alabama couldn't even muster a majority for the non-child molester candidate.

[unblock]

yes, i'm absolutely thrilled that we won a seat in one of the reddest states in the country.

and the tattered faith i've had in american democracy has been at least partially restored by such a partisan state collectively looking past party and doing what's right for the country.


yet i can't help smack my head that they couldn't even give jones a simple majority. he won with 49.9% of the vote. enough to get elected, and in the end that's what really matters.

but, really. given that moore is a twice-removed former judge, banned from malls, who defends his trolling of teens and believes that the rule of law and the constitution should play second fiddle at best to his own personal religious beliefs, the people of alabama still couldn't give a majority to the sane candidate.

this also in the context of moore being a disciple of a political party that's proven itself to be competent only at damaging the fabric of american society. donnie's agenda is as cruel a joke as his twitter feed and he can't even pass meaningful legislation with same-party control of both houses of congress. he's one of the most unpopular presidents ever.

and in that context, again, alabama still couldn't manage a majority for jones.



i understand some people vote party rather than person, and some people only care about one issue, like tax cuts or anti-choice. using that as an excuse to look past vile behavior like child molestation is one thing, but there are actually people who, knowing about his child molesting behavior, *still think he's the moral choice* is absolutely mind-blowing.


awesome as it is for jones to have won, i think it's still worth noting just how much it took to get a narrow victory.


while we've got a good shot at winning big in 2018, we've still got a very long way to go to return much of this country to sanity.

[Tom Rinaldo]

1. A majority backed (barely) non-child molester candidates.

Presumably those who wrote in another Republicans name rather than voting for Moore or a Democrat wrote in a Republican who does not have child molestation allegations reported against them.

But yeah, it was damn close and someone like Moore shouldn't be able to get 10% of the vote, let alone 48% of it.

[FSogol]

2. Ok, Eeyore. Did anyone tell you it was going to be easy?

[unblock]

5. well, that's the thing. there really isn't a state in the country where a republican can't win.

true, places like new england are really tough for republicans, but still, maine elected collins and new hampshire elected ayotte.

and for the most part they are very loyal party-line voters in the senate (though collins in particular bucked the party on the obamacare repeal vote).

and there have been others.

somehow, even in democratic states, republicans are able to get candidates who appeal to enough democrats in the general elections to be viable if not actually elected, even when, once in congress, their votes align very closely with every other republican.

true, we do have occasional wins in red states, but there certainly seems to be far more incredibly safe republican seats than incredibly safe democratic seats.

in any event, we should always run credible candidates everywhere, because you never know when your opponent is going to self-destruct or turn out to be a child molester....

[yallerdawg]

3. Alabama STILL sucks.

Wow. Very nice.

What did Alabama just do?

[unblock]

6. not alabama, no. kudos to alabama collectively for doing the right thing.

but shame on 48.4% of the voters for heartily endorsing child molestation.

[Orrex]

4. Every stupid fucker who voted for Moore explicitly endorsed child rape

That is the entirety of it.

They can make up with bullshit excuses about "Liberal Doug Jones," and in their idiot ignorance they can stupidly pretend that being pro-choice makes one a "baby killer," but at the end of the day they said "the predatory child rapist represents me and my values."

Fuck every stupid red-voting fucker in Alabama and everywhere else.


In contrast, I applaud the voters who went for Trump in November but who nevertheless realized that Moore is a fucking monster. I hope that they have seen the light and will turn away from Republican candidates in future elections as well.

[Ferrets are Cool]

7. If you dont live here, you have NO idea how hard

it was to put a D in office here. Even if we won by ONE vote, it's a overwhelming deal. If you don't live here, you have no idea what its like to be completely surrounded by tone-deaf voters who ONLY hear what they want to hear. Senator Jones did not win against a pedophile in the minds of 48% of Alabamians. The didn't believe it any more than they believe that the PGIC is the PGIC.

So please don't lessen the magnitude of what WE did here yesterday. It was a devastating defeat for the repugs and we as a party should use it as a blueprint for winning back OUR government and America.

[unblock]

8. i don't need to live in alabama to know how big a deal this is.

i've been to alabama, i've lived in texas, and i like to think i'm pretty well-informed.

i get it, it's hard and it's a big deal and i am indeed stoked.

but that's just it, that's exactly what i'm complaining about, just how hard it is for a perfectly reasonable democrat to win.

and it's nothing against alabama in particular, the same thing could have played out in just about any other solidly red state.
hell, wyoming probably would have elected the child molester, given the choice.

[blogslut]

9. Dude, He won.

A Democrat. In Alabama.

This reminds me some of Ann Richards' Texas gubernatorial win in 1990. Going in, her odds for winning were unlikely. Then her opponent opened his sexist mouth one too many times and that, along with the Libertarian candidate's 3.32%, gave her the 49.47% she needed to win. The first Texas woman governor.

27 years later it still feels like a miracle.