The evangelical right threw their support behind GOP candidate Donald Trump in the summer of 2016. Pundits, and friends, spoke from FOX News talking points: Securing a very conservative Supreme Court justice was just so important, that they would hold their nose and pull the lever for a flawed Republican candidate. How flawed was he? Well, Trump was not really a Republican, or a Christian, or a polite, respectful man, to other men, to women, or to minorities. But he was their candidate, and he would get their vote. Even when the Access Hollywood video emerged, the outrage and handwringing was relatively short-lived. When Donald Trump stated he was so famous that he could “just grab” women “by the p----,” good Christian men and women, and the future President’s wife, dismissed it with dubious rationalizations: “Boys will be boys," “That’s just locker room talk," “All men say those kinds of things," “Come on, Kyle, admit it, you’ve said things like that, too.” These patriarchal mantras were repeated inexorably, in conversation, on Facebook, in comments sections across the nation, and their repetition tried to normalize, to make “okay”, the disgusting, sexist and predatory words their candidate had clearly stated in the recording, but were, somehow, “taken out of context” by bleeding hearts everywhere.
Flash-forward to November 2017, and the US Senate race in sweet home Alabama. GOP candidate Roy Moore— judge removed twice for defying federal orders regarding the removal of stone tablets of the Ten Commandments from his courtroom (because separation of Church and State is an actual thing)—shows up at rallies dressed as a cowboy and pulls out a pistol. This plays as entertaining, down home, and congruent with regional values and expectations. When Roy Moore spouts homophobic pronouncements (“homosexual behavior should be illegal”), or says Muslim culture is incompatible with the Constitution or US culture (actually, the Constitution says there can be no religious tests), this too may play well to much of his constituency. “Othering” works great with folks not exposed to much diversity. But when allegations (there are nine total now) surfaced about Roy’s well-known habit of prowling a certain mall in Gadsden and sexually harassing high school girls between the ages of 14 and 17, people went to great pains to simultaneously discredit and normalize this. Locals will tell you that Roy Moore’s pattern of pestering girls at the mall was infamous, and it’s highly probable that more allegations will emerge in the weeks leading up to the election. The GOP nationally has been quick to ask him to step aside and “get out” of the race. But he may still win the Senate seat. Why?
Never underestimate the human capacity to rationalize, to come up with ways to justify just about anything, if one is motivated to eliminate instead of engage troubling information, suspicions, or nettlesome facts. Human beings wish to gloss over contradictions, and conflicts, between their senses of morals and ethics, their ideas of “what’s right”, and behaviors in themselves and others that run counter to their strongly held views. The vast majority of Alabamans tend to be conservative, and vote Republican. The notion of a Democrat like Doug Jones becoming Senator does not sit well with many folks in AL; it is an unseemly prospect on the face of it.
The accusations against Moore are also unseemly, but he waves them aside as “completely false and misleading,” framing them as an attack on his Christianity and a smear campaign being mounted by both Democrats and Republicans. Who has defended Moore? His wife, who now is involved in a scandal of her own. Who else has defended him? A host of persons have argued that his alleged behavior was neither immoral nor illegal, despite the fact that 14 year olds are below the age of consent in Alabama, which is 16 years of age. Bibb County Republican chairman Jerry Pow said he'd vote for Roy Moore even if Moore did commit a sex crime against a girl. "I would vote for Judge Moore because I wouldn't want to vote for Doug. I'm not saying I support what he did." Huh.
State Auditor Jim Zeigler said there is "just nothing immoral or illegal" about the described encounter, comparing the assault to biblical marriages: "Zachariah was extremely old to marry Elizabeth and they became the parents of John the Baptist…Also take Joseph and Mary. Mary was a teenager and Joseph was an adult carpenter. They became parents of Jesus." Beyond theologically unsound (the Gospels refer to Jesus as being born of a virgin), this argument is morally reprehensible and legally indefensible. A few evangelical leaders criticized Zeigler’s comments. Ed Stetzer, chair of church, mission and evangelism at Wheaton College, called the comparison to Mary and Joseph "simultaneously ridiculous and blasphemous."
But FB commenters continue to cast suspicion on the “good memories” of the accusers and the timing of their disclosures. This only highlights why women who are victims of harassment and assault do not come forward to speak truth to power: They will be assaulted again. Wednesday afternoon, a slapdash press conference by Moore’s cronies disputed the veracity of the fifth accuser’s claims, suggesting she had motive in assassinating Moore’s character. The other allegations were not mentioned, and no questions were taken from reporters. The moral and philosophical contortionism evangelicals now utilize to resolve painful dissonance is truly astonishing. Folks who used to wrap themselves in discourses of “family values” and “moral rectitude” and preached the importance of church and God seem happy to overlook evidence of moral, ethical and legal transgressions by political candidates in the service of a broader ideology. Just as the GOP prioritizes party over country in overlooking incompetence, ethical violations and conflicts of interest, and false testimony at congressional hearings by officials of the current administration, local constituents are more than willing to look the other way as the allegations mount against Moore. Vote for not-so-liberal Doug Jones? Inconceivable! Except, if folks wish to be congruent, if they wish to possess moral authority, and if ethical principles and moral codes really have a bearing in their daily lives, then they should probably not overlook the growing number of allegations and problematic stances of Moore. They do have other options: Stay at home, or vote for Mr. Jones. No one says he pestered, harassed, or assaulted girls and women. He doesn’t hate gays, lesbians and Muslims. And he’s not so progressive that you’ll throw up in the voting booth. So, hold your nose, Alabamans, because a vote for Doug Jones just might be good for your dissonance, your conscience, and maybe your very soul.
Kyle D. Killian, PhD is author of Interracial Couples, Intimacy & Therapy: Crossing Racial Borders from Columbia University Press.