By Brandon Moseley
Alabama Political Reporter
Saturday, August 19, 2017, Senate Candidate Roy Moore (R) was in Rainbow City for a breakfast meeting with the Etowah County Republican Party. A packed crowd was on hand to hear from the Etowah County native following his first place finish in the August 15 Republican Senate special election primary.
Judge Moore told his fellow Etowah County Republicans, “This is home. This is where I was born and reared and where I will die.”
Former Alabama Supreme Court Justice Roy Moore said that when Donald Trump was elected the people wanted change, they wanted to go forward, but that the country has not gone forward because the establishment in Washington, the establishment of both parties have been blocking the President’s agenda.
Chief Justice Moore said, “Winning 60 of the 67 counties is a great honor. The people of this county is what I stand for. I am standing for what the law stands for. If we don’t stand for what is right, we are lost. Some say these are the end times. I don’t know. We can’t stop fighting for what is right. We need somebody to go to Washington and speak the truth. the truth about our country, the truth about our Constitution, and the truth about God.”
Judge Moore said, “When the President makes a statement he gets criticized for what he does not say.” The people in Washington DC do not want change and they are fighting Trump’s agenda. Moore said that he supports term limits. “It is probably needed but we are not going to get term limits through Congress.” It has to come from the states.
Moore said, “Elections should be fair, but that is not the way it is. As soon as the Special Election was announced, immediately $2.5 million was in the hands of my opponent.” The Washington special interests spent $5.6 million in the primary alone. “$2700 is the most you can give me. Do you know how difficult it is to raise money like that? We have raised some short of $500,000 in the first cycle.” Karl Rove has pledged up to $10 million and the other PAC has pledged $5 million,” in the runoff.
Alabama’s best known Supreme Court Justice said, “Washington DC is watching this race with binoculars. It is the prelude to the 2018 Senate elections. I know what we need. We need border security. We are the only nation that ignores its borders. Does it take a wall? I don’t know. We could stop illegal aliens using the military on the border and then see if a wall is still needed.” Moore said that the US military could be used on the borders without violating the Posse Comitatus Act. “People are flooding across our borders.” Referring to increasingly common terror attacks in Europe, Moore said, “Look at what is happening in Spain. Look what is happening in France. Look what is happening in England.”
Moore said that he wants to repeal Obamacare, but not replace it, and that healthcare is not in Article I Section 3 of the Constitution. “Look at the Veterans Administration hospitals. That is what government controlled health care is. Government is not good at business.”
Moore warned, “The people in Washington are trying to buy this election.” Moore predicted that Strange and his Washington DC allies would make more false tales in negative ads and then bombard the airwaves with it. They are trying to put out so much negativity with the negative ads. “Channel 13 did a fact check and found the ad against me in the primary and found it to be completely false. They continued to run the ad. They knew it was false and they continued to run the ad, anyway because of the money.”
Moore said, “I don’t dislike McConnell. I do not know McConnell. I have never met McConnell; but McConnell is waging war down South. I don’t want to make his life miserable. I speak the truth if that makes you miserable, that is your problem.”
State Representative Becky Nordgren (R-Gadsden) said that no one likes Luther Strange in Montgomery. In all of the Legislature only one lawmaker supports Luther Strange and that is Jim Carns.
Rep. Mack Butler (R-Rainbow City) said I like Jim Carns; but he is up for an appointment as ambassador or he would not be.
Etowah County Party Chairman state Senator Phil Williams (R-Rainbow City) said that he talked with Gov. Bentley before the appointment and Mitch McConnell had called the Governor twice before telling him not to send a tea party Freedom Caucus type to the US Senate.
Moore said, “They don’t want change and they are using all this money against me and everyone else,” who won’t play their game. I have to depend on the people to finance my campaign. They depend on the Washington special interests. My wife nearly got sick on election night when we did not win without a runoff because she knows what is coming.” They will make up something in an ad and you will ask yourself; Did he do that? would he do that? Those negative thoughts are all they need to suppress the vote. “They are trying to get their candidates elected and they will do anything they can to do that.”
Retired Congressman and World War II veteran Jim Martin (R) was present to express his support for Moore’s candidacy. Martin, 98, was the Congressman who appointed Moore to West Point. Moore thanked him for that and for his words of encouragement. Moore was appointed Circuit Judge in Etowah County in 1992 by Governor Guy Hunt (R).
Former Alabama Supreme Court Chief Justice Roy Moore was by far the top vote getter in the Tuesday GOP primary. Moore received 38.87 percent of the votes cast versus just 32.83 percent cast for Senator Luther Strange (R). 29.3 percent of GOP voters on Tuesday however preferred one of the other eight names on the ballot, with most of those going to Congressman Mo Brooks (R from Huntsville) who got 19.7 percent. To win the runoff, Judge Moore needs to win at least 38 percent of the Republican voters whose candidates did not advance to the runoff. A recent poll by JMC Analytics indicates that Moore may already have achieved that. According to the new poll, 51 percent of likely Republican voters prefer Moore in the Primary; while Strange is stuck with the same 32 percent support that he had on primary night.
The Special Republican Party runoff is on Tuesday, September 26.
The winner will face Doug Jones (D) in the Special General Election on December 12.
