For right-minded folks everywhere, watching the U.S. Senate returns from Alabama Tuesday brought a nail-biting, almost post-traumatic sense of "Haven't we been here before?" But this time, infused with a newfound cynicism from last November's presidential returns and all that has transpired since then, you braced for the worst.
Like the bigger one, this election would also be a referendum on core American values of decency, truth, humility, respect for women, children, people of other races and sexual orientations. Would voters reward what has been a systematic assault on those values under Donald Trump's presidency by electing Roy Moore?
They did not. That Doug Jones' defeat of Moore came out of one of the reddest, deepest Southern states made the victory that much more meaningful, and not just because a Democrat beat a Republican. This showed that if a majority of voters in Alabama have had enough of lies, hatred and sexually predatory behavior from the White House's chief occupant and his surrogates to surmount party affiliation, so can the rest of the country. All it takes is enough voters who care.
We have African-American voters primarily to thank for the outcome because they made up about a third of voters, and overwhelmingly supported Jones. Moore, who stands accused of preying sexually on teenagers as young as 14 while he was a prosecutor, still had a majority of white voters' support including, incredibly, white women's. Exit polls and media interviews with some brought confounding explanations.
"I just think he's an incredible Christian man," said one white woman.
"I need to see it with my own eyes," said another white woman, of the sex-abuse allegations. "Until I see it with my own eyes, I don't believe anything."
That's some of what decency is up against these days. But we saw a swing away from Moore of white, moderate and upper-income Republican voters in cities and suburbs. "The abandonment of Mr. Moore by affluent white voters, along with strong support from black voters, proved decisive, allowing Mr. Jones to transcend Alabama's rigid racial polarization and assemble a winning coalition," said The New York Times. A third-party write-in campaign claimed more than 20,000 votes, about the same number Jones won by.
Some observers even speculate there was a silent revolt among white women who claimed to support Moore to please their husbands, but secretly voted for Jones. Even that had echoes of last November, when polls were showing Hillary Clinton ahead. Some Trump voters evidently wouldn't admit it to pollsters.
Is the tide turning? Does this mark a repudiation of Trump or does it take an extremist, child-abusing conspiracy theorist to pull votes away from his anointed candidates?
Core supporters will remain regardless of the evidence. But the importance of reaching out to minority, low-income and other voters who haven't felt represented can't be overstated. That means making the election outcome relevant to their lives. It means starting now to resist voter suppression efforts, including redistricting efforts that dilute the minority vote, onerous voter ID requirements and the permanent disenfranchisement of former prisoners.
Kudos to those Republicans who did that, including senior Alabama Sen. Richard Shelby, who refused to support Moore. And thanks to the National Republican Senatorial Committee, which refused to donate to his campaign.
Shame on the White House for first claiming that if allegations were true, Moore should withdraw from the race, but doing nothing to determine if they were. Ultimately Trump threw his wholehearted support behind Moore. And shame on Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell for reversing his call that Moore drop out.
But there are decent people; decency isn't the exclusive franchise of any one region or party. As the clamor for it spreads, many more surprises could be in store. For now, though Tuesday's outcome restores some faith.
Rekha Basu (rbasu@dmreg.com) is a columnist for the Des Moines Register.