Where Trump and Roy Moore Intersect (Hint: It isn’t Religion)
What do President Donald Trump and Roy Moore have in common? The president isn’t particularly religious. But Moore, whose evangelical Christian base carried him to victory Tuesday in the Republican primary for US Senate, might not need a Bible-toting president to win votes in the December general election. For more on this, we turn to Fred Shepherd, political scientist at Samford University.
Here are the highlights.
Does Trump need to embrace conservative Christian ideals to appeal to Moore voters?
No. He can make just the very least gesture in that direction. And it seems to work. So he’s not going to change his style at all. And again it’s just remarkable that this man from New York with his spotty past … who’s been on record as saying the sort of the most un-Christian things you could imagine, it’s still working for him and he’s gotten no message that he needs to change that.
Trump’s appeal among evangelical Christians
If you look at it logically and substantively, there’s not really that much of a cross-section between the two. But it’s really not a logical thing. It’s much more of kind of a an emotional connection that’s taking place.
Can Doug Jones beat Moore in the general election?
I think there are a lot of people who identify themselves as conservative who won’t support Moore. And so that’s the big question: Will they simply withdraw and refuse to support a Democrat or will Doug Jones be able to run the kind of campaign that could pull those people over? I think it’s also a question of style if he can present himself as the calm, get-down-to-business-type figure who has a lot of experience in government and he can of course go back to his his his really brave and commendable work prosecuting the 16th Street Church bombers. I don’t think it’s completely out of the question that he could do that but it’s really an uphill battle for him.
Snow and wind batter parts of US, with threat of thunderstorms and tornadoes
A broad and erratic patchwork of severe weather rumbled across much of the U.S. on Sunday, dumping heavy snow in the Upper Midwest while damaging high winds swept across the Plains.
Crew of fatal US military crash included Alabama father recently deployed
The six U.S. service members who died in the crash of a U.S. military refueling aircraft included an Alabama father who had just been promoted and deployed. The U.S. government released the identities of the deceased service members Saturday.
Israeli soldiers fire on family car in occupied West Bank, killing 4
Israeli soldiers fired on a car carrying a family in the northern West Bank, killing four people including two children, the Palestinian Authority's Health Ministry said.
U.S. military names six killed in plane crash as Iran war enters third week
The conflict in the Middle East has entered a third week, with Israel announcing a barrage of new strikes on western Iran on Sunday, while the U.S. defense department released the names of six service members who died when their military refueling aircraft crashed.
Alabama poised to drastically overhaul utility regulation. Will it lower electric bills?
The Alabama Senate unanimously voted to expand the public service commission, and create a Secretary of Energy to address rising electricity prices. A bill in the House would go even further, requiring rate case hearings and limiting utility profits.
Sunday Puzzle: BAD!
Ayesha Rascoe plays the puzzle with KCUR listener Justin Marciniak and Weekend Edition Puzzlemaster Will Shortz.
