A new poll puts disgraced Alabama senate candidate Roy Moore back in the lead over his Democrat opponent, Doug Jones. Moore leads by five points; 48% of voters support Moore while only 43% support Jones.
The last poll from the same outfit, taken shortly after the allegations broke, had Jones in the lead by four points. Moore has been accused by multiple women of either sexually abusing or harassing them when they were teenagers and he was in his 30s.
Related: Here’s the abridged version of Roy Moore’s most virulently antigay comments
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During a speech last night at Magnolia Springs Baptist Church, Moore went on the offensive, saying the claims were “false and malicious.” The alleged victim who first accused Moore released an open letter yesterday calling on Moore to stop lying about her and end his “smears and false denials.”
Moore railed about the nebulous “they” so commonly used by dictators and racists to try to divide his audience from his opponent’s supporter, allowing his defenders to see themselves as separate and under attack.
“When I say ‘they’ who are they?” he asked the gathering. “They’re liberals. They don’t hold conservative values. They are the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender who want to change our culture. They are socialists who want to change our way of life and put man above God and the government is our God. They’re the Washington establishment… who want to keep everything the same so they don’t lose their position, their power, their prestige.”
Related: Roy Moore was banned from the local mall for badgering teenage girls
Moore has a longstanding history of animus against the LGBTQ community. He was removed from his position as the Chief Justice of the state supreme court twice for disobeying federal law in favor of his religious beliefs.
The religious right have overwhelmingly continued to support Moore despite knowing he has been accused of molesting a child and getting rich by plundering a conservative religious charity run by his wife.
Related: Here are all the religious justifications for alleged child molester Roy Moore
Roy Moore names quite explicitly the “THEY” behind the “malicious” attacks against him. (At a church in Theodore, AL) pic.twitter.com/mccnDyfcK7
— Vaughn Hillyard (@VaughnHillyard) November 30, 2017