The indefatigable Roy Moore spurns GOP leaders in Senate run
Never one to back down from a fight, Republican Roy Moore is facing a wall of GOP opposition that includes President Donald Trump as he launches another U.S. Senate bid, testing whether he can overcome the sexual misconduct allegations that helped derail his last run. The question is whether conservative Alabama voters who only narrowly rejected Moore in favor of Democrat Doug Jones will now be willing to side with a maverick known for opposing gay marriage and defending his courthouse display of the Ten Commandments. Moore, a one-time kickboxer who was twice removed as Alabama’s chief justice for disciplinary reasons, took on national Republican leaders and others in announcing his 2020 campaign on Thursday. “People in Alabama are not only angry, they are going to act on that anger. They want Washington, and other people outside their state, out of this election,” Moore said. He blamed his 2017 loss to Jones on “a fraud.”Despite allegations that he made sexual advances on young women decades ago — claims that helped put a reliably red seat in the Democratic column in 2017 — Moore cast himself as a righteous servant who evokes fear inside the Beltway. “Why does the mere mention of my name cause people to get up in arms in Washington D.C?” added Moore. “Is it because I believe in God, and marriage and morality in our country? … Are these things embarrassing to them?” Critics of Moore’s decision included Alabama’s senior senator.“Alabama can do better than Roy Moore,” Republican Sen. Richard Shelby told reporters shortly before Moore’s announcement. Of the possibility of Moore securing the GOP nomination, he added: “I don’t think it’s good for the party nationally. … I don’t think it would help the president, I don’t think it would help anybody running.” Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell was similarly blunt. “He can do what he wants to, but we’re certainly going to oppose him in every way,” the Kentucky Republican said before Moore’s announcement.Trump tweeted last month that Moore “cannot win” and said Republicans need to retake the seat to preserve what his administration has accomplished. “Republicans cannot allow themselves to again lose the Senate seat in the Great State of Alabama,” Trump tweeted. Asked whether Trump would support or oppose Moore, Erin Perrine — a spokeswoman for the president’s re-election campaign — said only that “I refer you to the president’s previous tweets on the matter.” During the 2017 race, several women accused Moore of pursuing romantic or sexual relationships with them when they were teenagers and he was an assistant district attorney in his 30s. Two accused him of assault or molestation. Moore denied the accusations and has said he considered his 2017 defeat, when he lost to Jones by 22,000 votes out of 1.3 million cast, a fraud.He currently faces a defamation lawsuit from Leigh Corfman, who said Moore touched her sexually when she was 14 after meeting her at the courthouse. Moore has countersued Corfman and other accusers.Moore’s entry upends an already crowded GOP primary field competing to challenge Jones. U.S. Rep. Bradley Byrne, former Auburn University football coach Tommy Tuberville, legislator Arnold Mooney and businessman Stanley Adair have already announced bids and others are expected to enter the race.Moore retains a strong following among some evangelical voters. He was twice elected the state’s chief justice but was twice stripped of those duties after a judicial ethics panel said he defied, or urged defiance of, federal court orders regarding same-sex marriage and the public display of the Ten Commandments. His loyal following propelled him to victory in the 2017 primary and could give him another boost in 2020. “I’m a hundred percent behind Judge Moore,” said Tim Sprayberry of Cleburne County, a supporter at Thursday’s announcement. “Judge Moore is one of the few candidates that I have ever seen that will tell you he is going to do something, and he does it regardless of what the consequences to him personally or his political career.” Republican pollster Brent Buchanan said the crowded GOP primary will likely head to a runoff and said Moore is in the “catbird seat to have a spot in a runoff.” But Steven Law, president of a GOP political committee linked to McConnell, said Moore faces tougher challenges this time around. That include competition vying for the same conservative religious voters who comprise the heart of Moore’s support and a less divided GOP, which in 2017 saw former Trump adviser Stephen Bannon helping insurgents like Moore. “It’s a harder road for him this time,” said Law, who heads the Senate Leadership Fund. Republished with permission of the Associated Press.
Martha Roby: Advocating for Alabama’s Military Installations
In Congress, I consider it a tremendous privilege and responsibility to represent a district that is home to two of our country’s finest military installations – Fort Rucker down in the Wiregrass and Maxwell-Gunter Air Force Base in Montgomery. Even beyond the Second District, Alabama as a whole has a significant military footprint, and we should all be very proud of our state’s role in defending our freedom. I just recently had the opportunity to attend the Change of Command ceremony at Fort Rucker. Major General David Francis is now the Commanding General of USAACE and Fort Rucker, taking over the post from Major General William Gayler. I have enjoyed working with Gen. Gayler, and I appreciate his steadfast leadership. I wish him the very best as he moves forward with his impressive career. Of course, congratulations are also in order for Gen. Francis. I look forward to continuing to build a strong relationship with him as we work together to advocate for Fort Rucker. It was a really exciting time to be in the Wiregrass, and I was glad to be on-post again to visit with some of our district’s military leaders. Shifting focus to another part of our state, I also recently had the opportunity to speak on the House floor during consideration of the Military Construction and Veterans Affairs Appropriations Subcommittee Fiscal Year 2020 funding bill to raise awareness for the facility updates needed at Dannelly Field in Montgomery to support the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter mission. In December of 2017, we received the exciting news that the 187th Fighter Wing at Dannelly Field was selected as a preferred location for the bed down of the coveted F-35 mission. The first aircraft is scheduled to arrive in the next few years, and Dannelly Field needs a correctly sized and properly configured maintenance facility to support and repair this next-generation fighter. The existing facilities that currently service the F-16 Red Tail’s squadron are inadequate. Aircraft maintenance is housed in three temporary trailer facilities, maintenance shops are 43 percent undersized, and the required tool storage is kept in aircraft parking spaces inside the hangar. As we await the arrival of this cutting-edge aircraft, and as we continue through the Fiscal Year 2020 appropriations process, I look forward to working alongside my colleagues to address this pressing issue. We must provide our men and women in uniform adequate and acceptable working spaces so they can perform their jobs accurately and efficiently, and I will continue to advocate for these necessary facility updates at Dannelly. The military installations in our district and across our great state perform vital work for the security of this nation, and I will always advocate for their proper support through my role in Congress. It is a true honor to have this platform to fight for the men and women who serve us all. Martha Roby represents Alabama’s Second Congressional District. She lives in Montgomery, Alabama, with her husband Riley and their two children.
Birmingham councilman Steven Hoyt suggest bringing in National Guard to address crime
Birmingham city councilman Steven Hoyt raised some eyebrows at the June 18 council meeting saying crime, specifically in Belview Heights and Ensley, was getting so bad that maybe the National Guard needed to be called in. “Growing up, my mother told me if you don’t know how to do something, ask somebody. Get some help. If the governor can’t get things in order, she calls the president. Maybe we need to call the National Guard in here to help us control this city,” Hoyt said. He went on to clarify in an interview with CBS 42 that his remarks were intended to bring attention to the dire circumstances that a number of residents find themselves in, living in areas of the city where violent crime is rampant. Hoyt who has first hand experience with violence having been held up at gun point with his own family. Watch his exchange with Mayor Woodfin here beginning at 1:54. Woodfin’s response was, “We will not be calling the National Guard. I want to speak directly to the residents of Belview Heights who were not able to be here this morning but can hear my voice or are watching. Your neighborhood is very safe. These are not random killings. These are not random murders. These are interaction between people who know each other,” Woodfin said. “There is no terror in Belview Heights. Based on the definition of terrorism, these things that are happening are very personal in nature.”
