In a lot of places, being a disgraced judge that was removed from office for violating judicial ethics would probably be, shall we say, damaging for one’s political prospects. Of course, when it comes to Roy Moore and Alabama, things are a little different.
The Mobile Register reported this week that Moore is already the frontrunner for the 2006 Alabama governor’s race, far ahead of incumbent Gov. Bob Riley (R).
In fact, when asked to look ahead as to whom they would support for governor, Alabama voters said they’d back Moore over Riley by a large margin — 47 percent to 30 percent.
While these poll results certainly show that Moore’s popularity has not suffered as a result of his dismissal from the state bench, I suspect this poll is more a sign of Riley’s incredible fall in popularity.
As you may recall, Riley championed a plan whereby the state would raise taxes by $1.2 billion to cover Alabama’s deficit and expand funding for education, criminal justice, and job training. Voters didn’t think much of the plan, defeating it at the ballot box by better than a 2-to-1 margin two months ago.
This, more than anything, is the reason for Riley’s poor standing in the polls. Indeed, the Mobile Register poll showed that fewer than three out of 10 Alabamians approve of the job the governor is doing and even fewer approved of Riley’s handling of state finances.
That said, it’s horrifying to think that Roy Moore, the nation’s nuttiest theocrat, may be on his way to being the chief executive of a state.