Kudos to Sen. Shelby for sticking his neck out for principle. The number of write-ins exceeded Jones' margin of victory, so it appears his example may have persuaded others to do the right thing.
In the long run, the courage of Shelby and others will redound to the benefit of the GOP and conservatives. Moore is a sorry symbol of the worst of identity politics infecting the Republican party. The only reason to defend this turdblossom was to keep the seat in Republican hands. But the cost would have been enormous - and could have brought down President Trump himself.
It is no accident that some of the most partisan Dems I know were rooting for Moore to win. He'd have been the gift that kept on giving to the Dems - helping them to fund-raise, and paint conservatives as religious cranks without moral scruples. The promised ethics investigation would have led to the ugly scene of the Senate seeking to remove the voters' own choice - a marker that, applied to the President, could have spelled his doom.
The voters of Alabama knew of Moore's moral character, and rejected him. That is, thank God, for the best.
