MOORE, CLINTON, TRUMP, SEX, POWER, POLITICS, AND HYPOCRISY

The past few months have seen a gush, akin to when an abscess is lanced, of accusations of sexual molestation, assault, criminal genital exposure and rape, by powerful men in the entertainment and political fields. Noteworthy are the disgusting revelations of sexual criminal infractions by Harvey Weinstein and Bill Cosby, both of whom were incriminated by over forty women. Then there were the sickening descriptions of sexual abuse of hundreds of minors for decades, by a US Olympic doctor. It was in this unsterile environment that a detailed complaint in the Washington Post was published accusing the Republican candidate, Judge Roy Moore, for the vacant Senate seat in Alabama, of sexually molesting a fourteen year old young girl by touching her genitals and pushing his erect penis against her, albeit thirty - eight years ago. The Post expose included reports from three other teenagers on whom Moore had forced himself. All in all the reporters interviewed thirty witnesses to corroborate their story. 

An added allegation, where a sexual assault was graphically described by a complainant who claimed that it took place when she was sixteen, painted a darker and darker picture of the Judge. Also surfacing now is the fact that he was banned from the town shopping mall as there had been complaints that he was harassing teenagers for dates. 

The initial report unleashed a torrent of revulsion as well as an vigorous defense of Moore. Particularly revealing were the responses of Moore’s supporters which were mainly couched in political overtones. This championing of Moore was not particularly surprising in the light of the fact that the Republican Candidate for President of the United States confessed that he grabbed women’s pussies, which confession did no damage to his electoral chances. In addition several women detailed sexual molestation by Trump. For all that Trump was elected President with a majority of white women voting for him. Moore a devout Evangelical Christian was even more entitled to support in these circumstances.

HOW ARE THE COMPLAINTS OF SEXUAL VIOLATIONS, HARASSMENT AND INAPPROPRIATE BEHAVIOR VIEWED?

It is fair to say the cultural and moral climate relating to the treatment of women has been changed for the better. The “Me Too” movement of women victims has achieved a number of important objectives - a public airing of a criminal problem that appears endemic, empowerment of the victims and some legal actions and education of the problem. In addition several of those who have committed criminal activities have been removed from their prominent positions. However, Ms. Corfman's graphic and detailed description has not been universally acknowledged as criminal activity.  Nor do the majority of Mr. Moore’s backers believe there is any truth or merit in her accusations. Several others believe whether the claims are true or not they do not disqualify Moore from being a representative of the State of Alabama. 

Often the issue of sexual molestation in all its forms is not regarded as a crime or a disgrace but rather a political issue as illustrated by the response in Alabama.  Anita Hill, in the wake of the recent tsunami of sexual harassment and assault revelations, cynically maintained that condemnation of the recent violators had nothing to do with the “crime” but, rather, that the victims were important enough to have notice taken of them. What Ms. Hill was recognizing was that there were now very powerful women too. Nevertheless she was only partially correct. More important is the role politics plays in the judgment of the alleged malfeasance. It is not only politics with a capital P but all political activity within corporations and institutions, including decisions made where money could be lost by diminished ratings and advertising as in the cases of Louis C K and Kevin Spacey. There have also been a host of “settlements” by celebrities notably from Fox News luminaries, the details of which are under seal.

What materially aids those who wish to either condemn or support an allegation, whether it be on the spectrum between rape or an isolated perceived offensive remark or non sexual touch, is the lumping of any and every one of these behaviors and all those inbetween as “inappropriate” or loosely as “sexual harassment”. Ms. Corfman’s complaints are more often than not referred to as “inappropriate acts” when they are criminal assaults. The term sexual harassment is also loosely bandied about when it is a concept defined by law. All this sloppy discourse makes it more easy to politicize the response to a complaint which, regardless of the actual allegations, is invariably labelled as “inappropriate” behavior or “sexual harassment”.  Using these generic terms can also result in libeling individuals and false accusations. So it is in everyone’s interest to clearly lay out exactly what the victim details and define it according to law. Needless to say if there is going to be a legal or any other sanction the accused is entitiled to due process.

 MOORE AND HIS DEFENSE.

Roy Moore isn’t any old Southern evangelist, he is their poster child. He has railed against immorality for decades. As Chief Justice of Alabama he refused a Supreme Court injunction to remove a sculpture of the Ten Commandments which violated the separation of Church and State. Rather than comply with the order he had to be ejected from the bench. His political response to the Corfman allegation was illustrative of the hypocritical attitude of a political figure, who has ironically been regarded as the arbiter of public morality in Alabama for decades. Moore utilized the “attack”, which he characterized as “spiritual warfare”, to appeal for funds. He argued that, “The forces of evil will lie, cheat, steal even inflict physical harm if they believe it will silence and shut up Christian conservatives like you and me. Their goal is to frustrate and slow our campaign’s progress to help the Obama - Clinton Machine to silence our conservative message. That’s why I must be able to count on the help of God-fearing conservatives like you to stand with me at this critical moment”. Moore is in this for the duration. 

 Just in case Moore hadn’t made it clear his chief backer Stephen Bannon compared the Washington Post report to the same fake news as the release of Trump’s “Access Hollywood” tape and hinted that there was a conspiracy at work. He ranted that, “The Bezos Amazon Washington Post that dropped the dime on Donald Trump is the same Bezos Amazon Washington Post that dropped the dime on Judge Roy Moore. Now is that coincidence?…. the intention was to attack and destroy Trump”.

While the national Republican Party, reeling from its election reverses in a number of States across the country distanced themselves from Moore and eventually called for him to “step aside”, the Alabama Republican response was unequivocally supportive. In a report by Eric Levenson, of CNN, the comments of over a dozen community leaders explained why they were still behind him. Mike Allison, Pastor of the Methodist Church, claimed that he was a man of integrity - “I don’t believe these allegations. There is a lot of fake news going around these days”. Dottie Finch claimed even if the allegations were true she would stand behind Moore. She argued, “And if it has happened, the good Lord has forgiven him….”

Moore’s campaign chairman echoed the political mantra, “Judge Roy Moore is winning with a double - digit lead. So it is no surprise, with just over four weeks remaining in the race for the US Senate with national implications, that the Democratic Party and the country’s most liberal newspaper would up with a fabrication of this kind". Jim Zeigler, the State auditor, gave the defense a biblical twist - “..take Joseph and Mary. Mary was a teenager and Joseph was an adult carpenter. They became the parents of Jesus. There’s just nothing immoral or illegal here. Maybe just a little bit unusual”. Then there was the lapse of time that had passed which was frequently utilized to delegitimize the plaintiffs. The  Marion County Leader of the GOP, exemplified the latter, “It happened forty years ago. I don’t see the relevance of it now.” The Bibi County Chairman summed up the message, “I would vote for Judge Moore because I wouldn’t want to vote for Doug. I am not saying I support what he did”.

THE POLITICAL OUTCOME OF ALABAMA’S MOORE

The Republican Party are in deep trouble at the moment and this is a lose -  lose situation. Without Moore they have only fifty - one Senate votes making the passing of any legislation even more difficult. However, Moore may be able to play in the deep South but he and his brand, even without the criminal sexual allegations, are toxic to the rest of the country. 

There is another issue that Moore is central to - the battle for control of the Republican Party between Bannon, who backed him in the GOP Primary, and McConnell the leader in the Senate, who opposed him. Both Moore and Bannon have vowed McConnell will be axed as head of the Senate GOP. It is thus not surprising that McConnell, changed his mind from asking for Moore’s withdrawal only if “the allegations were true” to demand that Moore “step aside” as he, McConnell “believes the women”. The transition from a legal to a political interpretation may indicate that McConnell is ready to take Bannon on. An issue as gross as sexual assault of young girls is one on which he should have the support of the majority of the Republican Party as it has caused revulsion across the nation. The latest sordid story of assault makes the imperative to get shot of Moore even more urgent.

So if Moore gets elected then he will face a Senate ethics investigation and McConnell says he will be expelled. As matters stand the odds are for a Moore victory as Trump won Alabama by twenty - eight percent. It was expected that the result what be far closer even before the raucous, some pundits even giving the Democrat a shot. The last time the Judge was up for election for Chief Justice he only narrowly beat the Democratic contender. 

Interestingly, the Democrats don’t believe there is much to be gained by getting heavily involved with their candidate thereby turning Alabama into a national referendum. Fresh of their recent eye popping electoral successes the conventional wisdom is that it would be wisest to leave be and allow the Alabama tussle to be what it is - yet another battle in the war for the heart and soul of the GOP and if they win its a big bonus.

The Democrats, in the mean time, will just sit back trying to conceal their delight. However, if they want to keep the momentum going they have to get sane proposals on the deck otherwise their ascendency might be short-lived as the electorate are currently in revolt with “the swamp” and want honest opaque governance.

PAUSE FOR THOUGHT

For reasons that are obvious Trump will not face an ethical investigation in the Senate. 

Some of the complainants in volunteering that they voted for Trump were unconsciously acknowledging the politics involved needed to bolster their credibility. More of a paradox is the unconscious mechanisms at work that allowed for victims of sexual molestation to vote for a President who was a serial self confessed sexual assaulter.

The biggest loser in this saga is,Trump. Besides the refocus on his own past, whatever he does he will see an erosion of support. If he doesn't call for Moore to "stand aside" the steady peeling off of his swing votes will accelerate. If he joins McConnell, a.k.a. "the swamp", he will see the first melting of his, up till now, loyal base.

PAUSE FOR AN AFTERTHOUGHT - CLINTON, TRUMP, POLITICS AND CULPABILITY

Suppose Robert Mueller could find nothing related to Trump’s collusion with Russia, his finances or obstruction of justice but he hears that one of the complainants against Trump in unrelated sexual harassment litigation relating to the “Access Hollywood” tape has proof of her charge. He obtains the depositions in that litigation.

 Then Mueller has to finally depose Trump to wrap his own investigation up. He confronts Trump with the evidence. Needless to say, under oath Trump denies all the harassment allegations and the corroboratory evidence that Mueller had obtained from the depositions of other witnesses. Trump has now lied under oath and obstructed justice albeit in an unrelated case of alleged sexual harassment and that is grounds for impeachment! Off the charts? Not at all that is exactly what happened to Bill Clinton. Ken Starr, who was appointed by a panel of Republican judges, spent eighty million dollars to “get the goods” on Clinton relating to the Whitewater Property Land Deals and whether he and Hillary murdered Vince Foster only to find naught. However in a deposition in the unrelated Paula Jones sexual harassment case Clinton lied that he did not have a consensual sexual relationship with Monica Lewinsky thereby obstructing justice. Starr successfully presented his referral to a grateful Republican Congress for impeachment.

What is the difference between then and now? Why is the impeachment of Trump not a certainty when there is, for starters, a prima facie case for obstruction of justice on what the public knows alone?  Without going into too much detail, does the fact that both Legislative bodies in Clinton’s Presidency were from the opposing Republican party while in Trump’s Presidency the Legislative Bodies are from Trump’s party, have anything to do with the outcome? Jay H. Ell believes so.

It is interesting to note that seventy percent of Evangelicals maintained while Clinton was President, that failings in one’s personal life disqualified him to be President. In a similar survey of Evangelicals conducted in relation to a Trump Presidency, the numbers were reversed and seventy percent now believed that one’s personal failings did not disqualify the candidate from being President.