Roy Moore, two days after his stinging defeat in the special election for a vacant Alabama U.S. Senate seat, is still refusing to concede the election to rival Doug Jones. And as Slate reports, Moore is citing the Bible as his reason for refusing to admit defeat.
In a video released on Wednesday night, the disgraced candidate laid out his 10 reasons — actually 11, but more on that in a few paragraphs — why he refuses to concede the election to Jones. To hear Moore tell it, the very future of civilization depends on him winning that Senate seat, and he’s not going to give up so easily. Note that here “civilization” means “Roy Moore’s definition of civilization, where gays have no rights and the U.S. is a Christian theocracy.”
Let’s take a look at those reasons.
1. “We are indeed in a struggle to preserve our republic, our civilization, and our religion and to set free a suffering humanity. And the battle rages on.”
Actually, Roy, Christianity is not going anywhere, and neither is civilization – at least, as civilized Americans see it. Americans who view “civilization” as “the right to sexually harass teenage girls” are hopefully becoming irrelevant, and our republic is in far more danger from Donald Trump than it is from any marginalized group that you don’t like. So there’s that.
2. “Because I believe the heart and soul of our country is at stake.”
Actually, Roy, I kind of agree with you here. I watched in horror back in August when a white supremacist drove his car into a crowd and killed a woman. I watched in horror hours later when the same man who endorsed you for Senator blamed “both sides” for the deadly violence. I watched in horror when that same president used the words “very fine people” to describe the white supremacists who were in Charlottesville. You’re right, the heart and soul of our country are at stake, but not for the reasons you think.
3. “Today, we no longer recognize the universal truth that God is the author of our life and liberty.”
Well, since the Constitution is abundantly clear on that point, it’s not up to politicians to proselytize the American people, nor is it up to the government to write laws based on what politicians’ God says those laws should be.
4. “Abortion, sodomy, and materialism have taken the place of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.”
What power do you think you would have to address these issues in the Senate, Roy? On abortion, you may cast a vote that restricts abortion — a vote that will almost certainly be overturned in the Supreme Court. Ditto for “sodomy,” as you call it. And as for materialism, I’m not even sure what your beef is here. You quote the Declaration of Independence, which espouses the right to the pursuit of happiness. And for some Americans, that means “desiring material goods.” So what?
5. “We have stopped prayer in our schools.”
Good. Not every kid in school is a Christian (and let’s be clear here, you’re not talking about Muslim, Jewish, Hindu, or Buddhist prayers, are you?).
More than 24 hours later, Roy Moore refuses to concede Alabama Senate race to Doug Jones https://t.co/k2w4fMdfX5 pic.twitter.com/LdDgsSTGOO
— Washington Examiner (@dcexaminer) December 14, 2017
6. “We have killed over 60 million of our unborn children.”
This article isn’t the place to hash out the abortion debate, so there’s not much to say here. Although, as I said a couple of paragraphs above, any one senator’s ability to do anything about abortion is severely limited by the checks and balances laid out in the Constitution. Abortion isn’t going anywhere.
7. “We have redefined marriage and destroyed the basis of family, which is the building block of our Country.”
Seriously, Roy. If you believe that two men who love each other, or two women who love each other, aren’t fit to be a family, then there’s nothing more to be said here. You are a bigot, plain and simple.
8. “We have even begun to recognize the right of a man to claim to be a woman, and vice versa.”
Good.
9. “We have allowed Judges and justices to rule over our Constitution, and we have become slaves to their tyranny.”
Funny you would say that, Roy, since you yourself were a judge. I say “were” here because you’ve been removed from judges’ posts twice in your career for various shenanigans. Tyranny indeed.
10. “Immorality sweeps over our land.”
You’re right, Roy. Most of the things you stand for are immoral. You once said that getting rid of all of the amendments after the 10th would “eliminate many problems.” Those amendments freed the slaves and gave blacks and women the right to vote.
The Technical Reason
Beyond his fervent desire to see the U.S. turned into a Christian theocracy one way or the other, Moore has another reason for refusing to concede the election, and this is a technical one rather than a Biblical one. He continues to believe that as-yet-uncounted military and provisional ballots will tip the election in his favor. As USA Today reports, even Alabama’ Secretary of State John Merrill — himself a Republican, like Moore — believes that highly unlikely.
The Takeaway
It’s time for Roy Moore to admit that the people of Alabama have spoken: they do not want him in the United States Senate. It’s time to step aside and let Doug Jones, a man who actually prosecuted the KKK rather than seemingly agreeing with them, become U.S. senator.