Alabama’s largest local news source has called on Alabama voters to reject Senate candidate Roy Moore and for the GOP to withdraw support for the candidate.
Written Monday after a woman came forward to accuse Moore of sexual assault in a car when she was a teenager, the editorial board of AL.com, the website for the media group that includes The Birmingham News, The Huntsville Times and Mobile’s Press-Register, declared that Moore “revealed himself as grossly unfit to be a U.S. Senator”:
The seriousness of these incidents cannot be overstated. They should not be parsed with talk of statutes of limitations or whether proof exists. Proof beyond a reasonable doubt is a consideration for the courtroom, not the ballot box. When choosing our representative before the rest of the world, character matters.
The editorial board wrote they “believe these women” and that they have “independently investigated as many of these claims as possible” and found no reason to doubt them. The editorial did not explicitly mention the stories that surfaced Monday alleging that Moore cruised the mall in Gadsden, Alabama, to flirt with or pick up high school girls while in his thirties, but it did say that “the stories we’ve heard in Etowah County have only further corroborated” the allegations in the original Washington Post article.
The editorial went on to mention the investigations into his nonprofit that have “revealed a man who champions himself above all else,” as well as his two times being removed from office and his claim 9/11 might have been a punishment from God.
His views on women’s rights, same-sex marriage and religious freedom no longer reflect the majority of Alabamians. And they are incompatible with the governance of this country.
It’s time that he and his party read the writing on the wall: His candidacy is over. His true character has been revealed. It’s time for the GOP to remove its official support.
And since he and his party can’t assure it, the voters of Alabama must.
The media group’s editorial board has a history of criticizing Moore and has faced criticism itself from its conservative readers for its endorsement of Hillary Clinton and its positions on topics such as marriage equality.
The editorial’s call for the GOP to withdraw support for Moore comes after several leading Republican members of the Senate, including Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, have called for him to drop out of the election.
