Bannon rips GOP leaders in pitch for Moore
SENATE RACE /
FAIRHOPE, Ala. — Populist firebrand Steve Bannon savaged national Republican leaders Tuesday night in a fiery call to rally voters behind embattled Senate candidate Roy Moore.
Bannon, known best for his former role as President Donald Trump’s chief strategist, called GOP leaders in Congress “cowards” and attacked the party’s 2012 presidential nominee Mitt Romney as a draft dodger as he defended Moore, 70, who is fighting several allegations of sexual misconduct and a Washington establishment that wants him to lose the Dec. 12 election.
“The days of taking it silently are over,” Bannon declared at a rally that drew hundreds of Moore supporters to a local farm in the southwestern corner of the state.
“They want to destroy Judge Roy Moore. You know why? They want to take your voice away,” Bannon said as Moore looked on. “If they can destroy Roy Moore, they can destroy you.”
Earlier in the day, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said that Moore, if elected, would “immediately have an issue with the Ethics Committee” — a process that could lead to his ultimate expulsion from the Senate.
Another Republican, Arizona Sen. Jeff Flake, sent a $100 check to Moore’s Democratic opponent, Doug Jones, on Tuesday. He tweeted a picture of the check and the words, “Country over party.”
And Romney, the 2012 Republican presidential nominee, said this week that Moore would be “a stain on the GOP and the nation.”
Bannon was most aggressive Tuesday night with Romney, charging that Moore, 70, had more integrity and honor than Romney’s entire family. He noted that Moore graduated from the United States Military Academy, while Romney received a draft deferment for his missionary work in France.
Many gathered inside Oak Hollow Farm’s barn dismissed the allegations against Moore as fake. Some didn’t seem to mind them, even if true.
“What girl hasn’t been kissed at 17 years old?” asked Diane Myrick, 69, of nearby Bon Secour. “I know a girl who got married at 14.”
Moore didn’t address the allegations directly. Instead, he cast himself as a political outsider fighting the establishment in both parties, just like Trump did one year ago. He also reminded voters of his Christian conservative values.
“I know we do not need transgender in our military,” Moore said. “If I’m in a foxhole, I don’t want to know whether this guy next to me is wondering if he’s a woman or a man.”
Earlier, roughly 250 miles to the north, Democrat Jones called Moore an embarrassment who would be a “disaster” in Washington.
“I damn sure believe that I have done my part to ensure that men who hurt little girls should go to jail and not the United States Senate,” Jones said in Birmingham, referring to his own record as a former federal prosecutor.