Political Randomness

[Freyland]

I love that Moore's first line of defense is running to Breitbart.

That's the new fault line, though. Bannon pushed Moore when McConnell was pushing Strange.

Moore is blaming the Librul Media, but there are rumblings on the far right about how quickly some Republicans are lining up to condemn him. The Bannon alt-right smells an Establishment hatchet job (although it's hard to see what McConnell gets out of giving the seat to a Democrat).

This is what the GOP civil war in 2018 will look like.

Totally agree someone organizes this. Suddenly multiple accusers come out of the woodwork 40 years after the fact? Not at all saying it didn't happen because I know nothing, but why now? This is not his first moment in the spotlight.

[tjg_marantz]

I love that Moore's first line of defense is running to Breitbart.

That's the new fault line, though. Bannon pushed Moore when McConnell was pushing Strange.

Moore is blaming the Librul Media, but there are rumblings on the far right about how quickly some Republicans are lining up to condemn him. The Bannon alt-right smells an Establishment hatchet job (although it's hard to see what McConnell gets out of giving the seat to a Democrat).

This is what the GOP civil war in 2018 will look like.

Totally agree someone organizes this. Suddenly multiple accusers come out of the woodwork 40 years after the fact? Not at all saying it didn't happen because I know nothing, but why now? This is not his first moment in the spotlight.

Neither Corfman nor any of the other women sought out The Post. While reporting a story in Alabama about supporters of Moore’s Senate campaign, a Post reporter heard that Moore allegedly had sought relationships with teenage girls. Over the ensuing three weeks, two Post reporters contacted and interviewed the four women. All were initially reluctant to speak publicly but chose to do so after multiple interviews, saying they thought it was important for people to know about their interactions with Moore. The women say they don’t know one another.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/investig ... story.html

[Holman]

This is how reporting is *supposed* to work.

It's true that the timing is most unfortunate for Moore, but that doesn't mean that the story is fake. It means that Moore's sudden ascendancy prompted national reporters to start seriously looking into him, and when they looked into him they started finding things.

Remember that Moore has been a state-level population until now. State-level politicians get away with murder simply because state-level media seldom has the resources to devote reporters to the kind of investigation the WaPo and other outlets can support.

[hepcat]

I doubt it, to be POTUS you need to at least have oral sex with them.

Or let them pee on you.

[Holman]

So Moore approached the 14-year-old outside of a custody hearing in which her mother was involved, and he offered to sit with her while the mother went in.

Anyone with half a brain can understand that this means he moved on this girl at a *hugely* vulnerable time. This was not a social gathering; this was a crisis in the life of her family. Moore's behavior was classically predatory. A gentleman of any sort (and Moore's defenders probably still subscribe to the trope of the Southern Christian gentleman) would have been ashamed even to have *thought* of this.

32 years old moving on a vulnerable 14-year-old. And doing it again, twice more, until he had the chance to get her clothes off and get her hand on his dick.

Don't try to tell me that age is just math.

[GreenGoo]

This is how reporting is *supposed* to work.

It's true that the timing is most unfortunate for Moore

But this is when people take an interest in your history, when you aspire to public office. The "timing" was unlikely to happen at any other time. While it may seem coincidental or suspicious, it's neither. It's not a coincidence that when you run for high office your skeletons come out. That's part of the deal and should have been expected. It's not suspicious either, because see the aforementioned point about your skeletons being revealed when you aspire for public office.

Shitty people are always surprised that people find out how shitty they are. They should be surprised at how long it took instead.

[GreenGoo]

So Moore approached the 14-year-old outside of a custody hearing in which her mother was involved, and he offered to sit with her while the mother went in.

Anyone with half a brain can understand that this means he moved on this girl at a *hugely* vulnerable time.

I can't imagine any normal person thinking "this girl is too young to be left alone, I'll offer to watch her for her mother" followed shortly afterward by the thought "she's sexy. I wonder if I can get in her pants".

The implications are pretty monstrous.

[malchior]

Totally agree someone organizes this. Suddenly multiple accusers come out of the woodwork 40 years after the fact? Not at all saying it didn't happen because I know nothing, but why now? This is not his first moment in the spotlight.

This story also plays nicely into the abusive man in power stories that have been dominating the news since Weinstein. The #metoo movement effect could have helped the reporters get these women to speak.

[Daehawk]

Im not seeing what there is to discuss. If true then he is a dirty sick pervert and should go to jail for this stuff as anyone else would. Forget if he should run in an election or not. More like should he apologize, seek counseling and go to prison for a set term. What he did, if he did it, is perverted and sick.

[Holman]

Totally agree someone organizes this. Suddenly multiple accusers come out of the woodwork 40 years after the fact? Not at all saying it didn't happen because I know nothing, but why now? This is not his first moment in the spotlight.

This story also plays nicely into the abusive man in power stories that have been dominating the news since Weinstein. The #metoo movement effect could have helped the reporters get these women to speak.

Trump's Access Hollywood tape was a watershed. Many of those coming forward now with #MeToo point to Trump as the reason they've broken silence. And of course the examples make it easier for others to speak out.

[El Guapo]

Totally agree someone organizes this. Suddenly multiple accusers come out of the woodwork 40 years after the fact? Not at all saying it didn't happen because I know nothing, but why now? This is not his first moment in the spotlight.

This story also plays nicely into the abusive man in power stories that have been dominating the news since Weinstein. The #metoo movement effect could have helped the reporters get these women to speak.

Trump's Access Hollywood tape was a watershed. Many of those coming forward now with #MeToo point to Trump as the reason they've broken silence. And of course the examples make it easier for others to speak out.

The Weinstein story also seems to have been the story that broke the camel's back on these issues. Who knows if the Post reporters would've followed up on these leads (vs. other stories they could look into) even just a few months ago.

[malchior]

I suppose the interesting thing going forward to watch will be whether the Republicans try to launch a write-in campaign to salvage things by pushing Strange a la Murkowski. Or perhaps enough voters will just hold their noses and vote for a purported child molester because he isn't a Dem. They did it for Trump after all. Crazy times we live in.

[msteelers]

Or perhaps enough voters will just hold their noses and vote for a purported child molester because he isn't a Dem.

This is the most likely outcome. I've heard some Republicans pushing for a write-in campaign for Strange, but I doubt that gets much traction.

[Holman]

I suppose the interesting thing going forward to watch will be whether the Republicans try to launch a write-in campaign to salvage things by pushing Strange a la Murkowski. Or perhaps enough voters will just hold their noses and vote for a purported child molester because he isn't a Dem. They did it for Trump after all. Crazy times we live in.

He *might* be forced into a brief apology for his bad choices decades ago, but he'll do it with a heavy load of Jesus and defensive spite.

Moore will win the election. After all, he's just a child-molester. It's not like he ever made white people look bad by taking a knee or successfully prosecuting Klansmen for murder.

[Rip]

Wow, convicted him already have we?

[Moliere]

Wow, convicted him already have we?

White, male, Republican, and Trump like him. He sounds guilty to me.

[Holman]

Wow, convicted him already have we?

Would it matter?

At this point, the good Christian conservatives of Alabama are going to elect a family-values firebrand not because he did or didn't pick up a 14-year-old and arrange to meet her secretly and take her home and diddle her, but because the libruls have dared to accuse him of it.

[Holman]

You guys can relax. It turns out that actual victims of harassment and exploitation are "few and far between."

[malchior]

Propaganda on parade!

[Remus West]

Wow, convicted him already have we?

Given the alt-right and your stance on Hillary that is down right funny. I mean, she was investigated already and nothing was found to even charge her with yet you all scream her name like she is #1 on the most wanted list (or a magic charm to ward of consequences of your own choices/evils).

[ImLawBoy]

(although it's hard to see what McConnell gets out of giving the seat to a Democrat).

I think his hope is that Moore steps down prior to the election and a mainstream R (probably Strange) takes his place and coasts to victory.

[hepcat]

Wow, convicted him already have we?

BENGHAZI!

[Isgrimnur]

I just hope we aren't heading down a dangerous path that shifts away from innocent before proven guilty in all matters like this.

That applies to legal justice. It never has applied to public opinion and job security. In fact job security is more tied to public opinion than it is to guilt or innocence.

[RunningMn9]

Totally agree someone organizes this. Suddenly multiple accusers come out of the woodwork 40 years after the fact? Not at all saying it didn't happen because I know nothing, but why now? This is not his first moment in the spotlight.

I recently completed a stint on grand jury duty, and I learned some things. We had a case of a girl who was getting sexually abused by her step-father multiple times a week, for the past six years.

More than one of my fellow jurors were concerned with the “Why now?” question. The problem was, she had been telling people for four years that he was abusing her. No one believed her.

People don’t seem to understand just how horrifically we treat the victims of these kinds of crimes. The nature of these kinds of crimes is that there are only ever two people present usually. There isn’t any other evidence. And that fear of public humiliation when you can’t prove what happened is enough to silence most victims. It’s terrible.

I don’t know if Roy Moore did anything. That’s the problem with these things. In this case though, there was smoke so the WaPo went looking to see if there was fire. Like they are supposed to do.

[Holman]

(although it's hard to see what McConnell gets out of giving the seat to a Democrat).

I think his hope is that Moore steps down prior to the election and a mainstream R (probably Strange) takes his place and coasts to victory.

It's complicated because the ballots have already been printed and some early voter forms have already gone out. In any case, it's too late for the GOP to officially nominate someone else, and Alabama has a "sore loser" law that prevents a primary challenger (e.g. Luther Strange) from being on the ballot under the banner of another party. Strange's only option would be a write-in campaign.

So the Alabama ballots are going to list Moore as the GOP candidate even if he drops out today. Any jury-rigged solution will surely dilute Republican votes. The party's best chance is for Moore to stay in the race and survive the scandal.

I think he will. It's Alabama. I'm from there, and that beautiful state's conservatives will *always* choose the worst option.

[Zarathud]

Washington Post investigation followed by McConnell asking him to step down? We'll convict later, but this is pretty damning.

Or maybe we should wait for the internet troll or Russian botnet to pick up the news before expecting Rip to believe it.

[ImLawBoy]

(although it's hard to see what McConnell gets out of giving the seat to a Democrat).

I think his hope is that Moore steps down prior to the election and a mainstream R (probably Strange) takes his place and coasts to victory.

It's complicated because the ballots have already been printed and some early voter forms have already gone out. In any case, it's too late for the GOP to officially nominate someone else, and Alabama has a "sore loser" law that prevents a primary challenger (e.g. Luther Strange) from being on the ballot under the banner of another party. Strange's only option would be a write-in campaign.

So the Alabama ballots are going to list Moore as the GOP candidate even if he drops out today. Any jury-rigged solution will surely dilute Republican votes. The party's best chance is for Moore to stay in the race and survive the scandal.

I think he will. It's Alabama. I'm from there, and that beautiful state's conservatives will *always* choose the worst option.

In that case, it might be that McConnell is actually taking a principled and moral stand on the issue.

Or he just said "If it's true," knowing that Moore won't ever admit it's true, so McConnell doesn't really have to call for him to drop out.

I kind of know which way I'm leaning on that.

[Defiant]

If the Senate refuses to seat him, what happens? Does the Governor choose a replacement, or what?

[LordMortis]

I kind of know which way I'm leaning on that.

That's how I read it... Or... I know which way I lean when it comes to Mitch...

[msteelers]

What surprised me this morning is that Brian Kilmeade wasn’t in full on “this is a liberal conspiracy” mode during his radio show. He never said he believed the accusers, but he repeatedly mentioned that Moore spent more time saying this was a hit job by the forces of evil, rather than denying it.

His callers were all aboard the liberal conspiracy train though. Every single one said they didn’t believe it. The scary part was when he asked, “but if they are true would you still vote for him?”

The answers were all “yes”.

[LawBeefaroni]

Washington Post investigation followed by McConnell asking him to step down? We'll convict later, but this is pretty damning.

Or maybe we should wait for the internet troll or Russian botnet to pick up the news before expecting Rip to believe it.

Here's how you know he's guilty. His defenders aren't claiming he didn't do it, they are claiming it wasn't so bad.

“There is nothing to see here,” Alabama State Auditor Jim Ziegler told the Washington Examiner. “The allegations are that a man in his early 30s dated teenage girls. Even the Washington Post report says that he never had sexual intercourse with any of the girls and never attempted sexual intercourse.”

....

“Take the Bible — Zachariah and Elizabeth, for instance. Zachariah was extremely old to marry Elizabeth and they became the parents of John the Baptist,” Ziegler says, choosing his words carefully before invoking Christ. “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,” Ziegler concluded. “Maybe just a little bit unusual.”

"There was no sexual intercourse. He just molested her. And even if there was intercourse, see the Bible. See Jesus. Also, it's not immoral either. Adult men having fondling and having sex with young girls, not wrong."

[Alefroth]

Wow, convicted him already have we?

No, we haven't. But given the shitbag we already know him to be, when it comes to a he said/ she said between him and several unrelated women, I'm giving the women the benefit of the doubt.

[Max Peck]

What could possibly go wrong?

The US State Department has employed a private firm set up by a veteran Soviet-era spy to provide security for its Moscow embassy and diplomatic missions in Russia.

The move comes after Moscow ordered the US to more than halve its staff in Russia earlier this year.

The US has now signed a contract with Elite Security Holdings, founded by the ex-KGB General Viktor Budanov.

General Budanov was a close friend of British spy and defector Kim Philby.

A notice on the US State Department website shows the contract with Elite Security Holdings is worth more than $2.8m (£2.1m).

A document posted online outlining "justification and approval" for the contract says guards at the Moscow embassy and other US missions were among the staff included in the expulsion order, adding: "The only option available, to ensure security services continue, is via a commercial contract."

It said the US government had contacted more than three US private security firms but had not found one "with the requisite licensing or desire to operate in-country".

"Due to the urgency of this requirement, the Department of State sought a firm with the requisite licensing and capacity to quickly stand up guard operations at all four US Mission Russia posts," it says.

"The number of firms that met this requirement limited the number of sources considered to one - Elite Security Services Holding Co."

[Isgrimnur]

[tgb]

I just read where Moore was endorsed by Roman Polanski, Woody Allen and Jerry Lee Lewis.

[Smoove_B]

How much further can we fall every day?

<Narrator> Malchior didn't realize we were just getting started.

“If they believe this man is predatory, they are guilty of allowing him to exist for 40 years. I think someone should prosecute and go after them. You can’t be a victim 40 years later, in my opinion,” [State Rep. Ed] Henry said.

Yes, let's round up the women claiming Moore's behavior -at best- was inappropriate.

[Max Peck]

NRSC severs fundraising ties with Roy Moore

The Senate's campaign arm severed ties with Alabama GOP Senate nominee Roy Moore after an explosive report published Thursday in The Washington Post that featured four women who said Moore pursued them decades ago when he was an assistant district attorney and they were teenagers.

The National Republican Senatorial Committee was dropped from a joint fundraising agreement that benefits Moore's campaign, paperwork filed Friday with the FEC shows.

The agreement still includes the other participants — the Republican National Committee, the Alabama Republican Party and Moore's campaign.

The NRSC and RNC did not immediately respond to CNN's request for comment Friday. NRSC chairman, Sen. Cory Gardner of Colorado, said in a statement Thursday following the release of the story, "If these allegations are found to be true, Roy Moore must drop out of the Alabama special Senate election."

This is the latest step by for the GOP to distance itself from Moore. On Thursday, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and other Republicans publicly said Moore should step aside but only if the allegatons by the four women from the explosive Washington Post report are true.

"If these allegations are true, he must step aside," McConnell said in a statement.

[Combustible Lemur]

How much further can we fall every day?

<Narrator> Malchior didn't realize we were just getting started.

“If they believe this man is predatory, they are guilty of allowing him to exist for 40 years. I think someone should prosecute and go after them. You can’t be a victim 40 years later, in my opinion,” [State Rep. Ed] Henry said.

Yes, let's round up the women claiming Moore's behavior -at best- was inappropriate.

Bama'

Where: The Klan, Child molesters, Sexual assaulters, and Russian assets

are more popular than

Muhammed Ali, Ellen, Civil liberty, and Gold star parents.

Sent from my SM-N950U using Tapatalk

[Holman]

Moore is on Hannity's radio show.

I'm not listening (since I would wind up shoving sharp pencils through my eardrums), but accounts are that Moore was having a *very* difficult time issuing a flat denial until after the break. He kept asserting that he didn't remember or it was unlikely or the 14-y.o.'s story was a surprise or it would have been strange for him to date that young, but he couldn't quite assert that it never happened.

[tgb]

At least he's not claiming was drunk.

(yet)