In the massive fallout following Harvey Weinstein’s demise, the left is equal parts excited and desperate to see a single Republican pulled into the mix. The media has spent more time covering Roy Moore and his Senate race in Alabama than all of the leftist sex offenders combined.
While I hate to let liberal media dictate the course of any conversation, there is enough information and misinformation flying around that we need to take a serious look at the accusations levelled against Moore.
The Original Accusation
The first to come forward and accuse Moore of misconduct was Leigh Corfman. She claims she was 14 when she dated Moore. She alleges Roy gave her alcohol and touched her in a sexual way. The touching was over the clothes, and they stopped having contact after the event in question.
Parts of her story can be corroborated; it is possible that she and her mother met Moore in a courthouse when she was 14. Other parts have no witnesses, and Corfman herself says she didn’t speak of the incident until years later. Were this a legal case, it is very unlikely it could net a conviction; the evidence just isn’t there.
Beverly Young Nelson
This is possibly the most important accusation of the bunch. Nelson claims to have been sexually assaulted when she was 16. She says Moore gave her a ride home from her job as a waitress and then tried to force her into oral sex. She says the incident was violent, and she claims to have a high school yearbook that was signed by Moore, proving their involvement.
While Young’s accusations are the most serious, they are also the least likely to be true. Despite as many as nine women making claims about the former judge, Nelson is the only one to mention any sort of violence or force. She also failed to admit that Moore was the judge who presided over her divorce in 1999.
Most crippling to her accusations, though, is her refusal to allow her signed yearbook to be examined by a neutral party. The culmination of suspicious facts suggest that she is jumping on an accusation bandwagon to exact a little revenge.
The Rest
Another handful of women say they dated or were involved with Moore when they were between the ages of 16 and 22. Some claim to have kissed the then assistant attorney, and more than one claim to have been given alcohol. Of those claims, none involve any sexual contact, none of the women were ever forced or coerced, and none went beyond kissing and casual contact.
One woman’s claim is that Moore asked her out and it made her uncomfortable. That’s literally the extent of their interactions.
Another, Tina Johnson, claims he grabbed her butt once when they worked in an office together. These combined “accusations” ultimately amount to very little. At worst, a single attorney went on dates with younger women and behaved as a gentleman. It’s worth noting that Moore has flatly denied all of the allegations.
Common Themes
Moore claims that all of the women have come forward out of political motivation. Why else would a former waitress claim to be upset about being asked on a date 30 years after it happened? Whether any of the stories are true or not is impossible for us to determine at this point, but there are some common themes that are important to note. None of the stories can be directly corroborated. In every case, the women claim they didn’t talk about the event for years. Now, that’s not uncommon in cases of sexual assault or abuse, but the bulk of these women claim they were flattered and excited by the alleged advances. These are the kinds of things teenage girls would usually discuss with their friends. In every case, there is a complete lack of hard or physical evidence, with one clear exception: the unexamined yearbook.
Legal Ramifications
As the Moore story unfolds, it might remind you of things you’ve seen with Harvey Weinstein, Bill Cosby or even Al Franken. The left is demanding that Moore step down because there is no legal recourse available. Even assuming all of the women’s claims are true, every event is long past the statute of limitations. Even a civil suit is past its expiration date.
Moreover, the legal age of consent in Alabama during the years in question was 16. We might look back at these accusations with disgust, but with the exception of two rather questionable claims, the proposed encounters were all completely legal. The only weapon in the left’s arsenal is to try and rally public opinion as a weapon against Moore’s campaign.
There is ample food for thought in Moore’s case. Enough women have come forward that we have to acknowledge he really may have been interested in younger women. We also need to give accusers a chance to make their case. That said, the burden of proof is still on the accusers in this great country.
Unless it can be proven that Moore acted in the wrong, we would be remiss to damage him over allegations alone. Even more importantly, the public is trying to judge a man by modern laws and values that were clearly different in the 70s. While we might all agree that 16 is too young a legal age of consent now, those were the standards then. If Moore upheld the laws and morals of his time, can we really expect any more from him?
If it can be proven that Moore is a sex offender, then we don’t need him in the Senate and the Republican Party is better off without him. That proof is still many miles away, so for now we would do well to remember that this is primarily a liberal media circus designed to distract us from the resounding theme of sexual abuse and assault raining down from leaders on the left.
