September 21, 2017

The Alabama Senate Debate Went Totally Off the Rails

“Sodomy, sexual perversion sweep our land.”

Former Alabama Chief Justice Roy Moore smiles before announcing his candidacy for US Senate in Montgomery, Alabama.Albert Cesare/The Montgomery Advertiser/AP

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Luther Strange and Roy Moore—the Republican candidates vying for Attorney General Jeff Session’s former Senate seat—took the debate stage in Montgomery, Alabama, Thursday night, in the final event before Tuesday’s primary runoff. Moore, an ultra-conservative former judge, attacked Sen. Strange, who has been holding the seat since February, throughout the debate as being the establishment candidate, having been endorsed by President Trump and supported by the super PAC aligned with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell. Luther got in a few jabs, but Moore really owned the night.

Though the debate went off the rails early. In what was perhaps the most attention-grabbing portion of the evening, Moore, as a Westpoint grad and Vietnam vet, emphasized his desire for a strong military before going on to explain his plans for the economy and to lament the fact that “crime, corruption, immorality, abortion, sodomy, sexual perversion sweep our land”:  

A few more lowlights here:

Watch the whole thing here:

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PLEASE—BEFORE YOU CLICK AWAY!

“Lying.” “Disgusting.” “Scum.” “Slime.” “Corrupt.” “Enemy of the people.” Donald Trump has always made clear what he thinks of journalists. And it’s plain now that his administration intends to do everything it can to stop journalists from reporting things it doesn’t like—which is most things that are true.

We’ll say it loud and clear: At Mother Jones, no one gets to tell us what to publish or not publish, because no one owns our fiercely independent newsroom. But that also means we need to directly raise the resources it takes to keep our journalism alive. There’s only one way for that to happen, and it’s readers like you stepping up. Please do your part and help us reach our $150,000 membership goal by May 31.

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