Moore is just another politician who appeals to the same people as does Trump. It presents all with the recognition that Trump receives his support from these people but they are not under his control. They are big share of the electorate. They want what they know and reject what is strange to them. They prefer authoritarian leaders and reject how our liberal democracy tolerates and includes people with who they do not relate.
4
Slowly but surely the Democrats are being offered a possible win. Now I just hope, they don't shoot themselves in the foot, fighting among themselves and grabbing a loss from the mouths of victory!
8
There's nothing to indicate this will be a competitive race. Very Likely, the Hollywood & Broadway crowd that visibly and loudly raised 13M for Jason Kander and made appearances on his behalf in GA#6, will be out in full force, with even sadder results. This likely would have been a 60-40 race and now it's a 55-45 race. The Senate has made it's home to segregationists, drunks, perverts and crooks in the past, and currently has one on trial for taking bribes. The Institution will survive Judge Moore's eccentricities.
3
I object to the threats and hatred I see in some of these comments, and even more to the attacks on the idea that "Congress shall make no law regarding the establishment of religion."
And I hope that the Antifa and Berniac and Jill Steiners and similar types on the leftish side of the equation will learn something about just what happens when people start running about, screaming at everybody they think is pure enough for their taste.
The way you counter this Bible-thumping and far-right insanity, folks, is to positively encourage everybody to speak, to spend more time learning what's real, to learn to separate people who've worked hard on your behalf their whole lives from the lazies and crazies, and maybe even to take the ol' "From Many, One," bit seriously.
6
We reject the establishment Republicans because they may as well be Democrats. When we remove them from office we will not replace them with Democrats. The failing NY Times shows us, again, why it is sinking.
7
The Republican party needs to disavow itself of their right wing extremist. The party is seriously hurting our democracy. I don't know how anyone can vote for a republican; they're vile people who don't care a whit about America. The right wingers are of course the worse anti-Christians of all. Keep destroying the party - that will make America Great Again! Rock on Democrats and Progressives!
3
I am a Ronald Reagan Conservative Republican and I am repulsed by the Establishment Republicans in Washington. Despite my delight in the Republican Presidential Victories, none of it was because of Mitch McConnell and Paul Ryan.
Americans had eight years of racial division and Left-wing activism.
Thankfully Judge Moore in Alabama won over the Establishment pick. It wasted $30 million on a loser who would have been bought and paid for by the Establishment.
i am socially Conservative and moved out of Liberal Manhattan because it is now an overpriced Third World City, run by a Left-wing mayor. I hope Trump continues to drain the swamp in Washington. I hope for several more very Conservative Supreme Court Justices.
And finally, i thank God for our President Trump because I know Hillary Clinton is a Liberal disaster and her election would mean a criminal in the White House. i lost faith in Comey and Mueller as they are on a fishing expedition with career Democrats. Presdent Trump needs to get rid of ALL Obama activists who are still working in this administration. And yes, I do not like Gillibrand, Nadler or Schumet.
5
It's extremely annoying in an article like this for it not to
include the actual numerical vote percentages. I had to use
Google News to find them: 54% vs 45%. Is this a "wide margin?"
Maybe, maybe not, but regardless of whether the overall "angle"
of this article is valid, I certainly don't want my news
source to dictate at such a fine-grained level how I think about
it. And it's not only The Times; the Washington Post has fallen into
the same bad habit of ignoring election percentages.
5
Trump knew Roy Moore was going to win, he gave Strange lip service to make nice with McConnell. Win, win for Trump, appease McConnell publicly and still get a real conservative in the Senate. Lucky for us the left wingers and talking heads are befuddled by Trump. He will continue to win as the Democrat National Socialists keep crashing. As usual New York Times has no clue.
4
"chris mcdaniel ... (who) had spoken multiple times with the mercers ... charged (mr wicker) had become mitch mcconnell's yes-man.'
thanks for the giggle, chris.
I for one will not be holding my breath in anticipation of the great Republican insurrection in response to Roy Moore. Donald Trump is all that Roy Moore is and then some. Trump's base elected him and continues to exult in him. At least Roy Moore has never boasted about sexually assaulting women as has the Grabber in Chief.
1
Oh, please. This is a bit of an over reach if you're implying that any disaffected republican voters will actually switch parties to the side that considers all them to be deplorable white supremacists. More likely that the leadership might be dumped.
4
People who cannot count and disparage rational consideration of problems in favor of narrative explanations which are based upon feelings and imagination rather than upon facts. It's the beginning of collapse of our modern way of life and the kind of retreat into tribalism and superstition which characterizes the descent into dark ages. That is what Moore's supporters illustrate. We are headed for a time when fear and ignorance dominate our political system.
4
Jeff Flake should have known better. The RINO McCain doesn't need to toe any line as his primary is 5 years away. Any republican senator standing in the way of Obamacare repeal or who is for Obama-era amnesty is essentially a democrat. And democrats are in no way poised to see any gains. In fact, if the trend set by Barack Obama continues, they are going to be shellacked again. Mitch McConnell ran the party on one issue - repeal Obamacare. Not repair, not replace, just repeal. If he is unable to, or worse, unwilling to do that, can we fault the base when they demand their pound of flesh?
4
Democracy: doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results.
A lot of wishful thinking based on the same process that had Hillary a shoe in.
The Press, Hollywood, politicians of all parties , corporate magnates, academia and entertainment, including sports, have become so incestuously distanced from the average citizen, that they collectively are unable to relate.
When you make several times what the average worker makes, live in an economically comfortable social bubble of similar thinking, The status quo is very attractive.
Not so for a large part of the population who voted for Trump
Indirectly and directly disparaging that voter, will mean more surprises for those groups. Wait for it or get out and try to listen.
7
I use Trump's term as he spells it-LOOSERS. They are all losers and we are now at the point in some states ( Alabama is just the latest) where you have no choice but a loser. It is a sad day when someone as Roy Moore is elected to anything but he is the best choice. He is a George Wallace on steroids. When someone starts a charity after being removed from his judgeship and keeps the money for himself, we have hit the bottom.
8
Oh, I love it when they eat their own.
This is kind of like a slo-mo "Night of The Long Knives" when the SS went around ringing doorbells and when a Brown Shirt would answer the door, they were murdered.
Of course, Republicans are more civilized that that....
But, I'm curious. If trump drains all of the money in the RNC paying the legal bills for himself and his family, and there is no moola for the rest of the R's to be assisted on their runs.... won't that dump the whole load on the Mercers and the Koch Bros?
Oh, that's right - they're going to get uber-millions in tax "reform".
Silly me. Why DO I worry....?
1
Dems have lied so much they have convinced themselves that they 1) represent a majority of Americans 2) A majority of Americans hate Trump 3) A majority of Americans support their whiny crybaby reaction to Hilly losing. 4)The will win back congress, this is the most laughable. 5) They will impeach Trump.
Nothing but wishful thinking but when you live in an echo chamber you think everyone believes as you do. Before the left looks at the Repub breakup thy best look in the mirror. Dem party is in real trouble of becoming totally irrelevant . They have no bench, no youth and their party's face is Maxine Waters, Hilly, Lizzy Warren and Pelosi. Wow that's going to really inspire.
4
Liberal politicians & press are still groping around in the dark. How out of touch can they be?
Anyone who believes a democrat candidate will be a more attractive candidate in conservative districts is just lost.
The fact is republicans want real conservatives not the fake conservatives in the republican establishment or candidates backed by them. Why do you think they rejected the other 16 presidential candidates? After 8 years of republicans placating Obama and his numerous illegal acts & cavorting with radicals they have had enough.
Here's a little factoid, the HOR has passed something like 350 bills however something like 250 are sitting in the Senate with no action.
NYT if you want disparage republicans why not report that?
4
"... senior party strategists have concluded that the conservative base now loathes its leaders in Washington the same way it detested President Barack Obama."
It might have something to do with the "Republican" leadership doing everything they can to make sure President Trump can't succeed. McConnell and Ryan are both RINO's and need to go. I am a lifelong Republican but I will be sending money to their opponents campaigns just to get rid of them. At least with Democrats I will know EXACTLY where they will stand on issues and how they will vote.
1
Amazing to see all these far right Christian evangelicals who eschew the concept of separation of church and state, basking in the darkness and delighting in "loathing" whether it be toward Barack Obama, or the current Washington power brokers.
As for the threat of the rebellion spreading--keep up the reporting, NYTimes. The more people know about the Mr. Moore's views the more likely it is that some of his extreme far right views can be countered with--I'm willing to say it--love!
2
This might give the Democrats an advantage if the Republicans are splintered but you know what? The Democrats are also splintered and will probably not be able to take advantage of this situation.
6
I'm somewhat amused that Democrats think they stand to gain by a philosophical split in the Republican Party. The Democrat ship sunk long ago. They are irrelevant to American politics and have squandered their opportunities at all levels of government. The political thermodynamics in America is definitely moving Right, not Left. After the 2018 and 2020 elections, we may have to stuff a few Liberal Democrats and put them in the Smithsonian just to prove to our grandchildren that they actually did exist...once upon a time.
3
No mystery here for anyone who has been paying attention. The "I just want to be liked" GOP, the ones who would rather have voted for Trump's Democrat opponent rather than side with their constituents, the ones who say "let's repeal Obamacare (but not really), are in for a hard landing as boots are swiftly applied to their seats. Hiding behind Trump now won't help.
2
"senior party strategists have concluded that the conservative base now loathes its leaders in Washington the same way it detested President Barack Obama." - They are just now figuring this out? I could've told them this 5 years ago! Give me a call, you idiotic "strategists."
2
I guess Alabama speaks for all Americans now. Steve Bannon would be laugh off the stage in any normal State where people are not racists. The people of Alabama must really hate life. What a drag it must be to have to worry all the time that only the rich white people deserve to be promoted and have a nice life.
3
Both parties are going toward the extreme wing of their party. That is a given. Berne Sanders and the Ted Cruz types will be the leaders of their parties in the future. Eventually a third party which is more of a centrist party will emerge and eventually win elections.
2
The only way for the GOP to be able to move to free itself from the demands of ever more extreme base and candidates is by major political defeat, especially in places regarded as GOP strongholds. Only defeat will force the party and candidates to broaden their base, for political survival. So long as those, like Mr. Moore, can keep winning, especially in general elections, there is no real incentive to change. Will Mr. Moore be defeated, in deep red Alabama, in an off year and traditionally lower turnout special election?
There is a certain irony in my ability to resurrect a comment I made as Mr. Trump won GOP primaries left and right.
Hod DARE the voters elect someone they like who the GOP establishment has not anointed!! Are they not aware that the masters know who best represents their interests?
4
Does anyone still doubt that Trump et al. are all about causing chaos with an end game of destroying the U.S. government?
As a staunch Conservative, I will vote against any establishment GOP incumbent. If an establishment incumbent has no Conservative primary challengers, then I will vote for their Democrat opponent in the general election. It is worth it to me to elect a Democrat for an election cycle if it means removing the establishment RINO. This article was ALMOST right about one thing - "senior party strategists have concluded that the conservative base now loathes its leaders in Washington the same way it detested President Barack Obama."
The fact is, I loathe the establishment RINOs MORE than I loathe Democrats.
15
This is what religious fanatics did in Saudi Arabia, grooming their own brand of extreme, extreme right fanatics, the Wahabism which morphed into ISIS. The GOP and its religious fanatic building a coalition of extreme rightwing cult. These people hate government and see government as evil till they need the federal government, (ask Ted Cruz).
It is sad that these people vote against their own interest.
4
What a load! When the liberal "culture" crumbles it's easy to distract with a "the right is falling! the right is falling" Does anyone actually write unbiased words anymore?
3
what may happen is a parliament here... don't know if it will happen but we did have 4 ( independents don't have a voice I guess otherwise it would have been 5) parties voting in the national election (cannot call it presidential) but sadly, the electoral college can only vote for r's or d's so we got screwed...HRC won between the r's & d's, but all those other wasted votes could have brought an even wider margin for her. as I said we got screwed thanks to the electoral college
Sorry, NYT, but this is wishful thinking on your part. Trump supporters are well aware that he backed Strange as a sop to Mitch McConnell, a truly worthless majority leader. Trump will campaign for Roy Moore, who will be a thorn in the side of the establishment, as is Ted Cruz. As far as incumbent, establishment GOPers being primaried, bring it on. The MSM/Democrat cabal just doesn't get that Trump is not a politician, which is his appeal.
12
I adore the glorious silliness of claiming that Trump only backed Strange "as a sop to McConnell," and then moving right into an attack on libruls who never understand that "Trump is not a politician."
You folks are way off base again if you think this is a chance at left wing resurrection.....the flyovers have been awakened and Trump keeps them involved and active...and I for one am ecstatic over this epiphany!
5
I also would love to see Mitch McConnell and Paul Ryan go, but not by replacing them with people who are homophobic religious zealots with no concept of Separation of Church and State.
4
if they don't start working to get what their voters put trump in to do, then yes they are facing a voter insurrection!
4
How is it a loss for Trump when the people elected someone who will be even more fanatical in supporting Trump's agenda than the guy he endorsed? Haha. Winning!
4
Will you stop using "populist" to describe radical right wing religious extremists and proto-fascists. The term has long been associated with democratic movements whose objectives have always been the well-being of ordinary Americans not rabid authoritarians.
10
Dr. Jack...Sixties Marxism is dead. Quit clinging to its rotting corpse. Nearly everyone in America do not share your enthusiasm for it. Populism is now a term for the Right. You abdicated it long ago. The Democrat Party...that brought us slavery and Jim Crow is now irrelevant in America, having lost all credibility and power at all levels of government.
2
Huh?
1
Yes. There is an insurrection in progress. No question. The Rinos can either resign now, (some are) or join the Demo-Marxists where they belong.
3
He is what the GOP represents under the covers so to speak.
Alabama what can I say.
2
I pray that all these miserable curs devour each other. Everything they touch they ruin — usually without giving it a second thought.
These barbarians are the curse of our Nation.
1
Rush Limbaugh is the anti Christ for most NYT readers, but, give him a few minutes of your attention and you will get an idea how bad things are for Democrats and RINOcrats.
.
The media can't define Trump. I don't know if anyone can. After two years the MSM still says, "Today's the day Trump implodes." And, he just keeps going. Of course the polls all say he is unliked. The same polls that had Hillary winning. Yeah, those polls.
.
The MSM and others did not "make" Trump. They can't bring him down. I agree with what his stand on the NFL (Charlottesville et. all). So do a lot of Americans. The teams are feeling the financial impact now. Of course, "..all of Trump supporters are racist." We get that everyday. But, White Privilege can pay for a lot of season tickets, jerseys and over priced concession food. When you see those empty stadium seats, that is what White Privilege looks like. Trump supporters call it discretionary income. And, those empty seats are a good indicator of who is not on board with the MSM.
.
If a politician was elected 4 or 6 years ago and is running for 2018, he knows if his ticket to ride the Trump Train is First Class of if it's expired. He does not need a poll to tell him.
.
Unlike Antifa, Trump supporters want to hear what you(MSM/Talk-a-teriat/RINOcrats) have to say. Every word. Every syllable. That way, we know who and where you are.
.
And, That's What Happened.
5
"Who and where," eh?
You're threatening your fellow Americans, you know, for all your eager perusal of the oddish novels of Daniel Cruz. It's a good thing that like Rush, you guys are mostly just blowhards.
2
Back in the days when now-President Trump, after 4 years of college deferments, claimed "heel spurs" to avoid the last year of the draft. Even he admits that those "bone spurs "had been “temporary” — a “minor” malady that had not had a meaningful impact on him".
He's lied his way from Viet Nam to here, but we've heard his cry before: "America! Love It or Leave It!"
Some of us were there and heard that that then. Some of us served our time in Viet Nam and still stood up for America. We stood. We went to jail. We loved our country and what the flag and the anthem and the pledge stand for, and we did not leave.
We will never leave. We were born here. Our families shed blood for this nation. And, unlike people like you, we stand for "truth, justice and the American Way", and believe that "All people are created equal".
We stood, and now we kneel. We put our flag out in the morning and bring it in at night. We do not fly it ragged from our car. We do not scream we are patriots; we just ARE patriots.
And if we have to kneel for that, if we have to lie in the dirt, be beaten down, dragged across asphalt, thrown in jail, or murdered, it does not matter. We are Americans who believe in the greatness of America, and we will not leave.
We shall overcome!
6
This is the culminations of their own Creation. This is what happens when you do not listen to your base and continue to go against their will and sadly against their best interest party above country but that is yet remains to be seen. Another cautionary tale.
3
Why, just look at all those beaming faces, white as the driven snow....
5
Instead of speculating on what Moore's winning the primary means to the GOP, let's look at what it means to the people of Alabama. In short, it is a disaster.
I am an Alabama Democrat working hard for our senatorial candidate Doug Jones. He will be the people's representative in Washington and that means a great deal to the people in our state.
Whatever else we do here in Alabama, we must turn out the vote for Doug Jones and turn back the advancing tide of racism, white nationalism, hate speech, and hate crimes that contaminate our state and nation.
When reading the racist hate speech published on the Internet by so-called Republicans, pretend-Christians, and social perverts who enjoy harming people of color and others whom they perceive to be inferior to them, it serves to motivate me to work doubly hard to defeat the likes of a sick, mentally disturbed, individual like Roy Moore.
67
Hopefully, your party dumps $25 million Democrat Senate Campaign Committee dollars into a losing effort in Alabama too.
2
I bet it's been said before in the 356 comments before mine, but I'll repeat it.
The "Grand Old Party", the anti-slavery party of Lincoln, sowed the wind and is now reaping the whirlwind. It keeps taking in these Tea Partiers and far-right nut cases and letting them run as Republicans when they are just using the Party name to get elected, because third parties don't go down well in the US.
Both parties are out of touch because they are run by people whose entire career is politics.
We need a healthy injection of officeholders who don't care if they are ever re-elected, who really want to go home and get on with their own lives, but who want to put the nation first, their particular constituents second, and fix the mess.
Only one thing President Trump has gotten right: "Washington" as a government has become a swamp that needs to be drained. Unfortunately, he just keeps pumping more crap into it.
In my limited experience, the overwhelming majority of Americans are really good, decent people who will reach out a hand to anyone, even give you the shirt off they back; but they are sports fans, and there ain't no sport so crazy as politics.
2
Politicians bend the truth a lot, that's what they do. When someone comes along (gets elected) and tells it like it is, they are hated by both sides of the isle and gridlock prevails. Getting little to nothing done also keeps them in the job or bubble of continuous parties, power, vacation and public exposure all on the taxpayers dime.
The direction of these challengers is in fact the direction that the mainstream of the Republican Party has been directing them for decades now. Like Trump, these candidates are the logical conclusion of all the "take back our country" and "states rights" propaganda that has led the so-called common, decent people of middle America to think it's okay to call a progressive a "Lib-tard" and to venerate our Constitution while putting traitors to our Constitution like Stonewall Jackson on a pedestal. We might as well see what the final version of this Republican Party is and let America decide if we really want something so hateful, hate-filled, and spiteful as our new covenant with each other. Until we make this choice once and for all, we are not going to finish with it.
3
The U.S. has kept the majority of its people in the dark for decades. A bubble of isolated ignorance so that the U.S. could do anything it wanted in the world without any home-led opposition.
Now that strategy has backfired as millions of middle Americans cling to their bible, their guns and their sense of blind superiority and turn on the establishment that sheltered them from a global education.
1
So now we have Steve Bannon, a self described anarchist/street fighter/former top adviser to the President, continuing to try to blow up the "establishment", which translates into creating chaos and worse.
Advertisers on Breitbart need to be boycotted!
1
Legislators no longer legislate, lobbyist do. Trump has no legislators to write what he wants. The Legislators (Congress ..ie Uniparty) are sales people for the lobbyist (fiduciary interested). Only thing that happens when we vote is we change the sales people. Better to be in the minority, you get paid more for your vote. Hence, GOP do not care if they are in the minority. Only way to change that is vote people with a conscious.
Pretty sure Trump proved you don't need establishment-Republican money to win a GOP primary or general election. If you can make any reasonable prediction based on the run-off in Alabama, it's that McConnell and Ryan will probably be stepping down as majority leaders after November 2018, not because the Republicans will lose a Congressional majority, but because they are already beginning to circle the drain at the bottom of the DC swamp.
6
Amen!
1
Its a great time to be a real Republican.
4
The R party including Sens McCain and McConnell, campaigned for years on issues such as repealing Obamacare, building a wall and controlling illegal immigration. They even sent bills doing so to President Obama knowing that he would veto. Now that an elected POTUS wants to do these things, they are balking and their deceit is fully exposed for the world to see.
Americans- especially conservative ones- hate lying and hypocrisy more than anything else. It is why Congressional approval is in the single digits.
Contrary to NYT claims of doom, a fresh batch of R Senators and Representatives who actually will press for issues they campaigned on and promised to support will invigorate -not harm- the R party.
11
I bet Nikki Haley's overjoyed with Moore's election. After all, she embraced Steve Bannon as a political ally after Trump,appointed him as a Presidential Counselor, even though Bannon while at Breitbart had published misogynistic articles as inflammatory as anything Moore has said about homosexuality, etc. But Bannon has now departed Washington, leaving a gap in Ms. Haley's political network--which Senator Moore can now fill.
1
The Times uses the delicate, diplomatic noun ‘firebrand’ — that serves to romanticize Roy Moore. A more exact language of “extremist” serves the reader better.
6
I don't see how it's an insurrection. Roy Moore is a racist, homophobic, misogynistic, fundamentalist who hates science and reveres ignorance. That's totally the Republican party these days, he's just fitting their mold perfectly.
2
Republicans are wackjobs attacking America every day.
2
Just the urban centers where all the corruption exists...
1
I blame the White people who voted for a racist whacko!
2
Judge Moore's election by Alabamans is necessary and good in the long run. The United States would likely never have been confronted with its violent underbelly of Christian supremacy and racial prejudice if it were not for Obama's uppity and horrifyingly successful ambition and the subsequent reactionary response by our current president and many others, including Judge Moore.
THIS is the principal culture war that must be fought for the American Experiment to continue successfully. There are indeed others, many intertwined: economic inequality, climate change, the stranglehold on American politics by the energy industry and Wall Street, open educational opportunity, individual freedom of marriage, gender and sexuality, and the continuing hegemonic neocon stance that has gotten us in deep water with a bookend paranoid megalomaniac with nukes.
But the strong undercurrent of unresolved and lingering racism that has been ever-present in our culture is the continuing malignancy that keeps our nation from truly becoming exceptional. Want to make America great? This is it, right here.
3
Sure doesn't say encouraging words about the people of Alabama. I wouldn't spend a dime in this state, and I hope that many more do likewise. It's time to simply boycott bigotry and hatred. My friends and family don't think i'm evil, and Jesus didn't neither. I put a lot more weight on his teachings than on a disgraced southern ignorant homophobe. As Trump continues his fall, so will Alabama.
2
The photo accompanying this article speaks volumes. Though it was careful to include an Asian woman in the shot, it is of Evangelicals, who at this point can rightfully be called America's Taliban. Evangelical Christianity is, at its core, about White Power. Moore's victory and Drumpf's "rallies" are one and the same; an ocean of stern-faced, bitter whites that believe their rightful place in the world has been supplanted by "those people," and they conveniently find whatever words in the Bible they need at the moment to justify their warped beliefs to "fight back." The Evangelicals have now backed -- by wide margins -- two of the most unChristian charlatans imaginable, and I don't want to hear another word -- ever -- from any of these hypocrites about how the rest of us, living our lives, are "sinners." They've cast their lot with the worst and should be considered as such.
5
So many problems because Abraham Lincoln wouldn't let the south go then let them off the hook once the bloodiest war in American history was won.
I think the rest of America should secede from the south. We would surely be better off. Then we'd only have Kansas to worry about and that is more than enough!
2
exactly right!
Remind me again why outsourcing all those jobs to India and the Philippines was a smart thing to do?
2
YES
Give us the crazies!!!!
The Angels, the witches O'Donnell, the Wassilla wonder, the Akins.
Makin' America safe for the insane.
Make it a referendum on untreated mental illness and Little hands mental illness.
1
The Nazis are coming!
Homegrown.
2
Three cheers for ignorance and bigotry!
4
Here's a question for the Republicans who wanted the opportunIty to show they can govern: "How's that goin' for you these days?"
3
These extremists are the GOP.
Do not fool yourself.
6
I'd like to make one small clarification to the article. What ALEXANDER BURNS and JONATHAN MARTIN refer to as the far-right is really the common people who live in fly-over country. We are here by the millions working hard and taking back our country. BTW we'll be putting the statues back also.
12
No Patrick, positions that support the destruction of the separation of church and state, rescinding of civil rights from LGBTQ individuals, and celebrating traitors to our nation that championed our ugliest social norms is are not common. These views do not represent the majority of the country. These views are the far-right. You have been told that these positions are "correct" for so long that moderate views now look like leftist propaganda to you, which would be a shame really except that you've chosen to be brainwashed in this way. Your warped principles and view of reality will have enormously negative repercussions at least a generation or more.
3
This is a better country than you're trying to make it be.
1
From the greater millions who think it's our country? I challenge your math.
This trend is the natural progression of American politics since 2010.
The Chris McDaniel perfidy by the GOP establishment was a wake up call for me that the national GOP was corrupt and venal (just like the Dems). They destroyed McDaniel s character and propped that useless old fossil Cochran.
Karma. What goes around....
3
"There was a young lady of Niger
Who smiled as she rode on a tiger;
They returned from the ride
With the lady inside,
And the smile on the face of the tiger."
4
The immediate question is: Will a shift to the far right cost Republicans votes and seats in November 2018, or will we see more and more very right-wing people entering Congress?
Over the longer term, does the GOP split in two and hand power to the Democrats, or are we witnessing a massive rightward shift, a move to a quasi-fascist America? I would bet the former, but then I predicted Trump would lose in 2016.
3
When did Fascism become Right or Left?
1
The choice of Moore by Alabama republicans and the republican rump party of Trump demonstrates that the US is truly a failed state that has no place on the world stage to lecture on human rights or any other democratic values. Seymour Martin Lipset so accurately foretold the future of the US in his many works including Working-Class Authoritarianism.
4
I consider this election a bad harbinger of things to come. We as a country are moving further to the right. The Democrats have been getting their clocks cleaned for the past 6 years. We can't govern if we can't win elections. We have to do something different...now. At this point can moderates, liberals, & progressives co-exist in the same party given the country's sharp turn to the right? Considering the far left's toxic views on so many issues, I would say absolutely not. Progressivism is ruining the Democratic Party. It will be interesting to watch how much damage it will do to the brand before we recognize that far left ideals don’t resonate with Independents or blue-collar workers, some of whom are within our base. Democrats are trying run local campaigns on a national platform that working-class voters despise. It's time we face a fundamental truth. The voters we need to win back the Presidency, Congress, The Supreme Court, the majority of governorships & state legislatures, have different values. To them, Progressivism means trigger warnings, vile college protests & obnoxious academics who posture as their will on earth. It's time for the Democratic party part company with the far left. That wing of the party should join the Socialist party. When it makes sense we can work together. We should not abandon our principles but we have to move to the center. We will have a better chance of passing our agenda. No more symbolic campaigns. That clearly does not work.
5
Democrats look at disagreement as a weakness. They misjudged the 17 R candidates as "weakness" or division. They are projecting their inability to have dissent upon their R opponents, which is a fallacious argument.
The AL Senate showed a difference between establishment and conservatism. This was a sign to the establishment that the R voters are serious and aren't backing down. Trump said he'd endorse either one... It wasn't a referendum on Trump, it was a referendum of the establishment. The GOP "Insurrection" is a shift towards conservatism that may impact GOP primary races, but will not help the D party.
I know the NYT *wishes* there to be division in the GOP to help the D's, but that isn't what is happening here, and any attempt to spin it that way is silly.
7
You just saved me 2 min. of typing. Absolutely correct.
2
It might be good to find out what conservatism actually is. It sure ain't Roy Moore.
1
The AL Secretary of State has confirmed that there was a 14% voter turnout for the Republican Senate Runoff Election.
That is less than the 18% Republican primary vote.
So, let's stop inferring that this lousy 14% is the defining voice of Alabama politics. It's not.
4
Maybe a lot of voters were just fine with either one. Spin will get you dizzy.
1
The Roy Moore win is not only a backlash against liberals but also towards the established Republicans. This is the same sort of situation that elected President Trump. Those Republicans were more concerned with winning votes than listening to the people. They did not pay attention to the voters concerns and they turned away in droves.
Those who are up for reelection better pay attention to the results of Mr. Moore's win, or they will lose themselves. They must talk to the people and take them seriously. If they do not, they will be out of office and looking for new employment. Those running for office must not take these people for granted or they will not earn their respect or votes. Learn from the past mistakes of others.
2
Trent Lott is wrong, the centrist is going to remove the incumbents. The far right has always been trying to remove the establishment senators. They just do not get it, stop picking on US citizens and the majority voting block.
1
The Trump/Moore phenomenon isn't about party politics, it's about two transitions currently happening in the U.S.: the move toward a more secular society and the move away from labor-intensive manufacturing. Both transitions are leaving segments of our society anxious, and they're responding by backing anti-establishment candidates. In many cases, economic anxiety among those affected by the manufacturing transition drives people deeper into religious fervor, and the societal transition toward secularism intensifies their sentiments. The resulting turmoil in our political system isn't due to democracy somehow dying, and that turmoil will ease when peoples' anxieties ease.
The whole idea of a politician in America taking office with the express intent of furthering a particular religious point of view is preposterous. It flies in the face of what the Founding Fathers wanted, and what the country has been ever sine. The framers guaranteed no religious test to hold office. Roy Moore and his ilk would favor a religious test for being a citizen. It would start with a simple questionnaire; and expand to an Inquisition.
1
Judge Moore's election by Alabamans is necessary and good in the long run. Our country would likely not have been confronted with its violent underbelly of bigotry were it not for Obama's jolting audacity and the subsequent reactionary response by our current president and many others, including Judge Moore.
This is the principal culture war that must be fought to test the American Experiment for viability. There are indeed others, many intertwined: neoliberal economic inequality, climate change, the stranglehold on American politics by the energy industry and Wall Street, open educational opportunity, individual freedom of marriage, gender and sexuality, and the continuing hegemonic neoconservative stance that has continually gotten us in deep water.
But the strong undercurrent of unresolved and lingering racism that has been ever-present in the American culture is what keeps our nation from truly becoming exceptional. Want to make America great? This is it, right here.
2
You make a good point but it may not be the one you intended. We indeed have a culture war going on right now but why is it a war? By calling it a war one side or the other must win and supporting the other side on anything becomes treason. Insulting the other side only strengthens their resolve. Look at the current NFL mess. I sort of agree that it isn't about the flag to the left but by picking the symbol the right finds most precious to insult it became about the flag and there in lies the problem. Our biggest problem is that we have lost the ability to compromise. Both sides see "Coming Together" as you agreeing with me.
Umm...Google Newt Gingrich".
I heard on public radio that Democratic strategists were hoping for Roy Moore to win the Republican primary. But when the Dems try to grab votes from the middle with "business-oriented" centrists like Doug Jones. Jon Ossof, (and Hillary,) who don't excite, or even turn off, their ideological and identity-politics conglomerated/fragmented base, they often wind up empty-handed.
2
To us Progressives, this sounds great and hope/wish it could happen to theDemocratic Party as ell. But that aside, this could become an even more dire nightmare.
As an aspiring dotard myself, I have been watching the republican party shift further and further right ever since the 1980s, each time thinking, "Well, there's no way *THAT* will work out well for them". Except that each time their fervor and voting percentages increase and bring them more power.
This could be the beginning of the south's second civil war against America. When a people - literally for generations - have been saying, "the south will rise again", we need to believe their rhetoric.
1
Yes, the GOP is almost dead and good riddance. But the Democratic Party died during the Obama Administration. DRAIN THE SWAMP!
Yea Trump backed the wrong guy. Jared Kushner gave Trump very bad advice. It doesn't matter to us Trump supporters one bit. We have Trump's back and that is the reason we voted Judge Moore.
We will never turn on Trump and one day the media will realize that. It may be eight years from now, but so be it.
3
The thing they really do not get is that Trump is not one person. Donald is just the current occupant. Take him out and there are 10 more ready to take his place. As much as I did not like him being so crude at times, I have come to realize why he does it and it is working. Results are all that matter. He gets results.
3
Southern Republicans have been the bedrock of the party since 1994, which is why I can not fathom how moderate to conservative 'mainstream' Republicans--in Congress or the electorate--can continue to identify with the party. It is unfortunate for the rest of the country, but nonetheless true, that white Southerners are still quite distinct from the rest of us in a number of very important ways. They are more likely to adhere to fundamentalist religious beliefs, more likely to be climate deniers, more likely to oppose civil liberties for gays and lesbians, more likely to oppose a legal right to abortion for women, less tolerant of people who do not look like them, more authoritarian in their understanding of the relationship between citizen and state, hold much more racist attitudes than the average American, and I could go on. Let's face it---they are living in another century and they are dangerously misguided in their views, and perhaps even a danger
1
Odd how Democrats didn't have a problem with those "differences" when the solid South voted for their candidates.
2
While the Republicans' 'masses' wallow in their interest politics, their imagined white supremacy, and their sickly distorted religion, their wealthy owners continue to lead the country by the nose.
Could it be that the United States has never departed from its original rule by propertied white males? It's frightening to think that, in a way, our Constitution, laws, and elections are mostly a smoke screen to maintain this unbroken power structure.
But then, are these real elites, like the Kochs and the Mergers, making a mistake? Their success depends on disciplined stealth.
1
Reactionaries are not the same as conservatives. That's why the two different words exist.
2
Is this the tipping point where politics becomes hyper fractionalized? Given Rupert Murdoch's obsession with using Fox News to lead and push Trump onto the path of Murdoch's agenda I would think so. Just look what Murdoch's media interests have done to the UK---Brexit anyone?
Fox News' stranglehold on propaganda that spews "alternative facts" echoed in turn on the mindless talk radio universe of, Rush Limbaugh imitators is why an extremist like, Moore, can outpace even lesser extremists. This will not end well.
1
Is there anyone who thinks that is Trump doesn't receive the nomination of the Republican Party, he won't run on the Trump Party?
2
I hope this article doesn't make Democrats too giddy. The makeup of the American political spectrum makes it clear that the only thing Americans dislike more than a Republican is a Democrat.
3
If only black Dems would wake up and stop voting to nominate hated neoliberals like Hillary, the Dems could have their own Bernie revolution in 2020, with or without the man himself on the ticket. Despite the Dem establishments dismissive myth that Bernie was/is "too radical" to get elected, the Rust Belt exit polls proved he would have beaten Trump easily there and thus would have won the election going away. We never would have heard of Trump again, and the angry working class would have a real tribune in the White House, instead of the liar who only plays a friend of the workers on TV. Bernie, of course, in this Age of Trump is much more popular in the polls than Trump. In other words, "our" "radical' can beat up 'their" radical anytime.
What's the big deal?
Gays in my town have representation in congress.
Why not Bible Thumpers in Alabama?
Pluralism and cultural diversity are societal virtues, right?
It is important that our people, all of them, not be or feel disenfranchised. That feeling, I am represented, is a political pressure release valve meant to offer an alternative to violence. Its opposite feeling, I am not represented, has gotten us to where we are today.
14
Because gays in your town don't advocate, as Mr. Moore does,
that the constitution should be ignored.
1
What we are looking at is the destruction of American democracy. As we had been warned by our founding fathers, the American system of government was an experiment that required a free press and an engaged citizenry. Trump has managed, with the help of his uninformed base, racism, a rich class of oligarchs, and yes, the Russians and social media, to side step every check and balance that would have prevented a person like himself from being elected. Now that he is our President, he is hell-bent on dismantling what took years of hard work and compromise to establish. By weakening the institutions of government so they are no longer effectual or trusted, Trump will transform our system of government to an autocracy, similar to those that he admires. When he talks about health care, he means health care for the privileged, when he talks about law and order, he means a police state, when he mentions fake news, it's against those the point out his lies, and when he means making America great again, he is referring to pre-civil war days. To Trump freedom is loyalty and prosperity is less taxes. He has convinced Americans that immigrants are stealing their jobs and that the poor are takers, the enemy of the people. Unfortunately, we may never get back what we had before Trump, but we can stop him if we vote and take to the streets.
48
I don't think we're looking at the destruction of American democracy at all. We've been here before. The Republican Party itself rose out of the ashes of the Whig Party, and our country turned out okay.
.
However, in this iteration I am concerned that the cure will be deadlier than the disease, which may change the political landscape for decades and not in a good way. Moore and his ilk have a dangerous view of religion's role in our republic and they can't be allowed to implement their regressive, ignorant, hateful plan.
51
There's one significant additional aspect of this equation, the abdication of the American Experiment by the Democratic Party. Its gravitation toward the big money and its dismissiveness toward blue collar and rural folk, once its base, have been a major factor in creating the nation's political leadership vacuum which demagogues and right-wing populasts have rushed to fill.
1
There is nothing quite like watching the political machinations of mental midgets, grifters, liars, and their burgeoning ilk. It's also true that my wish is that everyone from the likes of McConnell to Moore would just disappear, but then there are the many who support and actually waste a vote on these miserable GOP politicians-in-waiting.
That said, it's to the undying shame of the Democratic Party that they have been unable and unwilling to deliver a powerful message for at least a generation to citizens of all stripes that they are capable of moving this country forward. If the Dems keep throwing-up (pun intended) the same republican light, Clintons-like, candidates to try an counter the maniacs like Moore in the South and Southwest, I can only say: is this the best you got? Or are you so beholden to your Wall Street donors and so loyal to all things Clinton that your thinking is stuck in zombie land.
10
Republican lite? Come on, what about Bernie?
1
Agree 1,000%. You're one of us! If you don't watch "The Young Turks" (tytnetwork.com) you should. Join the real resistance, we are actually DOING something about it. #WolfPac #JusticeDemocrats
I would strongly suggest Judge Roy Moore politely decline McConnell's RNC funding, as well as the Senate Leadership Fund (i.e. the U.S. Chamber of Crypto-Fascist, Crony Commerce) offer to help in his general election against his Democratic Party challenger: Doug Jones. Instead, Pres. Trump should hold a series of fundraising "conventions" around the country for Judge Moore.*
P.S. Bring needed items to send to Porto Rico and the Virgin Islands. hurricane relief effort.
* Google "Trump Headlines Fundraiser That Raised $5 Million"
2
An internecine Republican conflict will leave the Left in ruins as well: There is but one machinery. We are grinding to a halt because we will not respect our differences OR acknowledge in action that we have them.
Why CAN'T there be one ALL-WHITE state with Confederates statues and Gone with the Wind? Why can't there be one ALL-BLACK state with resources sufficient to allow its citizens never to have to see a white person again, ever? Why can't our divisions be purposeful so that our connections allow us to live in the same country?
I just want to know where I can go. I want to live in the section that doesn't allow guns and has excellent schools; and no police. That's where I want to live. I don't want to debate it: Each a section.
I want all the people that don't accept abortion, believe in God, are willing to kill to protect their property, who don't want to pay taxes or have any "Federal oversight" of their industry, water, etc., to have their own section.
Like North Korea: Do the best you can do and let it alone or be willing to kill thousands to millions.
Yes, there is only one planet; I understand. Still, I say, till your own field or be willing to kill your neighbor because your neighbor is not going to change. The idea of changing people is a misplaced fetish! The people shown in this article's photo and I should not be neighbors. We are darts pointed at each others' eyes. I'd rather live with the snobs and slobs who like Shakespeare with their beer.
10
Good. The sooner the Republican Party commits political suicide the better off all of us will be.
26
Remind me, which party has lost 900 office holders over the past 8 years?
I blame the right wing media for stirring up their listeners and readers. They fuel the flames of hatred and move people farther and farther to the right.
39
The biggest culprit- FOX
Putin will make sure the democrats do not win anything for the next 20 years, no matter what happens to the republican party,
8
It's not just Mr. Putin--between voter disenfranchise tactics to keep people from voting and a system that can be easily hacked and manipulated--the voting process itself is vulnerable and
http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2017/08/this-republican-candidate-ha...
9
The good news is that Trump's candidate lost. The bad news is that Trump's candidate lost. Roy Moore's view are somewhere to the right of Attila the Hun.
18
There is not a rebellious hair on this insurrection's head. This is about division between the Republican fake news /identity politics salesmen, and the Republican politicians. A technical distinction if there ever was one. They may occasionally differ on an idiotic gimmick like the border wall. One side blames democrats for the failure of its own ideas, the other blames Republicans for failing to get rid of Democrats. Both work for the same interests. Good cop, bad cop. One wants legislation, one wants blood. Both want money.
30
May they self-destruct on prime time.
12
I don't understand how a person with legal training can rave about the nonexistent threat of Shariah law while being a completely deranged Christian theocrat. I think we really are back in the Middle Ages.
51
Well, Roy Moore is. I don't know about you and me.
1
I know not of republican insurrection but I do know there is a growing lunacy among conservative voters.
23
The author underestimates the partisanship and irrationality of voters
21
I wonder which will self-destruct first: the GOP or the USA.
25
The USA
I don't care if another loon gets into the Senate, but please keep God out of our government. Maybe we need a Constitutional amendment. The first one didn't seem to work.
18
You would never get enough red states to ratify it.
It can't come quickly enough. The sooner the GOP goes full Monty, the sooner it can rebound to right of center and maybe MAGA can become more than a tired old bumper sticker.
2
Don't count on it; I've been saying this of the republican party since the 1980s.
How do you think the Nazis came to power in the1930s?
Roy Moore is less a dire constitutional threat than some far-left Democrats. If he wins the Senate he'll probably end up shooting other Republican senators in the foot anyway..figuratively.
5
please name the far-left
Lane...who are these "far-left democrats" of which you speak? The Democrats now are nothing but "republican light". The "far left" brought us little things like the 8 hour work day, civil rights, Social Security, Medicare and the like. Oh yeah...and an end to the Vietnam War.
it seems to be the ones on Fox that they talk about all the time... it's their alt-truth group talking
Like a lot of people born in the aftermath of WWII, amidst the shock at the madness and atrocity-working of ostensibly sane and civilized people, I wondered, I read and studied--and still couldn't understand. How could brutal tribalism, false ideologies, and a will to cruelty so take over a nation? I never wanted to find out this way.
49
Moore's selection as the GOP candidate, is really driving home how unhinged the GOP has become. If there really is a majority who wants to ride this "crazy train;" then America as an idea rooted in justice, liberty and equality, has run its course.
I refuse to believe that; and pray enough voters feel the same.
26
With Trump being the President, and now Roy Moore winning the primary, is there any hope for our country?
11
None whatsoever
No. None.
Just to put things in perspective, Alabama has a record number of voters registered for the next election: 3,331 K voters. Of those, only 262K (between one in twelve and one in thirteen) of all registered Alabamians voted for Moore in the primary. Is the dynamic that decided the election are large numbers of uninspired voters abstaining from voting, combined with an electrifying manic wing candidate whose supporters demonstrate very high turnout.
So how can we inspire more people to vote?
11
This is the story that needs to be investigated and brought into the national spotlight. Those uninspired voters may be left out of the process for other reasons.
http://www.al.com/news/huntsville/index.ssf/2017/09/alabama_probate_judg...
3
There is a simple reason why this Alabamian did not vote for Roy Moore on Tuesday. I'm waiting for November, when I will be voting for Doug Jones. Allons, citoyens! Votez vous ou fermez la bouche.
If the senior party strategists have just concluded that the conservative base loathes the leaders in Washington, they have had their heads in the sand.
One of the few things my conservative or liberal or progressive, or red or blue, or Christian or Jewish or agnostic, or whatever friends can agree on is that we ALL loathe ALL of the professional political class who are working for themselves or their sponsors and not Americans.
11
California avoids most of the problems of a one-party state by having non-partisan elections (where you can end up with two Republicans or two Democrats in the general election) and election districts drawn by an independent commission.
I found it the psychological effect quite interesting in the last Senate election when the choice in the general election was between two Democrats. I really had no strong opinion about who won the election, which was nice given the circumstances. The last time I felt that was the Obama/McCain election, where I could accept my non-preferred candidate winning with a degree of equanimity.
3
What everyone is failing to realize here is that at least if not more than half of the country doesn't agree with the liberal agenda that the other side has. Now I understand that we all have to find a middle ground but society has been pushing the liberal envelope so much so that it has all come to a head. Why must half the country accept the liberal agenda and to not do so makes them wrong! The liberal agenda talks of their program as if it was correct because they call it "progressive". Well one could call both sides intolerant! Who is to say who is right? Forcing their own respectful ideology on the other is right either!!!!
5
Which agenda are you referring to, treating everyone equally and fairly? Why is that a problem for you?
African-American Democratic Congresswoman Barbara Jordan said it to The Washington Post's David Broder: "Any nation worth its salt controls its borders." While respecting legal immigrants, Barbara Jordan repeatedly made clear the nation needed credibility in immigration policy & reforms to adapt to globalization a la Canada's points system & cuts to legal immigration.
She died months before legislation was finished and Bill Clinton then betrayed her and the other members of his Bipartisan Commission on Immigration Reform to cut deals with Corporatist GOP like then-Senator Spencer Abraham. Jeff Flake, Lindsey Graham, and the other establishment Republicans are simply the heirs of Spencer Abraham and Bill Clinton. Selling out US citizens of all stripes for the benefit of their 1% donors who benefit from no borders and mass migration. The unpopular Republicans are the ones who are hiding from the Cotton-Perdue RAISE Act, which exactly mirrors the recommendations and conclusions of Barbara Jordan 20+ years ago.
7
The genesis of this movement is obvious. A whole generation of Republicans has grown up believing what their leaders told them. Government is mostly fraudulent in practice and in principle. Voting is riddled with fraud. Anyone receiving government benefits is a taker. Taxes must only be lowered. Tax cuts will always pay for themselves. Science is mainly an interest group. Expertise is elitism. Anyone less than a purist is a traitor.
All the things Republicans have said for years for political expedience are now articles of faith, and the believers see the unbelievers as infidels. The accumulated knowledge of scientists, economists, social scientists, and any other scholars or experts is brushed aside with disdain. Consulting with climate experts and even measuring emissions at the wellhead are verboten. We're still on the trickle-down Laffer curve! No need for boring outcome statistics when a bully's "gut" knows what's right about the war on drugs and mass incarceration.
A recent Krugman column explained that the Republicans are stuck trying to govern based on the lies of the campaign. The real situation is much worse. They - and all of us - are stuck with an ascendant generation of charges who have been nurtured on those same lies since they were born, and who see any deviation as blasphemy.
104
You have spoken truth.
When one can easily prove scientists, economists and scholars are wrong about liberal public policy, using historical facts, it's easier to sleep at night knowing you voted against democrats. You need to do some reading. When you learn to approach life and the politically-driven assumptions of so-called experts with a healthy dose of skepticism, then maybe you'll have a better idea for why liberals lose and conservatives win in America.
Anyone can always argue about who has been right or wrong about public policy. It's pretty easy to argue that most everyone has been wrong about it plenty. Scientists' views of public policy, liberal or otherwise, aren't very important. Their scientific conclusions are. Of course they should always be viewed critically, and no one including scientists is free of bias. But rejecting science out of hand isn't an answer. Bringing a snowball into Congress or simply declaring "It's weather" isn't giving science the critical, skeptical consideration it deserves. It's just stupid. Same with just proclaiming that untold trillions less in taxes will pay for itself, in contrast to all past experience. Can you find some scientist or economist who thinks climate change isn't happening or the Laffer curve is right on? Sure. But they also need to assessed critically and skeptically, not latched onto just because you like their policy implications. There are real, not just so-called, experts, and a strong consensus among them is sometimes right. When you get sick, you probably go to a doctor. You rely on experts, even though there's some chance their diagnosis could be wrong or the current consensus about how your condition should be treated could be wrong. You could get sicker and maybe die! But you recognize that expert guidance is probably your best chance. Why shouldn't we do the same with national and global problems, all the while assessing things critically?
For a long time I've been saying that America is too divided to ever again find middle ground. The ideological differences run too deep. It's like a bad marriage with irreconciable differences. The only solution in this type of scenario is divorce. Then, the parties don't have to fight anymore. They go their own way and live their respective lives as they see fit.
To literally divide a country seems impossible. People tell me it can’t be done. However, the reality is, we’re in the midst of a civil war. Right now, it’s a civil war of words. The goal is to take over our government and transform it back to the days of yore. While we don’t currently see troops in the streets, it seems plausible that we could in the near future. And think about it, I read that Trump authorized local police departments to buy military equipment which includes rifles with bayonets. If that doesn’t evoke memories of the civil war, I don’t know what does.
I know that I don't want to be governed by this crazy, hateful, bigoted, racist, homophobic, mysogonist, etc. fringe of the population. And, to add insult to injury, these very people depend upon the money, we, the 'blue' states, provide them. That makes me mad. Very mad. I’d rather support a government that is kind and generous than the mean one this fringe wants.
So, I think the question is, how do we get the government we want and they get the government they want? And how do we create this before too much blood is spilled?
32
I completely agree per my earlier post. Let these folks have their own very mean country. We will take 100% if those who would like to immigrate.
1
Rally around the right candidate. For starters, check out Gavin Newsom.
Godwin's Law, I know, but U.S. states like Alabama sound to me like the troubled eastern regions of Weimar Germany in the early 1930s. People tend to forget that Weimar Germany was a lot larger geographically than modern day Germany and extended deep into Eastern Europe--including what is now Russian-ruled Kaliningrad (formerly Konigsberg). These areas of Germany were politically polarized, poorer than the western regions, and its residents basically weren't interested in supporting democracy--a majority of voters by the early 1930s favored the Nazis or the communists.
It sounds like a lot of whites in Alabama support Roy Moore. Imagine what sort of impression this conveys to the many blacks who live there. Has it ever occurred to whites in Alabama that embracing right-wing extremism is likely to lead blacks there to embrace their own preferred forms of political extremism?
Low-income whites in America often mystify me (Alabama is a low-income state). They often vote like Ivy League educated stockbrokers and appear to believe that private sector, for profit health insurance companies are among the most reliable and trustworthy entities on earth. How can ANYBODY who's had to deal with the likes of Aetna and Blue Cross Blue Shield feel this way?
21
Not living in Alabama, I had no clue who this Roy Moore is. However, they have been profiling him on a few cable network stations and I have to ask what's the matter with Alabama. I am astounded that anyone could vote for someone like this. I think he or these voters could care less about our Constitution. Sounds like they want this country to be theocracy. There are only a handful of Theocratic countries. They include Afghanistan, Iran, Saudi Arabia and Yemen. I guess we would be in good company if we were all Alabamians.
53
Insurrection? What nonsense. A so-called insurrection in 2018 would replace Republican senators and house members who support Trump with 100% of the time with neophytes who will support Trump 100% of the time. Do you really think Moore will vote any differently than Strange, or Kelli Ward will vote any differently than Jeff Flake?
16
Don't know, but I think we'll find out after the midterms.
I think a couple of commenters have already stated this, but it bears repeating: these signs of the collapse of the Republican party are not a good thing for Democrats and/or anyone who wishes for this country to remain a democracy. The idea that in any but one or two national races moderate Republicans will vote for a Democrat rather than even a theocratic fascist as long as he has an R behind his name is wishful thinking. Hate radio and T.V. and the gerrymandered nature of these districts make it all but a certainty that after 2018 an even more vicious and insane brand of Republicanism will be in charge of all three branches of the government. Roy Moore is not a repudiation of Trump! He is a champion of many of Trump's most rabid supporters.
Anyone in this country who has any decency needs to read "On Tyranny" by Timothy Snyder. People, we are well into the end of democracy in this country. Anyone who thinks fascism can't happen here is about to get a brutal surprise.
280
Thank you, KC Yankee!
It is long past time for our political reps and the news media start calling out the “Alt Right” movement for what it is -- a neofascist, theocratic, white supremacist movement.
Throughout the 20th Century, there has been a thread of fascist sympathy in the United States; Henry Ford and Charles Lindbergh were prominent. Mussolini coined the term, fascism as Corporate Socialism and judging by how major owners of our largest monopolistic corporations dominate American economic and political life today, I would say we are well on our way,
I totally agree with you. Thank you for your analysis.
The anger directed at McConnell is a head shaker. This is the guy who managed to get away with blocking a constitutional requirement to consider a Supreme Court nominee for an entire year to deliver a very conservative justice who will likely deliver what these conservatives want.
10
You've just cited McConnell's one and only success in the past 15 years. Can you name another? No. That's why we conservatives want him gone.
This is yet another example of predictive journalism. We're looking into the magic crystal ball to analyze every Republican primary across the country. Did Rand Paul's success trigger the nomination of multiple Republican libertarians? Did Bernie Sanders' election trigger the nominations of multiple Democratic populists? Is this Alabama election really the harbinger of things to come?
Alabama is a state unto itself. Other than Sessions and Hugo Black its senators are obscure. And it is best known for segregation and football. It is hardly a leader among Republican states. And while it is true that we have a fruitcake challenging Jeff Flake here in Arizona, she has been seeking a Senate seat since long before the Alabama election.
The crystal ball is predicting a nationwide rebellion against core Republicans for blocking the Trump agenda. In turn, it suggests election opportunities for radical Republicans and conservative Democrats. But it concedes that the Democrats are unlikely to make up their 4 seat Senate deficit. Evidently, the crystal ball doesn't have much confidence that the seminal Alabama election will amount to much of anything come election day. So the predicted trend is mostly a big to do about nothing.
2
Can't speak for the Republicans, but Bernie Sander's electoral run has led to a crop of progressive candidates running for Congress. Check out groups like Justice Democrats and Brand New Congress.
God bless 'em, I say!
The right way for the Republican establishment to respond here is to assure their voters that they are even more to the right of the Trump voter.
Else, they lose connection with the Trump voter.
So what if attempts to repeal Obamacare failed?
They should initiate new policies, take new action - to keep the connection alive.
I hope they consider flying the confederate flag outside their offices, placing the 10 commandments in every public square in every red county, require religious tests and ideological oaths.
The best way to beat this insurrection is to outdo those who think of an insurrection. Godspeed.
Kalidan
3
Media pundits and Washington habitues are likely reading too much into the Alabama election results. Rather than being a referendum on Mitch McConnell vs. Donald Trump, I suspect that the voters were more influenced by religious issues and the peculiar history/personality of "Judge" Roy Moore. His opponent had not been elected after all, and he ran a weak campaign. As they say, "All politics is local."
3
If the so-called GOP base bills that Congress is failing to do enough to advance the president's agenda, I wonder if any member of that base could articulate what policy position that agenda might comprise. It certainly escapes me.
The president contradicts himself almost by the minute, and this ignores the reality that he has failed to articulate a single coherent policy position since his campaign for the presidency began in 2016.
As for Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, his demise couldn't happen to a nicer guy. The problem is that whoever follows is bound to be worse, if such a thing can be imagined. It seems that every year since the Nixon era, the GOP slides deeper and deeper toward outright fascism.
I fear for the future of our nation and the world.
14
I hope the Democrats read this and start a bunch of radio shows in short order.
In the meantime, they can certainly buy a pile of radio ads on the right wing talk shows.
3
The ballot choices says it all. Americans will always opt for more of anything. Strange isn't it, even if it's something that's not good for them.
1
Just looking at the picture of the supporters of ex-judge Moore, I find it fascinating (although certainly frustrating) that people can be so "captured." They're not expressing original thought, but 2,500 year-old brainwashing. Yet they update their Iphones and computers, why not update their minds?
16
Hang in their Libs, Iran is still standing, thanks to Obama, the health care mess as yet remains unsolved, why not get the "guvmint", federal that is out of it, and all indicators, I mean ALL, are looking up. See how things brighten when Normal People operate.
I have no idea where this country is going, but the future ain't looking good. Ain't looking good at all. Divided we'll fall.
8
This is all just Trump's tactics of taking over the congressional wing of the republican party. I think considering this as an opportunity for democrats is just wishful thinking. This is only playing out in conservative republican stronghold states. There's a reason why Trump has been criticizing the republican congressional leaders while really taking no leadership role pushing a conservative agenda in congress. He wants to pin the blame on them and get his angry base to vote in his people in republican primaries. Even if the republican lose a few seats the surviving congressmen will be his people.
5
I have to congratulate the President on reaching yet another milestone - two major lies within minutes.
'We have the healthcare votes folks but one of them is in hospital' and 'The tax cuts won't benefit me folks' were delivered with such panache that ironically they will not only be applauded by his base but most probably will also strengthen it.
6
Roy Moore is a man who believes religious law supersedes Constitutional law. Of course, he was removed as judge for defying the Supreme Court and the first amendment, but the Bible-thumping religious alt-right with its hard-line stance against same-sex marriage, abortion, immigrants and Muslims gave him the Republican nomination anyway. It looks as if the rebellion on the right that ousted John Boehner as Speaker of the House is moving to the Senate and targeting Majority Leader Mitch McConnell. What is playing out is the demise of the old conservative GOP and its takeover by the more extreme Tea Party, alt-right. Look for McConnell, like Boehner, to step aside, in hopes of stemming the takeover of the Senate by even more extreme candidates like Roy Moore in 2018. The issue, however, will ultimately be decided by the voters in November, 2018 with the responsibility largely resting on the Democratic Party to present a viable, coherent alternative message.
100
Mitch McConnell isn't going to step aside. Mitch McConnell always puts Mitch McConnell first. We've all seen that.
Haha. The second part of your post is dead-on accurate.
You have it a bit wrong. They are really constitutional-ist. This is opposed to globalist aka communist party wanna be's. Or you can call yourselves slave owners if you are allowed into the true ruling party.
"senior party strategists have concluded that the conservative base now loathes its leaders in Washington the same way it detested President Barack Obama."
They should have noticed that when none of their candidates could do anything against a weirdo like Trump, whose only claim was rebellion against them and everyone like them.
Voters denied any other way to rebel then actually elected the orange weirdo with the animal growing on his head. Now? What surprise?
8
All of this right-wing religious lunacy (I'm a REAL minister's daughter, btw) reminds me of the Salem witch hunts, where the laypeople went berserk and even killed people due to lunatic "religious" beliefs, while actual clergy were telling them to regain some sanity and were trying reign in the craziness, all over the shenanigans of a group of 14 year old 'mean girls'.
25
I wish those who want a theocracy, who think homosexuality should be legal, that married men should not dine with unaccompanied women that abortion should be illegal, etc., etc., etc., would just move to Afghanistan. They will get what they want, while no doubt still missing the irony.
49
The same ugly split exists in the Democratic party. It's not at the forefront now, but it will be in 2018. Anyone who thinks Bannon and the Mercer money should be discounted should spend a few days reading Breitbart articles and reader comments. Bannon said he is going after the GOP and then the Democrats. It's going to get uglier and it's scary.
14
I would say that there are two different factions in the Democratic Party, but it is definitely not the "same ugly split" -- as long as the two sides don't demonize each other. Of course, it is more often the case that the most dogmatic are the ones who do the demonizing and don't tend to budge on policy issues. This tends to be the case the more to the extreme (to the left for Democrats) that you get.
Unfortunately, the ugliness of the split in the Republican Party, which has been going on for a long time, still does not seem to stop them from winning elections. Incroyable! I've been hearing now about the tyranny of the minority. I think that is what we are in.
Finally, I'm waiting for Bannon's "15 minutes" to run out. He's really annoying, to put it mildly.
5
@Emily J Hancock
That would only work if Dems were as credulous as the fringe-right about Bannon/Breitbart, et al, and their 'fake news'. While some on the fringe-left were taken in by fake news and posts in 2016 with respect to Clinton, Bernie, and the DNC, the fringe-left is more likely than the fringe-right to be following the Mueller investigation's revelations that Russian bots and trolls that also targeted THEM, as well as the right-wing voters. Hopefully, that will inoculate the Left in the next go-round to a degree that will make the primal screams on the right electorally insignificant. That would multiply Dem efforts to take back Congress.
2
It won't. They think Bernie was cheated by the DNC. That has nothing to do with fake news. Time will tell, but I see nothing that will bring them together.
Is anyone on this message board from Tennessee? If so, please help us understand this voting on a local level. It's a very long way from Gore Jr. and Sr., in not all that many years.
6
Tennessee has had two respected senators, Lamar Alexander and Bob Corker, who are mainstream conservatives. Sen. Alexander is a former governor, an environmentalist and served as U.S. Secretary of Education. Corker is a former mayor of Chattanooga, a financial expert and has been serving as chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee. Mr. Corker has voiced wise criticism of Trump's follies, but Mr. Alexander has kept quiet about Trump, though he should know better.
Tennessee for years had four GOP members or Congress and five Democrats, or vice versa. Thanks to GOP strategy and gerrymandering, we now have two Democrats and seven Republicans. So a pretty much moderate Southern state has turned more conservative in recent years..
7
Why is it that Alabama has contributed such a disproportionate share of the worst people ever into the spotlight of national politics? Starting with George Wallace, moving on to Guy Hunt and Robert Bentley and continuing with the unglued Jeff Sessions and the unhinged Roy Moore, I have to wonder what is going on down there.
110
Alabama may have replaced Mississippi as our worst state. When we lived in Idaho, perhaps the most conservative state, we referred to it as the "Alabama of the West."
5
One would guess it's related to consistently being last or next to last in literacy since they started compiling the statistics.
4
Lol, Wallace ("segregation today, segregation tomorrow, segregation forever!") was a Democrat.
let the trump states form thier own country. and make him king. they'll be among the poorest.
39
I'm just wondering what specific policies these insurrectionists would like to see enacted. A theocratic mandate with all the trimmings? Bringing back those pesky factory jobs? Slavery, redux? C'mon people. We really need to know.
22
The Arizona Republican Party has stated publicly that if loon Kelly Ward defeats Jeff Flake in the GOP primary, the presumptive Democratic challenger, representative Kirsten Synema, will win the general election.
Synema is AZ's most viable statewide Democrat but said she would only run for the senate if there was another viable Democrat who could win her vacated congressional seat.
Phoenix Mayor Greg Stanton has said he will run for Synema's vacated seat.
Now THAT is how a party rebuilds from the ashes at the state level. You never give up what you've already won.
32
This analysis is late to the party. The insurrection alarm began when Eric Cantor lost his primary. Then John Boehner was tossed. Then Trump lit up the field.
Look, the GOP base has been losing trust in their leaders since 2010, because they promised garbage that's impossible to deliver, and gerrymandering allowed for even more right-wing nutcase politicians to hold office. This amounts to jack squat on the national stage.
20
Republicans are biting more than they can chew.
They will likely choke on their own rhetoric.
2018 will be an interesting mid term election.
8
It's enough to discourage even a most engaged centrist voter.
3
Good for Roy Moore. He's been a victim of the PC police for years. Displaying the ten commandments is not establishing a state religion. The hysteria from the left on the display was unbelievable. But the far far lefties seem to have taken over the media and the DNC.
5
Oh, please. Moore is an unrepentant bigot, and he violated a specific Supreme Court ruling by insisting on displaying the Ten Commandments in a government building. Far from being a “victim” of “PC speech,” he broke the law and refused to uphold his sworn constitutional duties, plain and simple.
11
Talk about Roy Moore today but talk a lot more about Doug Jones every day until the election.
Turn out matters
Elections matter
Show up Alabama
Show up!
21
Here is a little bit more about DDoug Jones (in addition to what is on his web site)
"Polls taken before the Republican runoff primary had Jones within four points of Moore."
https://www.thenation.com/article/roy-moore-could-help-the-democrats-act...
5
Donald, we forgive you for the bad call on Judge Roy. As penance, I would like a Ten Commandments plaque in the Oval Office...
1
The Republicans raise this tiger from a cub. Now it's eating them. Sounds fair to me.
25
This is the rage of those who cut their noses off to spite their faces, and are now getting ready to gouge their eyes out ... because they don't like what they see in the mirror.
15
Sadly, the result of this insurrection will be an even more extreme Congress because Americans who aren't Fox News Republicans just don't care enough to come out in large numbers and vote on Election Day. The most reliable voters are the folks who are pictured in this article: middle to lower-middle class conservatives who will consistently vote for the most outrageous Republican on the ballot. The GOP primaries are going to yield some true zealots and each one of them will ride to victory in a general election that will not see more than 25% of the population vote. Sad! (for us).
10
How can the base not be suspect of party leaders when you have Collins, McCain, Rand and others against the repeal of Obamacare?
4
The New York Times likes to say Democrats have a chance in these Conservative states but as we seen with Trump and the Special Elections, enough REPUBLICANS and Independents will put whomever the REPUBLICAN is ahead especially when the Democratic Platform has gone farther to the Left (it's almost complete Socialism).
Democratic Platform includes LGBT protected class without religious freedom exceptions, taxpayers funded abortions, punishments for denying Climate Change, so on. They could do it through 2/3 vote in each chamber, if they win by that much, to overturn a veto. Or they could win the Presidency and have a DEMOCRATIC President that does everything in the Platform by Executive Order. Or win both chambers of Congress and Presidency then pass anything they want.
1
To date, the current president has no major legislation to his credit ... but he *has* signed a great number of executive orders, more thsn President Obama did by this point in his presidency.
4
Democrats flipped another two state house seats this week. If I wanted to be a part of subverting human rights just to win and figure the rest out later, I'd be a GOP voter.
1
Following the election of 2008, we talked about how the next political battle would not be between Republicans and Democrats, but between the GOP. Those conversations have become prophecy as the Grand Ole' Party is being torn apart. What might emerge is at once scary but also possibly refreshing and new.
A newfound power coalition of moderate Republicans and Democrats would tack us back to the center on a more progressive future. Or a minority but very powerful extreme right wing which controls all levers of government which takes us to a very dark, violent and bleak future.
I can't say which will emerge but I'm an optimist. I'm hoping the anger is not sustainable.
2
We need lengthy discussions of American values.
2
Let's just get rid of all political parties. Change your voter registration to independent, give your money and votes to the candidates you believe will be good for you. Between corporatist Democrats and yahoo Republicans, neither party can really stand for anything anymore. Their goals have nothing to do with reality, in fact, they only serve the party and not the country. Bernie and Trump were/are harbingers of a revolt against their respective "parties" Who needs parties anyway?
11
Certainly not these two parties. A party? A good one? Whatever that means, we have not had that for a long time. But in theory, it could be good.
Then again, we'd do better to have non-partisan primaries like in California, so if there were a good party it could run two of its candidates against each other.
3
Yeah, but why can't you do the same thing without a party.
Cold Eye -- We could. True. I mean to say it is not the very idea of a party so much as these two parties, as presently constituted. We can see the enemy, and it is the two parties in DC. We've had some good and useful parties in the past, not always, not both of them even then. A party is one way to rally supporters, such as abolutionists to the first Republicans, and New Dealers to FDR's Democrats. California's non-partisan primary system is a good demonstration that there are other ways to do the same thing.
I didn't think that the Republicans could get any further right.
11
Not only are they still trying to find a further out right, the Democrats are chasing them out that way with the cynical idea that voters not out on the right will have no other choice. That did not work out, as voters went for a loon who claimed he rebelled against all of it, even if he really didn't.
4
Cut it out! Alabama is not representative of most of the states that went for Trump. Are you trying to gin up support for the dem candidate by scaring folks that Judge Moore is coming to a state near them sometime soon? Trust me, Luther Strange was strange enough to scare most reasonable people.
5
Be honest. It is kind of odd that Georgia didn't like a Lurch-like character 6'9" named Luther, last name "Strange." Nickname Big Luther. So very Georgia.
1
Steven Law said G.O.P. primary voters were "inclined to blame Republicans for dysfunction in Washington?" Right they should. And, private polling in multiple states shows Mitch McConnell "deeply unpopular?" Particularly with his "fellow Republicans?" Sweet. It's about time. Bye, bye, Mitch. I'd be lying if I said I'd miss you.
8
What about the so-called moderates and independents? Where do we fit into this early 21st Century America? At this point, I am a free agent and have zero loyalty to any of the major parties. I just want a moderate, and reasonable candidate to lead us. I can't support Bernie and the far left. I certainly can't support Trump and the crazies on the right.
Perhaps the smartest thing to do would be for a moderate Democrat to team up with a moderate Republican for a presidential run. At this point, that would be the most appealing to me.
Signed, a Concerned Citizen
23
Since the US has NEVER tried anyone like Sanders, isn't it time?
If you truly examine Bernie's platform you will find that he is not 'far left'. What does that even mean? Or you may find that you agree with what you perceived as 'far left'. Inform yourself through different mediums.
1
Joe Biden/John Kasich.
There seems to be no limit on the depths that Republican voters will go as they express their generalized anger. Electing Roy Moore, known to have been corrupt in former iterations, is beyond anything imaginable before Trump et alia.
The ineptitude of the Republican politicians in Washington is bad enough, but to cynically elect a politician known to be corrupt has swept the state of Alabama into a twilight zone of dirty politics--which seems to be spreading. Deplorables indeed!
20
What the country needs is a grass-roots effort to turn the Mercers and other unelected, wealthy, meddlesome families out of office.
Public funding for campaign spending. No extra money allowed. Candidate gets enough signatures, they get the same dollars to spend as other candidates in their race.
22
Ah yes ...Mr. Bannon, the puppet master. All this time Trump thinking he is the one leading the charge, only to find out he is merely a stooge in the service of Bannon's self-fulfilling prophecy of anarchistic nihilism. It's more than the GOP that needs to get prepared for the challenge ahead. Never underestimate delusion on a quest for power. That guy and his minions are terrifying.
13
It's too late, the GOP has been taken over by Trump, who is not a Republican. Moore or Strange, it makes no difference as long as the winner is loyal to Trump.
3
"...poll numbers collapse after clashing with Mr. Trump and embracing unpopular legislation to repeal the Affordable Care Act."
Huh... so what kind of message should they get out of that? Clashing with Trump but caving is not good? Should they have been conciliatory all along, or not caved? Hard to believe either of those would stop their poll numbers from collapsing.
1
Alabama is #1 in the college football ratings and #888 in the recent Wall Street Journal ratings of colleges and universities. Are we supposed to think they are on to something?
12
I think you have answered your own question. A state filled with those suffering from CTE.
4
Mr. Moore personifies everything we, 80+ million first and second generation Americans do not identify and have very little in common with. It is time for us to energize and together with others, including African-Americans, stop those church-going cowboys from claiming the country for themselves. Do it at the ballot box next time around !
11
"Church-going cowboys" - those are divisive injurious words, although they probably make you feel safe and generate a feeling of secure guaranteed superiority. The risk of giving up that crutch is purely psychological, but the potential gains are real and great.
1
Hmmm ... I seem to remember many, many people predicting just this split in the Republican party - but of course, they were just stupid liberals who didn't get it. Republicans created this problem, its about time they got to the consequences for it.
12
The Hillary Democrats have been lumping them together since the election. They've refused to see the options to play Trump against the Republicans as Bernie suggested from election night.
2
The establishment in BOTH parties have let the average American taxpayer and citizen down. Hence the election of Trump and Moore. I do believe the infamous quote that best describes our current political situation is... "America's chickens have come home to roost".
4
Makes you wonder if we should build that wall on the Mason-Dixon line.
Anyway, humor aside, it does reflect on how voters turned on McConnell/Ryan deeply ingrained politicians. It will get worse if the GOP tries again to repeal Obamacare, IMO. Truth is, conservative talk radio likely is the culprit. And too bad for the GOP they fostered such a monster for southern votes when it worked for them--and now it does not. It is a monster that will not obey.
8
The Republicans who represent the party's legitimate ethos for the last many presidents must stop overlooking Trump's lies, stop lying themselves and get behind bipartisan attempts at legislation development. The alt-right must be loudly confronted on their blatant lies by everyone else, forcing them to withdraw into the shadows. That is to say, they should not be allowed to end the best democracy in the world, joining the other nationalist oligarch despots.
4
Backward. The Republicans are even worse than Trump. They are the ones with decades of single minded drive to ruin us, while Trump is all over the place, and not on side with them much of the time.
4
There's no logic here. Once their internecine battles are fought they will all line up behind the surviving republican candidate. No way are they going to vote democratic, because we don't offer racism, homophobia, etc.
9
"because we don't offer racism, homophobia, etc."
That blends self congratulations with demonizing half of all Americans. The self praise ignores quite a bit, and the demonization ignores quite a few people and concerns too.
That is the path to another defeat.
5
It's not demonization; it's called telling the truth. What's walking around in the sunlight today used to live under a rock.
newsmaned -- When you say the winning half of all Americans crawled out from under a rock, you are ensuring you will lose any appeal to them next time. That is the political path to loss.
I find myself in 100% agreement with Roy Moore...on the subject of Mitch McConnell. Once beyond that, there is absolutely nothing favorable I can find to say about the man.
3
It is the tea party's last gasp. States like Miss. and Ala will always be Trump states despite the fact Trump will sell them down the river in a second if he had to.
Having said that, the reps are split in three. There are the bunker die hard extremists like Paul, Cruz and Moore, freedom caucus etc and on the other side moderates like Murkowski and Collins plus others. In the middle are the trad. rep. core like McConnell, Pence etc.
If the democrats play it right they can take back at least one branch in 2018 and maybe two. Here is what they have to do. (Chuck are you listening?)
Be moderate progressive, populist.
1-Don't be identity obsessed like Hillary was. Be for progressive things but consolidate gains, do not go for new things like equal pay, more trans gender rights etc. The country is not ready for it, It will not get more votes, only lose votes.
2-Be more progressive Bernie without being quite as liberal as Bernie. Talk against Wall Street, talk against new wars, talk about blue collar jobs lost in Wisc.,Pa, and Mich that Trump successfully demagogued. Don't bring up equal pay, more transgendered rights, drastic penalties if somebody doesn't want to cater a gay wedding.
3-As critical as blue collar job loss talk, talk about shoring up ACA. It has benefitted rep. states the most. Do not bring in something like medicare for all (despite the fact we may eventually get it). America is not quite ready for it, but America is ready for saving ACA.
4
Politicians need not heed voters real needs because, in many cases, money from big business gets them elected. Alabama is an unusual case, although, Mr. Moore may not in fact support legislation that represents voters actual needs. He fits right into their emotional beliefs, but that won't pay their hospital bills.
The insurrection of voters who feel themselves abandoned will continue. Politicians don't seek office to represent their voters. They work to delude voters into thinking that they are for the people, when, in fact they are for a myopic little group of emotionally driven personal issues PLUS full support for the big industrialists and special interests that get them elected.
Republicans have obviously not taken the pulse of the electorate, have no idea what the people want and have no intention of finding out. Democrats got themselves removed from power for exactly the same reason -- they had no clue that blue collar workers didn't share the elitist philosophies that they campaigned on. Now incumbent Republicans will get removed from power and to some extent Democrats may benefit from the squabble.
Let's start by eliminating big business support for candidates. There will still be myopic politicians with an emotional focus selling themselves as someone who they aren't. But at least they'll be selling themselves and not big business first, and then themselves.
6
Relax, people. It could be worse. Trump could nominate Moore, or someone just like him, for the next Supreme Court vacancy. On second, thought be afraid; be very afraid.
10
I worry about the day Ted Cruz realizes he can never win the presidency and sets his sights on a Supreme Court seat.
Pardon the naked ignorance, but for years we've heard about the GOP 'base', which I think is basically the Tea Party, funded by the Koch Bros and evangelicals.
Given that only about 26% of the electorate voted for Trump, what percentage of that 26% constitutes the 'base', as opposed to mainstream, loyal Republicans who would never vote for Hillary? It can't be that large a percentage of the overall Republican universe and as such may be given too much attention by mainstream GOP members. But I'm probably wrong on this. Anyone?
4
The base is said to be 20-15 percent. But very motivated to vote, and prone to hatred....such as saying they would never vote for Hillary. Odd you call that mainstream.
Republicans became partisan during Hastert (now in jail for raping boys) and Gingrich. A moderate Republican would be one who can work with Democrats like Hillary on worthy projects like funding CHIPs and Medicaid.
1
The republicans would seem to have less to worry about than meets the eye in 2018. Given the pronounced right lean of the Divided States to begin with, 2018 would not look especially encouraging for the Democratic party in spite of the apparent conflict within the republican party.
Republicans should have no challenge maintaining seats in TX,WY,NE,UT,TN,MS and of course AL. However, Democrats will be severely vulnerable in at least the southern / western states of MD, VA and NM.
As of today, It would be surprising if the republicans did not increase their senate numbers by at least three in 2018. The crazier Trump gets the more they like him, unless there is a crazier candidate they can support like Moore. Republican constituents seem very similar throughout the country: evangelicals, law enforcement, tradesmen, small business owners, corporations. These folk are pretty united against immigrants, education, universal healthcare, medicare, social security and the like. Though "they" would deny such a statement, their votes make the statement for them.
2018 will be a nice barometer to measure just how far right the Divided States can go and whether the Democrats have any answer whatsoever for it.
3
The GOP has been feeding on anger for decades. Now that there's no black guy in the White House, they've had to find someone new to hate. It's fine with me if they want to eat their own.
56
Nominating an anti-science, anti-equal rights for all, gunslinger in this age when new technology is moving at warp speed is akin to poking yourself in the eye with a sharp stick. Do Americans really want to go back to the past?
99
In case you haven't noticed, there are many sore eyes in Alabama. :-)
Sadly, many do.
Could "imperil their grip on Congress"? C'mon, in our wildest dreams Alabama, Mississippi, et al wouldn't elect a Democratic senator, and they're so thoroughly gerrymandered that it's nigh impossible for Dems to add to their House representation in the ever retrograde South.
26
Trent Lott said,
“Every Republican senator had better get prepared for a challenge from the far right.”
So the already Far Right GOP is worried about challenges from even Farther Right Republicans..
What could possibly go wrong? Standby for more Government gridlock and possible shutdowns.
22
Stand by for a theocracy if far right Republicans get their way.
20
Have been paying attention? They claim to be conservative until it is time to vote on conservative legislation.
1
America is clearly splitting into two distinct countries. One that believes in the Constitution and desires equality for all. Black, white, gay, whatever. The other is a country determined to make life as difficult as possible for those of color, those without wealth, those on the bottom. Their rules comes from their personal interpretation of the Bible, including revering the least Christian president ever elected. Essentially they want a capitalistic theocracy. The divide is getting deeper with every election. Roy Moore is a symptom of the frustration, anger, ignorance, and racism that was suppressed under Obama and now has risen to the surface like the pus in a pimple. Those who believe in the Constitution and really and truly obey the commands of Christ (like "love the alien") are going to have to put up a fight against folks like Moore who seek to subvert the separation of Church and State.
59
Well stated. I wish all of America could know how disturbed many of us are with those who proclaim Christ as their Savior, yet behave in ways that fail to represent the heart of His message. Inclusion, love for all, mercy on the poor and the suffering, not judging anyone who is not of the faith, judging self far more than others...What Jesus did Ray Moore learn about?
15
Well said. Thank you.
At the next GOP Convention,
"Who knew there's an "S" at the end of Frankenstein?"
14
How are politicians in the US who want to impose law based on Christian values any different from politicians in certain countries who want to impose law based on Sharia? They are identical. Why should people who are not Christian or who are atheists follow laws based on God, as espoused by the Alabama Senator Moore?
66
1) If Moore wins in the general election, it is time to beef up donations to Alabama's chapter of the ACLU, the Human Rights Committee, NARAL, and CAIR. While on the judicial bench Moore showed his contempt for the Constitution and those seeking its protection. If he wins, Alabama might want to change the state's motto to 'The Injunction State'.
2) One wonders how well the enthusiasm of Trump's base will hold up next year when they watch their president being impeached and removed from office.
11
Well, then those of us with some money to share better do so in support of the Jones campaign. It's not clear if the Democratic Party is going to help him, but look how far their strategy got them in 2016.
12
The vast majority of Republican lawmakers will move fast to the alt-right, where their principles are.
8
At the end of the day, just exactly what does the Bannon-Moore anti-establishment voter want? After the Stange-Moore campaign, it's clear that they like candidates who say inflammatory things, and they think that the country should embrace a conservative moral/religious ideology. But in terms of legislative goals, exactly what is the end game? No taxes? No government regulation? Legal persecutions of everyone to the left of Mitch McConnell? A military that attacks every government they don't like? I get the fact that they are angry, but how do Democrats (or even moderate Republicans) oppose a movement that is only defined by anger and expresses such a wide range of goals?
43
This has never been about what they want, but rather it's about what they hate. And they hate anything and anyone who is different from themselves.
13
The far right conservatives, extreme radicals in truth, simply do not realize that they do not represent the majority view of this country. Yet, they want to prevail. There is a word for that philosophy, and it’s not associated with traditional American values.
10
Amy Walter, a political analyst that I admire, said during the campaign that she thought we were witnessing the destruction of the Republican Party. As events such as Moore's win continue to happen, I believe she was exactly right. It's a slow train wreck that is both richly deserved, but, at the same time, disconcerting to watch.
8
Stop blaming the politicians you voted for. It's the American People themselves that have brought us to this mess. In a democracy, the people get the government they deserve. A curse on both your houses; they have made worm's meat of this country.
18
No worries GOP, if you implode just wait a few years--the way the Democratic Party is headed, you'll have a new conservative group to join. Time for Greens and Progressives to start anew on an actual Left movement/party.
3
“The Republican Congress has replaced President Obama as the bogeyman for conservative G.O.P. primary voters."
These people just want someone to hate, don't they? Well at least the Republican Congress is a worthy target.
15
They sit around all day waiting for Trump to tell them who to hate this week. I guess it's the NFL and Puerto Rico for now.
2
So Alabama wants a Senator removed from his old job who does not obey the Federal courts and they like a president who had to pay off 29 million to defrauded customers.
I'm not sure Alabama and America are headed the same direction. The GOP seems to pushing lawless people into our government.
15
Is there not another threat to the senate Republicans that, at some point, a moderate Republican like Susan Collins realizes that this is not the same caucus she joined 20 years ago? Seems to me she'd be reelected in a heartbeat as an Independent or even as a Democrat, and surely would find it easier to sleep at night.
11
After the 2016 election, why does everyone (especially the media) assume the election returns are real? Did Moore win? Or is his election just the result of more Russian hacking?
8
Not sure why the Russians would need to interfere here. Both choices are loyal to Trump and that's all Vladimir cares about. He's got tapes.
2
We do not need people in Congress who support god, we need people who uphold the Constitution.
The Constitution that people like Moore have despised since they tried to destroy it.
Moore and fellow travelers aren't from the Right, they are from the Wrong.
11
Mitch McConnell has been playing with fire for years by
kowtowing to the far right, while trying to pretend he didn't
know how radical their ideas and values were. All the while
he figured he could control the fringe groups, and now it's
out of control, and he's been burned bad.
I don't feel sorry for him (far from it), but unfortunately the country is
going to suffer mightily.
10
Since Alabama hasn't actually said it wants to secede but nevertheless a significant number of its citizens had demonstrated that they no longer wish to be part of a country where there's a separation between church and state and where all people have equal civil rights, couldn't we just consider ejecting them from the union? We could certainly save some federal dollars since Alabama is among the biggest of the taker states. Of course, we'd need a period of easy immigration to the United States for any Alabamans who were willing to support the Constitution and the values of this country. The rest could remain in Alabama and run their country the way they want.
12
"Republican incumbents in the House and Senate will face serious primary challenges in 2018, fueled by anger at the party’s apparent ineptitude at wielding power in Washington."
Oh yes. We need more Sarah Palins and Christine O'Donnells in congress. That will totally get things moving.
3
At what point do the States with less than proportionate representation in Washington start seeking independence? Isn't that what the original American revolution was about?
8
"The American people are sending a message that there's nothing getting done in DC and we're going to have to replace a lot of these people."
This is spoken like a true politician. Obama spent two years getting things done and Republicans spent six years trying to reverse his accomplishments. Now that Republicans are fully in charge, they are getting things done: Gorsuch, NLRB, lots of other federal appointments and still the folks that want to turn back the clock even farther are complaining about things not getting done.
5
A part of me welcomes far-right candidates like Moore winning the Republican nominations, since it makes it more likely that Democratic moderates or progressives might win in the general election.
Another part of me recalls that I had exactly the same hopes and expectations regarding Trump's nomination...
9
McCain, Corker and McConnell in the Senate and Ryan, et al, in the House should seriously consider impeaching Trump before more far-right radicals like Moore win elections.
8
The Republican Party as an institution -- or maybe I should say most Republicans in positions of power -- will accept Roy Moore in their midst. Not a one will support his Democratic opponent -- Doug Jones, who is highly qualified, law-abiding, honorable, a strong family man, and apparently moderate in his political views. Some Republicans prefer the more gentlemanly Mitch McConnell -- but they will go along with Moore. On economic issues like lower taxes, less regulations, ending Obamacare, Moore and the GOP Establishment are in complete agreement. On social issues, many Republicans (I suspect) secretly agree with Moore. Some Republicans (I suspect) really do support gay rights, civil rights, decent immigration policies, environmental protection. But even those more centrist Republicans see those issues as relatively unimportant. Moore is the true face of the Republican Party.
4
This is the split in the Republican party we expected at the nomination of Trump. Trump is NOT a Republican. He's a party of one, supported by the 35% or so of voters who think he can do no wrong. Those are the Trumpers. The remainder of the GOP, most of whom didn't support Trump -- and that includes McConnell, Ryan, McCain, and others who held their noses to endorse him -- continue to be at risk from the insurrection.
The voters in Alabama continue to send this message: Washington doesn't represent us. You're all self-serving, wealthy people. We want a political revolution, be it from the far right (Moore) or elsewhere.
The interesting twist on this vote is that the leader of the revolution since his nomination, Trump, didn't get his candidate elected. The voters thought that either A) Luther Strange wasn't a revolutionary, or B) Trump is no longer credible as the leader of the revolution after 8 months in office and no real results. Could it be both?
93
But but but
If you look at what Trump is actually doing, day to day, he is doing things that only help the ultra wealthy
repeal and replace - basically, take health insurance away from poor people for a millionaire tax cut
Tax "reform" - huge tax cuts for millionaires; the deficit be darned
EPA, USDA, DoJ, etc: policies day to day that help the rich
The best con is when the marks don't realize they have been conned
3
The article seemed to imply that voters believe they could love trump as a leader while defying his political choices; those voters noticed no inherent contradiction there. Given trump's own often contradictory behavior, seemingly lacking in logic, unsurprising that his voters are no different.
3
First of all, the AL Secretary of State states that there was a 14% voter turnout for the Republican Senate Runoff Election.
That is less than the 18% primary vote.
So, let's stop inferring that this lousy 14% is the defining voice of Alabama politics. It's not.
1
Gerrymandering may come back to bite? The funny thing about discriminatory laws is that, eventually, someone will decide to turn them against you. Don't be surprised if the "establishment" makes a sudden move to "fix" voter suppression.
It will take some time for the GOP to finally implode, but it will, between the iron grip the Kochs have on the GOP and Trump and his gang of thieves. The question voters need to ask themselves, though, is whether 40 years of triangulation is enough and whether they have it in them to apply constant pressure on Democrats to stop making it so easy for Republicans to dig out from under the holes they've dug for themselves.
Republicans are trying to figure out how to pass a tax bill they want for their patrons without Democrats. Blue Dog Democrats have already announced they will vote with Republicans. Let the leadership stay hands off. Let the GOP do what it will as the public watches. New polls say a majority of Americans thing GOP legislators favor the rich. Let them prove it and pass a bill without Democratic help. Then, for heaven's sake, let Democrats finally get their policy and messaging straight. The current wishy-washiness is no way to win.
Triangulation has allowed Republicans to win more of what they wanted. It's time to stop them.
===
https://www.rimaregas.com/2017/09/04/triangulation-when-neoliberalism-is...
28
Barack Obama was detested by the conservative base because he was Black. Nothing more and nothing less. The fools who want Obamacare repealed are the ones most vulnerable to the loss of healthcare. For seniors on Medicare, it can mean bankrupting their retirement years for nursing home or critical care. For working age adults, it can mean medical bankruptcy. These fools, and fools they are, deserve everything they're getting. Unfortunately, this vocal minority is destroying life for the majority of citizens in this country. Republicans need to wise up and revolt. Actual, traditional Republicans need to expel this minority from their party. This can be done by creating districts mathematically, holding open primaries, increasing voter registration, early and mail in voting, and holding elections over a weekend, rather than a weekday. Increasing the voter pool will silence this minority and push policies to the center. In the case of Republicans, center right, and Democrats, center left. Depressing the vote means that a loud and crazy minority become a majority at the polls.
62
Mr. Martin and Burns, you can feel free to dispense with the "Mr.'s" before McConnell and Trumps' names. They don't deserve that type of respect.
14
I am, after many decades, now a DINO-- a Democrat in name only, forced from my party by identity politics where everyone looks out only for their own personal agenda. It's almost nice to see the the far right doing the same to RINOs.
5
How does treating everyone equally and fairly equate to identity politics? We are all Americans and we all deserve the same rights and privileges.
15
Everybody on the right wing loves using the phrase "identity politics" these days. It's trendy and it's a bore.
8
Jenifer,
I think I figured out what it means. It means gay rights, civil rights, and women's rights.
1
What's really happening in Alabama has nothing to do with 'telling the establishment to stick it'. Instead, it is the result of years of white Republicans refusing to send their kids to 'government' schools, so they go to private, white, evangelical academies or are home schooled. Either way, the level of education is profoundly misguided. Instead of science, they're taught a kind of white supremacy theology. They don't call it that, might not even recognize it as such, but it is: It is also homophobic, anti-science, prejudiced and inward looking. It is bad for the Republican party and it is bad for America. The result is Judge Moore ---simply the worse kind of human being as politician.
65
On the surface, Republican disharmony and radicalization seems to be an opportunity for Democrats and Independents to spank them in the 2018 elections. But there could be real danger if the Democrats are widely perceived as ineffective and unable to get useful things done.
Also, there will be substantial efforts to shape the narrative via fake news and relentless propragandizing by Fox and right wing radio. The Mercers, who wholeheartedly back a bomb thrower like Bannon, will spend their money freely. And, given the lack of Republican efforts to keep the Russians out, expect substantial meddling by Putin in favor of the knuckle-draggers.
Polarization and dissatisfaction may well increase, and further cripple our democracy. I thought things were terrible with Mitch McConnell leading the Senate, but imagine an ayatollah like Roy Moore leaving a cadre of similar extremists. The bottom of the Trump era may still be a ways off.
7
I'm no fan of most current Republicans in Congress, but because they have been unable to enact legislation that ~70% of Americans oppose (such as the various iterations of ACA repeal) does that make them part of the problem?
This insurrection in Alabama is led by a candidate who defied legal orders based on sound interpretations of the Constitution, which prevents the establishment of religion by the government, and who also holds openly anti-gay and racist views. This is the way forward?
The actual problems the whole country faces are the extreme views held by a minority that have been driving the Republican party to an irrational fringe and away from sound governance and respect for democracy.
Republicans have been complicit by encouraging various false narratives for years (for example, death panels, fiscal collapse, our "failing" military, "government is the problem", conspiracies and nonsense of every stripe) to whip up emotional outrage, win elections and then obviously not deliver because they are railing against phantoms.
We're going to be stuck in this spiral until both parties work together to address the tremendous economic and social inequalities we face, and restore some basic sense of security for the majority. Another alternative could be a descent into chaos.
10
If the Republicans want to find out who got them into this mess, they have only to look in the mirror. They have been as mean-spirited as can be (see their health care choices for one), and have either encouraged the far right or stood still while the far right took over wide swathes of the party. We liberal Democrats will sit at the sidelines, bide our time, and pick up the spoils in 2018 and 2020.
8
It is not an insurrection! It's the republicans really opening their eyes. Finally!
1
Sadly there is no insurrection on the left to counterbalance this. The likes of Bernie Sanders still are not genuinely welcome within the Democratic establishment, no matter how often their sleep-inducing chosen ones lose election after election.
4
'All politics is local'. Luther Strange was thought to have made a deal with the former governor (who resigned amidst a scandal), so he was tainted by that. This was probably not a 'national trending' type election, but just a local choice.
1
Mr. Bannon taunted Mr. Flake on Tuesday night, suggesting that if the Arizona senator “doesn’t get a better poll in the next 30 days, you’re going to see him step down or the establishment is going to make him”
I wonder if Mr. B has considered the possibility that Senator Flake, faced with probable defeat in the 'Pub primary, might consider, instead of stepping down, stepping across the aisle? I'd be surprised if Flake has not considered it himself, if only after a 3rd drink.
7
One can only hope they cannibalize each other. Republicans are no longer interested in the 'best' of us, they want the very worst of us. (hence trump).
If there are any Republicans left who have a shred of decency or conscience left, the time to abandon your party has come. You have nothing to look forward to, than the continued selection of people who you would prefer did not exist let alone seek office.
6
Paraphrasing Reagan, the Republican party left me (long ago). Not that the Democrats have given us anyone to cheer about.
1
Roy Moore, who doesn't believe in evolution, says he's not related to a snake. I'm not so sure.
37
So Alabama temporarily takes the heat off my home state of Texas for having the highest concentration of right-wing nut jobs who want to hijack the entire country; force religion down everyone's throat; deny science even more vigorously than before; and take the country back a couple of centuries. Good job, selecting a known law breaker Alabama!
57
Possibly I am just too timid a person, but I find the prospect of "this" candidate being elected to the Senate thoroughly intimidating. I am afraid of the likes of such a candidate.
18
Being afraid of a politician who thinks it's OK to violate the Constitution by promoting his own religion in his courtroom isn't timid, it's sensible and wise. And that's only one of the many reasons he's dangerous.
6
Roy Moore will be more entertaining than The Mooch and more of a "nut case" than Trump. I can hardly wait to see the kick-off of Moore pounding on late night TV and gasps of horror on ALL cable news outlets.
Let's face it, we can't depend on Trump to entertain us much longer because we'll be in a "lock him up" phase "very soon" (as Trump would say about anything that smacks of passing meaningful legislation). It all will come down as soon as Mueller is done uncovering all of Trump's serious lies and criminal actions.
10
Hey Northeast and West Coast, I say it's high time to talk secession. The rest can figure out how to survive with our tax dollars and sense.
101
Canada would welcome your sanity and your capital. Line forms to the left.
11
Let's let Alabama succeed from the union.They can become a "Christian" nation. The US may have many christians, but we have never ever been a country defined by one faith. That is Un-American.
41
It won't take much more manic irrationality, and downright contravention of the Constitution (oh, right, that war was fought already, a while back), to both permanently marginalize these 'insurrectionists,' and permanently paralyze the entire Republican party. Oh, right, that's already happened--almost--too. Which means, of course, I couldn't be more pleased! As long as they stay in Alabama...because I never will.
4
Moore lost his judgeship when he refused to follow constitutional law. Will Jeff Sessions arrest us at Moore's swearing-in ceremony (to uphold the Constitution) if we laugh out loud?
20
Because the current Republican party is is pathologically incapable of governing for all Americans, it will likely pay more lip service to appeasing the radical, racist, no nothing, anti-science, right. It will, of course, continue to legislate only for the benefit of it's wealth donors.
10
Oh, for some good news in the wilderness that is now.
12
Making Bigotry Great Again
It is depressing to realize how many of my fellow citizens have hearts filled with hatred for those who do not look like them and think like them. I never suspected the depth of their hatred, believing that most people are followers of the Golden Rule.
Well, so much for that illusion.
Roll, Tide: over civility, courtesy, empathy and compassion.
25
"..... senior party strategists have concluded that the conservative base now loathes its leaders in Washington the same way it detested President Barack Obama."
I spend a lot of time on Breitbart and this is absolutely true. I think a lot of it is the way the base is manipulated. The right wing propaganda engine will get them infuriated about something that does not exist, or that is unimportant, and they cannot understand why their elected officials are not running around with their hair on fire about it. Hillay Clinton's running a sex ring out of a pizza parlor or Jade Helm invading Texas are classic examples, but there is new material everyday. One need only spend an hour listening to Limbaugh to see how much these people inhabit an alternate reality.
They know Trump is failing and that they are not getting what they voted for, e.g., the wall, healthcare repeal, etc., but they have a vested interest in Trump. They will not stand up in front of their wives and girlfriends and admit they made a mistake. Instead, they will find a scape goat. And this is currently Congress. Congress is failing because they are not Alt-Right enough.
41
What used to be called the party of Lincoln is now the party of the Confederacy.
23
Mr Roy Moore is not a Judge; he was legally removed twice from an elected judgeship for misconduct. Once Moore was removed from his elected position he was no longer entitled to the honorific of Judge: he had dishonored the judgeship he had been elected to, and will continue to dishonor our country.
Attorney, CPA
24
Before we get carried away what percentage of folks in Alabama actually voted. Are we again being and misguided in our judgement by a small minority?
2
Same difficulty, and getting worse all the time. We continue to elect people who are rigid and firm in their strict right or left views. unwilling to compromise, which means that they are unwilling to govern.
Then the same citizens become frustrated when even simply problems cannot be addressed by Congress.
What in the world do people expect, and what in the world are people thinking? People like Moore, who are far, far more extreme then the general population, do not help to "drain the swamp". They are a part of the problem, not the solution.
We are moving further and further away from being able to govern our own country. We desperately need to get more reasonable people registered to vote, and to have these folks, whether right or left, help to elect moderate representatives.
3
Would someone please explain what Bannon/Mercers, etc., actually WANT? What is their vision? Besides "disruption," and elimination of the "political class" (what exactly do they think their political candidates will become after years in D.C.?), what is their endgame?
10
When voters elect such ideological candidates they have disqualified themselves form complaining when nothing gets done. This is why Republicans can't govern, they'd rather make a statement.
6
We need a new moderate party. Period. I know so many progressives who are not okay with illegal immigration, but would never vote for Trumpian types. But they also felt wary of Hillary's "open borders" dog whistles. We need a party who isn't afraid to raise taxes on the rich; the Democrats are not it. We just need a sensible middle,where most people reside. Actually, I think Obama was pretty darn close, if he hadn't been stuck with determined Republican intransigence. But the Dems need to give up identity politics: Bannon proclaimed that was his ticket to repeat wins, and he was spot on with that.
9
Lest we forget, the last election cycle also demonstrated a rather large gap between the Democratic Party leadership and the voting public. It seems that neither party really understands how far they have strayed from addressing the real needs and concerns of most working American men and women. If neither party starts addressing real needs of voting Americans, a new party (or parties) will become necessary and inevitable. We live in interesting times.......
4
It's somewhat ironic that the GOP's disinformation system, created initially to bypass mainstream media criticism of Republican policies, is now completely out of control. The problem? When you set up a system to avoid facts in favor of fear, anger, and blame (propaganda), guess what; someone with more crazy ideas than your candidates can win. It was pretty clear they had a problem when in 2010, they converted 63 seats in the House, but many went to Tea Party supporters, not traditional GOP operatives. Then, there was the 2014 election when Eric Cantor, the third most powerful member of the GOP in the House, lost to a political novice. Finally, in 2016, with the presidential candidates standing in front of the 707 in Reagan's presidential library, and we know how that worked out. Welcome to blow back... Disinformation systems always devolve to their basic purpose, supporting a strongman answer. (Putin figured it out earlier than most)
4
}}} “The Republican Congress has replaced President Obama as the boogeyman for conservative G.O.P. primary voters,”
The establishment Republicans, by virtue of thumbing their noses at Trump, demonstrated their contempt for the American voters who put the man into office. They have had the power to do much of what he was elected to do, and instead have resisted and down voted and fought him at every turn.
The voters expected the Dems and the Bureaucracy to make things difficult to implement. But the establishment Republicans opposing him did so with an arrogant sense of propriety of office they had no business assuming.
We need term limits. I am not a real fan of them, but all of Congress is too arrogant and complacent about their jobs.
1
As a dyed in the wool FDR Democrat, I see hope for the party in the convulsions the GOP is going through.
As a dyed in the wool FDR Democrat, I fear the party's habit of seizing defeat from the jaws of victory.
Dems, you had better get this right. Pander to Wall Street and you'll pave the way to more trumps, more Moores and worse.
By the way, to see Moore's win as a defeat for trump is sheer fantasy. He had his fingers crossed when endorsing Strange so he could pretend he was going along with the GOP leadership.
What are we coming to when people like Paul Ryan and Mitch McConnell start looking like the moderate Republicans?
40
" I fear the party's habit of seizing defeat from the jaws of victory." Spoken like a true long-term liberal Democrat ... like me. My hope is that the Democrats will be smart enough this time to find quality candidates with proposals to make America better for everyone. And, that Hillary will decide to become a good grandmother, and not continue to be the divisive force she has become. She is no longer an asset to the Democratic Party, but a huge liability.
Barack Obama had a message of hope and optimism that moved people. But, he naively thought the Republicans would join him simply because it would make America stronger and improve the lives of millions of folks. Wrong. So, let's find some Democrats who have America's best interests at heart, unlike the Republicans, and who are also realistic about the state of politics today.
4
This is a cautionary tale straight from the Brothers Grimm. The Republicans naively create a monster thinking they will be able to control it and use it for their own purposes, but it then grows too powerful and devours them.
199
And the rich and powerful Germans thought they could control Hitler in the 30s.
We want it to devour the RINOs in Congress, drain the swamp of the likes of Mitch and Ryan......................we need new faces
Let us hope that your prediction comes to pass.
This is only good news for the Democrats. Moore joins the other group of zealots in the Senate who are intent on doing nothing that doesn't pass their test of purity, which is to say, nothing. He is more dead weight in the GOP that they have to haul around from bill to unsuccessful bill.
19
For every Roy Moore, there is a Bernie Sanders or an Elizabeth Warren. Whichever party decides to occupy the middle, with social programs for the needy, equal rights for all, healthcare for all, tax and trade programs that promote american manufacturing, reasonable approach to foreign entanglements will rule. Extreme states like California, New Mexico, Mississippi will still exist, but won,t have national influence on policy.
1
Nonsense. The things you mentioned are exactly the kinds of proposals from Sanders and Warren. The middle in both parties, such as it is, is overrun with corporatists who've decimated the middle class. At least the Democrats aren't pushing an extreme religious agenda, the likes of which hasn't been seen in this country since the separation of church and state was codified.
12
Jonsey,
Every policy you enunciated is the platform on which Bernie & Lizzie stand.
4
Extreme states like New Mexico? The only difference between Arizona and New Mexico is that New Mexicans are proud of and celebrate our history -- one in which two strikingly different cultures learned to live with each other and thereafter welcomed Anglos into the mix.
5
Long ago, Barry Goldwater, inviting Dixiecrats to join the Republicans, said "Let's choose up sides," and get on with it. In the present day, this means it's time for thoughtful Republicans to follow Senator Specter into the Democratic party.
7
GOPers said they would fix the health care system but it's still not done and probably won't happen until the entire thing implodes. I hate to think we'll end up with 2 lib/dem senators in Nevada and I'm glad I'm old and hopefully won't live too much longer.
Bannon is clearly having his day at the moment. But most revolutions start out with fiery revolutionaries following a Robespierre (Bannon), who then become consumed by their own revolution. Robespierre was guillotined, along with his followers, and France ended up with Napoleon (at least an intelligent megalomaniac). Bannon's Thermidor is coming, and hopefully it will drag the GOP with it.
11
How does winning feel now Mr. McConnell?
4
I know that the GOP, or a big chunk of it, is anti-Darwin/Wallace, but this is clearly a case of a party who attempts to run things backward have finally succeeded in recreating the Paleolithic era of american politics, where an early hominid can capture the support of the majority of the party's voters in Alabama. I am a native of the state and appreciate the traditions of football, great MLB players from Aaron to Donaldson, Hank Williams , Nat King Cole, and All Blues Saturday on WDLT, but I have long since forgotten to be embarrassed by no-brow theocrats like moore. It's just part of the culture, like tyranny in russia, honor killings in the middle east, and bad service on US airlines. At least you get some good stories out of it and a firm admiration for Canada and Norway..
20
A frightening article ... for progressives. With 35-40 states solidly or leaning conservative, with 80 percent of the seats in the Senate, this can only mean that that body will get more wildly right-wing, subjecting the vast majority of the U.S. population, in 10-15 "Blue" coastal states with dense populations, to the tyranny of Trump types.
14
The only good thing that will come out of this is that craven, self-serving oligarchs will spend more millions of their dollars and not get their way.
What a tragic use of money that could instead be used for schools, education, infrastructure, health care and our environment.
12
Roy Moore was removed not once, but twice, from his judgeship because he simply refused to follow the law and, specifically, the Constitutional mandate of separation of Church and State.
I used to think I knew what the "far right" was. But given Moore's election, I guess "far right" now means to the right of even the U.S. Constitution. It seems that, with Judge Moore, even "original intent of the framers" is way too liberal.
Maybe we should just build a giant mega church in the Capital Rotunda and call it a day. Apparently that would make Judge Moore and most Alabama residents happy.
346
Why is someone who violated the rule of law allowed to hold office? Is there no standard?
2
Please don't lump "most Alabama residents" into your comment. I am one of those "most Alabama residents" you are talking about and I can assure you that there are thousands more just like me who deplore the Republican Party, Roy Moore, and all the evil for which they stand for.
1
Constitutional mandate of separation of church and state? Exactly where is that in the Constitution? Point it out specifically.
For the eight years of the Obama administration, McConnell led the Republicans in being as obstructionist and intransigent as possible in order to prevent dastardly Democrats from accomplishing any of the goals represented by Obama. McConnell and company, including the leadership in the House, made lavish promises about what they would do if only we had a Republican president, only to fall flat on their faces once they controlled both the legislative and executive branches. Now he and how many others are about to fall victim to their own ill-considered games, the games that have been so detrimental to our country--and perhaps to the future of the world. But among the Republican base, the propaganda that's been spouted for years now has taken hold and they, that base, are NOT going to take it any longer. McConnell's strategy and tactics are coming back to, well, you know.
This might be amusing or encouraging (or both) for Democrats but, in fact, it's terrifying. More of these destructive fringe elements in the houses of Congress could well destroy this country.
24
I have grown so accustomed to Democrats self-destructing, it is so nice to see the right/republicans doing it now.
Hopefully, something good will come out of this mess.
6
Does anyone know where the "hard right" stands on the issues - like the ACA, taxes, renewable energy? Or is mostly about social stuff like abortions and gay marriage? And what makes the advocates of the hard right think it will miraculously get things done in Washington if the more moderate Republcans can't? The party is splitting apart. It can't undo the ACA because it's solution isn't a solution for the majority of Americans and, amazingly, it can't even see that! I turned in my paperwork today registering as an independent since there no longer is a Republican agenda that makes any sense.
5
Once upon a time (as late as the 70's!) there were two basic right wing party's: the Republicans, and the Conservatives. There were two left wing party's: the Democrats and the Liberals. On either side of the political spectrum, one, tho similar, was most definitely NOT the other! Somehow, when St Reagan came along, the Republicans and the Conservatives became one, and under the Bush father and son team, right wing name calling made the Democrats Liberals. Somehow. All four are NOT the same, as there are zero center leaning Liberals nor Conservatives. If EITHER party seriously wants to get back on track, they need to become their respective party's of yore, and put their more radical fringes back in their Conservative, as well as Liberal party niches. Otherwise both party's will be despised externally, creating way many more independents, as well as internally, creating warring internal factions. In case none of the rocket scientist's that run the two (four?) party's have not noticed: a LARGE (not so silent!) majority of us are CENTRIST, and neither of you are! That, is what is called: Out Of Touch. Period.
1
This is really scary. As awful as the Republican Senate and House delegations are now, can you imagine how much worse it would be if more people with the positions of Roy Moore win elections? More than we've already seen, I'm worried that the culture wars will turn into real wars in the streets of our country.
17
If someone doesn't believe in following US law, what's to prevent them from altering elections for US Senate? Has anyone vetted the employees of the Alabama state election commission?
12
Scary times in America... although this Bannon-led rebellion will eventually be put down, like all rebellions in our country's history, there will be scars.
Even though his wants are totally different, in a manner I see Steve Bannon as a modern day John Brown, almost an antithesis of John Brown. One wonders what connections Bannon has with militant groups that would do harm in order to further his and their aims.
4
The most extreme lunatics of the far right have dominated US politics for over half a century, bringing war and destruction to the four corners of the earth.
Lets be clear:It’s not only the far right that hates McConnell. Progressives and moderates hate him too. He’s the guy who broke our Constitution and put a usurper on the Supreme Court. He’s the guy who openly said his main agenda was to undermine Obama, regardless of the damage to the country.
The republican leadership, embracing the Deplorables, sowed some bad seeds, and now they will reap a terrible harvest. I cry for my country, but I laugh with joy over their self-made descent into oblivion.
40
seems to me that if you are constantly with stealth courting a dance with the devil, you have no one to cry to except the reflection in your mirrors once the devil assumes the seat at the HEAD of the table.
i do not think the devil is the president but he resides somewhere near that swamp.
4
"Republicans are confronting an insurrection that could imperil their grip on Congress"
Weren't we saying this last year when Trump was nominated? He was going to lose the Presidency and take down a few congressional seats with him? Now the Republicans control more than they have in years and might end up controlling the Supreme Court for a generation.
Never underestimate how much stink conservative voters are willing to ignore to avoid voting for liberals.
18
I hope that the republicans move so far to the right they fall of the edge of their flat earth.
115
GOP primary voters maybe inching towards the realization that a big part of the problem in Washington has been Mitch McConnell and Paul Ryan.
Sure took them long enough.
Many the next realization will be that Ryan and McConnell are not the problem, it's their billionairevdonors.
Keep digging, GOP.
PS. The crucial question, of course, is who does Putin support?
28
Who are the Mercers and what is the future they, seem to be delivering us into? I try to believe that Trump will be removed, and we might go back to the moral functional Democracy I thought I lived in. But it is dawning on me that our country has been permanently skewed, it is no longer a represenatational democracy, and we are all witness to the birth of a terrible unimaginable future.
Because of the rural urban imbalance, our future is in the hands of gullible less educated populace, religious and easily swayed by hateful propaganda.
134
Who are the Mercers? Good question. I've read about them, but I can't remember how they fit in with the others of the Donor Classes - the Kochs, the DeVosses, and I suppose we should include the notorious George Soros on the left, still haunting the nightmares of the conspiracy-minded. And many others. Somebody should publish a field guide.
1
New York State and City should ban all government excursions to Alabama. They should order a travel advisory. Anyone going there is taking their life in their hands. These people aren't thinking straight.
41
It will be an absolute travesty if Moore defeats Democratic candidate Doug Jones. Jones is a former U.S. Attorney who successfully prosecuted two KKK members who participated in the 1964 Birmingham church bombing and evaded justice for decades.
Doug Jones is an accomplished public servant, but unfortunately not enough Alabama voters are really going to care about that.
154
You're probably right, but massive turnout can have amazing results. Let's root for Jones until it's really over.
3
stand by for more travesty
2
Sessions shouldn't be in office either. We live in perilous times. These southerners believe elitism is bad, rough and tumble is good.
I see it all the time in South Carolina.
Need to have a strong Democrat running against him.
I am so sick of the right wing being angry and rejecting intelligence in a candidate. Slow motion racism. Anti-science, which brings destruction of the environment, and more Houstons where anything goes, chemical companies pollute, and the state is could care less, as corporations are catered to, and we're eventually doomed.
And the GOP told Democrats we don't need you. Disgusting.
2
Moore's victory shows how little leadership Trump has shown or is likely to show. He couldn't lead his own "followers" from the alt-right to the far right. He reached the White House by saying what his target audience already wanted to hear, not by inspiring, educating, or convincing anybody. Now that Strange has lost, Trump has deleted his pro-Strange tweets. He didn't win, so it never happened. What a fraud.
21
Trump already deleted his pro Strange tweets. It is clear that lying about which candidate he supported is no different than his lying about anything else.
3
"...the conservative base now loathes its leaders in Washington the same way it detested President Barak Obama." No. Not "the same way." Not at all.
111
Yep. The very President who actually achieved a great amount of good for this country, raising all boats! A quick scan of Mr. Obama's accomplishments is worth review and a real eye-opener!!
http://www.pleasecutthecrap.com/obama-accomplishments/
1
This is what a lot of us have suspected: Trump is a symptom, only, secondary or even tertiary. There is a rot at the basis of this country with its voters and they have been emerging from under their rocks into the daylight since Trump's election.
The stuff I'm hearing promoting Moore's candidacy is frightening. Though the racism and religious bigotry is sadly familiar, what's new and highly disturbing are the denials and intentional convolutions of logic, reality, and common sense.
It's as though large groups of the USA are not just ignorant and uneducated, but seriously mentally ill. It's more like dealing with ISIS than with simply a group of misinformed voters.
"A vote for Moore is a vote for Trump, and a vote for Trump is a vote for Moore."
"We're here to praise, support, and honor Donald Trump." "Trump is playing three dimensional chess."
All because Trump endorsed Moore in the primary. Scary and bizarre. If Moore is elected, I'll never go to Alabama.
11
Big Edit! "All because Trump did NOT endorse Moore in the primary"
3
Trump did not endorse Moore. He backed Strange.
1
This what happens when politicians suppress the vote and bring back the hate.
72
Section 3 of the 14th Amendment states in part:
No person shall be a Senator or Representative in Congress, ...or hold any office, civil or military, under the United States, ...who, having previously taken an oath, as a member of Congress, ...or as an executive or judicial officer of any state, to support the Constitution of the United States, shall have engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the same.... But Congress may by a vote of two-thirds of each House, remove such disability.
While this section of the 14th Amendment was targeted at former members of Congress and members of the US military who joined the Confederacy, the language does not limit insurrection or rebellion to the Civil War.
Roy Moore defied a lawful order of the United States Supreme Court. That's rebellion. He took an oath as a judicial officer of the Alabama.
Roy Moore is arguably ineligible to serve in the US Senate per the 14th Amendment to US Constitution.
He should not be seated in the US Senate should he win the election unless he can procure the votes of two thirds of each House. And, it would be hoped that no Democrat would vote to remove his disability to serve in the US Senate.
271
Defying a court order is contempt of court. It isn't rebellion.
5
I am SO puzzled by how your government, and politicians, are becoming SO religiously defined. First, I was under the impression that the pseudo-sacred Constitution clearly defined separation of Church and State; and second, because so many Americans aren't fanatical Christians like this man. Why aren't they speaking up, outraged by the coup being carried out by right wing, largely evangelical Christians, under the guise of the Tea Party movement, etc.? It's very striking to me, and so mystifies me why there's not more opposition.
I hope your legal (Constitutional) objection is shared by others in positions to challenge this man's seating in the Senate.
4
John, you might be right, but the decision of whether or not to seat someone elected to the $enate rests with...the $enate. Expecting 2/3 of those yokels to refuse to seat Moore is the longest of longshots.
Insurrection spills out from the right:
Is the GOP up for a fight?
Moore's defeat of Sen. Strange
Could mean time for a change
Or perhaps just ships passing at night.
8
It's time to hold these elected officials accountable to their oaths to uphold the constitution. This guy is not fit to be a senator. But that's not going to stop him from taking his seat in that chamber.
8
And what would happen if Moore looses to the Democratic candidate? Is the insurrection over?
4
"Republicans are confronting an insurrection on the right that is angry enough to imperil their grip on Congress...."
Please. The GOP purged all moderates in 1981. The choice now and since has been between the right wing and the loony right wing, which really are the same in actual voting records.
Spare me the talk of of an "establishment."
41
Moore and Strange - which one is more strange? Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea....
4
"...both Democrats and Republicans believe Mr. Moore’s nomination may put the seat at risk in a Dec. 12 general election, when he faces Doug Jones, a former federal prosecutor who is the Democratic nominee."
The last time I saw such wishful thinking in the Times it was about the Democrat's decent chances of taking the Senate as part of Hillary Clinton's sweeping victory.
15
If McConnell wanted to see Strange elected, why didn't he back Moore? Mitch's endorsement would have been the kiss of death for "Moses" Moore. McConnell demonstrated a real lack of strategic thinking here...
4
Benefiting from this would require the Democratic Party to field strong candidates who can win in Red states, against any GOP, and resist the deluge of free attack ads delivered by Fox, Breibart, etc. Just don't see that happening.
But it does focus our attention on the Democratic National Committee, which has for the last eight years acted as the support system for Presidency that did not happen, and an incompetent one at that, while neglecting its far more important role of developing the Party outside of the Beltway.
5
Am done caring about this block of voters and their "values".
Minority rule is not Democracy.
30
The idea that Republican control of Congress is imperiled is misleading and irresponsible. Nothing about the actual underlying dynamic had changed. The GOP that has existed since at least the Reagan administration is simply coming into full, transparent, public view. The votes for the most right-wing candidates clearly exist, and there's little to suggest that the electoral map will suddenly become less unfair to Democrats.
Please, NYT, don't pretend that there's danger where there isn't; yesterday's column from newly-hired Michelle Goldberg shows exactly why.
4
This is not about a far-right rebellion. This is an angry faction of the electorate whose party holds House, Senate, White House, several state houses, and most of SCOTUS. They are royally upset that their agenda still isn't getting done.
8
There is the need for a third party and GOP is ripe for a hard split into two. In American politics upheaval will be the norm in decades to come. Traditional two party system is no longer the answer to the needs of the people.
5
I just don't see that much difference between Trump/Moore/Breitbart and McConnell/Ryan.
Are the two parties going to be called dumb and dumber?
Where do they differ? Both want to cut taxes and regulations, stop identity politics (which I think means gay rights, civil rights, and women's rights), and deny science, climate change, evolution, and the value of sex education and contraception.
Really, the moderate Republicans all lost their seats years ago, like Ed Brooks. McCain on a good day will soon be the last, though he lost that title when he chose Sarah Palen to be his Vice-President. (Before he dies I want him to explain who pressured him to do that, and apologize to the country for being weak enough to cave in to that demand from the Republican party.)
1
"There is the need for a third party and GOP is ripe for a hard split into two."
There is a need for two new parties, and both are ripe to split, in fact both are in the process of splitting.
2
Lord knows this has been building for some time. Gingrich started it with his philosophy of "total war/no compromise" and they have now created a Frankenstein fueled by a highly lucrative, right wing media ecosystem that repeats certain messages until the audience is effectively brainwashed.
So the logical end point is it has been feeding on itself getting ever more extreme until now it will break into fragments. One will represent the original capitalist GOP interests who have been fooling the masses so they can get their businesses deregulated and score some tax cuts and the other segment led by Bannon will turn on the capitalists.
If we are lucky the dems will be able to take advantage and get back some semblance of power so we are not ruled by the minority as we have been for most of these last 17 years. Might even start to discuss climate change.
We can all hope.
13
Willing shock troops of the plutocracy.
Let's go, Democrats! This is a big one in 2018!
Oh, and Mr. Mueller - we're running out of time. Please.
6
The far-right is a fiery beast. Trump is its spokesman, not its leader.
What leads the far-right then? Fear of change - changing equality, changing economics, changing norms.
Whichever candidate vocalizes those fears will be the far-right darling; the GOP has courted this vote for decades. Now, the far-right is outflanking them.
5
The roosters are coming home to roost for the Repubs' extreme gerrymandering strategy. In the short run, this has the satisfying feeling of cosmic justice. But I worry that in the longer run, the shifts in the Republican party are leading to a state of divisiveness from which there will be no way to escape. Or maybe we have already reached the point of no return.
More and more we are two countries, each unfathomable to and despised by the other. When the structure of the government is built around the concept of "one nation" but the reality is that there are two, only dysfunction can result.
65
If we were in fact 2 countries, which way would immigration go? A few people would vote with their feet for a more backwards way of life, but most would be trying to move in the Blue direction.
1
The gerrymandering is not a factor in statewide races, but the GOP has definitely created a monster in congressional and state legislative races.
Honestly, I've written the GOP off as a party that wants to hurt the middle class and cause divisiveness among good US citizens. I don't care if they're mainstream or in revolt, they are not nice people.
20
"they are not nice people"
Neither are establishment Democrats. All of DC is "not nice people." There was nothing to hope for from any of them, just bad or worse, with no opening for anything good.
3
Establishment Republicans all but universally condemned Donald Trump's primary candidacy in unusually blunt and candid terms. The condemnation was categorical, not just a matter of degree - they didn't just say that Trump wasn't the best candidate for the nomination, they said - quite correctly - that Trump was unfit to be president.
But after Trump won the nomination, establishment Republicans almost universally caved in to him. Many actively endorsed the candidate they had called unfit; some more quietly acquiescing in Trump's take-over of the Republican Party; all bizarrely hoped that Trump would "pivot" and somehow be brought under control.
Only a few "never Trump" Republicans resisted, and even they dithered months away before they settled on an alternative to Trump. By then it was too late to get on the ballot in 39 states, including the biggest red state of all, Texas. Their choice, Evan McMullin, is an honorable man, but is qualified to be president only if the bar is set at Trump level.
McMullin came in fifth in the popular vote, and seriously contested not a single electoral vote. McMullin took more than 7 % of the vote only in Utah, where Trump beat him by more than 2-1.
The only realistic means establishment Republicans had to beat Trump was to endorse Hillary Clinton, but you can count on the fingers of one hand those who did so. Thus establishment Republicans surrendered their party to Trump. Now he's finishing the job.
politicsbyeccehomo.wordpress.com
8
"The only realistic means establishment Republicans had to beat Trump was to endorse Hillary Clinton,"
She fit right in with them, as the shift of war hawks and Wall Street demonstrated.
The only realistic means actual Progressives had to get a seat at the table for the next elections was to defeat Hillary. Otherwise, she'd block off all paths to progress for a decade or more.
2
The fracturing of the GOP is becoming a real threat. The dems may eventually take control by virtue of being a plurality rather than a majority simply because of a GOP schism.
Moore represents what should be best identified as "Vanilla ISIS." His vision for the country is almost right out of the Handmaiden's Tale.
9
Great. The Democrats are fracturing too, Team Hillary vs Bernie. Busting up both parties to remake our politics is the lesser evil of really bad choices we had.
2
Good, let Roy Moore head up an Alabama-lead 'revolution'. Just what we need.
Then the rest of us can get down to the business of operating a bi-partisan society. By removing and setting aside his 'revolutionary' aspirations into a corner group, he takes himself, and them, almost totally out of the picture. Which as far as we can tell-- is very generous of Moore.
4
Perhaps Republicans and Democrats ought to stop pandering to the extremes of their bases and realize there are many votes to be had in the broad middle. It would be amazing if they could just think out of the box for once.
185
I disagree 100% that the Democrats have in any way been pandering to the extremes of their bases. Please provide specific--specific--evidence of how they pandered to their bases.
2
I'm not sure that's true any more. With all the recent polarization, are still any voters left in the middle? And where exactly is the middle these days?
2
Gerrymandering and unlimited campaign funds are two Frankenstein's monsters created by the political parties and both monsters are now coming back to bite their creators. As long as most districts remain so badly gerrymandered that they are effectively controlled by one party and as long as people like these Mercers have unlimited funds to pick and choose nearly every member of Congress, politicians will have little incentive to move to the middle. Most Republicans live in districts where they fear a candidate attacking them from the right - they don't fear a Democrat's challenge. The reverse is true for most Democrats too.
1
The Republicans are all the same in reality: pro war, anti any environmental protections, panderes, racist or unwilling to call them out, for sale to corporations- who cares?
2
"After leaving the White House last month, Mr. Bannon returned to his perch at Breitbart News, and has been using the hard-right website and his close ties to the Mercer family, New York-based conservative donors, to create a new, insurgent power base."
Bannon is hardly a populist if he's managed by the Mercers, among the wealthiest people in America, with their fortune amassed in the most arcane types of hedge funds.
I guess this just goes with the territory of the wealthy being able to pretty much call the shots with a base that's increasingly happy with cultural red meat, like that espoused by 'Judge" Moore who rails against gays and doesn't seem to understand the meaning of the first amendment clause on separation of church and state.
Give them guns, religion, and a good dose of hypocrisy while you fleece their pockets. Bannon a populist? Hardly--he would be nobody without his benefactors, the Mercers.
241
Bannon never really left that perch, which is why he caused so much trouble doing it from inside the White House.
Obama took a lot of heat for his apt, and accurate depiction of the Republican base, "And it's not surprising then they get bitter, they cling to guns or religion or antipathy toward people who aren't like them or anti-immigrant sentiment or anti-trade sentiment as a way to explain their frustrations." And now they elect Roy Moore, who is the perfect representation of this knuckle-dragging bitterness...
1
Your comments certainly apply to the Soros family and all the PC culture desiring that red meat.
It amazes me how leftists are blinded to their own hypocrisy. They continually step in it with comments like these.
It looks like Bannon is still running things with his influence on candidates, even from outside the White House and now free from having to put up with Trump. This whole Muslim/sharia bogeyman on the far right has manifested itself in Roy Moore who is a Christian sharia candidate if ever, make no mistake about that. I am from AL, and in my recent visits I note that he is viewed as a righteous man who will restore God to the forefront of American life and law, while putting the undeserving "elites", i.e. brown people, liberals, and women in their place. The mood there is not unlike Iran in 1979 and I do not exaggerate.
394
Your comments truly frighten me.
1
It is ironic that the person (Senate Leader McConnell) who has delivered the item of most value to the evangelical Republicans during this travesty of a Presidency (the illegitimate Supreme Court Justice Gorsuch) is the one who is the brunt of their attacks during this primary. I guess the lesson is to not keep poisonous rattlesnakes as pets?
192
while dems are gloating about running against rabid frothing populists, just remember that Republicans will run on health care. Oh, they tried three times to pass an alternative to Obamacare, but not one democrat voted with them.
for any complaint about health care, voters will blame Obama and the democrats. I can see Bannon swelling to fame on the far right.
I think even Yertle McGonigal may survive that challenge.
I find it interesting that you posted "but not one democrat voted with them" I think you would have Democrats participating if they were invited to. Republicans didn't ask for ANY input from the Democrats and if the situation was reversed the outcome would be the same. We have a two party system for a reason. All American citizens views MUST be considered or you will get more outcomes like this one.
4
OC, Your comment seems to imply that healthcare can now be an issue for the right, given that Democrats made no effort to support the ACA repeal. Curiously, the attempt to repeal ACA made many voters aware that the Fox diatribes on ACA were totally offbase. Certainly the wackos on the right are still out there in good numbers, and their man Roy Moore may be even more unhinged than Trump. I guess the issue may be decided on whether independents, who often make all the difference in national politics, decide to go for the guy who wants to shake things up, or whether they also have seen enough dysfunction that they decide to avoid the lunatic fringe.
4
The Republican party has only itself to thank for incubating and encouraging the ultra right wing of its party. The GOP has done nothing to drain the Washington swamp and has been woefully ineffective in getting any kind of legislation passed. Republicans have failed over and over to do away with Obamacare and GOP lawmakers are constantly at odds with other. The coming civil war for the soul of the Republican party will leave the red states drenched with blood.
63
A powerful segment of the party is very happy with this situation because it allows wealthy interests to run unchecked while programs that benefit the rest of us die from neglect. And as long as Moore voters can believe "black folk will have it worse than us," they will rejoice.
7
I would love to see the Tea Party separate itself from the Republican Party.
Then they'd find out that the USA 2 party system doesn't allow for a third party.
10
It would only take 3 moderate Republican senators and 25 moderate Republican congressmen to form a 3rd party, a swing party that completely control the agenda.
4
@James Ketcham - I don't follow your numbers. Please explain.
The United States needs a properly designed proportional representation electoral system at all level of government.
Such a system would create different challenges, but ones that would be far less threatening to the country than the present unbalanced, gerrymandered and unrepresentative mess.
137
It often takes an outsider to see what the real trouble is. Thank you for your astute observation.
1
Correction: Moore was removed from the Alabama Supreme Court bench TWICE, both times for failing to comply with the orders of federal courts. If the Senate had any integrity, it would refuse to seat such a man if he is elected (which he will be, and the Senate won't).
282
They can't refuse to seat him. Look up Adam Clayton Powell Jr.
2
on Moore's signs he refers to himself as "Judge" can he still do that after being removed from the SC?
This "insurrection" sounds reminiscent of the Tea Party's birth. They did not need great numbers to do great harm. They pulled other Republicans far to the right and made obstruction a substitute for governing.
The damage done by a Roy Moore, or someone like him, will be larger than even one Senate seat.
144
Sadly, Sanders carpetbagging run as a Democrat had ushered in a far-left mirror image of the so-called 'tea party' and 'freedom caucus.
Strange times indeed.
1
I wouldn't go so far as to say that it was a mirror image, but I think the way his run ended up being conducted did embolden some of the less thoughtful, less reasonable elements on the left. It appears that the Russians realized that, too, and aided the effort with fake social media posts and ads that painted Hillary as more conservative than she ever was and egged on Bernie supporters to embrace unreasonableness. I just hope we can contain the crazy on the left before it takes over as it appears to be about to do on the right.
The USA needs a third party in the center right. Let the Republicans wither away on the extreme edge along with Donald Trump.
26
Realistically, that center-right "third party" is the Democratic Party (at least the Obama/Clinton wing as opposed to the Warren/Sanders wing). In any other developed country, Obama and Clinton (both of them) would be considered center-right candidates (they don't even support universal healthcare, which would be beyond the pale for a conservative politician elsewhere).
9
@Bill S. - Please leave the lying to Dotard Trump. Hillary Clinton most certainly does support universal health care. What she argued during the campaign was that the most realistic way of getting there was to keep improving the way the ACA works. Too many on the left, however, could not deal with the kind of realism that said that getting to universal coverage faced a lot of problems that would make the journey difficult. Hillary knew that well--she has worked for the goal of getting universal health care for a quarter century and was very aware of all the road blocks in the way. To say that she does not support universal health care is, I'm sorry to say, a lie and one that did damage to her campaign. When I see people repeating that kind of lie, I wonder just where they're coming from.
For those who want to know what Hillary thinks on the subject and not the lies put out by people like Bill S., you might want to look into her September 18 interview on the PBS Newshour at http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/hillary-clinton-losing-wisconsin-getting-....
She believes that "slow and steady wins the race". Too many others refuse to acknowledge that single payer universal health care RIGHT NOW is and was a chimera. And by refusing to acknowledge reality, they set the fight back even more.
5
So this begs an interesting question: just how much farther right does the GOP have to move, how much more awful does it have to become, before the many moderate Republicans finally break rank and start voting with the center, and take the control of the country away from this radical minority and give it back to the moderate majority?
530
This is an interesting notion. Although I have fears that the far right (alt right, tea party, anti RINO committee, whatever) has increasing influence over the party as a whole via their mastery of social media. If you've ever read comments and replies to posts on fox news, facebook, twitter, etc., it seems we are dealing with very angry people who do not want to understand reason and have no desire to compromise. Could it be possible that there is still a majority of voters in both parties that are moderate and can effectively elect moderates from either party? I'm not sure that's true.
2
I keep wondering the same thing. I suppose the pendulum hasn't quite stopped moving in the wrong direction. Let's hope it hits that far mark soon and begins to move back.
1
They will move right towards fake-populism; racist, xenophobic, homophobic fake-nationalism; and fascist leadership until one of them loses in a red state for going too far. It hasn't happened yet.
One the one hand, the more time they spend fighting each other is "good". The more money they spend against one another means they'll have less to spend against Democratic candidates ostensibly. And if the Evil Corp duo (Koch brothers) actually sit out next year, that could make all the difference in a few key races.
On the other, the Republican party moving even FURTHER to the right is alarming to no end. Roy Moore, or Ray Moore as Agent Orange calls him, is a detestable human being who should never be allowed to hold any public office, much less a U.S. Senate seat. And if this "victory" encourages more loonies to run and win, God help us all.
61
Roy Moore, interviewed in Alabama a couple weeks ago, did not know the meaning of DACA. At the time the Deferred Action for Childhood arrivals was front and center in the news.
And he will soon represent Alabama in the US Senate.
Priceless....
229
Maybe they should have asked him to locate Aleppo on a map.
5
What's an Aleppo?
So it seems the GOP's Tea Party / right-wing fringe, aka it's very own Frankenstein monster, is unhappy with it's creator and is just now beginning to realize it has been hoodwinked by the current GOP politicians, their global corporate sponsors, the uber-wealthy donor class and Fox News anchors.
May this be the dying wail of the disfunctional GOP, so we can only hope a center-right political party rises from it's grave at some future point.
25
Seeing how his base still strongly approves Dotard Trump, I don't think this disaster is anywhere near playing itself out.
2
Bring it on. I hope the GOP goes so far into the right wing Trump crazy zone they lose power for the next 100 years.
381
The only problem is that they may gain power for the next 100 years.
1
When Republicans begin to denigrate each other for not being sufficiently conservative enough, you soon end up right where we are with these clowns. They bray for years about the lack of budgetary responsibility when the Democrats hold the majority but when they have both houses of Congress, the Presidency and the highest court in the land, it is clear that they quite simply are unable to govern. Full stop.
The gerrymandering that served their agenda for years is now hobbling and frightening the Old Guard of entrenched Republicans and rightly so.
It would be a lot easier to indulge schadenfreude about this whole affair if we weren't all circling the drain along with political careers due to their ineptitude and venality.
122
Budgetary responsibility? Not. The U.S. deficit has skyrocketed under every Republican president. Today it would be cut in half--overnight--if the tax-advantaged wealthy and corporate oligarchs (welfare cheats) paid their fair share.
2
"I distrust those people who know so well what God wants them to do because I notice it always coincides with their own desires." - Susan B. Anthony
627
But she was a pushy uppity woman who deserved to be put down, right!
An amazing number of the comments here are downright scary. I grew up in the segregated South where we were as apt to be instructed to sing "Dixie" as the national anthem. I've seen and heard way too much ugliness. And if the Asian person in the photo thinks the Moores of this country will not turn on them too, they are very naive.
You know she was a Republican,right?
That's a poor example. Of course a true Christian wants to follow God's direction for them in their lives. Ms. Anthony was undoubtedly referring to false Christians. If you knew more about judge Moore you would understand.
If we desire removing the Ten Commandments from government buildings we better hire an army of masons to start chiseling the buildings and monuments all over D.C.
So happy to see that Alabama wants to break its dependency on federal dollars. It is habitually among the top five taker states, and it's about time those people learn to stand on their own two feet instead of living on handouts from the Northeast and West Coast.
550
We can let Alabama know that if the tax reform happens our donations to their state will be greatly reduced
At least they take it legally. Unlike those states in the west and northeast who take it to subvert federal law.
I think this whole idea that the base will turn against Trump after he backs the establishment candidates is once again the old way of looking at politics.
Members of the far-right-base just want politicians who they can trust to aggressively antagonize liberals and say politically incorrect things. They want somebody who will talk trash about the party stiffs, aka the McConnells and Jeb Bushs of the world.
They can still comfortably trust Trump to be that guy. They don't seem to mind Trump used to be a Democrat, they certainly won't remember his half-conscious endorsement of Luther Strange.
401
Additionally, they don't understand the concept of compromise just like the Tea Partiers of 2010. they and their ilk are exactly what's wrong with our legislative branch and there is no end in sight. The future of our country at the federal level looks very dim indeed.
The United States is going backwards and will become increasingly irrelevant on the world stage. What a shame. What a shock.
2
And if what you say about Trump voters is true (and it seems plausible), what does it say about those voters' intelligence, independence or analytical/reasoning skills?
It was half-conscious at best. And the case can be made that Trumpism won yet again.
Ol' Mitch and his GOP gang are bad enough. The insurrectionists, including pistol-packing-and waving Roy Moore almost leave me sympathetic for Mitch and his gang. "Almost" in the most LIBERAL, expansive sense of that word.
15