It's been proven again and again if you are in a public position be part of the silent majority.

Allred is from California, unless you mean me, in which case, yeah, but God knows I've tried.

Our view: Alabama voters must reject Roy Moore; we endorse Doug Jones for U.S. Senate

This election is a turning point for women in Alabama. A chance to make their voices heard in a state that has silenced them for too long.

The accusations against Roy Moore have been horrifying, but not shocking.

Every day new allegations arise that illustrate a pattern of a man in his 30s strutting through town like the cock of the walk, courting and preying on young women and girls. And though Roy Moore has denied the accusations of these women, his own platform and record is hostile to so many Alabamians.

Unlike the national party, the Alabama Republican establishment has chosen to stand by him, attacking and belittling the brave women who have come forward.

As a news organization, we have independently investigated stories of several Alabama woman who have spoken to us and the Washington Post about the abuse they say they suffered at the hands of Roy Moore decades ago.

The seriousness of these incidents, including one involving a 14-year-old child, cannot be overstated. Nor can the growing number of accusations -- from the women who were at the receiving end of unwanted adult male overtures as teens, to those who say they were physically assaulted --  be parsed with talk of statutes of limitations or whether proof has been recorded on a stone tablet. In the American system, proof beyond a reasonable doubt is a consideration for the courtroom, not the ballot box. It is our job as voters to look closely at the candidates and make up our own minds.

Do not let this conversation be muddled. This election has become a referendum on whether we will accept this kind of behavior from our leaders.

Alabamians have never cared about what the rest of country thinks of them. And we do not expect all the handwringing from national pundits, conservative or liberal, to make much of a difference. This election isn't about what a late-night comedian may think of Alabama or whether Sean Hannity can sell advertisements; it's not about Saturday Night Live or Mitch McConnell. It's not about Breitbart or National Democrats. It is about the moral values of the people of Alabama.

Do not make your voting decision based on who it will affect on a national stage. Vote based on who it will affect in your hometown.

We each know someone in our lives who is a survivor of sexual assault or child abuse. Many of us are still searching for the words needed to tell our own stories and some may never find that voice. This election is about them.

How can we look our neighbors, our parishioners, our colleagues, our partners, or our children in the eyes and tell them they are worth less than ensuring one political party keeps a Senate seat?  How can we expect young Alabamians to have faith in their government or their church, when its leaders equivocate on matters as clear cut as sexual abuse?

A vote for Roy Moore sends the worst kind of message to Alabamians struggling with of abuse: "if you ever do tell your story, Alabama won't believe you."

A vote for Roy Moore sends the worst kind of message to Alabamians struggling with of abuse.
Or, worse, we'll believe you but we just won't care.

To be clear: it's not only his record on women and children that disqualifies Moore. If we vote for Roy Moore, Alabama will also show that we don't care about you if you're gay or Muslim or Catholic. If you're an atheist or an immigrant. We'll show each other that we only care about Roy Moore's definition of Alabama. And that there's not room for the rest of us.

Click here to read AL.com's coverage of Roy Moore.
Roy Moore says he has faith in the Alabama voters. But apparently only a select few.

This utter disregard for people unlike himself, his pathological fixation on sex, and the steps he's taken to actively diminish other people's freedoms, is more than enough to have disqualified him from this office long before these women stepped into the public eye.

So what now?

Alabamians opposed to Roy Moore have three options on election day: stay home, write in a candidate, or vote for Doug Jones.

As a news organization, we could never advise voters to stay home. Low turnout in the Republican primary contributed to Roy Moore winning a spot on the ballot. Elections matter. And from soldiers overseas to Civil Rights foot soldiers at home, too many people have risked their lives to secure that privilege for Alabamians. And given what's at stake in this election, we urge you to register by November 27.

If your conscience tells you that you cannot vote for either man, write in a candidate that shares your convictions. While we believe that state Republicans response to the allegations brought against Roy Moore has cast a permanent shadow on many others - particularly GOP Chairwoman Terry Lathan who has threatened any Republican who speaks out - there are good options in the Republican Party.

However, we endorse the third option: Doug Jones.

Despite what you may have heard, Doug Jones is a moderate Democrat and a strong candidate for all Alabamians. As the son of a steel family, he understands the concerns facing working class families as factories close and jobs disappear. He's been an active member of Canterbury United Methodist Church in Birmingham. He has built a platform around issues that will define Alabama: job creation, small business development, child healthcare, criminal justice reform and, perhaps most needed of all, compromise.

By bringing justice to four little girls killed at Birmingham's 16th Baptist Church, Jones helped Alabama move forward from the sins of our past. But unlike some national Democrats, he isn't interested in shaming Alabama voters because of their history. As a Red State Democrat, we expect Jones would have a larger seat at the table crafting policy in the Senate. Neither Majority Leader Mitch McConnell nor Minority Leader Chuck Schumer would be able to take Jones' vote for granted (for relevant examples look to West Virginia's Joe Manchin, Montana's Jon Tester or North Dakota's Heidi Heitkamp). That would put Jones in a strong position to work with Sen. Shelby to secure policies that benefit Alabamians.

While Jones is a vocal Christian, despite Moore's claims to be the sole Christian in politics, we know his pro-choice stance may be a deal breaker for some Alabamians, but his stance only advocates the law as it is currently written. After a year of complete control of the White House, the Senate and the House, we are skeptical that this Congress plans to pass any relevant legislation on abortion. Jones' commitment to affordable healthcare for women and children will improve the lives of Alabama's families, and, for us, his pro-choice stance is not disqualifying.

What is disqualifying is the conduct of Roy Moore against women and children. It was disqualifying for his party leaders. It was disqualifying for Alabama's senior senator. And it should be disqualifying for his state party.

By the various misdeeds, miscalculations and mistakes of its voters and leaders, Alabama has left itself with few options. Alabamians must show themselves to be people of principle, reject Roy Moore and all that he stands for.

There is only one candidate left in this race who has proven worthy of the task of representing Alabama. He is Doug Jones.

The voters must make their voices heard.

http://www.al.com/opinion/index.ssf/2017/11/our_view_alabama_voters_must_r.html#incart_maj-story-1

Except for adding the above, the top of the AL.com page has stayed the same since Friday.

Nothing else has happened in AL or the world since Friday?

LOL

Very few people are going to put a Moore sign up with all this shit flinging going on.

The left will come after you if you show any support for Moore or any doubts about the allegations against him.

And to be fair Moore has had way less money to buy these things than the others.

12-12

Moore also got his gop matching funding cut

There were some Trump signs here but not many when you compare the margin he won the state by vs what you saw as visible support.

Other than the rallies, those were packed.

I was seeing more Jones signs than Moore signs before the allegations were made.

So I put zero faith in that being a gauge in how this will go.

I notice AL.com is touting a new poll that has Jones up by 3 points. I don't believe it.

Yep.

I went into "silent running" mode years ago.

Many Christian conservatives are backing Alabama's Roy Moore

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (AP) - Alabama's Christian conservatives see Roy Moore as their champion. He has battled federal judges and castigated liberals, big government, gun control, Muslims, homosexuality and anything else that doesn't fit the evangelical mold.

The Republican Senate candidate has long stood with them, and now, as he faces accusations of sexual impropriety including the molestation of a 14-year-old girl, they are standing with him.

That steadfastness is shocking to many outside Alabama who wonder how any voter who claims to be Christian can stand with a man accused of such acts. The answer is both complicated and deeply rooted in the DNA of a state that prides itself on bucking norms.

The state's motto - "We dare defend our rights" - is an upfront acknowledgement of a fighting spirit that has put Alabamians at odds with the rest of the nation for generations.

Perhaps more importantly, there is a deep-seated trust that leaves many willing to accept Moore's denials and discount the word of women speaking out weeks before the Dec. 12 election after decades of public silence. For some, Moore is more like a biblical prophet speaking out for God than a politician.

Introducing Moore during a "God Save America" rally at a south Alabama church this week, pastor Mike Allison said his support wasn't wavering because Moore never has.

"He has staunchly defended the Constitution of the United States, he has stood for the word of God ... he is against the murder of the unborn by abortion. He is for the defunding of Planned Parenthood. He is against a redefinition of marriage and believes firmly that it is only between a man and a woman. And he is against all threats against the traditional family," Allison said. "He is a fighter and a champion for right ...."

Since the allegations of sexual misconduct surfaced, leading Washington Republicans - though not President Donald Trump - have abandoned him.

At home, polls have shown a tightening race as some otherwise loyal GOP voters publicly disavow Moore on social media; GOP Sen. Richard Shelby has said he will write-in someone rather than vote for Moore.

Yet Moore still holds almost magical appeal for many. Fearful of angering Moore's supporters, the Alabama GOP has stuck with him, and voters like Larry Gibbs are putting their confidence in the Vietnam veteran long known as the "Ten Commandments judge," for putting shrines to the commandments in his courtroom and then in the Supreme Court rotunda.

"He comes up here to the church and he's quoting scripture and he relates to us," said Gibbs, who attended the pro-Moore rally where Allison spoke.

Even a relative of one of Moore's accusers is publicly siding with Moore.

"He fought like hell to keep the Ten Commandments in the damn courthouse," said a Facebook live video by Darrel Nelson. Nelson said his father, John Alan Nelson, is married to Beverly Young Nelson, who publicly accused Moore of sexually assaulting her as a teen.

Nelson's lawyer, Gloria Allred, refused comment on any relationship between her client and Darrel Nelson. But Beverly Nelson's son Spencer Harris has referred to Darrel Nelson as his stepbrother in his own Facebook posts supporting his mother.

Moore is polarizing - a big reason his fans like him - and local opponents see him as a Bible-thumping opportunist playing on peoples' religion. Moore lost badly in bids for the Republican gubernatorial nomination in 2006 and 2010.

Moore was considered an odd loner by fellow members of his cadet company at West Point. A yearbook passage from the academy referred to Moore as an "individualist by nature" who was worthy of respect "among those who really know him."

That reputation carried over to Etowah County, where Moore was an assistant prosecutor and circuit judge. He didn't typically join in the banter common in so many small-town, Southern courtrooms.

With a conservative view of religion at his core, Moore instead fought the American Civil Liberties Union over courtroom prayer and the wooden Ten Commandments plaque in his courtroom and rode the publicity to election as Alabama's chief justice.

He was removed from the job twice for violating state judicial ethics - once for ignoring a federal court order to remove a Ten Commandments monument from the state's judicial building and again over opposing gay marriage after the U.S. Supreme Court effectively legalized it.

Conservative backers view those ousters as badges of honor. Longtime Moore supporter John Giles said Moore doesn't bend or change, and his voters value that.

"Every election cycle there's this tendency among the electorate to say 'Let's get rid of these rascals. They say one thing and govern another way,'" said Giles, who runs a super PAC that supports Moore. "The one thing about this man is what he says he means, and at all cost."

In his role as an outsider and fighter, Moore is a bit like George C. Wallace, the one-time segregationist who served four terms as Alabama's governor.

But the closest any of Alabama's previous populist politicians might have come to the current allegations against Moore might have been those made against Gov. Jim Folsom in the 40s, said retired University of Alabama historian William H. Stewart. "Kissing Jim" was alleged to have had a son out of wedlock and was known for kissing women on the campaign trail.

"But we haven't had any instances of a candidate dating or making sexual overtures to a girl as young as 14," said Stewart.

___

AP video journalist Johnny Clark contributed to this report from Jackson, Alabama.

http://www.wbrc.com/story/36880246/many-christian-conservatives-are-backing-alabamas-roy-moore