When Will the Pendulum Swing to the Middle?

I’ve been trying to make sense of Roy Moore’s victory in the Republican primary for the U.S. Senate seat vacated by Jeff Sessions. Moore, in case you didn’t know, is a former Alabama judge who was censured for having a display of the ten commandments in his courtroom. He also believes that homosexuality should be illegal, that Muslims should not be allowed to hold public office, and the September 11 attacks were God’s punishment for an America that has strayed too far from a righteous path.

What do voters find appealing about such ideas? Nobody can articulate it. A Republican strategist claims that “the activist, angry wing of the GOP … doesn’t care about progress or making America great again. It lives and breathes on anger and resentment. That’s a difficult movement to direct and control.” If that’s accurate, the long-term consequences for the two-party system–and for the tax code, the entitlement system, health care, and the national defense–will be life changing.

With the pending announcement of Mississippi’s Chris McDaniels to run for statewide or national office, understanding how Moore won the primary is paramount.

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14 Responses to When Will the Pendulum Swing to the Middle?

  1. Kaelon McNeece says:

    The simple method to winning a public election involves appealing to the voter audience. The Alabama voter population has historically been a Republican majority and over 63% of the population identify as some form of Christian which is what Roy Moore is extremely outspoken about. 63% is already well over the majority, so any Christian voters that were in disagreement with Moore didn’t affect such a sizeable percentage. There could’ve also been plenty of voters that chose Moore over Luther Strange due to even further disagreement with Strange. Unfortunately, blind voting based strictly upon political view or religion does exist and can be a serious threat to an otherwise fair election system and only enables the victory of a candidate appealing to the far right or the far left.

    Source Links:
    http://www.bestplaces.net/religion/state/alabama

  2. Zion Hargro says:

    Honestly, there is not a clear and direct answer to your question. I cannot comprehend how a person who was for one present an was able to watch the horrific tragedy of 9/11 could say that is was God’s punishment. I am a Christian and I believe that even though the attacks were terrible, everything happens for a reason, whether it be good or bad. Regardless of how terrible 9/11 was, God will never purposely harm his children. Secondly, if he wants to make homosexuality illegal, then I should be arrested for being 16 years old and still under 5 feet. Furthermore, the justice system cannot arrest anybody for being who they are. It would be unreasonable to arrest me for being short. Who is to blame? My mother who is 5’8? My aunt who is 5’9? Or my great grandmother who is 5’7. I do not even try to comprehend what goes on in the mind of politicians. It seems as if they are inhuman and heartless.

    https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/post-partisan/wp/2017/09/27/roy-moores-win-is-bad-for-alabama-and-even-worse-for-the-gop/?utm_term=.b12e850852b9

  3. The reason for Roy Moore’s victory is shrouded beneath a cloud of false promises and invalid statements. He possibly could have either manipulated the voters into believing that his views were moral and right or gained powerful friendships which could have tipped him over the edge as a candidate. Even though Moore is a bigot, he was elected for some reason (and that reason is not because of Alabama being Alabama). Although the reason may not be known, he gained the trust of the voters and he obviously won so the tipping factor for Chris McDaniels could be to go around and gain the trusts of citizens of Mississippi and overall prove to be a tough candidate that won’t be pushed over easily by a defeat.

  4. Alex Jones says:

    I think Moore won because America is a mainly Christian country and Christian values are still prevalent. Many people who read the bible see it as law, and support the claims that homosexuality should be illegal and terrorist acts are acts of their god. People just need comfort and if they believe in something that their parents taught them they feel better about persecution and things of that nature. Another reason could be that people are just extremely uneducated in regards to knowing who they are electing. People need to wake up. They’re turning the freaking frogs gay.

    • Kendra Bradley says:

      I don’t necessarily have a comment on your response; I just want to know what you mean by the phrase, “They’re turning the freaking frogs gay.”

  5. Sara Scott says:

    I think Moore won either because of people voting based on religious values or because of an inaccuracy in popular belief due to the number of voting-eligible citizens who didn’t represent their beliefs by voting. This country is a very Christian country based on Christian values, just as it has been since its origin. Perhaps religious voters appreciated Moore sharing his Christian viewpoints or wanted their religion to have an influence on their government. Or maybe, as stated earlier, not all opinions were represented because of voters who didn’t contribute to their local ballot box. Not to bring up a controversial and generally anger-fueling name, but it’s my belief that the last presidential election was swayed greatly be the number of voters whose opinions weren’t represented solely because they didn’t show up on voting day.

  6. August Andre says:

    I would like to reply by stating that I am utterly confused by the far right on the political spectrum. I know what they stand for as made apparent on Chris McDaniel’s Facebook page but I do not understand the ‘logic’ or reasoning behind these deeply held hateful beliefs. Moore most likely won the election due to his strong church-political stance and low turnout for his opponent Strange. In other scenarios, however, people vote without knowing who the candidate is because of their political affiliation. I remember hearing a story on NPR that described a man who had won a local election without spending a single dollar on his campaign. Not to mention (slightly off topic) that some Republicans are trying to change voter registration laws which would limit votes for those who typically align themselves with Democrats or third party. Back to Moore, I am still confused on the relationship with Christianity and its use as justification for right-wing agendas and thinking as I have many Christian friends who feel differently.

  7. Kendra Bradley says:

    I believe the biggest reason America is responding to such inflammatory people is because they feel they need that drastic change. My mother has the viewpoint that those that have held office had the same opinions as all the others and “look where it’s gotten us.” Many believe that having the new perspective is the key to fixing what all has gone wrong. What they fail to see is that it’s not exactly a new perspective-they are still rich white men that have never experienced a hard day-it’s just a different opinion. And these opinions are toxic for everyone except other rich white men. Even to this day, after the events of the last 10 months since the inauguration of Trump’s administration, the state of the country has become increasingly terrifying and divided, yet there are still many that favor the conservative opinion and make excuses for the events. This is indicative of the Americans’ mindset. As long as it makes their hearts race and their blood pump and vaguely represents their ideals, they are inclined to desire that in office.

  8. Lane Hughes says:

    How in the world can people be so divided over such simple issues? Homosexuality should be illegalized, Muslims can’t hold office, why in the world can’t everybody just be equal? This question has been asked many a time, and honestly, it has no true answer. People’s decisions are extremely volatile, swapping back and forth between certain viewpoints based on barely anything. For example, a person may buy a certain dog breed from a puppy mill, but as soon as an ASPCA commercial with a cute puppy comes on TV, they’ll boycott puppy mills ’til the end of time… or as soon as they want another cute puppy. This phenomenon can also be translated to the angry side of the people of the US. They’ll say that they’re for gay rights and equality, but on their voting ballots, they’ll vote for the people who actually support what they’re for. Which, in this case, means that either the people of Alabama or the people of the US or probably both hold a lot more power than they probably should be holding.

  9. Sophia Pepper says:

    As Loveish said, the reason for Roy Moore’s victory is shrouded beneath a cloud of false promises and invalid statements. There is a plethora of possibilities for how someone as vile as him managed to win, but it is nigh unto indisputable that he has completely littered his campaign trail with empty promises and outright lies that have clearly clouded the eyes of his supporters.

  10. Anonymous says:

    This is astonishing, people will believe what they want. The statements in which he made about, Muslims, homosexuals and 9/11, has me in disbelief. There are a lot of uninformed citizens in this country, and that’s how things like this happens. We need to be more informed.

  11. Richie Andersen says:

    Elections have become less of a choice of the people, and more of a contest of how many relationships and false promises can you forge. Roy Moore has convinced the people of Alabama(Roll Tide) that he is morally justified in his belief. Being a Christian in an election can hurt or benefit the electee, and in the heart of Alabama, Roy Moore will be considered more than other runners. I, with many of the thread, find it hard to believe that someone who was present during the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center could actually believe that God’s reasoning for that was to punish us. Time will tell whether or not Roy Moore proves to be a strong and just Republican primary.

  12. Theresa Ho says:

    That is ridiculous to see that Moore said all of those things about how homosexuality should be illegal and Muslims are not allowed to hold office and be able to win the election. But honestly, I kind of understand why because a lot of people in the south are extremely conservative and ‘hidden’ racists and I guess what he said appealed to them. It’s sad to think that there are still people today, especially in The United States, that still believe in all of this because The United States is suppose to be the “Land of the Free.” How is a place known to be a “free country,” not so “free.”

  13. Jessikah Morton says:

    As I scrolled through the comments of this section most of everyone is on the same accord about Roy Moore and his outlandish claims. That is not to say I’m going to play devils advocate and just agree with everything Roy Moore believes and justify something I don’t agree with for the fun of it. I’m going to be honest. I do disagree with the claims, muslims should not be able to hold public office, homosexuality should be illegal, and that activist soley operate on anger and resentment. Muslims are people, not terrorist trying to kill everyone and turn America into an Islamic country, terrorists are terrorists. Many muslims that live in America pay tax and have jobs just like any other American. I don’t think someones religion or belief system would effect their ability to do their job that’s not to say it won’t effect their descision making. Just like christians make decisions based on the bible, that is the same with muslims. Homosexuality being illegal sounds exaclty like a black person and a white person being able to marry eachother being illegal. That sounds crazy but at one point the two races weren’t allowed to love one another which is the same as not allowing the same sex to love one another. That is a form of discrimination, but this country is supposedly the home of the brave and land of the free. As for the activist statement, equal rights activist have an agenda and that is to gain equal rights, civil rights activists have an agenda to gain their neccessary rights as a human being, so that statement is untrue in all its ways. The statement about God punishing America with the 9/11 attack makes just a little bit of since. Yeah, I know how it sounds but let me explain before you start writting judgy comments abou this. In the bible God punished Sodom and Gomorrah for all the sins and things that were committed, I’m not saying I agree that that was what 9/11 was, I’m just saying he has a valid point based on the bible. The End

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