'Crimes', Punishment and the Law
Roy Moore is a controversial Republican figure who is seeking election as a senator in his home state of Alabama, but his campaign has come 'off the rails' of late as two women (and counting) have come forward with charges of sexual assault and abusive behaviour against the 70-year-old former judge.
In his regular satirical column for The New Yorker Magazine Andy Borowitz makes a funny yet serious point that dumping Roy Moore could start a dangerous trend of believing women.
The serious point is that while the criminal law always requires evidence 'beyond a reasonable doubt', the civil law operates to a different standard - the balance of the evidence and the credibility of the witnesses.
So the Republican Party, along with other public bodies in America and elsewhere, is free to take these charges very seriously and deal with them under a proper process which could lead to disciplinary action being taken if a complaint is upheld.
Now this wouldn't send Roy Moore to prison, but throwing him off the Republican ticket would represent a serious punishment and would also send a strong message to others that they can be held to account for their behaviour - even if the criminal law is not always up to the task.
https://www.newyorker.com/humor/borowitz-report/trump-warns-that-dumping-roy-moore-could-start-a-dangerous-trend-of-believing-women
Trump Warns That Dumping Roy Moore Could Start a Dangerous Trend of Believing Women
By Andy Borowitz - The New Yorker
Photograph by Joe Raedle / Getty
WASHINGTON (The Borowitz Report)—Breaking his silence on Alabama’s embattled Republican nominee for the U.S. Senate, Donald Trump warned on Wednesday that dumping Roy Moore could start a “dangerous trend” of believing women.
“I think we need to be very, very careful here,” Trump told reporters. “This is not just about Roy Moore. This is about our country deciding that we are going to start believing women, something that we have never done before.
“This is a very dangerous road we’re heading down,” he said.
Trump cautioned that, if instituted, a new practice of believing women would “totally destroy” the system that the country already has in place. “For years we’ve had a system of believing men,” he said. “It’s worked very well. It’s done a great job.”
He said that he was considering a number of measures to stem the tide of women’s credibility, including an executive order banning women from giving believable accounts to the press. “That’s something we’re looking into,” he indicated.
Trump painted a doomsday scenario of what might happen if the “very bad trend” of believing women gained traction in the country. “If people believe Roy Moore’s five accusers, what happens to a man who has, say, about twenty accusers?” he asked. “I don’t like where this is going.”
WASHINGTON (The Borowitz Report)—Breaking his silence on Alabama’s embattled Republican nominee for the U.S. Senate, Donald Trump warned on Wednesday that dumping Roy Moore could start a “dangerous trend” of believing women.
“I think we need to be very, very careful here,” Trump told reporters. “This is not just about Roy Moore. This is about our country deciding that we are going to start believing women, something that we have never done before.
“This is a very dangerous road we’re heading down,” he said.
Trump cautioned that, if instituted, a new practice of believing women would “totally destroy” the system that the country already has in place. “For years we’ve had a system of believing men,” he said. “It’s worked very well. It’s done a great job.”
He said that he was considering a number of measures to stem the tide of women’s credibility, including an executive order banning women from giving believable accounts to the press. “That’s something we’re looking into,” he indicated.
Trump painted a doomsday scenario of what might happen if the “very bad trend” of believing women gained traction in the country. “If people believe Roy Moore’s five accusers, what happens to a man who has, say, about twenty accusers?” he asked. “I don’t like where this is going.”
Andy Borowitz is the New York Times best-selling author of “The 50 Funniest American Writers,” and a comedian who has written for The New Yorker since 1998. He writes the Borowitz Report, a satirical column on the news, for newyorker.com.
