The Latest Sinister Lothario: Judge Roy Moore

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Apparently conservatives in Alabama who would normally vote for Moore are having difficulty with the sexual abuse revelations, but they are more bothered that Doug Jones is pro-choice. On one of the talk shows yesterday, someone crafted it as, “Which would you rather vote for – someone who has no problem seeing unborn babies murdered, or electing someone who abuses young women?” To people who genuinely oppose abortion, the sexual abuser is the better alternative.

I understand the logic, I suppose.

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I believe that in that situation, you don’t vote. You can’t block an evil by condoning another.
We often have to choose between the least bad choice, but here if you’re a conservative Christian or anti abortion, both are evil.
I would sure hope that if there are pro choice people in Alabama (there has to be, right?) they’ll come out in droves.
Right now, some pastors have moved the ball: they’re saying, if Roy Moore is elected and we get to choose another Supreme Court justice, he’ll overturn Roe v. Wade. So, elect Roy Moore and save unborn babies, do the right thing and use him as a godly vehicle even if the vehicle is imperfect.
I don’t know whether there are pro choice groups in the state, but hopefully they’re saying the same thing - this could turn into a Supreme Court situation, anti abortion groups have organized and want Roy Moore to ensure Roe V; Wade is overturned; as well as saying their troops, if Doug Jones is elected, then taking the Senate becomes possible due to a possible pick up in AZ and NV in 2018, and the next Supreme Court Justice would be able to protect Roe v. Wade.
I wonder how this is playing on college campuses - UA Tuscaloosa, for instance, UAB, UAH.
(Can/Will the students vote?)

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Does anyone know how long this Senate seat will be filled by whoever is elected? In other words, when is the next normally scheduled election for this seat to be held?

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It’s a Class 2 seat, up for re-election in 2020.

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So even if Doug Jones wins this one, chances are good he’ll be replaced by a Republican in three years.

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Maybe when @Belle315 is done with Thanksgiving she can pop back on here.

I feel like the respect for life has to extend beyond birth. A stereotype that I have of Alabama is that as far as city and state government goes, Darwin’s law applies. The post desegregation gutting of public education is one facet of that.

Because I am a nerd on CC, I looked for education information. I found an article that lists the lowest achieving high schools by ACT scores. It will break your heart. Tarrant High School has an average ACT score of 13 but an AP participation rate of 56%. These kids are trying to be college ready but in no way are. It is criminal. http://www.al.com/news/index.ssf/2017/06/alabamas_lowest_act_scores.html We could debate causes/fixes/blame but the bottom line is these kids are being robbed.

http://www.al.com/news/index.ssf/2016/08/alabama_graduates_below_nation.html
…The average ACT composite score for graduates of Alabama public schools is 18.7 (down from 18.8 last year), compared to the national average of 20.8, according to the state Department of Education.
The average ACT score jumps to 19.1 when including both Alabama public and private school graduates…

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http://www.al.com/news/index.ssf/2017/09/study_ranks_best_counties_for.html
“…In 1980, 45 of the 54 rural counties in Alabama had a hospital that offered obstetrics. By 2016, that number had fallen to just 16 of those 54 counties. That means some women may driver two hours or more to reach a hospital with a labor & delivery department - or even to see an obstetrician for monthly checkups…”

nationally the baby mortality rate is 5.8
“…The infant mortality rate for black babies has steadily risen over the past several years to 15.3. Black babies die at three times the rate of white babies in Alabama…”

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To keep things honest, I checked the ACT data for my state where “all the children are above average.”

I did find some lower ACT scores (13-15) but almost all of them were schools that target special populations such as autism, students who don’t speak English, new charter schools, and nontraditional high school students.

Further honesty, my eyes started to glaze over by the late N’s. Perhaps I missed a huge can of worms. There is a link to a spreadsheet here: https://www.ohe.state.mn.us/dPg.cfm?pageID=792

And in my state the infant mortality rate is highest for the Native Americans. https://apps.health.state.mn.us/mndata/rep_mortality

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The problem with your analysis, snowball city, is that it ignores the demographics. Alabama has about twice the national average of African Americans as a percent of populace (25 vs. 13). As African American scores on the ACT/SAT nationwide, are lower, one should expect much lower state scores.

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However, in ACT scores, Alabama black students tend to do worse than black students in many other states and nationally, as do Alabama white students.

(Data from the pages that come up with a search for “ACT profile reports 2016 [state]”, such as https://www.act.org/content/dam/act/unsecured/documents/P_01_019999_S_S_N00_ACT-GCPR_Alabama.pdf .)



State           All     Black   White   Latino  Asian

Alabama         19.1    16.2    20.6    18.0    23.4

National        20.8    17.0    22.2    18.7    24.0

Florida         19.9    16.9    22.0    19.1    22.8
Georgia         21.1    18.0    23.1    20.2    24.9
Louisiana       19.5    17.0    21.2    19.4    22.7
Mississippi     18.4    16.1    20.4    18.5    22.6
Texas           20.6    17.6    23.2    18.4    25.0
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Would it play differently at different campuses, for example, UAH versus AAMU?

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To be fair, the accusations are decades old and there has been no indication thus far that he abuses young women in the current tense.

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While I dislike Judge Moore enormously, behavioral standards have evolved a lot in the last decade or two. In that fairy tale romance, a much older Prince Charles romantically noticed Diana when she was just 16. As the current outrage over past actions have demonstrated, there is much less tolerance for this type of behavior now. I don’t think Roman Polanski, or Michael Jackson, or many others would survive in today’s environment-which is a good thing, in my opinion.

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@sylvan8798 : You make a good point. His alleged actions were decades ago, and as far as we know, he’s been faithful in his marriage.

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There was one adult woman who discussed an incident in his office – I thought that was while he was married.

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I could accept the argument that times changes, that the social environment was different decades ago, but Roy Moore is still denying any of this took place and is calling the women liars.
If we are to overlook an indiscretion many years ago, surely he has to be honest about it happening.

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Agree that calling the victims liars doesn’t sound like he is willing to admit ANYTHING that he did was wrong. How can there be “redemption” if he doesn’t admit and show any contrition for his past misdeeds that are supported by LOTS of evidence?

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This article on Moore’s defense against the allegations is at once hilarious and eye-opening. He and his defense team have been trying to poke holes in the stories of the accusers, but it seems like every claim Moore has made in his defense has been wrong (less charitably, he’s lying his butt off and failing miserably). I hadn’t realized he’s been flailing around so much; hopefully these stories are getting airtime in Alabama.

http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/politics/2017/11/the_sham_defense_of_roy_moore.html

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The honorable Charles Barkely has commented on the Roy Moore mess. Barkely’s opinions carried a lot of weight in Alabama at one time because he is a relatively conservative and blunt Black man. Sir Charles says Moore is quite unqualified to be a U.S. Senator, or any other elected office.

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I think Sir Charles would take issue with that statement. He has been a long-time supporter of LGBT rights and is pro-choice. He might agree to be called “Republican.”