#MeToo women take down Moore, but it’s not as great as it seems
I’ve had a day for Roy Moore’s defeat in Alabama to sink in. I’m still thrilled. The horse that Moore rode to the polls Tuesday would have made a better U.S. senator than that cowboy. Democrat Doug Jones, who won the election, will be great.
But for the long road ahead — in particular for the lasting power of the #MeToo movement widely credited with derailing Moore’s campaign — reality has set in. And, as a woman, I’ve got to say it’s not all that cheery.
Moore was considered a shooin for the seat when he won the Republican primary as an antiSemitic, racist, twice-deposed judge who believes homosexuality should be a crime, Muslims should be barred from holding office and science is bunk.
Then several highly credible women said Moore had dated, molested or harassed them when they were teenagers, one just 14 at the time, when he was a prosecutor in his 30s. That shook up the campaign, and Jones ended up defeating him.
But here’s the thing: Jones won by less than 2 percentage points.
Woo hoo! Look at us, Gloria Steinem! Ahem. No. Moore’s defeat can help keep #MeToo alive and growing as a movement — but only if increasing numbers of women can be motivated to tell their stories. What we saw in Alabama was not a resounding vote for civil rights, women’s or otherwise.
I’m fortunate to never have been molested. I’ve had a few, let’s say, awkward workplace situations I’ve been able to defuse on my own, but I have never felt sexually harassed or threatened.
Do I know anyone who has? Oh yes. You do too, whether you realize it or not. Surveys differ, but as many as 1 in 3 women in their 20s and 30s report sexual harassment of some kind. And for those of us who are older — you can’t tell me things were better in the 20th century.
How all this played out in Alabama is murky, however.
Headlines say Doug Jones got a strong majority of the female vote Tuesday, but that’s misleading. His real boost was from the turnout of black voters, 95 percent of whom voted for Jones, including 98 percent of black women. It’s likely many were reacting to Moore’s racism more than his misogyny.
But here’s the scary thing: 63 percent of white women voted for Moore. That’s almost enough to pass a tax in California. I’m shocked. I know Alabama is a different world from the Bay Area, and to a lesser extent from Pennsylvania, the swing state where I grew up. Even there, arch-conservative former Sen. Rick Santorum spoke out against Moore.
So did Alabama’s current U.S. Sen. Richard Shelby, for that matter.
Still, Alabama’s mostly-Republican white women stood by their man.
When the stories about Moore first surfaced, Alabama GOP leaders and allies tried to hedge. My personal favorite was that Moore, as a Christian, no doubt felt it was important to marry a virgin. Moore himself said some odd things for someone who didn’t date children: He insisted he never dated anyone without her parents’ per- mission.
But Moore soon adopted the Trump defense.
Trump frequently insists he never said or did things even when photos or recordings prove the opposite. Similarly, Moore went on the offensive, claiming he never even had met the girls — nine at last count.
This complete denial angered Debbie Wesson Gibson, who wrote her story for an NBC News website. She’d dated Moore when she was 17 and had no complaints about his conduct, but she fully believes the other women.
As #MeToo claims mount, credibility will be an increasing challenge. Some accusations, inevitably, will be false.
But the claims against Moore ring true. His accusers were mostly Republicans with no political motive. Several had told others about what happened at the time. A retired police officer and several attorneys who worked with Moore back then confirmed his creepy reputation for liking young girls and lurking at the mall.
Fabricating all this just doesn’t seem feasible. That so many white women in Alabama still thought Moore was better than a Democrat will always astonish me.
Still, I hope the momentum of Moore’s loss will force Congress to deal with the 13 women who lodged claims of abuse against Donald Trump last year. Yes, he got elected despite them, and despite his bragging on tape about getting to grab women by the vagina: “When you’re a star, they let you do it. You can do anything.” Maybe you can’t any more. I’m not sure. But I can hope.