Opinion: Roy Moore’s enablers...

Stand with him now, and stay linked to him forever. View in [Browser]( | Add nytdirect@nytimes.com to your address book. [The New York Times]( [The New York Times]( Tuesday, December 5, 2017 [NYTimes.com/Opinion »]( [David Leonhardt] David Leonhardt Op-Ed Columnist “Trump Endorses Accused Child Molester Roy Moore.” So announced a sign-of-the-times news alert that stripped across the bottom of CNN yesterday. If the detailed allegations against Moore — which are supported by multiple types of evidence — were the only problem with his candidacy, they would make him the most immoral Senate candidate in a long time. And yet it’s worth remembering that Moore is a shockingly unqualified candidate even without the molestation accusations. He has called homosexuality “evil” and “so heinous,” and he engaged in a discussion about whether it should be “punished by death.” [(You can watch it here.)]( He has said that a member of Congress should be barred from office because he is Muslim. Moore, in short, rejects some of the basic principles of American democracy. Still, Moore may be elected to the Senate a week from today. If he is, I think it’s vital that victory does not launder his sins. No one should forget who he is and what he’s done, regardless of which office he holds. Just as important, his many enablers and supporters should be held accountable for their role in his campaign. It should become a permanent part of their political biography — and grist for future campaigns against them. That goes for President Trump, Mitch McConnell and the dozens of members of Congress who have refused to denounce Moore. Trump offered a full endorsement yesterday. McConnell, who weeks ago called for Moore to exit the race, backtracked on Sunday. And the Republican National Committee, after initially cutting ties, confirmed yesterday that it had resumed supporting Moore’s campaign. Stand by Moore now, stay linked to him forever. Also: Stephanie McCrummen of The Washington Post [published a new scoop]( on Moore yesterday. It includes new evidence of his relationship with a 17-year-old whose high-school civics class Moore spoke to when he was an assistant district attorney. Moore has denied knowing her (after initially saying he did), which is even less credible given this new article. As I’ve mentioned, William Saletan of Slate has taken apart Moore’s responses to the allegations: “Like anyone else accused of wrongdoing, Moore began with a presumption of innocence. But he has forfeited it. His assertions are demonstrably false.” [My colleague Bret Stephens lamented]( that the Republican Party has turned into the “GOPP. Grand Old Pedophile Party.” And [Mitt Romney yesterday wrote]( “Roy Moore in the US Senate would be a stain on the GOP and on the nation. Leigh Corfman and other victims are courageous heroes. No vote, no majority is worth losing our honor, our integrity.” Polling update. Moore has bounced back in the polls and now leads his Democratic opponent, Doug Jones, by a few points, says the analyst G. Elliott Morris, who has a hypothesis. “The Media Stopped Covering Roy Moore’s Sex Scandal, Then He Bounced Back,” reads the headline on [an article on Morris’s blog, The Crosstab](. Harry Enten of FiveThirtyEight [has made a similar point]( “Without the allegations against Moore front-and-center, Alabamians may be falling back on their partisan affiliation.” He added: “As the 2016 campaign demonstrated, a scandal’s biggest effect on a race can be limited to the weeks following the revelations.” Programming note. Several of you wrote to say your newsletter delivery was slow yesterday. I apologize. We had some technical difficulties with our bulk-email program. If the problem continues, let me know — at leonhardt@nytimes.com — and we will investigate further. 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