The state of Alabama did the right thing. They did not elect the pedophile for Senator of the United States. There is, however, a significant concern that one must explore.
As rural counties came in early, Roy Moore’s lead seemed sticky for some time. As soon as the urban and suburban areas of Montogomery, Alabama, and other significant areas came in, the lead evaporated, and Doug Jones took the lead.
Doug Jones victory speech
The black vote overperformed. According to the exit polls, the black vote was higher for Doug Jones than it was for President Obama. That should dispel many stereotypes. If one works to earn the black vote, like any other voter, they will respond. When one takes some for granted, they underperform. Bakari Sellers explained that Doug Jones went into the black community, from churches to Universities, and to colleges to make his case. And they came out in droves.
The Democratic Party can learn something from this race. Always run a candidate and engage every segment of the electorate. Secondly, do not take, as they do very often, go into the black community or any other minority community only to request a vote. Discuss how you will make their live’s better.
The exit polls sadly reveal something that should be concerning to the entire country. 52% of white women and 62% of white men were comfortable to vote for the misogynist, sexist, xenophobic homophobe Donald Trump. Worse, in Alabama, 63% of white women and 72% of white men were comfortable to vote for the alleged pedophile Roy Moore. One cannot accept willful ignorance as an excuse for these actions. These voters like all voters have daughters, sisters, mothers, grandmothers, and aunts. Voting for any of these two guys implicitly disregards all of these women. It extends the life of patriarchy whose existence we must remove from society.
One hopes that the voters who vote objectively will work very hard to understand the pathology that allows those who continue to vote against their interests. It is essential that those who have an influence on these people will work incessantly to mitigate this problem.