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Alabama, Despite History of Unruly Politics, Has ‘Never Seen Anything Like This’ - The New York Times

posted onDecember 10, 2017
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Article snippet: MONTGOMERY, Ala. — “I don’t think you can compare this one with anything,” said Bill Baxley, 76, whose first foray into Alabama state politics was as attorney general nearly five decades ago. “I haven’t seen in my lifetime — a long time, I’m 83 going on 84 — one this unique,” said Senator Richard C. Shelby, who was first elected to the State Legislature in 1970 and is now the dean of the Alabama congressional delegation. “Never seen anything like this,” said Glen Browder, 74, a former congressman, during whose political career different Alabama governors were convicted of bribery, brought down by sex scandal and indicted on a charge of stealing money to buy fancy shower stalls and a riding lawn mower. The special Senate election here, to be decided Tuesday, has made for one wild and ugly campaign season. It was never going to be afternoon tea, but with the airing of allegations in November that Roy S. Moore, the Republican nominee, had hounded and molested teenage girls when he was in his 30s, the race tightened — and the dialogue went south. Mr. Moore has gone about creating a real-life political science experiment, testing whether last year’s presidential campaign was an anomaly or whether voters remain just as willing to shrug off truth-stretching, multiple charges of sexual misconduct and incendiary speech. While Republicans in Washington have fruitlessly sought any way to exorcise Mr. Moore from the race, alarmed that he would imperil their narrow Senate maj... Link to the full article to read more

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