came when a number of rock-ribbed Republicans refused to even consider pulling their support from Donald Trump after the release of the “Access Hollywood” tapes. You would have thought that hearing Trump boast about how he could degrade women any way he pleased–even “grab ’em by the pussy”–would have instantly ended his campaign.
But it didn’t. Instead, we were told that such degrading talk didn’t matter as much as ending abortion and marriage equality, and ensuring this nation had a future. Well, it looks like a similar scenario is playing out in Alabama. At least two Republican county chairs are on record as saying that they are at least willing to continue backingRoy Moore’s run for Jeff Sessions’ Senate seat even if it is proven that he had inappropriate relationships with teenage girls four decades ago.
Daniel Dale, the Washington correspondent for The Toronto Star, wanted to get a sense of how The Washington Post’s bombshell report is playing out among Alabama Republicans. One of the more breathtaking responses came from David Hall of Marion County in the northwest. He thought the whole thing was a lot of fuss over nothing.
"It was 40 years ago," Alabama Marion County GOP chair David Hall tells me. "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."
— Daniel Dale (@ddale8) November 9, 2017
Me: "The story said she said he tried to get her to touch his genitals." Hall: "Well, she said he may have TRIED to. But we're talking something that somebody SAID happened, 40 years ago. It wouldn't affect whether or not I'd vote for him."
— Daniel Dale (@ddale8) November 9, 2017
Wow. So even if it’s proven that Moore indeed molested that girl, it would make no difference in Hall’s vote.
There was no such equivocation from Jerry Pow, the GOP chairman in Bibb County, a suburb of Birmingham. He bluntly said that he would vote for Moore regardless of how this played out.
After a long pause, Alabama Bibb County Republican chairman Jerry Pow tells me he'd vote for Roy Moore even if Moore did commit a sex crime against a girl.
"I would vote for Judge Moore because I wouldn't want to vote for Doug," he says. "I'm not saying I support what he did."
— Daniel Dale (@ddale8) November 9, 2017
I had to read this tweet twice in order to believe it. So stopping the Democratic nominee, Doug Jones, is so important to Pow that he’s determined to vote for Moore–even if he is proven to be a child molester. Words fail me.
Dale later discovered that Pow was singing a different tune in 2015, when he was serving as Bibb County probate judge. He was one of nine probate judges in the state who refused to issue any marriage licenses at all after the federal Supreme Court made marriage equality the law of the land.
Postscript: GOP officer who'd vote Moore even if he was a proven sex offender refused in 2015 to accept the legalization of gay marriage, saying "it's wrong." pic.twitter.com/QBTRCxbcNF
— Daniel Dale (@ddale8) November 9, 2017
William Blocker, the Republican chairman in Covington County, in the Wiregrass, was of a similar mind. But Blocker went further, suggesting the whole thing was a Democratic dirty trick.
Alabama Covington County GOP Chairman William Blocker tells me Democrats convinced these women to tell a fake story to damage Moore.
I told him the 14-year-old became a Trump voter.
"That's the typical background or profile of somebody they would be using for that," he said.
— Daniel Dale (@ddale8) November 9, 2017
"If they said she was a Hillary supporter, then she'd be more dismissed by the local voters here in the state of Alabama. You'd have to paint her as a Trump supporter to be of any credibility," Covington County GOP Chairman William Blocker says.
— Daniel Dale (@ddale8) November 9, 2017
"Yeah!" Covington County GOP Chairman William Blocker tells me he'd consider voting Moore even if hard proof of sexual abuse emerged.
"There is NO option to support to support Doug Jones, the Democratic nominee. When you do that, you are supporting the entire Democrat party."
— Daniel Dale (@ddale8) November 9, 2017
Sadly, it came as no surprise that Blocker harrumphed this was nothing more than a Democratic trick. After all, that’s essentially how those in Trumpland dismissed the “Access Hollywood” tapes, as well as the discovery that Milo Yiannopoulos seemingly condoned pedophilia.
But Blocker’s willingness to support Moore, no matter what, is absolutely mind-blowing. Again, I ask–is keeping Sessions’ seat out of Democratic hands so important that you are willing to support Moore even if the allegations are true? Is partisanship so important that it must trump basic decency? And yes, the pun was intended.
When Senator Jeff Flake saw this, he threw up his hands in disgust.
Come on, Republicans. Is this who we are? This cannot be who we are. https://t.co/Fp0xnwOdqz
— Jeff Flake (@JeffFlake) November 10, 2017
He wasn’t the only one. The Twitterverse lit up with outrage over Pow and Blocker’s announcement that they would still back Moore.
Let this sink in. William Blocker of Alabama would support a child molester to hurt democrats. I hope to God that shitweasel didn't breed. https://t.co/nwQlzqvdcV
— Never Forget #boycottwynn (@NOMOREAFTER44) November 10, 2017
"Chairman William Blocker tells me he'd consider voting Moore even if hard proof of sexual abuse emerged."
THIS is what I am losing my mind over. THIS is disgusting and THIS is the problem. Party over being a DECENT HUMAN BEING.
— Venus Jade (@Venusjade) November 9, 2017
So WILLIAM BLOCKER IS OK
WITH
CHILD
RAPE.
good to know. #FireHisASS https://t.co/Im91ppNPDu
— Nov6th It Begins*I stand with the FBI* ????? (@Wellness4You13) November 10, 2017
Jerry Pow apparently doesn't know he doesn't have to vote for either…abstinence is an option…is he so anti-Dem that he'd support a sexual predator of children? That's not pro-Rep…that's repugnant.
— MaryH (@WomenSpoke4Me) November 10, 2017
Here's Alabama county Republican chair Jerry Pow confirming he'd support a pedophile over a Democrat. https://t.co/5t69dLJwIY
— Hunter (@HunterDK) November 9, 2017
I hope this statement follows Jerry Pow for the rest of his life. What an absolute creep https://t.co/nOL7pfu8bm
— Vapid Wasteland of Terribleness (@JBLajzer) November 9, 2017
When you wonder if Roy Moore can still win as a sexual criminal….the sad answer is probably. And yes Jerry Pow…voting for Roy Moore is absolutely supporting his crimes, don’t let anyone tell you differently. #RoyMooresASexPredator https://t.co/1hHwfOJl0y
— John Toner #BlueWave2018 (@jptoner50) November 9, 2017
There is something fundamentally wrong when it is even up for debate whether one should maintain support for a candidate even if it is proven that he or she has breached every standard of decency that is known. No cause is so important that basic standards must be thrown out the window in order to further it. And that’s true if you’re a Democrat or a Republican.
This is one of many outrages in the last few years that give me an odd sense of déjà vu. As many of my longtime readers know, during my freshman year at the University of North Carolina, I was tricked into joining a hyperabusive and controlling campus ministry. It took me six months to get out, during which they tried to guilt-trip me into becoming a Christian Coalition Republican. Early in my sophomore year, I discovered that their church in Durham had been hiding its past as the Carolina chapter of Maranatha Campus Ministries, one of the more notorious “campus cults” from the 1970s and 1980s.
But when I told my former “brothers” and “sisters” about this deceit, their response was essentially, “So what?” Indeed, they were actually more than willing to help this church continue its massive snow job. Supposedly, all that mattered was that people were getting saved–and they wanted to be part of what God was doing. Never mind that there was no good-faith reason to hide this information. And never mind that they were putting their futures at risk by continuing to help in this deceit. None of that really mattered–all that mattered was getting people saved.
The mentality was no different last fall. The line from most diehard Trump supporters was something like, “Yes, those comments were disgusting–but it doesn’t really matter as making America great again!” And it’s no different here. What Pow and Blocker have effectively done is tell the people of their counties that basic decency doesn’t matter as much as sticking it to those evil libruls.
Is this what passes for leadership in the Alabama GOP? If so, any sane Republicans left in Alabama need to wake up. You’ve got some cleaning to do. At least two county chairmen need to be pushed out, and promptly. I would be saying this if these were Democrats condoning this behavior.
And unless Moore is willing to give a fuller explanation other than “FAKE NEWS!”, he should follow them out the door.
(featured image courtesy Moore’s Facebook)