It’s a messy mix. Today’s Alabama Senate election holds up to our view the dirty underwear of politics: accusations of sexual misconduct and child abuse, unseemly disregard for basic morality in order ensure the success a political party, and yet deeper public disdain for the political process.
Roy Moore—the former Alabama chief justice twice removed from his seat for unconstitutional rulings—is the Republican candidate for the Alabama Senate seat to replace Jeff Sessions, who resigned to become US Attorney General.
Moore has recently been credibly
accused by Leigh Corfman of enticing her to his home when she was fourteen (and he thirty-two), removing first his and then her clothes down to their underwear, fondling her and then forcing her to fondle him. Since then, a number of woman have come forward with complaints of Moore's sexual advances while they were teenagers.
Roy Moore does not by himself endanger American democracy; we’ve had sleazy candidates elected to national office before. But Donald Trump does. His endorsement and active role in Moore’s campaign is one more attack that further erodes America’s fragile confidence in our system of government.
For the purposes of this post, it’s not necessary to judge the truth or falsity of the accusations. It’s enough to notice that neither President Trump nor the Republican leadership has denied them. Most importantly, almost three-fourths of Americans expressing an opinion believe the accusers (although just over half of Alabama’s voters don’t).
The political pressure on the Republican Party, of course, is enormous. Their hold on the Senate is tenuous, 52 – 48. The Alabama Senate seat would ordinarily be safely Republican. But because of the accusations against Moore, there is some chance that the Democratic candidate will win, which would endanger the Republican stranglehold on Supreme Court justice appointments and much else.
It’s easy to understand that rank political considerations favor Trump’s intervention, which could well be decisive. But it’s also important to recognize that over half of Americans will interpret the President’s support as condoning felony assault of a minor. The President clearly believes that the electorate won’t care enough to punish him, itself an indication of the state of our democracy.
Columnist Dana Milbank has written in the Washington Post about tribalism, the loyalty one feels to one’s own group, the commitment to the welfare of that group over the welfare of the whole. We all feel it to some degree, but most of us place limits on it. The President’s peculiar brand of tribalism, however, demonstrates virtually no limits; at the very least it does not stop at the bounds of common morality.
As I’ve written earlier, democracy does not function without the people’s trust in government. Today, less than twenty percent of Americans trust the government to do what is right “most of the time.” When the President condones sexual abuse for the good of his political party, trust in government erodes even further, and Americans’ willingness to participate in the process—even to the extent of voting—erodes with it. Even with their own party in power, less than thirty percent of Republicans trust the government.
One victory for democracy has been the mobilization of a strong anti-Trump political movement. Millions who were previously inactive are participating. The President has stirred thousands of Americans to become candidates for political office, a sign that many of us still believe in democratic governance.
In a few hours, we’ll know whom Alabamans have elected as their Senator. Whether Moore wins or loses, President Trump has already landed another blow to our reeling democracy. Yes, the democracy still holds, but I wonder how much more it can take.
