Roy Moore vs Doug Jones….A fair and open solution

Alabama election for U.S. Senate December 12, 2017  

Until a few weeks ago the moral issues in this election were well defined. And based on the attitudes and beliefs of the majority of the citizens of Alabama Roy Moore was the overwhelming favorite  to win this Election.

Then, after the deadline  to change the ballot,  the Washington Post,[ now echoed by MSNBC, CNN, the New York Times, etc. has] publicized two serious allegations against the character of Judge Moore.

Most observers acknowledge that this is the proverbial "October surprise" hit job …serious charges made against a candidate just before an election when it will be nearly impossible to dispel negative aroma generated by accusations.

We believe that nearly all Alabama voters want to do the right thing. The question is: What is the right thing?

We propose a solution process which will:

 Enable citizens of Alabama to proceed with confidence that the outcome will be appropriate, no matter what the final outcome is in reference to these allegations made against Judge Moore;

Enable the voters of Alabama to make their choice solely on the basis of the differences in philosophy and policies of the two candidates;

Not reward political hit jobs ;

 Ensure that, if Judge Moore, has in fact been guilty of either of the two major allegations that he would not be permitted to serve as a senator from Alabama.

This “best outcome” can be achieved as follows:

Vote for Roy Moore.   AND

Continue with a thorough investigation

Have Gov. Ivey appoint an impartial group to hear the evidence and make a determination that would be binding on Judge Moore. [For example, the group could consist of Gov.Ivey and six other appointees drawn from the Alabama legislature. The standard would be somewhere between criminal law where it is "beyond a reasonable doubt" and civil law where it is ”predominance of the evidence". It would take five votes to determine probable guilt.]

Have Judge Moore sign a legal commitment to step down if he is found guilty of either of the two main accusations against him.

 Then the governor of Alabama will appoint a suitable replacement. If Judge Moore is cleared then an obvious political hit job will not be rewarded. [This would speed up the process and make it transparent.]

The investigation:

1. Leigh Corfman alleges she was 14 when she dated Moore. She alleges Roy touched her in a sexual way. The touching was over the clothes, and they stopped having contact after the event in question. To continue the investigation Leigh Corfman would be required to file a sworn statement and be subject to cross-examination on the details both by the state authorities and by judge Moore’s legal representation. Included would be all past actions of the complainant making complaints against others. The various legal documents she has sworn to and her divorces and bankruptcies. Etc.

What has been reported widely is that the complainant had at that approximate age drug and sex problems. Also what has been reported widely is that the complainant has history of making similar complaints against various clergymen. Also reported is that certain details of the complainant’s story such as the judge reaching her in her bedroom by telephone have been proven false.

2.  Beverly Young Nelson claims to have been sexually assaulted when she was 16. She says Moore gave her a ride home from her job as a waitress and then tried to force her into oral sex. She says the incident was violent, and she claims to have a high school yearbook that was signed by Moore, proving their involvement. Beverly Young Nelson’s is a more difficult case. Here is a case of really "she said". The yearbook signature should be turned over immediately for expert examination. If it is not Roy Moore's actual inscription then the second case is loses most of its credibility. If it is Judge Roy Moore's actual original signature it damages Judge Moore's credibility but it is not conclusive in regard to the allegations.

 A second idea for Governor Ivey  to consider,  which is  under Gov. Ivy’s complete control is the following:

       Have Sen. Luther Strange resign his seat immediately. The governor could then cancel the election and call for a new election while she makes an interim appointment to fill the unexpired portion (few weeks) remaining in the term. This would give her, the citizens of Alabama, and the nation time to respond to  the Washington Post’s  imposed crisis that has been thrust upon her state and the nation in an attempt to thwart the will of the citizens of Alabama.

Past history should cause every citizen of Alabama to approach the Judge Moore accusations with caution and concern

There is a pattern of last-minute political accusations appearing in the Washington Post in the New York Times. Recent examples include the charges against George W. Bush [that he evaded his required service in the National Guard]; Mitt  Romney [that he was a prep school bully who helped attack a kid who might have been perceived as gay; that he abused a family pet by carrying him in a kennel lashed to the luggage rack on top of a family vehicle]; John McCain [Cindy McCain engaged in criminal acts which violated United States narcotics laws].

Also there is the memory of this technique being used in an attempt to forestall the appointment to the Supreme Court of Clarence Thomas, and to disrupt the presidential campaign of Herman  Kane.

 Other Incidents of false accusations that destroyed careers and lives include:

 Tawana Brawley’s  rape allegations.  Brawley  gained notoriety in 1987–88 for falsely accusing four white men of having raped her. The charges received widespread national attention because of her age, the persons accused, and the state in which Brawley was found after the alleged rape. She was found in a trash bag, with racial slurs written on her body and covered in feces. Brawley's accusations were given widespread media attention in part from the involvement of her advisers, including the Reverend Al Sharpton and attorneys Alton H. Maddox and C. Vernon Mason.

The Duke University lacrosse team. In March 2006, Crystal Gail Mangum, a black student at North Carolina Central University  accused three white Duke University students – all members of the  men's lacrosse team – of raping her. The rape was alleged to have occurred at a party held at the house of two of the team's captains in Durham on March 13, 2006. Many people  commenting on the case,  stated  that the alleged rape was a hate crime. Duke lacrosse coach Mike Pressler was forced to resign.  Duke president Richard Brodhead canceled the remainder of the 2006 season. On April 11, 2007, North Carolina Attorney General Roy Cooper dropped all charges and declared the three lacrosse players innocent of the rape allegations. Cooper stated that the players were victims of a "tragic rush to accuse”.

The McMartin case.The McMartin preschool trial was a day care sexual abuse case in the 1980s, prosecuted by the Los Angeles District Attorney . Members of the McMartin family, who operated a preschool in Manhattan Beach, California, were charged with numerous acts of sexual abuse of children in their care. Accusations were made in 1983. Arrests and the pretrial investigation ran from 1984 to 1987, and the trial ran from 1987 to 1990. After six years of criminal trials all charges were dropped in 1990. Simultaneously throughout the country many ministers and others in contact with youth were unjustly accused in a wave of  day-care sex-abuse hysteria, a moral panic over alleged Satanic ritual abuse in the 1980s and early 1990s.

The mantra was: "believe the children". There were many witnesses. Before the McMartin's were cleared they lost their business; they l lost their home. Their daughter had her teaching license stripped from her. Their son became unemployable.  

Returning to Judge Moore vs Doug Jones

Buried in flurry of accusations made against Judge Moore in the media are the true issues that vitally affect the citizens of Alabama and of the United States.

These include Doug Jones past support and expected future support of policies which undercut American response to:

             North Korea’s growing threat to Japan, the Philippines in the homeland of the United States.

              Iran's growing threat to Lebanon, Jordan, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, etc. Iran’s expansion in the Middle East. Iran's growing  sponsorship of  terrorism in Africa and South America. Iran's direct threat of nuclear missile attack on Israel, Europe, and  the mainland of the United States.

               China's economic and military expansion not only in the Far East but into South America in the Middle East.

Doug  Jones’ past support and legal advocacy [as recently as 1989] for individuals and organizations who not only advocated but actually physically attacked Blacks and Jews.

Doug Jones’  active support of partial-birth abortion [which most of us find to be cold-blooded murder of innocent newborns].