A reality based independent journal of observation & analysis, serving the Flathead Valley & Montana since 2006. © James Conner.

10 November 2017 — 2028 mdt

Daines disses Moore & more on Ol’Roy

Daines_right_profile_150

Sen. Steve Daines abandons Roy Moore. Only a few days after endorsing Moore, Daines announced he’s unconditionally retracted his endorsement, thus scrambling back to political safety.

Mitt Romney says Moore’s not fit to be a senator — and thunders “Innocent until proven guilty is for criminal convictions, not elections.”

Romney appears to be 84-year-old Utah Sen. Orrin Hatch’s Republican heir apparent for the U.S. Senate.

Romney believes the women who say Moore sexually fondled them against their will. I doubt, however, he believes that in the court of public opinion, the standard should be, or is, guilty until proven innocent. Instead, I think he’s arguing that when deciding for whom to vote, one must do the best one can with the facts and arguments available. A set of facts insufficient to serve as proof beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law may be sufficient for making a choice in an election. But sensational claims of improper, possibly illegal, conduct made shortly before an election should not be accepted as true without first subjecting them to raised eyebrows and serious scrutiny. Moore’s alleged misconduct occurred decades ago. Greeting such accusations with skepticism and a demand for proof is reasonable and responsible.

One of Moore’s accusers worked for Hillary Clinton’s 2016 campaign as a sign language interpreter, reports Birmingham’s al.com news website. In 1981, when she was 17 and Moore was 34, he asked her on a date:

Gibson told The Post she and Moore dated for two or three months but only shared kisses. She said her mother told her she’d be the “luckiest girl in the world” to date Moore. [Highlighting by FM.]

“He was a hometown boy made good,” Gibson said. “West Point and so forth.”

Looking back, however, said said she’s glad “nothing bad happened.”

“As a mother of daughters, I realize that our age difference at that time made our dating inappropriate.”

Dulce madre de Jesús. May the Lord protect young women from mothers such as Gibson’s.

Moore’s defeat could save the Affordable Care Act. At present, Republicans hold a 52–48 vote majority in the U.S. Senate. Because Vice President Mike Pence can break atie vote, three Republicans (thus far, Susan Collins, Lisa Murkowski, and John McCain) must defect to kill ACA repeal bills. McCain has a deadly brain cancer and may die before the next Congress convenes in 2019. His replacement in this Congress could give the repealers the vote they need to gut the ACA. But if Alabama sends a Democrat to the Senate, that could moot the loss of McCain for the duration of this Congress.