Hypocrites on the right – convicting without a trial

Yet Hannity, John McCain, Ivanka Trump, Mitch McConnell, Cory Gardner, et al are more than ready to jump in and convict Judge Moore based on questionable proof. Why do I call it questionable? For a number of reasons. 1) After forty years of running for multiple high-profile offices, no one leveled any such accusations against him and he was vetted over and over by opponents who hated him. The timing is dubious when establishment republicans and democrats would, and have done, anything to sideline Moore’s candidacy. 2) A number of inconsistencies have arisen regarding more than one accuser from: being a democrat sycophant; reported desperate financial issues that may have incentivized coming forward for remuneration; animus over a ruling in a divorce proceeding, etc. 3) The signature in a high school yearbook suspiciously not matching the body of a written message. (BTW, I’ve had training in handwriting analysis). We all remember the counterfeit “document” that Dan Rather tried to use against George W., then was lauded for his effort at fake journalism. 4) Problems with the fifth accuser’s story regarding car locks, missing parking lots, etc. These are just a few of the inconsistencies that restrain me from jumping to the conclusion of convicting Judge Moore, but there’s this one bit of culture that northeasterners don’t seem to understand. In the South, common courtesy includes more than using the respectful title of Miss and Mister. Forty years ago, and to this day in some places in the South, men will request permission from parents before dating a daughter, even if the young woman is in her twenties.

The point? When being interviewed by Hannity and asked about his dating practices, Judge Moore said, “Not generally, no,” when questioned regarding dating much younger women. Girls back then, as well as now, often added years to their actual age in order to date. I’ve known plenty of friends who did that, not that I approved. And in the Old South, mothers would sometimes go along if they considered the suitor to be a catch. But one more thing, forty years ago in the South (and Hannity should be familiar with this, having lived in Alabama) it was common for men to date younger women when looking for a wife. In case you didn’t know, this goes back to a centuries-old rationale that an older man is considered to make a better husband because he had already achieved success and is ready to settle down. The South’s concept of gentility included a gentleman, being mature and having reached a point in life where they could support a wife, would then seek a younger woman of childbearing age. Go ahead and cry “sexist,” “misogynist,” “anachronist!” The fact is, this was the way of life in parts of the South, a holdover from old English culture as it was in Jane Austen’s time (check out “Pride and Prejudice”) that the North threw off at an earlier date. It comes down to northeasterners having no sensitivity to cultural differences that political enemies are now employing to defame someone who may be innocent of the heinous charges, which Judge Moore has unequivocally denied. Every one of you celebrities, talk personalities or politicians had better watch your own glass houses before throwing stones.