Where Trump and Roy Moore Intersect (Hint: It isn’t Religion)

 ========= Old Image Removed =========Array
(
    [_wp_attached_file] => Array
        (
            [0] => 2017/09/Fred_Shepherd-e1506620037750.jpg
        )

    [_wp_attachment_metadata] => Array
        (
            [0] => a:5:{s:5:"width";i:385;s:6:"height";i:493;s:4:"file";s:40:"2017/09/Fred_Shepherd-e1506620037750.jpg";s:5:"sizes";a:8:{s:6:"medium";a:4:{s:4:"file";s:40:"Fred_Shepherd-e1506620037750-336x430.jpg";s:5:"width";i:336;s:6:"height";i:430;s:9:"mime-type";s:10:"image/jpeg";}s:9:"thumbnail";a:4:{s:4:"file";s:40:"Fred_Shepherd-e1506620037750-140x140.jpg";s:5:"width";i:140;s:6:"height";i:140;s:9:"mime-type";s:10:"image/jpeg";}s:9:"wbhm-icon";a:4:{s:4:"file";s:38:"Fred_Shepherd-e1506620037750-80x80.jpg";s:5:"width";i:80;s:6:"height";i:80;s:9:"mime-type";s:10:"image/jpeg";}s:13:"wbhm-featured";a:4:{s:4:"file";s:40:"Fred_Shepherd-e1506620037750-385x338.jpg";s:5:"width";i:385;s:6:"height";i:338;s:9:"mime-type";s:10:"image/jpeg";}s:18:"wbhm-featured-home";a:4:{s:4:"file";s:40:"Fred_Shepherd-e1506620037750-243x311.jpg";s:5:"width";i:243;s:6:"height";i:311;s:9:"mime-type";s:10:"image/jpeg";}s:22:"wbhm-featured-carousel";a:4:{s:4:"file";s:40:"Fred_Shepherd-e1506620037750-207x265.jpg";s:5:"width";i:207;s:6:"height";i:265;s:9:"mime-type";s:10:"image/jpeg";}s:28:"ab-block-post-grid-landscape";a:4:{s:4:"file";s:40:"Fred_Shepherd-e1506620037750-385x400.jpg";s:5:"width";i:385;s:6:"height";i:400;s:9:"mime-type";s:10:"image/jpeg";}s:14:"post-thumbnail";a:4:{s:4:"file";s:40:"Fred_Shepherd-e1506620037750-125x125.jpg";s:5:"width";i:125;s:6:"height";i:125;s:9:"mime-type";s:10:"image/jpeg";}}s:10:"image_meta";a:12:{s:8:"aperture";s:1:"0";s:6:"credit";s:0:"";s:6:"camera";s:0:"";s:7:"caption";s:0:"";s:17:"created_timestamp";s:1:"0";s:9:"copyright";s:0:"";s:12:"focal_length";s:1:"0";s:3:"iso";s:1:"0";s:13:"shutter_speed";s:1:"0";s:5:"title";s:0:"";s:11:"orientation";s:1:"0";s:8:"keywords";a:0:{}}}
        )

    [_wp_attachment_backup_sizes] => Array
        (
            [0] => a:9:{s:9:"full-orig";a:3:{s:5:"width";i:400;s:6:"height";i:600;s:4:"file";s:17:"Fred_Shepherd.jpg";}s:14:"thumbnail-orig";a:4:{s:4:"file";s:25:"Fred_Shepherd-140x140.jpg";s:5:"width";i:140;s:6:"height";i:140;s:9:"mime-type";s:10:"image/jpeg";}s:11:"medium-orig";a:4:{s:4:"file";s:25:"Fred_Shepherd-336x504.jpg";s:5:"width";i:336;s:6:"height";i:504;s:9:"mime-type";s:10:"image/jpeg";}s:14:"wbhm-icon-orig";a:4:{s:4:"file";s:23:"Fred_Shepherd-80x80.jpg";s:5:"width";i:80;s:6:"height";i:80;s:9:"mime-type";s:10:"image/jpeg";}s:18:"wbhm-featured-orig";a:4:{s:4:"file";s:25:"Fred_Shepherd-400x338.jpg";s:5:"width";i:400;s:6:"height";i:338;s:9:"mime-type";s:10:"image/jpeg";}s:25:"wbhm-featured-square-orig";a:4:{s:4:"file";s:25:"Fred_Shepherd-300x300.jpg";s:5:"width";i:300;s:6:"height";i:300;s:9:"mime-type";s:10:"image/jpeg";}s:23:"wbhm-featured-home-orig";a:4:{s:4:"file";s:25:"Fred_Shepherd-207x311.jpg";s:5:"width";i:207;s:6:"height";i:311;s:9:"mime-type";s:10:"image/jpeg";}s:27:"wbhm-featured-carousel-orig";a:4:{s:4:"file";s:25:"Fred_Shepherd-177x265.jpg";s:5:"width";i:177;s:6:"height";i:265;s:9:"mime-type";s:10:"image/jpeg";}s:19:"post-thumbnail-orig";a:4:{s:4:"file";s:25:"Fred_Shepherd-125x125.jpg";s:5:"width";i:125;s:6:"height";i:125;s:9:"mime-type";s:10:"image/jpeg";}}
        )

    [_media_credit] => Array
        (
            [0] => Samford University 
        )

    [_navis_media_credit_org] => Array
        (
            [0] => 
        )

    [_navis_media_can_distribute] => Array
        (
            [0] => 
        )

)
1654428037 
1506602538

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.

 

 

FEMA was starting to fix long-standing problems. Then came the Trump administration

The Federal Emergency Management Agency has a long history of failing to help those who need assistance the most after disasters. Biden-era changes meant to fix some of those problems now face an uncertain future.

Divorce lawyers say it’s a seasonal business. Here’s why

Divorce lawyers know certain times of the year are much busier than others. They and researchers have found seasonal patterns around divorce filings.

The LGBT community shows up for WorldPride in D.C., despite some worries about Trump

Several people attending WorldPride in D.C. this year said some of their fellow community members have been hesitant to go. But others felt it was more important to show up and be visible.

New Zealand Parliament suspends 3 lawmakers who performed Māori haka in protest

The suspended lawmakers from the Māori Party performed the haka, a dance of challenge, last November to oppose a widely unpopular bill, now defeated, that they said would reverse Indigenous rights.

New Zealand Parliament suspends 3 lawmakers who performed Māori haka in protest

The suspended lawmakers from the Māori Party performed the haka, a dance of challenge, last November to oppose a widely unpopular bill, now defeated, that they said would reverse Indigenous rights.

3 World War II bombs are defused in a German city’s biggest postwar evacuation

More than 20,000 residents were evacuated from Cologne's city center Wednesday after the bombs were unearthed on Monday during preparatory work for road construction.

More Front Page Coverage