By , ,
Published December 06, 2017
Democrats are feeling smugly morally superior right now. They should not.
Sen. Al Franken, D-Minn., might be resigning – not because he did anything wrong, though he did. He might be leaving the Senate because it is politically convenient for him to do so.
Do not kid yourself. If Al Franken was all that stood in the way of a Republican majority in the Senate, Democrats would be circling the wagons and attacking his accusers. They would be engaged in the very same activity some Republicans are engaged in over Alabama Republican Senate candidate Roy Moore’s accusers.
At this point in American history, moral preening is all about political power, not actually morals. Both parties engage in claiming moral high ground and the media more often than not lets Democrats claim it more easily than Republicans.
So when Roy Moore wins the election for Senate on Tuesday, the media will herald Al Franken as a paragon of virtue for “doing the right thing” (assuming he announces his resignation Thursday), only to use him to assail Republicans.
And yes, Roy Moore is going to win, despite the accusations of sexual misconduct against him from decades ago.
Moore is going to win because of a modern American phenomenon. The news cycle speeds along so fast that the Roy Moore story seems like last year’s news.
Moore is going to win because of a modern American phenomenon. The news cycle speeds along so fast that the Roy Moore story seems like last year’s news.
Americans have moved on to fired “Today” co-host Matt Lauer; questions about what NBC News executives knew about Matt Lauer’s alleged sexual misconduct; the resignation of Rep. John Conyers, D-Mich., after he was accused of sexual misconduct; and President Trump declaring Jerusalem to be Israel’s capital.
Everyone seems to have forgotten about the accusations of sexual misconduct against Roy Moore except the die-hard partisans.
Moore will also win because Democrats have done their best to make accusations of sexual misconduct a partisan issue. They stood by Conyers until it was politically convenient not to. They stood by Al Franken until it was politically convenient not to. Their walk-backs from Bill Clinton have been opportunistic.
And some of the loudest voices against Roy Moore are now accused of bad behavior themselves. Deeply cynical people in politics, combined with tribal American politics, have poisoned the conversation.
Moore will win his Senate race as well because Washington Republicans have declared him the enemy – and these days, the only thing the Republican base hates more than Democrats are the Washington Republicans who beg for their votes and then break their promises.
Sen. Jeff Flake, R-Ariz., engaging in a bit of cheap moral preening, sent Moore’s Democratic opponent, Doug Jones, a check declaring it was for “country over party.”
Flake could have stayed out of it. His $100 will not buy Doug Jones even a mail piece. But he is signaling he would rather stand with a man who would gladly round up Alabama guns, fund abortion on demand, and let men into women’s bathrooms in Alabama than stand with a man accused of child molestation.
There is a third choice. Flake could have stayed out of it altogether. Instead, like so many smug, condescending Washington politicians, a man who has aided and abetted the financial and moral bankrupting of America is telling Alabama voters that a vote for a man who loathes their moral values is a vote for “country” – and vote for a man who champions their moral values is a vote for “party.”
The conclusion we should all draw from this is that maintaining moral integrity is a really big deal. But Democrats had very little moral high ground when they called out Roy Moore, because they defended President Clinton for so long for his sexual misconduct. Then it turned out that many of the Hollywood stars they have allied with for years were, for those same years, doing terrible things. So the calls to do something about Roy Moore fell on deaf ears.
Republicans should take note of this. They now have a president who spends his days mean-tweeting and who has his own massive moral failings. Republicans who ignore the Moore situation because of partisan grandstanding by the left will one day be frustrated when no one listens to them. Both sides have cried wolf and turned enough blind eyes that everyone seems to be willfully deaf and blind.
The Christian Church in America should be serving as a prophetic voice at this time. Unfortunately, much of the evangelical community has decided to serve as a wing of the Republican Party. Pastors are more interested in seats as the table of power than rooms in their Father’s house. And it is only going to get worse.
https://www.foxnews.com/opinion/roy-moore-is-going-to-win-his-senate-race-despite-democrats-phony-claim-of-moral-superiority