Roy Moore, the Republican nominee in the upcoming special election to fill the Senate seat vacated by Attorney General Jeff Sessions, made the trip to Washington on Tuesday for a formal sit-down with Mitch McConnell and the rest of his would-be colleagues. Moore's career is riddled with details indicating that the man is, objectively speaking, a despicable lunatic: At various points, he has opined that Minnesota representative Keith Ellison is unfit to serve in Congress because of his Muslim faith; that kneeling during the national anthem is illegal; and that homosexual conduct should be illegal. Oh, he also supports the removal of his own party's Senate Majority Leader as soon as it becomes practicable. Alabama's ability to churn out caricatures who fulfill all your stereotypes about Alabamians remains as impressive as ever.

In any sane world, Moore would be exiled from his party, from politics, and from society at large. Because, however, there are no limits to Mitch McConnell's willingness to humiliate himself in order to boost his chances at slashing taxes for the wealthy, party leadership has welcomed Moore with open arms. While in transit to the Senate GOP lunch at which he was a guest of honor today, Moore faced questions from some of the assembled journalists who happened to be working on Capitol Hill. Rather than attempt to engage or to defend his record, the state Supreme Court justice who was removed from office twice for failing to comply with various court orders—not a good look for a judge!—came down with a remarkably expedient case of political amnesia.

Later, Moore refused to talk to a Washington Post reporter, citing their employer's endorsement of his opponent, Doug Jones, while simultaneously demonstrating a remarkably shoddy grasp of how reporting works. From TPM: