Senate candidate Roy Stewart Moore, the former Alabama state judge and alt-right provocateur, poses a major threat to the Republican party and the American people should he win the United States Senate seat vacated by Jeff Sessions. This race highlights the very significant issues that are being faced by the Republican Party as well as the lengths to which certain members are willing to go to maintain their own agendas.
Those who have followed Mr. Moore’s illustrious and notorious career know the highs and the lows: he was twice been elected to and twice removed from the Alabama Supreme Court, once for refusing to remove a monument to the Ten Commandments from the grounds of the Alabama Supreme Court Building, and once for encouraging state officials and judges to ignore a federal court ruling which overturned a ban on same-sex marriage. He is known to be an advocate of far-right politics and has been in the spotlight on more than one occasion for his strongly anti-homosexual, anti-Muslim, and alt-right views, as well as his strong beliefs that Christianity should go hand-in-hand with government and public policy.
Certainly the most recent allegations by multiple women of sexual misconduct have not helped Mr. Moore’s arguments as to his ethical and moral character. However, we also must look at the actual politics of this situation, and Mr. Moore’s extreme alt-right views, which are clearly a threat to those in Washington like Mitch McConnell and Paul Ryan.
So, what happens if Moore actually wins the Senate race in Alabama, and why are the Republicans trying so hard to keep him out?
If Moore wins it adds another alt-right member to breathe additional life into the “new” Republicans—the Trump Republicans.
The Trump Republicans have strong alt-right leanings, racist views, big business in their back pockets, and have thrown their ethics out the window. It means that the centrist and moderate conservative Republicans are in for the fight of their lives if they want to maintain control of the party. And it means the American people are in for the fight of their lives if they want to maintain any semblance of a government that is not entirely bought and paid for by giant corporations and big banks. A government, in fact, entirely oligarchical in nature, in which a small group exercises almost complete control, especially for corrupt and selfish purposes.
Moore’s election will mire down the Republican Party as they head towards the 2018 elections with the hopes of winning more seats. Moore will saddle the party with his controversies, and their current legislative agenda will be overshadowed by Moore’s ethical and moral shortcomings.
Clearly, establishment Republicans are hoping that if they continue to attack a problem (Moore) for long enough, and with enough varied methods, they might eventually succeed. If Moore steps down or loses the election, then while Republicans will have one less vote in the Senate, it still preserves McConnell’s and Ryan’s control of the Republican Party.
Only time will tell as this dramatic special election continues to unfold. If Roy Moore emerges victorious the real loser is the American people as its government falls further into the hands of giant corporations and big banks.
I call on Republicans and Democrats to reach across the aisle and work together. It’s time for both parties to stop being so divided. Join forces to fight the agendas at work in Washington, and the attacks on the poor, on minorities, on women, and on the working class Americans in this country.