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Reporter Roger Shuler, who’s exposed ongoing corruption in Alabama, returns to talk about the Senate runoff between Bible-thumpin’ Roy Moore and a compromised Democrat, Doug Jones.Catching up on Shuler’s recent reporting, we discuss the race for the Senate seat vacated by Jeff Sessions. His appointed successor, Luther Strange, lost in the primary, mostly due to the dirty deal he made with disgraced Gov. Bob Bentley, who resigned after appointing Strange, who ran interference for impeachment efforts aimed at Bentley.
Roy Moore, the far-right (even by Alabama standards) former Alabama Supreme Court Chief Justice who infamously installed a monument to the Ten Commandments in the courthouse, and later defied the US Supreme Court on marriage equality, won the GOP primary.
Democratic fundraising emails cite a poll that shows Moore and Jones tied at 42%, but Shuler says other polls put Moore ahead by 10 points. Based on information from GOP whistleblower Jill Simpson, Shuler reports that Karl Rove, the Riley machine and the Chamber of Commerce are officially neutral in the race, and are likely supporting Jones behind the scenese. Shuler explains Jones’ history, as a US Attorney, failed lawyer for Don Siegelman, and an ally of former GOP governor Bob Riley. It’s a murky mess that leaves voters with an ugly choice on December 12.
We also discuss Shuler’s continuing exposure of upstanding community leaders in Alabama who have used the website that enable adultery, Ashley Madison. When PBC shared a Shuler post on Facebook about the Jones-Moore race, Facebook removed it, citing it as “spam” and violating community standards. After a protest, Facebook falsely said the post contained nudity. The post was later restored, but Shuler says this is a frequent occurrence, and suspects it’s payback from the fine folks at Ashley Madison.
We also touch on the latest Democratic victim of Republican injustice, Todd Henderson, who was elected as district attorney, then disqualified after a dubious conviction for perjury in a divorce case. Get all the details, and donate if you can, here.