Opinion: The Roy Moore mess actually began with the Trump ‘Access Hollywood’ tape

Washington Post ^ | November 10, 2017 | By Paul Waldman

[Oldeconomybuyer]

Roy Moore may or may not become a U.S. senator, but he was fortunate that the explosive allegations about him pursuing relationships with teenage girls (one as young as 14) while he was in his 30s emerged at a time in his party’s history when it had been preparing for years to defend something like this.

If Moore’s political ambitions survive, he’ll have President Trump — and the way the GOP, in service to Trump, abandoned any pretense of moral principle — to thank. [snip]

But if you read the story, it’s almost impossible to believe it isn’t true. Our reporters found four different women, none of whom know each other, telling similar stories of Moore pursuing them when they were teenagers. They didn’t come forward themselves — the reporters, after hearing rumors that apparently had been circulating in Alabama for years, tracked them down and convinced them to share their stories. They have nothing to gain. Relatives and friends corroborate the stories. And if more women don’t come forward, I’d be shocked.

In short, the Republican Party has made amply clear that it holds no moral principle above seizing and maintaining power. So a U.S. Senate candidate hit on teenage girls as a man in his 30s? If he can get away with it, Republicans can live with it.

[EDINVA]

I think it’s more about them wanting to see another R defeat/humiliation after VA earlier this week. The R senators and insiders going along with this without a single shred of evidence, within minutes of the stories ‘hitting the wires,’ is making me physically sick. Filthy bunch they are.