If Alabamans vote for Roy Moore, they deserve Doug Jones

Roy Moore, famous for being banned from a mall because he sexually preyed on underage girls and losing a Senate race in an R+14 state, apparently wants another round at the rodeo. Losing to Doug Jones just once apparently is not enough for Moore.

The accused sexual assailant and pedophile’s ascension to the Republican senatorial bid was an aberration, a convergence of unusual events that made it hard to squarely blame Alabamans for the outcome. As you may recall, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell unwisely threw his entire weight behind state Attorney General Luther Strange, a Republican, simply because he was the (unelected) incumbent, despite credible allegations and a general feeling that his appointment was part of a corrupt bargain. McConnell crowded out most viable conservative competitors, leaving Rep. Mo Brooks, R-Ala., and Moore the only two other well-known primary contenders.

But unfortunately, Strange (again, helped by Washington’s Republican smart set) and Moore advanced to a runoff that Moore was certain to win. Only afterward did multiple allegations arise that he had dated young girls as an adult. The state’s voters were forced to choose between a Democrat and a comic book villain. Many stayed home, and Jones won a United States Senate seat in one of the most blood red states in the nation.

It’s one thing to forgive Republicans from Alabama for falling for Steve Bannon’s schtick and backing a guy who was forcibly removed as Chief Justice of the Alabama Supreme Court — twice. I can even understand those Alabamans who held their noses at the polls to vote for Moore in the general, having been stuck unwillingly with a skunk as their nominee.

But if Alabamans willfully choose Moore this time, kneecaping their odds of winning the election, they will deserve every insult lobbed their way and they will deserve every left-wing progressive Democratic vote cast in the Senate on their behalf by Doug Jones.

If you back Roy Moore in a primary, every pro-life bill that fails in the Senate means you have extra blood of babies on your hands. If you back Roy Moore in a primary, every vote that Trump loses due to Moore’s reentry in the national spotlight will be your fault.

[ Related: Trump: ‘Roy Moore cannot win, and the consequences will be devastating’]