ON TARGET

10-4-17               By Dave Gunn

The Joy of Moore, the Wrath of Trump

      Tuesday, September 26th was a great day for Judge Roy Moore.  In spite of the brief incumbency of Luther Strange, and in spite of being outspent fifteen dollars to one, and in spite of a constant barrage of brutal and lying negative ads against him, and in spite of President Trump campaigning vigorously for his opponent, Moore won the Republican Primary Run Off to be the GOP’s nominee to replace Jeff Sessions in the United States Senate.

      As in the initial primary, Moore outperformed the polls, which had him ahead by 6-8 points.  After the votes were counted the Judge had won by a whopping 10 points.

      Moore, a favorite of Christian conservatives, which constitute a large voting bloc in Alabama, gave the credit for his win to Almighty God.  He will now face Democrat nominee Doug Jones in what should be an easy race.

       Meanwhile, as the President returned from a big fundraiser, he was visibly livid as he watched Fox News call the race for Roy Moore.  Presidents have a limited amount of political capital, and Trump had just seen a large amount of his go up in smoke.

      Trump felt betrayed by Mitch McConnell, the Senate Leadership Fund, and some of his own advisers who persuaded him to depart from normal presidential behavior and endorse a candidate during a primary, instead of waiting for the people to choose their candidate and then making an endorsement.  The President’s endorsed candidate lost, and as one of his advisers said of Trump, “Losing is bad for his brand.”

      Trump was absolutely furious with McConnell, who was the main mover behind the President’s endorsement of Strange.  The President had been duped, and was described by an aide as being “embarrassed and pissed.”

      Apparently no one told Trump what the voters in Alabama knew: that Luther Strange had received his appointment to the Senate in a corrupt deal with former Governor Robert Bentley – a quid pro quo for Strange refusing to indict the governor on charges of abuse of power and obstruction of justice.  In addition, no one told the President that the appointment was illegal – that a run-off was supposed to be called by the governor.  Strange took the appointment, knowing it was illegal.  It was only the integrity of new governor Kay Ivey that corrected the illegality as she called for the new election.

      And apparently no one told the President that the Senate Leadership Fund, a gaggle of fat-cat Republican Washington establishment swamp dwellers, were running attack ads against both Mo Brooks and Roy Moore – ads filled with obvious lies.  These lies greatly angered Christian conservatives.

      A large reason for Moore’s victory was the former Brook’s supporters going almost entirely to him in the run-off.  They were incensed by the lies of the Senate Leadership Fund that helped eliminate their favorite candidate in the first round of voting.  They would not allow Luther Strange to get away with destroying their candidate with misrepresentations and outright falsehoods.

      Of course, President Trump must also blame the guy in the mirror for allowing himself to be duped by the Washington Republican establishment, which opposed his own election.  Some are now wondering if Trump has become a useful tool to the Washington Swamp.  It will take time for the President to repair the damage and wipe the egg off his face.

      Toward that end, Trump has already pivoted and promised his support to Roy Moore in the general election on December 12^th.  Moore, being a gracious man, has welcomed the President’s support.

      Soon Luther Strange will leave the United States Senate after less than a year of service.  He will have plenty of time for reflection.  He is a professing Christian, and we will not cast doubt on that profession.  However, we do hope that he will reflect on whether or not allowing the Senate Leadership Fund to lie about his Christian brother, Roy Moore, was consistent with his Christian profession.

[Dave Gunn is the nom de plume of Dr. David E. Gonnella, Pastor of the Magnolia Springs Baptist Church in Theodore, Alabama.  The opinions expressed are his own, and do not necessarily reflect those of the church or its membership.]