Slate’s Tim Noah, who seems about as fascinated with Roy Moore’s potential presidential campaign as I am, actually talked to the theocrat yesterday.
At the outset, Noah identifies himself as someone who, like me, doesn’t actually want to see Moore win, just run to offer a counter balance to a certain former consumer advocate who shall remain nameless.
Installing Moore’s brand of religious fanaticism in the Oval Office would be ruinous to the country and dangerous to the world. But this is no time to dwell on such trivialities. What’s important is that Moore is thinking of running for president on a third-party ticket. He is a charismatic figure who has the potential to siphon a great many Christian right votes away from the pitiful Sodomites now occupying the White House. George W. Bush talks a good game, but can he even name all Ten Commandments? (Too bad the president is a teetotaler. This would be a great bar bet.)
There have been conflicting reports about Moore’s interest in a presidential campaign. His answers have varied from near-categorical rejection (to the Weekly Standard) to coy curiosity (to the New York Times). All the while, Moore has been flirting with the far-right Constitution Party, which, as luck would have it, is on the ballot in 41 states.
So Noah went directly to the source and asked Moore about his intentions. His answers suggest, at least to me, that this is a man who definitely wants to run.
Noah: Judge Moore, you’ve been traveling the country giving a lot of speeches under the auspices of the Constitution Party, and you’ve created a lot of speculation that you are planning to run for president on a third party ticket. Are you going to run for president?
Moore: Well, first, I have not been speaking under the auspices of the Constitution Party. I have spoken to several Constitution Party events, but I’ve also spoken to colleges and churches and other groups across the country because I have been speaking about the First Amendment acknowledgment of God in our country. And I have no plans at this time to run. That could change [italics Noah’s]. But I have made no plans to run for any office right now.
That’s a whole lot of qualifiers. His feelings “could change”; he doesn’t have plans “at this time”; he’s not prepared to run “right now.”
Noah noted that if Moore wants to run on the Constitution Party ticket, he’ll need to act relatively quickly. The deadline for running with the party is June 23, when it hosts its national convention. Again, Moore kept his options open.
Well, again, I have no decision to make if I’m not planning to run. I just, you know, haven’t got plans to run right now [italics Noah’s]. And if I do make a decision [to run] I guess it would be before November — er, June 23.
Since this talk first surfaced, Moore insisted that his appeal in Alabama, in which he’s trying to win back the job from which he was dismissed, is his primary concern. Of course, if that can be wrapped up in time for a presidential campaign, then his schedule will be free. Noah asked how much longer the appeals process is likely to take.
I think that within, I would say, two to three weeks if not this Friday — I mean, we expected the ruling already, but there is some delay for some reason that I don’t know — but we expect that decision within two to three weeks. And then of course we also would have an appeal to the United States Supreme Court should we desire to take it [italics Noah’s].
Another interesting qualifier. Moore could lose his appeal (and he will lose his appeal) sometime this month. If he took his case to the Supreme Court, the issue wouldn’t be resolved until it was too late for a presidential campaign. But Moore told Slate that he may not bother to do that, thus making his schedule more flexible for a certain campaign.
And finally, Moore also explained that he’s not exactly enamored with the two-party structure, a belief that Noah explained is a “crucial prerequisite to launching a third-party candidacy.”
I would say that there’s not much difference these days between those who run under one party or another because they’re all after seeking power. Power’s not what the Constitution was about. The Constitution was about a limitation on power. It was about the fact that the judiciary should stick to interpreting the law, not making it.
Let’s hope that Alabama appeals process wraps up quickly so Moore can hit the campaign trail before it’s too late.