The Washington Post story detailing how Roy Moore spent his early 30s hitting on, dating, and outright molesting teenage girls has 30 sources. Four now-adult women told the reporters about their experiences with the Alabama Republican Senate nominee, and the article draws on interviews with more than 30 total sources. So how are prominent Republicans responding?
They think Moore should step down … if this is true. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell: “If these allegations are true, he must step aside.” Alaska's Lisa Murkowski: “I’m horrified, and if this is true he needs to step down immediately.” Pennsylvania's Pat Toomey: “If there’s a shred of truth to it, then he needs to step aside.” The Senate’s third-ranking Republican, South Dakota's John Thune is on board the “if true” parade, as is David Perdue, from Alabama’s neighboring state of Georgia.
If true, if true, if true. Moore’s campaign has already denied the four women’s accounts and will presumably continue to deny if and when more women come forward. So how are these Republicans going to make the call on whether this is true? That “if true” is a dodge, a play for time, a bar that looks reasonable but will end up being too high for the available proof from the late 1970s and early 1980s to meet.
If only there was a tape providing proof, I’m sure everything would change … oh, wait.