By Brandon Moseley
Alabama Political Reporter
In accordance with National Federation of Republican Assemblies bylaws, the Alabama Republican Assembly endorsement of Judge Roy Moore for the U.S. Senate seat in the Alabama Special Election is carried as an endorsement from NFRA. NFRA President Willes K. Lee said in a statement, “Judge Moore is the candidate Alabama and the United States needs in Washington. Conservative in his own right, Judge Moore holds all liberals – Republicans as well as Democrats – to account… as does the NFRA. He is determined to drain the D.C. swamp and to make America great again.”
The NFRA wrote in the release, “Moore has spent his career fighting corruption and liberal judicial activism, even being twice removed from office by corrupt politicians. He is a conservative constitutionalist, and will protect our American and Constitutional values as a U.S. Senator.”
Judge Roy Moore thanked the NFRA for the endorsement, “The Republican Assemblies, through their respective state chapters, are the backbone of the REAL conservative movement. I am pleased to receive their endorsement in this race which centers on the integrity of the candidates.”
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell’s Leadership PAC spent millions of dollars in the primary to malign and discredit Judge Moore. Despite this, Roy Moore still earned the most votes in the Special Republican Primary election and has led in all of the recent polls.
Despite the unprecedented barrage of negative and generally false ads, Alabama voters remain suspicious of Moore’s opponent, Luther Strange, who was appointed by former Alabama Governor Robert Bentley (R) while Luther was conducting a criminal investigation into Bentley’s conduct involving using State and campaign assets to carry on and cover up an alleged romantic relationship with a married former staffer, Rebekah Caldwell Mason. Despite the alleged conflict of interest, Strange still lobbied the 74 year old Bentley to appoint him to fill the Senate vacancy created by President Trump’s appointment of Jeff Sessions (R) to U.S. Attorney General. Shortly after being appointed to replace Strange, AG Steve Marshall (R) appointed a Special Counsel to head the Bentley investigation, which Strange had earlier denied even existed despite asking the House Judiciary Committee to suspend its own investigation and squashing efforts made by state Auditor Jim Zeigler (R) to depose Bentley. Eventually, the Alabama Ethics Commission found that Bentley likely committed five felony violations of Alabama ethics and campaign finance law. Bentley pleaded guilty to two misdemeanors and resigned from office to avoid impeachment. Disgraced Speaker of the House Mike Hubbard, R-Auburn, has accused Strange of prosecuting him in order to remove him as a potential rival.
The Karl Rove headed Senate Leadership Fund recently committed $2.6 million to the primary runoff to fund another largely false and misleading ad campaign attacking Moore’s ethics. There are several actual ethics complaints filed with the Alabama Ethics Commission, though they are unlikely to address them before the Republican runoff vote.
While McConnell and other D.C. Republicans complained mightily about outside Democratic spending in the recent congressional special election in Georgia’s District 6, the Washington GOP elites have adopted the same tactics to attempt to sway Alabama to vote for Strange. The Republican Assembly wrote that “Republican interlopers should use their funds to secure our shaky U.S. Senate majority in 2018.”
Strange, for his part, denies any wrongdoing and refuses to denounce the false and misleading ad campaign his Washington allies are using to attempt to suppress Moore’s voters.
The winner of the September 26, Special Election will face Birmingham Attorney and Clinton era U.S. Attorney Doug Jones (D) in the Dec. 12, 2017, Special General election.
