Op-Ed: The Pro-Child Molester Party Can Shut Up Now About Porn

JESUSLAND—Okay; so by now, everyone knows that Roy Moore, the child molester who became Chief Judge of the Alabama Supreme Court, lost last week's senatorial election to Democrat Doug Jones—by a whole 1.5 percent, including about 1.7 percent of voters who wrote in some other Republican that wasn't Moore. So the "revolution" some Dems are claiming Jones' election represents might charitably be described as "tiny." But the point that isn't getting nearly enough news coverage is the idea that a likely large portion of the 48.4 percent of Alabamians who did vote for Moore did so knowing that he had, in the past, been a child molester—and they didn't care! Or at least, they didn't think his being a child molester was bad enough to prevent him from taking a seat in arguably the most prestigious legislative assemblage in the country, the U.S. Senate—which by inference says a lot about what those same Alabamians think of that body. But even that's not the real point here. The real point is, look who was supporting Moore in his election bid. Here are a few headlines to help you along: Breitbart editor’s unbelievable Roy Moore defense: ‘Only one’ of 3 teens was technically underage Hannity defends Roy Moore against WaPo report he molested a child: "It's he said, she [said]" Alabama state auditor says Roy Moore bombshell ‘much ado about very little’ — even if ‘completely true’ Alabama Republican defends pervert Roy Moore by comparing him to 'Joseph and Mary' Ann Coulter defends Roy Moore’s ‘creepy’ predation of underage and teenage girls: ‘This was nearly 50 years ago’ Alabama GOP lawmaker: Roy Moore accusers should be prosecuted for not coming forward sooner Operation Rescue Stands by its Endorsement of Judge Moore for Senate; Calls for McConnell to Resign Alabama Pastor Rips Republicans for Abandoning Roy Moore—‘What a Bunch of Sissies’ Roy Moore-backing Alabama pastor lied to cover son’s alleged molestation of orphans ‘It’s about power’: Religion expert explains why evangelicals are flocking to defend Roy Moore James Dobson: Roy Moore Is a “Man of Proven Character and Integrity” NRA Moves to Help Roy Moore Win the Alabama Senate Election And of course: Roy Moore Gets Trump Endorsement and R.N.C. Funding for Senate Race Even better, the Baptist Press reported that on November 12, Moore's wife Kayla (who, oddly enough, is 14 years younger than her husband, who first saw her at a teen dance recital) posted a letter of endorsement of the candidate from more than 50 pastors, though that appeared to have been written before the first two women came forward with their accusations of sexual assault against him—and after that news broke, exactly three of them asked that their names be removed from the letter. Mind you, it's not just the child molestation that should have gotten Moore bounced from the party's nomination. Take, for instance, the 2.4-ton granite Ten Commandments monument that then-Chief Justice Moore secretly installed (in the middle of the night on Aug. 1, 2001) in the rotunda of the Alabama Judicial Building in Montgomery. A group of lawyers who were afraid their clients wouldn't get a fair shake before Moore if they didn't share his religious fundamentalism sued to have the monument removed. The federal district court agreed and ordered its removal—an order upheld by the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals. When Moore still refused to remove it, Moore's fellow justices had him bounced from his Chief Justice job. Moore apparently wasn’t too broken up by the controversy because in 2002, he founded his "nonprofit" Christian legal organization the Foundation for Moral Law—and paid himself a salary of $180,000 a year (which he lied about) for essentially doing nothing. And when the Foundation didn't take in enough funds to pay his salary, he took a promissory note for what was "owed." Even better, in an interview Moore did in 2011 with far-right radio host Jack McCarthy, Moore agreed with the idea of passing a constitutional amendment that would eliminate all of the other amendments passed since the original Bill of Rights was ratified. Just to be clear, such an amendment would again make it possible to own slaves; would stop women, non-whites and those aged 18 to 21 from voting; would eliminate the income tax and once again allow poll taxes; remove the two-term limit for Presidents; and prevent a president from being removed from office by any means other than impeachment. But Moore was (is!) real popular in Alabama, so they re-elected him to the Chief Justiceship in 2012—and in 2015, he promptly got in trouble again for telling Alabama probate judges and their employees that they didn't have to issue same-sex marriage licenses despite a federal court legalizing such marriages in the state earlier that year. The Supreme Court issued its own same-sex marriage ruling in June of 2015, but Moore continued his non-compliance order, and in September 2016, he was permanently suspended from his position. Beyond all that, and aside from the nine women who've accused him of molesting them, there are a couple of other reasons why Moore should never even have been considered for the Senate. For instance, he's referred to native Americans and Asians as "reds and yellows"; said same sex marriage was worse than slavery; opposes all immigration; believes 9/11 was God's punishment for legalizing abortion and sodomy—and thinks it's "homosexuals and socialists" who are behind accusations of pedophilia. And yet, the Republicans that make up 48.4 percent of Alabama's electorate had no problem voting for this asshole! And the President of the United States, the majority leader of the U.S. Senate, and a shitload of other Republican officials, not to mention fundamentalist clergy from across the country, all supported this guy!!! A child molester!!! And speaking of child molesters, remember Denny Hastert, former Republican Speaker of the House of Representatives? You know; the one who spent 13 months in prison for sneakily paying off the teenage boys he sexually abused when he was their high school wrestling coach? Well, he's still on probation for that, and the judge in the case, after reviewing a probation officer's secret report on what Hastert's been doing lately, has ordered Hastert not to "patronize any place where such material or entertainment is available"; not to "use any sex-related telephone numbers," and is "only allowed contact with people under the age of 18 in the presence of a responsible adult who is aware of the nature of Hastert’s background and crime." The judge also said Hastert is not allowed to "possess a computer, camera or any device with access to any 'online computer service' at any location anywhere without the approval of his probation officer. He must also allow, and pay for, the installation of monitoring software on any computer to which he has access." Way to go, Denny! Also of interest: The New York Times did a survey of white evangelical Protestants back in 2011, asking who agreed with the idea that "an elected official who commits an immoral act in his/her personal life can still behave ethically and fulfill his/her duties in public and professional life." In 2011, just 30 percent agreed. And when they asked the same question in 2016? 72 percent! For white mainline Protestants, the 2011 percent was 38; the 2016 percent was 60. How things change! But that's not all. The Times also asked how important is it for a candidate to have strong religious beliefs? In 2011, the percent of white evangelical Protestants who thought those "strong religious beliefs" were "very important" was 64. In 2016? 49! Tells you something, doesn't it? So if there's one lesson to be learned from all this regarding the adult entertainment industry, it's this: Republicans and religious extremists have completely forfeited whatever "moral power" they claim to have that they're any better than people who have sex in front of the camera; who produce and/or direct the filming of such content; who rent their bodies to members of the public for sex; who take off their clothes to music in adult cabarets; or any other way that adults use their bodies consensually for any type of sexual activity. So thank you, Roy Moore, for revealing the depravity of your fellow Republicans and religionists who supported you even though you're technically the epitome of so much they claim to oppose. You've revealed that for all their "moral" posturing, their "war on porn" is actually nothing but another vehicle to raise money and obtain political power. I'd say, "I hope you're proud of yourselves," but the hell of it is, they probably are.