In a shocking upset .....

In the real world
Post Reply
User avatar
Angharrad
Captain
Captain
Posts: 1972
Joined: Sat May 02, 2009 2:24 am
Location: In the big chair, finally, swinging my feet 'cause I'm short. Lower the chair Scotty DAMMIT
Contact:

In a shocking upset .....

Post by Angharrad »

the pedophile lost.

Once a Long Shot, Democrat Doug Jones Wins Alabama Senate Race
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — Doug Jones, a Democratic former prosecutor who mounted a seemingly quixotic Senate campaign in the face of Republican dominance here, defeated his scandal-scarred opponent, Roy S. Moore, after a brutal campaign marked by accusations of sexual abuse and child molestation against the Republican.

The upset delivered an unimagined victory for Democrats and shaved Republicans’ unstable Senate majority to a single seat.

Mr. Jones’s victory could have significant consequences on the national level, snarling Republicans’ legislative agenda in Washington and opening, for the first time, a realistic but still difficult path for Democrats to capture the Senate next year. It amounted to a stinging snub of President Trump, who broke with much of his party and fully embraced Mr. Moore’s candidacy, seeking to rally support for him in the closing days of the campaign.

Amid thunderous applause from his supporters at a downtown hotel, Mr. Jones held up his victory as a message to Washington from voters fed up with political warfare. For once, he said, Alabama had declined to take “the wrong fork” at a political crossroads.

“We have shown the country the way that we can be unified,” Mr. Jones declared, draping his election in the language of reconciliation and consensus. “This entire race has been about dignity and respect. This campaign has been about the rule of law.”

Mr. Trump tweeted his congratulations to Mr. Jones “on a hard fought victory.”

“The people of Alabama are great, and the Republicans will have another shot at this seat in a very short period of time,” he wrote. “It never ends!”

Propelled by a backlash against Mr. Moore, an intensely polarizing former judge who was accused of sexually assaulting young girls, Mr. Jones overcame the state’s daunting demographics and deep cultural conservatism. His campaign targeted African-American voters with a sprawling, muscular turnout operation, and appealed to educated white voters to turn their backs on the Republican Party.

Those pleas paid off on Tuesday, as precincts in Birmingham and its suburbs handed Mr. Jones overwhelming margins while he also won convincingly in Huntsville and other urban centers. The abandonment of Mr. Moore by affluent white voters, along with strong support from black voters, proved decisive, allowing Mr. Jones to transcend Alabama’s rigid racial polarization and assemble a winning coalition. And solidifying Mr. Jones’s victory were the Republican-leaning residents who chose to write in the name of a third candidate rather than back one of the two major party nominees. More than 20,000 voters here cast write-in ballots, which amounted to 1.7 percent of the electorate - about the same as Mr. Jones’s overall margin.

To progressive voters, Mr. Jones’s victory was a long-awaited rejection of the divisive brand of politics that Alabama has inevitably rewarded even as some of its Southern neighbors were turning to more moderate leaders.

At a party for Mr. Jones, Sue Bell Cobb, a former chief judge of the Alabama Supreme Court, said that he had overcome a culture of “toxic partisanship,” reaching out to Republicans and electrifying restive Democrats.

“Never has there been this level of civic engagement,” said Ms. Cobb, who is planning to run for governor next year. “Never has it happened.”

She was drowned out by a raucous cry from her fellow Democrats and clasped her hands to her face as she saw on a huge projection screen that Mr. Jones had pulled ahead. Mayor Randall Woodfin of Birmingham, a newly inaugurated Democrat standing just feet away, beamed as returns from his city helped put Mr. Jones over the top.

“It feels great,” he said with undisguised elation. “It sends a message not just to America but to the world.”

The campaign, originally envisioned as a pro forma affair to fill the Senate seat left vacant by Jeff Sessions, now the attorney general, developed in its final months into a referendum on Alabama’s identity, Mr. Trump’s political influence and the willingness of hard-right voters to tolerate a candidate accused of preying on teenage girls.

Mr. Jones, 63, best known for prosecuting two Ku Klux Klansmen responsible for the 1963 bombing of Birmingham’s 16th Street Baptist Church, offered himself chiefly as a figure of conciliation. He vowed to pursue traditional Democratic policy aims, in areas such as education and health care, but also pledged to cross party lines in Washington and partner with Senator Richard C. Shelby, the long-tenured Alabama Republican, to defend the state’s interests.

Mr. Moore did little in the general election to make himself more acceptable to conventional Republicans. To the extent he delivered a campaign message, it was a rudimentary one, showcasing his support for Mr. Trump and highlighting Mr. Jones’s party affiliation. But after facing allegations in early November that he sexually abused a 14-year-old girl and pursued relationships with other teenagers, Mr. Moore became a scarce presence on the campaign trail.

On election night, as the results came in from Alabama’s cities and Mr. Moore’s lead evaporated, the mood at the candidate’s election night party in Montgomery darkened. A saxophonist played a slow rendition of “Amazing Grace,” and the crowd quieted as the results from The New York Times website posted on a projection screen turned toward Mr. Jones.

Taking the stage over an hour after The Associated Press called the race, Mr. Moore refused to concede and instructed a subdued crowd to “wait on God and let this process play out.”

“Go home and sleep on it,” he told supporters.

The election is a painful setback for Republicans in Washington, who have already struggled to enact policies of any scale and now face even tougher legislative math. Mr. Moore’s success in the Republican primary here, and the subsequent general-election fiasco, may deter mainstream Republicans from seeking office in 2018 and could prompt entrenched incumbents to consider retirement.

But there is also a measure of relief for some party leaders that Mr. Moore will not join the chamber, carrying with him a radioactive cloud of scandal. A number of Republicans, including Senator Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, the majority leader, had indicated that Mr. Moore would face an ethics investigation if he were elected, and possibly expulsion from the Senate.

Mr. Trump and Republican activists would most likely have opposed such a measure, setting up a potentially drastic, monthslong clash within the Republican Party, now averted thanks to Mr. Jones.

Still, that relief comes at a steep price. Before the election in Alabama, Republicans were heavily favored to keep control of the Senate in 2018, when Democrats must defend 25 seats, including 10 in states that Mr. Trump carried in 2016. Just two or three Republican-held seats appear vulnerable, in Arizona, Nevada and Tennessee.

But after Mr. Jones is sworn in, Republicans will control only 51 seats, creating a plausible route for Democrats to take over.

If the election burst into the national consciousness in early November, with the sex-abuse claims against Mr. Moore, it was an intensifying political migraine for Republican leaders months before then. Mr. Trump’s decision to pluck Mr. Sessions from the Senate in early 2017 touched off a grim comedy of errors for the party, involving two Alabama governors, a Senate appointment widely seen as tainted by corruption, a rescheduled special election and a botched attempt by national Republican donors to crush dissent in the Republican primary.

For all their efforts, party leaders were rewarded with Mr. Moore, whom they grudgingly embraced in the early fall — just in time for a scandal of unmatched luridness to appear.

The Washington Post reported in early November that Mr. Moore, while a local prosecutor in his 30s, had made sexual overtures to four teenage girls, one of whom was 14 at the time of their encounter. Other women soon stepped forward to say Mr. Moore had made advances on them, too, one of whom accused him of committing sexual assault.

National Republican officials abandoned Mr. Moore’s campaign. Yet after it appeared that Mr. Moore remained viable, Mr. Trump offered a Thanksgiving week defense of the candidate and urged the people of Alabama to oppose Mr. Jones.

Mr. Trump’s intervention helped stabilize Mr. Moore’s campaign. When the president made the case for the Republican’s candidacy at a Friday rally in the Gulf Coast town of Pensacola, Fla., just over the Alabama border, Mr. Jones’s campaign saw its internal polling advantage dissipate.

Yet the conclusion of the campaign was largely to Mr. Jones’s benefit.

Mr. Jones raised $10.2 million in just over a month and a half, and third-party groups augmented his candidacy, helping him finance an extensive voter turnout effort after he had dominated the state’s airwaves for weeks.

He raced across Alabama with a handful of out-of-state surrogates and one local celebrity, the basketball star Charles Barkley, in the election’s last days, focusing his attention on cities, college towns and heavily black communities.

Mr. Moore, instead of facing questions about accusations of sexual abuse, largely vanished from the campaign in the last week. He returned to Alabama for a rally in the rural, southeast corner of the state on Monday with Stephen K. Bannon, Mr. Trump’s former chief strategist.

But the most memorable comments from the event did not come from Mr. Moore. Rather, they emerged from Mr. Bannon, who mocked the MSNBC host Joe Scarborough, a University of Alabama graduate, for not attending a more prestigious school; Mr. Moore’s wife, Kayla, who angrily denied charges the couple was anti-Semitic by noting “one of our attorneys is a Jew;” and an Army friend of the candidate, who recalled the two of them being uneasy walking into a Vietnam brothel to find “pretty girls” whom Mr. Moore found too young.
“You cannot play God then wash your hands of the things that you've created. Sooner or later, the day comes when you can't hide from the things that you've done anymore.”

And then Buffy staked Edward. The End.


From Slave to Princess
RK_Striker_JK_5
3 Star Admiral
3 Star Admiral
Posts: 12986
Joined: Wed Jul 25, 2007 5:27 am
Commendations: The Daystrom Award, Cochrane Medal of Excellence
Location: New Hampshire
Contact:

Re: In a shocking upset .....

Post by RK_Striker_JK_5 »

And sanity reigns, however briefly!
User avatar
Nutso
2 Star Admiral
2 Star Admiral
Posts: 9614
Joined: Tue Apr 22, 2008 9:58 pm

Re: In a shocking upset .....

Post by Nutso »

I couldn't believe he was winning. It was a relief to awaken to that news this morning. Can't remember who said it but, this was likely Alabama Republicans not showing up to vote, while Alabama Democrats showed up to vote. Shouldn't have been that hard to beat a man who believes in relations with 14 year olds.
"Bible, Wrath of Khan, what's the difference?"
Stan - South Park
RK_Striker_JK_5
3 Star Admiral
3 Star Admiral
Posts: 12986
Joined: Wed Jul 25, 2007 5:27 am
Commendations: The Daystrom Award, Cochrane Medal of Excellence
Location: New Hampshire
Contact:

Re: In a shocking upset .....

Post by RK_Striker_JK_5 »

Nutso wrote:I couldn't believe he was winning. It was a relief to awaken to that news this morning. Can't remember who said it but, this was likely Alabama Republicans not showing up to vote, while Alabama Democrats showed up to vote. Shouldn't have been that hard to beat a man who believes in relations with 14 year olds.
Well, Moore deserves some beating. Some kicks, some punches...
User avatar
Graham Kennedy
Site Admin
Site Admin
Posts: 11561
Joined: Mon Jul 09, 2007 2:28 pm
Location: Banbury, UK
Contact:

Re: In a shocking upset .....

Post by Graham Kennedy »

I confess, I was surprised and quite pleased by this.
Give a man a fire, and you keep him warm for a day. SET a man on fire, and you will keep him warm for the rest of his life...
User avatar
Nutso
2 Star Admiral
2 Star Admiral
Posts: 9614
Joined: Tue Apr 22, 2008 9:58 pm

Re: In a shocking upset .....

Post by Nutso »

Graham Kennedy wrote:I confess, I was surprised and quite pleased by this.
It's actually embarrassing that other Western countries knew about this.
"Bible, Wrath of Khan, what's the difference?"
Stan - South Park
User avatar
Teaos
4 Star Admiral
4 Star Admiral
Posts: 15368
Joined: Tue Jul 17, 2007 4:00 am
Commendations: The Daystrom Award
Location: Behind you!

Re: In a shocking upset .....

Post by Teaos »

2018 midterms looking up.
What does defeat mean to you?

Nothing it will never come. Death before defeat. I don’t bend or break. I end, if I meet a foe capable of it. Victory is in forcing the opponent to back down. I do not. There is no defeat.
User avatar
Graham Kennedy
Site Admin
Site Admin
Posts: 11561
Joined: Mon Jul 09, 2007 2:28 pm
Location: Banbury, UK
Contact:

Re: In a shocking upset .....

Post by Graham Kennedy »

Nutso wrote:
Graham Kennedy wrote:I confess, I was surprised and quite pleased by this.
It's actually embarrassing that other Western countries knew about this.
Well, part of the whole "Superpower leaders of the free world" thing is that other countries probably hear waaay more about America than America ever hears about us.

A hundred and fifty years ago the same would probably be true of us.
Give a man a fire, and you keep him warm for a day. SET a man on fire, and you will keep him warm for the rest of his life...
Talondor
Master chief petty officer
Master chief petty officer
Posts: 98
Joined: Thu Feb 26, 2015 6:38 am
Location: San Diego County, CA

Re: In a shocking upset .....

Post by Talondor »

As far as I know, Moore has yet to concede. I believe the state is considering a investigation into voter fraud because some democratic staffer made a off-the-cuff joke about out of state voters.
User avatar
Angharrad
Captain
Captain
Posts: 1972
Joined: Sat May 02, 2009 2:24 am
Location: In the big chair, finally, swinging my feet 'cause I'm short. Lower the chair Scotty DAMMIT
Contact:

Re: In a shocking upset .....

Post by Angharrad »

Talondor wrote:As far as I know, Moore has yet to concede. I believe the state is considering a investigation into voter fraud because some democratic staffer made a off-the-cuff joke about out of state voters.
Roy Moore releases poem, doesn't concede Senate race to Doug Jones
Republican Senate nominee Roy Moore released a poem on Christmas Eve, just days before the final totals in his losing effort against Democrat Doug Jones are to be certified.

Moore's self-written poem was posted to Facebook. It tells the story of a young girl whose father had died and the following Christmas miracle.

"Have a Blessed and Merry Christmas!" the note accompanying the video said.

Moore has not addressed his loss to Jones, the first Democrat in more than 20 years to be elected to the Senate from Alabama. The former Alabama Chief Justice hasn't conceded the race, saying he wanted to wait until all military and provisional ballots were counted. That happened last week and did not change the results of the election.

Moore's campaign has not responded to AL.com's requests for information on the judge's plans.

Meanwhile, the results of the Dec. 12 special election to the U.S. Senate are set to be certified Thursday, according to Alabama Secretary of State John Merrill. Jones is expected to take office shortly after the new year.
“You cannot play God then wash your hands of the things that you've created. Sooner or later, the day comes when you can't hide from the things that you've done anymore.”

And then Buffy staked Edward. The End.


From Slave to Princess
RK_Striker_JK_5
3 Star Admiral
3 Star Admiral
Posts: 12986
Joined: Wed Jul 25, 2007 5:27 am
Commendations: The Daystrom Award, Cochrane Medal of Excellence
Location: New Hampshire
Contact:

Re: In a shocking upset .....

Post by RK_Striker_JK_5 »

God. I'd say Moore is pathetic, but that's too dignified a description for the shithead.
User avatar
Nutso
2 Star Admiral
2 Star Admiral
Posts: 9614
Joined: Tue Apr 22, 2008 9:58 pm

Re: In a shocking upset .....

Post by Nutso »

It's officially over, Doug Jones is sworn in as Alabama Senator, by Vice President Mike Pence.

Image

https://www.washingtonpost.com/powerpos ... 252024ff37
Democrat Doug Jones was sworn in Wednesday as Alabama’s newest U.S. senator, reducing the Republican advantage to 51 to 49 and giving his party more room to impede President Trump’s 2018 legislative agenda.

Jones took his oath of office alongside former vice president Joe Biden, a longtime friend who had urged him to run last year. Tina Smith (D-Minn.) was also sworn in Wednesday to replace former senator Al Franken; she was joined by former vice president Walter Mondale.
"Bible, Wrath of Khan, what's the difference?"
Stan - South Park
User avatar
Graham Kennedy
Site Admin
Site Admin
Posts: 11561
Joined: Mon Jul 09, 2007 2:28 pm
Location: Banbury, UK
Contact:

Re: In a shocking upset .....

Post by Graham Kennedy »

I wonder just how much Pence was clenching his teeth...
Give a man a fire, and you keep him warm for a day. SET a man on fire, and you will keep him warm for the rest of his life...
RK_Striker_JK_5
3 Star Admiral
3 Star Admiral
Posts: 12986
Joined: Wed Jul 25, 2007 5:27 am
Commendations: The Daystrom Award, Cochrane Medal of Excellence
Location: New Hampshire
Contact:

Re: In a shocking upset .....

Post by RK_Striker_JK_5 »

Graham Kennedy wrote:I wonder just how much Pence was clenching his teeth...
I hope they chipped.
Talondor
Master chief petty officer
Master chief petty officer
Posts: 98
Joined: Thu Feb 26, 2015 6:38 am
Location: San Diego County, CA

Re: In a shocking upset .....

Post by Talondor »

One of Moore's accusers had her house burned down under suspicious and mysterious circumstances. But others have donated over $150,000 to help her rebuild.
Post Reply