Originally written on July 14, 2017

I admit it, I’m a Moore man. It’s something I have to enunciate with care. Last week someone asked me who I was voting for in the special election for US Senator from Alabama. I answered with, “I’m a Moore man.” His response was immediate, which told me he could be pulling my leg. “I thought you were a Methodist.”

Never one to make up my mind quickly, it took me a while to commit to Judge Roy Moore as my candidate of choice, but I finally arrived there. I have my reasons.

There are too many candidates in this race. That fact almost guarantees a runoff. My hope is Judge Moore succeeds and is one of those in the runoff. I’m sure if he is he’ll succeed and ascend to office and become the permanent replacement for Jeff Sessions. He’ll make an excellent replacement for a man most Alabamians loved as their Senator.

It would be poor form to discuss the other candidates in this race; to point out the flaw I found that caused me to eliminate each one as my choice. I’m sure those of you who are voting in Alabama next month are working through the same considerations, unless you’ve already decided on the horse you’ll back in the race. My purpose here isn’t to diminish those other candidates, but to give my rationale for supporting Judge Moore.

Rather than writing long, flowery paragraphs, I’ll list the characteristics of Judge Moore that I believe make him most suitable to represent me as my Senator. Then, I’ll tell you a bit about some of them.

• He is a man of principle.

• He is a man of great personal courage.

• His priorities are my priorities: God, Family, and Country.

• He exemplifies perseverance.

• He exemplifies loyalty.

• His family and friends obviously love and trust him.

• His word is his bond.

• He is unfailingly truthful.

• He is a scholar of the Bible, of US Law, and American History.

• He has an incredible memory for detail

If you don’t know Judge Moore’s history, you need to do some homework. But, when you do, please keep in mind many things written about him were purposefully biased against him. If you read press articles about him with a bucket of salt you’ll come to the same realizations I have. The truth of the man is there, even though often buried beneath a thick layer of muck. Even Judge Moore’s detractors are force to admit to most of his qualities, even as they work overtime to diminish them.

For a long while now I’ve stood apart from Roy Moore. I didn’t give a lot of thought to him or his travails. Even so, I was acutely aware that he was a unique and intriguing figure on the Alabama political scene. It was when I knew he would run for the US Senate that I had to climb off the fence, on one side or another. Finally, I made up my mind.

Judge Moore is sorely needed in the Senate. We need him in the Senate. The country needs two dozen like Roy Moore in the Senate. We need people who can’t be bought by lobbyists. We need people who will work with all their might to keep promises made to the voters. We need people who understand the essential principles attached to every issue brought before the Senate; people who can explain those principles to others who can’t seem to comprehend. We need people who will never stop pushing the case for their constituents; people who will never hesitate to speak out and tell the truths voters need in order to understand when their will appears to be thwarted. We need absolute honesty. We need absolute integrity. We need courage. Yes, we need Judge Roy Moore.

Principles are my primary interest. A legislative bill may be “perfectly” constructed and have near-universal support, but if that bill has no foundation in the principles of our fundamental law it should be rejected. Our nation is in the situation we find today because legions of legislators from previous decades often ignored those fundamental principles to enact laws they characterized as either “right” or “fair”. For decades legislators and judges have worked arduously to contrive logical arguments that were used to flout the actual intent of our founding. The intent and meaning of our fundamental first principles was often turned upside down. We all know this. We rail on about it with impotent rage. It’s past time to do something about it.

My thought is to start electing people to Congress who are comfortable with principles; whose life and professional record indicate their understanding of them and their willingness to adhere to them. Roy Moore is such a man. There are others out there more or less like him; people of courage and conviction. We need to find them and push them to the front of the line. We need to stop electing people who make the best promises and elect people who exemplify the best character. Those are the people we need to bet on to represent us with distinction, not those whose true aim is only to feed their egos and personal ambitions, and possibly to enrich themselves at our expense.

So, there you have it. I’m a Moore man. He has my vote, and he has my trust. I hope he has yours, too.

P.S. Not a Methodist.