Is Brett Kavanaugh being “Roy Moored?”
Allegations of sexual misconduct against politicians are not new. But they were honed during the Alabama Special Senate race. Are we seeing that tactic again?
By Michael P Hart
It was less than one year ago during the special election for U.S. Senate in Alabama when the Washington Post published a story of alleged sexual misconduct against Judge Roy Moore in Alabama. Moore was running as a Republican to fill the seat held by placeholder Senator Luther Strange. Strange, the former Alabama Attorney General, had been appointed to fill the vacancy left when Jeff Sessions was appointed U.S. Attorney General by now disgraced Alabama former Governor Robert Bentley. Under allegations of sexual misconduct of his own, Bentley was removed and replaced by Lt. Governor Kay Ivey. Under pressure from Alabamians, Ivey was compelled to hold a new election to find Sessions’s replacement, something the Alabama Constitution requires. Many thought it odd that Bentley would elevate Strange since the AG’s office was investigating Bentley on the very charges that would bring him down.
When the new election was announced, Alabama Democrat Doug Jones entered the fray. Although a highly respected jurist and civil rights champion, Jones was thought to be a long shot. Especially against populist Moore, the twice former head of the Alabama Supreme Court but devoted defender of conservative Evangelical principles.
But with full-throated endorsements from the likes of Sebastian Gorka, Sarah Palin, Jan Morgan, Ted Cruz, and many others, Moore was thought to be a shoo-in. That is, until the eleventh hour, when the Washington Post published the story of Leigh Corfman.
According to the Post, Corfman was 14 years old when an older man approached her outside a courtroom in Etowah County, Alabama. She was sitting on a wooden bench with her mother, they both recall, when the man introduced himself as Roy Moore. At the time, Moore was 32. The piece goes on to detail Moore’s attempts to date Corfman. But as the story played out, more woman came out. Aside from Corfman, three other women were interviewed by the Washington Post. The others were between the ages of 16 and 18 when the events allegedly occurred. And while none of the three women says that Moore forced them into any sort of relationship or sexual contact, the damage was done. Roy Moore was an accused sexual assault predator.
Weeks later, Doug Jones became the first Democratic senator elected in the state in decades.
Interestingly enough, the same thing has occurred — again, compliments of the Washington Post — in the eleventh hour of the Brett Kavanaugh confirmation.
But the similarities don’t end there.
In both cases, the allegations are decades old. Despite both men having served in the public eye for years, neither was accused of any wrongdoing under higher office.
But even more compelling is that in both cases, the accusers were affected by legal rulings related to the men. Moore presided over a divorce case involving one of his accusers, Beverly Nelson — and Kavanaugh’s mother, a judge herself, presided over a foreclosure hearing involving one of Brett Kavanaugh’s accusers.
But despite the particulars, one thing seems clear: Accusations of sexual misconduct, whether true or not, are an effective tactic to derail a candidate — and perhaps a confirmation. And Alabamians have seen it firsthand, and in all its Washington Post/DNC glory.
So is Brett Kavanaugh being Ray Moored? Will it work? What if it does? And where do we go from here?
Michael Hart is a longtime political commentator, author, pundit and conservative talk radio host.
The viewpoints expressed above are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of The Independent.
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You forgot another similarity. The daughter of. Corfmans attorney, Gloria Alread, Atty Lisa Bloom, got busted for trying to bribe a fake sexual assault story from a woman. The woman would do it.
Go home, Michael, you’re drunk.