Another Republican Presidential Candidate?

Oh, the things we learn from reading the Washington Post.

Had I not come across Post Opinion writer, Dana Milbank's latest piece [Ten Commandments for 2012] I would never have been aware that Roy Moore - AKA the Ten Commandments Judge - recently announced on a Des Moines radio station his intention to form an exploratory committee to look into his chances of becoming POTUS.

For those unfamiliar with Moore, he is known for attempting to defy Alabama and Federal law while Chief Justice of the Alabama State Supreme Court by installing a Ten Commandments "monument" (made from high quality Vermont granite) in the rotunda of the Alabama state judicial building and his failure to remove the "monument" when ordered to do so. He was subsequently removed from office by the Alabama Court of the Judiciary (COJ).

It goes without saying, Dana Milbank has very little love for Moore. Heck, for that matter, I'm not too crazy about him either. I followed his case closely while it was going on in 2003. His home town of Gadsden, Al. isn't far from where I live in Georgia. I don't agree with his notion that the Ten Commandments should be on display on government property and I completely agree with the COJ's decision to impeach him.

On his website -roymoore2012.com- Moore gives his position on several national issues, most of which are standard, conservative Republican positions. His position on the economy and taxation are nearly identical....I don't understand why he bothered to separate the two. Having spent most of his career either as a judge or in private law practice, I can't say that he gives me much confidence in his abilities as an economist.

He appears to be making an attempt at divorcing himself from his fracas with the COJ by his comments on the Constitution, found on his website:

"As a former judge and Chief Justice of the Alabama Supreme Court, I know that the Constitution of the United States is the Supreme Law of the Land, and all officials, state and federal, legislative, executive and judicial, are bound thereby. Separation of Powers, Checks and Balances, States Rights, and our Bill of Rights are integral parts of the Constitution, which we must observe. All actions of state and federal officials must conform to the Constitution, and it should only be changed by amendments by the people, not decisions of activist judges. "

As I write this, there have been more than one hundred comments on Milbank's article. It shouldn't surprise anyone that the majority of those comments are anti-Republican/anti-Roy Moore; this is the Washington Post, after all. What does surprise me, somewhat, is the accusation, by some leaving comments, that Moore is a racist. I can't defend Moore on his actions concerning the Ten Commandments, but I haven't seen anything to suggest that he's a racist. In the eyes of some folks, the fact that he's a Republican and from Alabama is enough to tar and feather him with that label.

That's the real tragedy.