Roy Moore accused of sexual contact with 14-year old

[seer]

He should open a law suit against the woman for defamation right away to see if she disappears.

Or have them both take a lie detector test.

[Mountain Man]

Or have them both take a lie detector test.

Those are notoriously unreliable and open to interpretation.

Filing a defamation suit is probably his best course.

[Juvenal]

yeah but this sounds like another fake accusation to ruin someone's rep before an election. 1979? really? and it just NOW comes out? Just before an election?

That kind of instant dismissal just ain't right, Sparko.

I think he was young-wife-shopping, Alabama style, a la Jerry Lee Lewis, thinking he could always tie the knot after she was pregnant. He was single, and the lack of further reported incidents later in life reflects a likely end to the behavior with his marriage.

All y'all commenting here who haven't read the original report have no standing to gripe at Jimmy for not posting links. That's basic diligence if you're going to opine on current events. Anybody mentioning the need to check for contemporary corroborators is busted. Ditto claims the accusers came forward rather than being searched out.


That said, Jimmy, post the damn links.

And seer, you too. The story was broken by WaPo, that's what you should have linked in your OP, not a wire service stringer reporting on WaPo's report.


Three of these women's stories are relatively mild, which adds to their credibility in my view. Getting turned down for a date by a 16-year-old's mother isn't illegal anywhere as far as I know. The sexual contact is the only case that's at all concerning, and that's described as a misdemeanor in the original report. The only serious charge reported is incidental, transporting a minor to your home for the purpose of fornication. That's a felony.

Still, and meaning no disrespect for the injuries of Ms. Corfman, the Moore story's not of the same species as its Spacey and C.K. confreres, who, as awful as they are, could say the same about Weinstein. This is a raindrop in a tire rut.

I will change my mind if the story induces more women to come out with Moore stories, but they've got to be more serious than this.


And if this is why Mitch McConnell has anted, I've got a trump card to play.

That's not it.

Between Rand Paul and Ted Cruz, McConnell's caucus is lip-full of toxic at present. Adding a guy whose religiously justified contempt for the constitution has seen him dumped from a judicial bench, twice, is likely to cause a wake. You can't breathe through your nose and hold it at the same time.


Still, as far as I know, not following Alabama politics all that closely, Moore's best pull to draw a crowd, and what gives him national attention, is the thumping coming off his kudzu-fringed Bible, echoing as beautifully in Montgomery as the Adhan in Rabat.

But that's a topic for folks who can hear in that register.

[Darth Executor]

I think he was young-wife-shopping, Alabama style, a la Jerry Lee Lewis, thinking he could always tie the knot after she was pregnant. He was single, and the lack of further reported incidents later in life reflects a likely end to the behavior with his marriage.

I agree he was young wife shopping, but he didn't try to impregnate any of the older girls, so your theory that he was trying to get them pregnant doesn't make sense. Most likely explanation is that neocons set up the 14 year old hit job.

[One Bad Pig]

Between Rand Paul and Ted Cruz, McConnell's caucus is lip-full of toxic at present. Adding a guy whose religiously justified contempt for the constitution has seen him dumped from a judicial bench, twice, is likely to cause a wake. You can't breathe through your nose and hold it at the same time.

Herding cats would be a walk in the park compared to riding herd on the Senate. He technically has a majority, but the ends are ideologically far enough apart that it's pretty much impossible to satisfy all of them at once (and more than willing to play spoiler), and the Democrats are strongly united around the idea of not giving the Republicans any help whatsoever.

[Sparko]

That kind of instant dismissal just ain't right, Sparko.

It wasn't a dismissal. It was skepticism. If it happened I think he should get in trouble for it. But reading the link you provided (thanks Jim!) I am still skeptical. I wonder if they can dig up old phone records from that time showing he called her? That would be significant.

[Juvenal]

Herding cats would be a walk in the park compared to riding herd on the Senate. He technically has a majority, but the ends are ideologically far enough apart that it's pretty much impossible to satisfy all of them at once (and more than willing to play spoiler), and the Democrats are strongly united around the idea of not giving the Republicans any help whatsoever.

I referred to him as speaking for the majority of the Republican caucus, not the majority of the Senate. My apologies for the lack of clarity. To your last, I'm not sure they've been given much opportunity, and in either case, while I can hear songs sung in that register, their station's not on my presets.

Actually, no stations are on my presets, other than the classical subfeed from NPR and a local jazz station.

I want our senators to work across the aisle on our country's most pressing issues, international and domestic, from global warming and trade partnerships where we have lead and should continue to lead but can't because we've recently abdicated those positions, to the failure of the American promise for things to be better for your kids if you fly straight and work hard.

Those folks sent Mr. Trump to the White House.

We need to fix that.

[rogue06]

Sex with a 14-year-old is not actually child rape -- or pedophilia.

I doubt that the allegation against Roy Moore is even true, though, because I don't believe that this girl had a dedicated phone line into her bedroom in the 1970s, and Roy Moore doesn't seem like the type of guy to try to have sex on a second date.

It is statutory rape even if the girl consented.

As others have noted generally folks who do such things don't just do it for a couple years and suddenly stop baring some life changing event (such as truly being born again).

[rogue06]

with trump it didn't stick because several of the accusers lied about the circumstances, or were contradicted by family or friends, and in one case DATED Trump after the alleged assault. If I was Moore, and I was innocent, I'd look hard for an alibi. She gave enough details that he should be able to figure out the date and if he was doing something else at the time for which there is a record.

After nearly four decades it is going to be tough finding evidence that corroborates the charges or contradicts them.

[One Bad Pig]

I referred to him as speaking for the majority of the Republican caucus, not the majority of the Senate. My apologies for the lack of clarity. To your last, I'm not sure they've been given much opportunity, and in either case, while I can hear songs sung in that register, their station's not on my presets.

Actually, no stations are on my presets, other than the classical subfeed from NPR and a local jazz station.

Heh. The only station on my presets is the local classical station.

I want our senators to work across the aisle on our country's most pressing issues, international and domestic, from global warming and trade partnerships where we have lead and should continue to lead but can't because we've recently abdicated those positions, to the failure of the American promise for things to be better for your kids if you fly straight and work hard.

The possibility of working across the aisle has been pretty much nil since Nov. 2007. The Democrats have been able to pull together when in the majority to ram stuff through, but didn't bother to get all the kinks out first. The Republicans seem incapable of pulling together. I'm not sure which is worse. In any case, both major parties have been far more interested in pulling for this or that special group than making things better for all for quite some time now. The resulting red tape makes things more difficult for all.

Those folks sent Mr. Trump to the White House.

We need to fix that.

Putting up a reasonable alternative to Mr. Trump would be a good start. Mr. Trump won because too many people were mad as hell about what the establishment has been up to, and the establishment candidate had too many negatives.

[rogue06]

I referred to him as speaking for the majority of the Republican caucus, not the majority of the Senate. My apologies for the lack of clarity. To your last, I'm not sure they've been given much opportunity, and in either case, while I can hear songs sung in that register, their station's not on my presets.

Actually, no stations are on my presets, other than the classical subfeed from NPR and a local jazz station.

I want our senators to work across the aisle on our country's most pressing issues, international and domestic, from global warming and trade partnerships where we have lead and should continue to lead but can't because we've recently abdicated those positions, to the failure of the American promise for things to be better for your kids if you fly straight and work hard.

Those folks sent Mr. Trump to the White House.

We need to fix that.

Sorry if I take the above with a grain of salt but I don't recall you expressing such sentiments when Obama was in the White House and he sneered at the Republicans how "elections have consequences" and completely and utterly shut them out^[1]. He said it was useless even speaking with them because they were too extreme while simultaneously offering to open up unilateral talks with America's avowed enemies (obviously because they were more reasonable than the Republicans ).

Obama and the Democrats in the House and Senate refused to consider a single Republican proposal during the first two years. And after the Republican landslide in 2010 Obama had to ask his aides if they knew how to contact the incoming Republican leadership because he never talked to them before and had absolutely no idea how to get in touch with them.








1. This happened when Eric Cantor reached out to Obama offering to negotiate on the stimulus package to which the later scoffed: "Look at the polls. The polls are pretty good for me right now. Elections have consequences. And Eric, I won." Then Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel, in his usual cordial manner, put it another way: "We have the votes. F-word them."

[Juvenal]

It wasn't a dismissal. It was skepticism. If it happened I think he should get in trouble for it. But reading the link you provided (thanks Jim!) I am still skeptical. I wonder if they can dig up old phone records from that time showing he called her? That would be significant.

I think the offense is too minor to be made up. A misdemeanor accusation of petting through underwear leaves a lot of room for enhancements. And then, when she asked, he took her home.

I'm not sure how much trouble he should get into, either. WaPo reported ...

In Alabama, the statute of limitations for bringing felony charges involving sexual abuse of a minor in 1979 would have run out three years later, and the time frame for filing a civil complaint would have ended when the alleged victim turned 21, according to Child USA, a nonprofit research and advocacy group at the University of Pennsylvania.

Corfman never filed a police report or a civil suit.

While the details are embarrassing, there's been no suggestion they're relevant to who he is today. If he's only in trouble with his church groups, then that's for them to hash out.

[Cow Poke]

While the details are embarrassing, there's been no suggestion they're relevant to who he is today. If he's only in trouble with his church groups, then that's for them to hash out.

This is refreshingly mildly surprising.

Good to see you, sir. How's that 'fine hair' holding out?

[Darth Executor]

I think the offense is too minor to be made up.

The bigger the offense the bigger the splash. It's just big enough to sink his run if true while minimizing risk to the accuser and thus the perfect accusation to make up.

[Zero Tolerance]

This thread would have a lot less posts if folks just stopped beating around the bush and be like Jerry Pow, and say they'd vote for Roy Moore no matter what because it's better than voting for a democrat.