“He was deplorable before being deplorable was cool.”
— Sarah Palin, quoted by the Birmingham News, campaigning for Roy Moore (R) in Alabama’s U.S. Senate race.
Bannon vs. Trump In Alabama
Edward Luce: “At stake in Alabama’s Republican primary election is the loyalty of the president’s base. Are they set on humbling America’s establishment come what may, as Mr Trump originally promised? Or is their allegiance to the president as a person, regardless of what he does? Next week will test the theory of Mr Trump’s base. Alabama is the laboratory.”
“It is a gamble Mr Trump did not have to take. On one side of the Alabama primary is Luther Strange, the sitting senator, whom the Republican establishment convinced Mr Trump to endorse. On the other is Roy Moore, the insurgent challenger, who is vowing to drain the Washington swamp, as Mr Trump earlier did. Mr Moore is backed by Steve Bannon, Mr Trump’s former chief strategist and architect of his 2016 campaign. It has been barely a month since Mr Bannon was ejected from the White House. He is already on an opposing side to the president.”
Larry Sabato’s Crystal Ball has an excellent analysis of the race.
Moore Prepares for a New Level of Defiance
The Washington Post runs a must-read profile of Alabama U.S. Senate candidate Roy Moore (R):
“The central argument of Moore’s campaign is that removing the sovereignty of a Christian God from the functions of government is an act of apostasy, an affront to the biblical savior as well as the Constitution. Among the prices he says this country has paid for denying God’s supremacy: the high murder rate in Chicago, crime on the streets of Washington, child abuse, rape and sodomy. It’s a crisis he hopes to address next year from the floor of the Senate.”
Moore Claimed Endorsement of Dead Conservative
Alabama U.S. Senate candidate Roy Moore (R) “is racking up endorsements from inside Alabama and around the country for his challenge to GOP Sen. Luther Strange, but one in particular stood out: renowned — and deceased — conservative leader Phyllis Schlafly,” Roll Call reports.
“Schlafly died September 5, 2016 at the age of 92, two months before Donald Trump won the presidential election and four months before Republican Jeff Sessions left his Senate seat in order to become attorney general, yet she was included on the endorsements page of Moore’s campaign website.”
Bonus Quote of the Day
“You wonder why we’re having shootings, and killings here in 2017? Because we’ve asked for it. We’ve taken God out of everything. We’ve taken prayer out of school, we’ve taken prayer out of council meetings.”
— Alabama U.S. Senate candidate Roy Moore (R), quoted by CNN.
McConnell’s Mortal Enemy Might Soon Be in His Caucus
Politico: “Three words are striking fear in Senate Republicans these days: ‘Senator Roy Moore.’ The bomb-throwing former Alabama Supreme Court justice has vaulted to a hefty lead in Alabama’s Senate special election, lambasting Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell every step of the way. A Moore victory promises to make McConnell’s tenuous 52-seat majority even more precarious, allies of the majority leader warn, potentially imperiling tax reform, raising the risk of default on the nation’s debt or even derailing routine Senate business.”
Trump Will Hold Rally for Strange
President Trump announced on Twitter that he will hold a rally in Alabama to boost Sen. Luther Strange (R-AL) against his anti-establishment challenger Roy Moore.
Jonathan Swan: “If Moore wins, Trump will look like a fool. It’d suggest to members of Congress — whom Trump must occasionally intimidate in legislative fights — that he’s a weakened force in Alabama, a state he carried by nearly 30 points in the 2016 election.”
“If Strange, wins, Trump can do a victory lap. But by supporting him he’s boosting the establishment candidate, backed by Mitch McConnell (with whom Trump is currently at war.) Trump loses points with the most hardcore elements of the Republican base by supporting Strange, and he’s now setting up a direct clash with Breitbart, which has been campaigning hard for Moore.”
The RealClearPolitics average shows Strange trailing Moore by 11 points.
Brooks Will Endorse Moore for U.S. Senate
Rep. Mo Brooks (R-AL) told Politico that he will endorse Roy Moore (R) over Sen. Luther Strange (R-AL) in the U.S. Senate race.
Why Roy Moore Will Likely Win Alabama’s Senate Race
First Read: “So given those past failures, why is Moore likely headed for success in two weeks? Here’s a theory: In the Trump Era, it’s much easier for a controversial (and well-known) figure to win a GOP primary than during the Bush Era (when “compassionate conservatism” was the mantra) or even the Tea Party Era (when fiscal matters often overshadowed social ones).”
“Yes, opponent Luther Strange has his own set of problems stemming from his appointment to the job by an embattled governor, and Moore is benefitting from a set of political crosswinds in the state that are pretty unique. But his rise still shows that, in the Trump Era, the parameters of what’s politically palatable in the Republican Party aren’t where they used to be.”
Exchange of the Day
Asked by WVNN radio host Dale Jackson about President Trump’s push to end DACA protection for so-called Dreamers, Alabama U.S. Senate candidate Roy Moore (R) was clearly confused:
JACKSON: “You’re not aware of what Dreamers are?”
MOORE: “No.”
JACKSON: “This is a big issue in the immigration debate…”
MOORE: “Why don’t you tell me what it is Dale and quit beating around and tell me what it is.”
JACKSON: “I’m in the process of doing that Judge Moore.”
MOORE: “OK.”
Moore Holds Small Lead In Alabama
A new Harper Polling survey in Alabama finds Roy Moore (R) just ahead of Sen. Luther Strange (R-AL) in the Republican primary runoff, 47% to 45%.
Bannon Backs Moore In Alabama Special Election
Steve Bannon is breaking from President Trump in the closely-watched Alabama Senate special election, Politico reports.
“During a closed-door meeting with powerful conservatives in Washington last week, Bannon declared that he’s supporting former state Supreme Court Justice Roy Moore over Trump-endorsed incumbent Sen. Luther Strange, according to two people who were present. Bannon, who just over a week ago left the White House to rejoin the conservative website Breitbart News, said that he is looking to activate the conservative base to Moore’s cause.”
Trump May Back Away from Strange In Alabama Runoff
President Trump “is considering backing away from Sen. Luther Strange in a heated Republican primary runoff in Alabama, according to multiple Republicans close to the White House, underscoring the deteriorating relationship between the president and the Senate GOP,” the Washington Post reports.
Moore Holds Big Lead Over Strange
A new Opinion Saavy poll in Alabama shows Roy Moore (R) leading Sen. Luther Strange (R) in the U.S. Senate primary runoff, 50% to 32%
Moore Said He Thinks Obama Is Not a U.S. Citizen
Former Alabama Chief Justice Roy Moore, a Republican candidate for U.S. Senate, “has cast doubt on former President Obama’s citizenship repeatedly and as recently as December 2016, fueling the debunked ‘birther’ movement that sought to delegitimize Obama’s presidency,” CNN reports.
“Moore, who started questioning the legitimacy of Obama’s citizenship back in 2008, last year told a meeting of the Constitution Party that he personally did not believe Obama was a natural-born citizen.”
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Is Alabama’s Senate Seat In Play?
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Moore and Strange Advance to Runoff in Alabama
Former Alabama Supreme Court Chief Justice Roy Moore and Sen. Luther Strange (R-AL) will advance to the Senate primary runoff to fill the seat left open by Attorney General Jeff Sessions.
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Not-So-Sweet Home Alabama
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Taegan Goddard
Taegan Goddard is the founder of Political Wire -- which for more than two decades has been one of the nation's most influential political news sites.
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