OPINION:
Former Massachusetts governor and failed president candidate Mitt Romney took opportunity to weigh in on the whole Roy Moore matter — the one that finds him ensnarled in a web of allegations of sexual improprieties with underage and young girls — and call for the former Alabama judge to immediately “step aside” and abandon his Senate aspirations.
No need to wait on proof. To Romney, the allegations are bad enough.
“Innocent until proven guilty is for criminal convictions, not elections,” he said, The Hill reported.
Regardless of what happens with the whole Moore matter, this seems rather an odd way of looking at politics. True, perception is sometimes reality and truth. But not always. And given Romney’s past, and his penchant for running down politicians who buck the party tide, his willingness to practically call for Moore’s head on a platter also seems rather politically pandering — an easy way for the good ex-guvnah to get back in the political game again.
Bluntly, what’s Romney’s angle for weighing in on this, and so publicly, to boot?
Specifically, Romney referred to Leigh Corfman’s allegations, made to The Washington Post, about her 1979 meeting with Moore when she was 14, in which she alleged he drove her to his home in the woods, removed his clothing, told her to do the same, and then began touching her sexually. A handful of other women came forward to describe similarly inappropriate sexual encounters with Moore, as well, claiming they were between the ages of 16 and 18 at the time.
“I believe Leigh Corfman,” Romney said. “Her account is too serious to ignore. Moore is unfit for office and should step aside.”
Maybe.
Indeed, Several other Republicans have come forward to say or suggest the same as Romney. But Moore, meanwhile, has vowed to fight these allegations, characterizing them as a political hatchet job. Either way, it seems somewhat seedy of Romney to take advantage of the media cycle to sling such mud Moore’s way. It’s almost as if he’s angling for something — as if he’s trying to suck up and make good with the media and political players and powers who be. Time will tell.
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