Naturally, I wonder what Roy Moore's concession speech will be like. Will he pull a Robert Mugabe and not acknowledge his defeat? Will he claim America will be swarmed with a plague of locusts? Will he say that America must answer to God for his loss?
And what will President Trump tweet? Will he say the election was stolen? Or will he pretend that he never supported him? Or will he embark upon uncharacteristic radio silence?
Whatever Moore and Trump have to say about tonight's events there's not a damn thing they can do about it. The people of Alabama have spoken and have chosen not to send a dishonorable man to the Senate. They have also chosen to give a gentle, but firm rebuke to President Trump.
This is the best day in American politics since Trump was elected just over 13 months ago. For the moment, there is hope in America. With tonight being the first night of Chanukah, the challenge to keep the light flickering even if there is little oil to keep it going.
UPDATE: Moments ago, President Trump tweeted:
Congratulations to Doug Jones on a hard fought victory. The write-in votes played a very big factor, but a win is a win. The people of Alabama are great, and the Republicans will have another shot at this seat in a very short period of time. It never ends!
It's a backhanded compliment to Jones. But Trump is distancing himself from Moore - at least for now. Who knows what he might say at 3 a.m.?
We'll see what Moore has to say about it.
UPDATE II: Moore kind of pulled a Mugabe. There was no concession speech. He and his campaign manager are demanding a recount. There would be an automatic recount if the margin is 0.5% or less. But Jones leads by 1.5% of the vote. For his part, Alabama Secretary of State John Merrill isn't having much of Moore's claims.
Moore and his people are insisting God is supporting his campaign. When reached for comment, God said, "Keep me out of it."
It looks like this is simply a question of Moore being unable to admit he lost fair and square.
UPDATE II: Moore kind of pulled a Mugabe. There was no concession speech. He and his campaign manager are demanding a recount. There would be an automatic recount if the margin is 0.5% or less. But Jones leads by 1.5% of the vote. For his part, Alabama Secretary of State John Merrill isn't having much of Moore's claims.
Moore and his people are insisting God is supporting his campaign. When reached for comment, God said, "Keep me out of it."
It looks like this is simply a question of Moore being unable to admit he lost fair and square.
No comments:
Post a Comment