Citing 2016 vote as final say, GOP set to welcome Moore

Fun fact: Under U.S. law, sexual assault allegations are now adjudicated by political election.

Don’t believe me?

Just ask White House officials, Republican lawmakers and right-wing pundits, who lately argue that an electoral win provides absolution for any past sexual misconduct.

This troubling claim is being applied to (who else?) our president. But it also sets a terrible precedent for what happens if alleged child molester and sexual predator Roy Moore wins an Alabama Senate race.

Last week, after President Trump mocked Sen. Al Franken, D-Minn., for sexual misconduct, a reporter asked the White House if it was fair to investigate similar accusations against the president by more than a dozen women.

White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said no.

“Look, I think that this was covered pretty extensively during the campaign,” Sanders said. “We addressed that then. The American people I think spoke very loud and clear when they elected this president.”

That’s right, my fellow Americans. When you voted last November, it turns out you were actually volunteering for national jury duty. And you didn’t even get your $40 daily stipend!

Sanders is not the only one making this argument. On CBS’s “Face the Nation” on Sunday, Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., was asked by host John Dickerson whether the country’s increasing willingness to believe victims of sexual harassment and assault should cause a “re-evaluation of those who came forward” against the president.

“Well, it happened in the middle of the campaign last year, John,” he replied. “And the American people had their say on that as well.”

Meanwhile, on Fox News, MediaBuzz host Howard Kurtz questioned why the media would “resurrect” allegations against Trump in the first place.

“He’s called these women horrible liars. There’s certainly a debate about whether they should be believed,” Kurtz said. “There’s about a dozen of them. But we had an election after that. And he won.”

To hear Trump apologists tell it, the 2016 election exonerated its victor not only of any past sexual misdeeds, but also of every possible transgression or broken norm. Such as not releasing his tax returns.

These excuses are both dumb and dangerous.

Dumb because, well, if the American electorate was indeed serving as jury last year, its verdict was not exactly unanimous.

A majority of American voters voted against

Trump, as you may recall. If you buy Republicans’ logic, that would mean the public found Trump guilty of sexual misconduct and wanted him to disclose his tax returns. And casting a ballot for a politician does not necessarily mean you endorse a candidate’s every policy stance, character trait and action.

In any case, by arguing that victory refutes all allegations against Trump, Republicans are laying the groundwork to welcome Moore to Washington.

A mere week ago, aide Kellyanne Conway said there was “no Senate seat worth more than a child.” On Monday, when asked whether Alabama voters should cast their ballots for Moore, she denounced his Democratic opponent and said, “I’m telling you that we want the votes in the Senate to get this tax bill through.”