Roy Moore said that 9/11 was a consequence of God's wrath. This wasn't back in the day, this was just last February, after the former Alabama judge had some time to think about it. And according to Moore's wingnut catechism, God was outraged that America "legitimized sodomy."

This is the zealot who won the GOP primary for the Senate seat in Alabama Tuesday, and he is the overwhelming favorite to win the special election in December - a man who believes state judges can overturn the federally-protected rights of gays to marry, that children should be removed from the homes of same-sex parents, that homosexuality should be criminalized as it is in Russia, and yes, that gays were responsible for the deaths of 3,000 people.

Thanks a bunch, Alabama. The Senate wasn't dysfunctional enough, and now you're trying to send it a gay-bashing, theocratic, culture warrior.

Moore won an absurdly expensive primary to fill seat vacated by Attorney General Jeff Sessions, and the extraordinary contradiction often overlooked is that Moore has no credibility at all, except perhaps among Dixie homophobes.

Twice he was removed from his position as the state's chief justice, because he has come to believe that his personal interpretation of religious principles supersedes the U.S. Constitution.

The first time, Alabama's judicial ethics panel ran him out of office in 2003 for his defiance of a federal order to remove a two-ton Ten Commandments monument from the state Supreme Court building - an unconstitutional endorsement of religion.

After regaining his seat, he was again bounced by the panel last year for defying the U.S. Supreme Court decision legalizing same-sex marriage by threatening probate judges with legal action from the governor - it was news to the governor - if they didn't enforce the state's own ban.

So, let's recap.

Twice, Roy Moore swore an oath to abide by and protect the state and U.S. Constitution.

Twice, he violated that oath by imposing his own religious beliefs on the citizens of blood-red Alabama.

Along the way, Moore also described Islam as a "false religion," claimed that Sharia law is practiced widely in Illinois, and stated that Rep. Keith Ellison, D-Minn., should not be seated as a member of Congress because he is Muslim.

It's usually in the country's best interests to elect someone who pledges to uphold the Constitution. There can be no exception for that part about how "The civil rights of none shall be abridged on account of religious belief or worship, nor shall any national religion be established, nor shall the full and equal rights of conscience be in any manner, or in any pretext, infringed."

So anyone who supports Moore should essentially forfeit the right to say he or she believes in the rule of law.

For the record, Donald Trump had endorsed his primary opponent, interim Sen. Luther Strange, but the president is flexible.

After the votes were counted, he said he had no trouble working with such a lawless, weapons-grade bigot, and that Moore sounded like "a really great guy."

He is, in many respects, really Trumpian - in the populist, nationalist, contrary, and unethical mold. He will fit well with the Beltway bomb throwers. Thanks, Alabama.

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