On Wednesday, Senator-Elect Doug Jones commended the women who came forward against Moore, expressed confidence in his campaign even before the allegations surfaced, and voiced his doubt that there will be a recount. (Dec. 13) AP
“The only way I can lose this election is if I’m caught in bed with a dead girl or a live boy.” So quipped the late Edwin Edwards, Democratic governor of Louisiana, in his comeback race in 1983. No boys or girls surfaced, and Edwards won.
In Alabama, on Tuesday, the girls were very much alive. They were teenagers when GOP U.S. Senate candidate Roy Moore was a grown man allegedly lurking on them, stalking them, even allegedly assaulting at least one. So Democrat Doug Jones won the special election to replace Attorney General Jeff Sessions. By 1.5 percent. According to unofficial results, 20,715 votes.
Still, Democrats danced like at Pentecostal camp meeting. Republicans hung their heads – then smiled. Some, anyway. A loss never felt so good.
Both parties look pathetic
Democrats – bless their hearts – see themselves ascendant. Republicans promise to erase the bit of blue in 2020 by nominating someone not an alleged pedophilic creep. Democrats praised their brilliance. Republicans blamed each other. From my view on Rocky Top, both parties look pathetic.
How, in the name of God and all that is good, could Republicans possibly nominate a man who had already been ousted from office twice? How could 650,436 Alabamians pull the lever or push the button for a guy who didn’t even know what a dreamer is, who disappeared for two days in the homestretch?
It was possible – and understandable – that the pro-life views of Moore trumped the tawdry. More than one Alabamian made the moral choice that Moore may have lusted after girls but at least he would not support the death and dismemberment in utero of both boys and girls like Jones would.
On the day of the election, I asked one Alabama female voter what she thought. “I’m a pistol-packing momma,” she said. She told the story of a friend’s daughter who moved away from home and was assaulted and killed in her apartment. She bought a gun for her own daughter. She voted Moore.
Are happy days really here again for Democrats in the South? The tight margin shows how Barack Obama decimated Democrats. Moore shows the depths possible with Donald Trump. And Steve Bannon. Which brings me to Tennessee.
Tennessee isn't Alabama
GOP Rep. Marsha Blackburn backs Trump. Former GOP Rep. Stephen Fincher less so. They compete to face former Democratic Gov. Phil Bredesen in the 2018 race to replace retiring GOP Sen. Bob Corker. If Trump continues to devastate the Republican brand, blue lightning could strike twice in the South.
But Tennessee is not Alabama. Blackburn and Fincher are quality candidates. With Tennessee’s economy humming along, social issues will matter more. If Bredesen dismisses deeply held convictions on abortion and guns as merely “wedge issues,” the GOP will turn out. Big time.
Democrats are energized by the tawdry Trump and emboldened by Jones’ win. Conservatives, meanwhile, reel from the crazy and quietly rejoice that Roy Moore is no more.
Greg Johnson’s column appears on Fridays. Follow him on Twitter @jgregjohnson. Visit his Greg Johnson Opinions Page on Facebook. Email him at jgregjohnson@hotmail.com.