Speaking to reporters on Friday, Alabama Governor Kay Ivey said that despite believing the women who’ve come forward to accuse Alabama Senate candidate Roy Moore of sexually grooming them as teenagers, she still plans to vote for him in the December 12 election.
According to Ivey, protecting the GOP majority in the Senate outweighed whatever sexual misconduct Moore may have committed in the past.
“I’m going to cast my ballot on December the 12th, and I do believe the nominee of the party is the one I’ll vote for,” Ivey said. “I believe in the Republican Party, what we stand for, and most important, we need to have a Republican in the United States Senate to vote on things like the Supreme Court justices, other appointments the Senate has to confirm and make major decisions. So that’s what I plan to do, vote for Republican nominee Roy Moore.”
When asked if she believed Moore’s accusers, she replied, “I certainly have no reason to disbelieve any of them. The timing is a little curious. But at the same time, I have no reason to disbelieve them.”
One reporter asked Ivey how the accusations make her feel as a woman.
“There’s never an excuse for or rationale for sexual misconduct or sexual abuse. It bothers me. … But at the same time, the United States Senate needs to have in my opinion, a majority of Republican votes to carry the day and when they have to consider other major decisions. So that’s a factor, as well,” she replied.
It’s interesting how Ivey isn’t wasting time with the vague defenses and obfuscations of Moore’s conduct that we’ve seen from other conservatives. According to the Friendly Atheist’s Hemant Mehta, she’s essentially saying she’d “rather have a Republican child molester representing her state in the Senate than an intelligent, squeaky-clean Democrat.”
Usually, conservatives don’t admit that. They’ll waffle over believing the accusers. They’ll say something like, “The Roy Moore I know would never do such a thing.” They won’t answer the question about who they’re voting for, hoping that people will eventually just stop asking them.
But to openly admit that securing a vote for conservative judicial nominees matters more than the multiple victims of abuse by Roy Moore? That’s appalling.
Watch Ivey’s press conference below, via AL.com:
Featured image via screen grab
