Roy Moore will not ever sue the Washington Post

Roy Moore is an idiot. This we know. However, even Moore knows that he cannot successfully sue the Washington Post as he is now threatening to do. Moore is inarguably a public figure. In 1964 the Supreme Court ruled in New York Times Co. v. Sullivan that, to prevail in a defamation suit, a public figure must prove the falsity of published information and prove that the publisher knowingly and recklessly published it.

Saying that he is going to sue is  just a tactic to express a vehement denial. I did some trolling today. In right-wing-world there exists a presumption that the Washington Post paid the women to falsely attack Moore. Meanwhile the same folks are ironically manufacturing evidence that supposedly proves that these women lied. There is no evidence that the Post did anything improper. Given the inflammatory nature of this story it is a virtual certainty that the Post did everything right.


Forget the polls. This race is dependent upon turnout. The committed Christian right will dismiss these allegations, particularly since they surfaced in the hated Washington Post. If more progressive people from the Alabama cities show up, Moore will be defeated. Doug Jones, Moore's adversary, has been as inspiring as a bark beetle so Moore could win.

Nevertheless, I believe these women and every time Moore speaks he creates more problems for himself. He seems to have admitted that he dated teens while he was in his 30s. That is more than a bit creepy.

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