Last week, the Washington Post dropped a bombshell story about Roy Moore, the Republican candidate for Alabama’s open Senate seat. The article alleges that Moore sexually assaulted a 14-year-old when he was 32, and also pursued relationships with girls aged 16, 17, and 18. Thirty different people with knowledge of the situation corroborated the reports. I’m inclined to believe said allegations, just as I believe the allegations against Harvey Weinstein.
After the news broke, calls came from throughout the political world for Moore to exit the Senate race, with many of these demands coming from Republican Senators. But many GOP calls carried a disappointing caveat: if the allegations are true. Donald Trump, who has been accused by 15 different women of sexual harassment/assault, echoed the sentiment that Moore’s removal from the Senate race should hinge on the truth of the allegations. This is an extremely disappointing statement to make, as these allegations not only seem to be painfully accurate, but also because it perpetuates the unfortunate trend to not believe female accusers.
If you think the Republican Senatorial response was weak, then Alabama Republicans will blow you right out of the water. Multiple Alabama state GOP officials not only defended Moore, but also went so far to actually defend the actions themselves. As Alabama State Auditor Jim Zeigler must disgustingly put it, “Take Joseph and Mary. Mary was a teenager and Joseph was an adult carpenter. They became parents of Jesus.” The are so many things wrong with this statement that I don’t even have enough words to start, but I’ll note that the most notable thing about Mary’s giving birth of Jesus was that she was a virgin.
Using the birth of Jesus to defend sexual assault is a new moral low. Welcome to the ongoing departure of decency. It didn’t begin with Roy Moore, but it is rearing the ugliest of heads at this moment in history. It should be a universal truth that sexual assaulters are unfit for office. However, I’m not surprised to see Republicans cover for an accused rapist to get into power. They did the same thing on November 8, 2016.
