There is a significant element of the Alabama Republican Party that is completely morally bankrupt. That was amply established during the special election campaign for Jeff Sessions’ former Senate seat. Numerous Republican officials, from nominal party leader Governor Kay Ivey on down, declared that they would not waver in their support for Roy Moore.
Some, such as Ivey, did so in the same breath that they claimed they believed the women who said Moore molested them and pursued them when they were young enough to be his daughters. Others said that they didn’t care if it turned out the women really were telling the truth–they’d support him anyway.
One prominent Alabama Republican, however, refused to fall into line–the state’s senior Senator, Richard Shelby. He famously announced on CNN that he was writing in another Republican’s name rather than cast his vote for Moore. That doesn’t sit well with a number of Moore’s diehard supporters. They’re making a push for Shelby to be censured by the state party.
Two ardent Moore supporters on the Alabama GOP’s executive committee, Steve Guede and Tim Sprayberry, have teamed up with former committee member Danny Hubbard to promote a resolution censuring Shelby for what they consider to be an act of high treason. According to Politico, the resolution blasts Shelby for urging Alabamians to “write in a candidate instead of voting for the Republican Candidate Judge Roy Moore.”
The censure push comes on the heels of a monthlong robocall campaign by Courageous Conservatives PAC, a super PAC dedicated to electing “strong conservatives” to Congress. One robocall blasted Shelby for what it called a “treasonous” act, and demanded that he resign. The outfit hasn’t let up with the dawn of the new year, judging from this tweet.
Never Forget #QuislingShelby #ALSen https://t.co/YWw0f7eMlx
— Courageous Cons. PAC (@CourageousCPAC) January 13, 2018
For those who don’t know, “quisling” is a synonym for a “traitor,” particularly in Europe. It was derived from Vidkun Quisling, who led a Nazi collaborationist regime in Norway during World War II. So opposing a man who was credibly accused of sexual misconduct and failed to offer a meaningful defense makes you a “quisling”? Got it.
The leader of this effort is Dallas-based Republican megadonor Christopher Ekstrom, who told Politico that the robocall campaign was a prelude to the censure resolution. He made no bones about his intentions–he wants Shelby to follow two other Trump critics, Bob Corker and Jeff Flake, out the door.
“We no longer have Bob Corker to kick around, we no longer have Jeff Flake to kick around, but we do have Richard Shelby to kick around up and down the street until he gets out.”
For his part, Shelby thinks the whole thing is a waste of time. Shelby spokeswoman Blair Taylor said that it was “unfortunate” that rather than “unifying the party,” Ekstrom and friends are pushing this “shortsighted” resolution in an election year.
It’s not likely this resolution will pass. The Moore diehards plan to bring it before the resolutions committee later this month. If it fails to get a majority there, they can bring it before the executive committee at its next meeting, where it will need a two-thirds supermajority. However, according to Bill Britt of the Alabama Political Reporter, those behind this resolution are simply out for “revenge.”
Britt also learned that the Moore diehards want to rebuke the Young Republican Federation of Alabama for yanking its support from Moore. Apparently it doesn’t sit well with these tailenders that the sons, daughters, grandkids, nieces, and nephews of Alabama’s Republican stalwarts rejected Moore in droves. Young people actually having scruples? Oh, the horror!
Granted, this resolution probably isn’t going anywhere. But it says a lot that anyone is even considering introducing it in the first place. What Ekstrom and friends are effectively saying is that basic standards of decency don’t matter. All that matters is whether you have an “R” next to your name, and whether you’re willing to bow down to Trump. The fact that people of that mind are among what passes for leadership in the Alabama GOP is yet more reason that it is unfit to govern.
(featured image courtesy Shelby’s Facebook)
