PORTLAND, Maine (AP) - Maine’s Republican U.S. senator said on Sunday that Alabama politician Roy Moore was unfit to serve in the Senate even before sexual-misconduct allegations against him came to light.
Sen. Susan Collins made the comments on CBS’ “Face the Nation.” She called the Republican National Committee’s decision to support Moore in the Alabama race “a mistake.”
Collins said she thought Moore was a poor choice for Senate because of his views on Muslims and gays even before she learned of the misconduct allegations. She also said she’s troubled that Moore has been removed from the Alabama Supreme Court twice for failure to “follow lawful judicial orders.”
Moore is accused of sexual misconduct with teenage girls decades ago, when he was a county prosecutor in his 30s. He has largely denied the allegations.
Moore faces Democrat Doug Jones in a special election on Tuesday. The election could have major implications for the balance of power in the Senate, where Republicans have a slight edge.
Alabama’s Christian conservatives see Moore as their champion. He has fought federal judges and castigated liberals, big government, gun control, Muslims, homosexuality and anything else that doesn’t fit the evangelical mold.
Moore was dumped from his state’s Supreme Court for ignoring a federal court order to remove a Ten Commandments monument from the state’s judicial building and for opposing gay marriage after the U.S. Supreme Court effectively legalized it.
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