After going through a rough patch occasioned by the credible allegations that he sexually abused or otherwise harassed so many teenage girls in his hometown that he was banned from the mall, Alabama Senate candidate Roy Moore has in recent days won the full support of major Republicans including Donald Trump and the leaders of the Republican National Committee. Among those who haven’t gotten back on board the Moore train (no ID is required to board the train) are Nebraska Sen. Ben Sasse and Arizona Sen. Jeff Flake, which isn’t entirely surprising given their history of diverging (to a point) with party consensus. Also holding strong, though, is Colorado Sen. Cory Gardner—typically a much more loyal soldier than Flake and Sasse, and one who holds a significant leadership position as the chair of the National Republican Senatorial Committee. From the Weekly Standard:
“Roy Moore will never have the support of the senatorial committee. We will never endorse him. We won’t support him,” Colorado senator Cory Gardner told THE WEEKLY STANDARD. “I won’t let that happen. Nothing will change. I stand by my previous statement.”
Gardner’s previous statement included a call to expel Moore if he wins his Dec. 12 election. Which means what we might have here, if Moore does prevail over Doug Jones in their tight race, is the rarest of political phenomena: A showdown whose outcome is not predetermined, and in which at least one side is acting on genuine conviction.
Or maybe all those guys will fold and Moore will take office uneventfully and be a senator for the next five years/the rest of his life. That could happen too.
