In my initial article, I professed that there had been nothing illegal in any of the allegations, which had all been 35 to 40 years ago. They were creepy as hell, but no laws were broken in any of them. In a situation like that, the level of time that had passed can makes it forgivable. It's not like he was asking a 14 year old out last week. 40 years is a long time for lapses in judgement to be corrected so long as no laws were broken.
The last allegation came out shortly afterward, and it was considerably more violent than the previous ones. It was still over 30 years ago, but it goes beyond just innocent dates between two people who's ages are outside of social norms. According to the New York Times, a former newspaper, a Beverly Nelson laid an allegation of battery toward Moore that took place late in 1977 behind a restaurant that she claims to have worked at during that time. I'm not going to waste time going into the details that the mainstream media have plastered all over every screen they can get access to, or the conspiracy theories and evidence that the libertarian right have thrown out to try and discredit the story, but I do have to say this. I strongly stand by the right that Moore has to be innocent until he is proven to be guilty, but Assault and Battery is an issue that should be investigated at this point. Since there is no conviction, there is nothing that disqualifies him from serving in the Senate, short of public opinion. But, pending the investigation and trial, public opinion is up to the voters of Alabama to decide upon. McConnell, Trump, or any current sitting Congressman have any right or position to pass judgement. Allow us to let the legal system sort this out. That's what they are there for.
I stand by the thought that this whole situation stinks to high heaven. Most political commentators on the right seem to echo each other that it's awfully convenient that Moore was a political figure for 3 decades before any allegations came forward right when he's about to win an election that holds the slight Senate Majority. I'm mostly disturbed that in addition to them coming out, they didn't surface until after the primary election results were cemented in. And the final allegation didn't come in until after the vast majority of conservative pundits agreed that as long as nothing illegal happened, it was creepy, creepy water under the bridge. The primaries are the point that I keep coming back to though. Alabama has a "sore loser" law on the books. It was initially meant to protect the candidate that the people had chosen from attacks by his (or her) former opponents going into the general. But what it means is that should Moore get hung in the court of social media, considering that no investigation could be completed before the general election, the Alabama Republican Party can't put anyone else up in his place. The seat would have to fall to the ever unpredictable write-in process, or simply be conceded to a Democrat. Considering the lead that Moore enjoyed for as long as he did, one can't help but entertain the idea of the conspiracy that would destroy a special election campaign that would have otherwise been won much like all that have followed since Trump started appointing cabinet members.
In light of Beverly Young's accusation, what do you think of the whole situation? Do you think he did it? Do you think he was set up? I always welcome comments and discussion both here and over on Twitter. My handle is @edsblogtw1tter if you want to follow me to comment or read previous articles from my feed. If you like what you've read, go ahead and hit that like button, and consider hitting the retweet button as well. That would be cool of you. Remember, never take the words of journalists, bloggers, or podcasters as Gospel. Find all the facts, and draw your own conclusion. Thank you for reading.
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