Editor’s note: The views expressed by guest columnists are not necessarily those of The Costa Rica Star, its advertisers, or its staff.

It’s time to read the tea leaves, gaze into a crystal ball and make a prediction that Republican Judge Roy Moore will win big in Alabama’s Dec. 12 special U.S. Senate election that has gained national attention in recent weeks due to repeated, unproven allegations of sexual misconduct on the part of Moore involving teenage women from nearly 40 years ago.
Moore, 70, has remained steadfast in his denials that these alleged incidents ever took place and he is defiant in his refusal to withdraw from the senate race. Liberal Democrat Doug Jones is currently ahead in election polls by less than 1-percentage point while only a couple weeks ago Moore was ahead by 10-points, according to poll averaging by Real Clear Politics.
Seven opinion polls conducted in Alabama during November show Moore ahead in three, Jones ahead in three while Moore and Jones are tied in one. Five of the seven polls surveyed less than 650 likely voters. However, the most recent poll of 3,000 likely voters conducted Nov. 20 by WBRC-TV in Birmingham gives Moore a 2-point lead with 47-percent to 45-percent for Jones.
These polls contain no sign of a big win for Moore so why the prediction? In this deep-ruby- red state the conservative Christian Republican voters are mad as hell and fed up with the ongoing ‘political-assassination’ of Moore in the national mainstream media. On Dec. 12 they will show up in force probably in record numbers for a special U.S. Senate election.

Jones, meanwhile, is not lighting any fires under the Democrat’s feet. He spews out the same-old-worn-out liberalism nonsense the Democrats are famous for. He has no real message except to oppose the entire ‘America First’ agenda sought by President Donald Trump. Sure, they will turn out and vote for their anti-Moore, anti-Trump candidate, but Jones will lose. It’s easy to see that Moore will replace former Sen. Jeff Sessions who went on to be U.S. Attorney General in the Trump administration.

President Trump has been relatively quiet since the allegations against Moore surfaced by surprise in a Washington Post story published Nov. 9 – in which eight women came forward about their alleged past experiences with Moore from long ago. In Moore’s political career he has participated in eight elections during the past 40 years and these misconduct accusations never surfaced until now. Alabama voters are upset that their man, a former state Supreme Court Chief Judge, is being railroaded to give up his senate campaign and walk away — something he refuses to do.

“We don’t need a liberal person in there, a Democrat … I’ve looked at his (Jones’) record. He’s terrible on crime. He’s terrible on the military. He’s terrible on the border,” President Trump said Tuesday in defense of Moore.  “He denies it. Look, he denies it. If you look at all the things that have happened over the past 48 hours. He totally denies it. He says it didn’t happen.”
Sexual misconduct allegations have exploded over the past few days involving more Hollywood elites, the media and more members of the U.S. Congress — drawing media attention away from Moore. ‘Little House on the Prairie’ child-star Melissa Gilbert is accusing famous film director Oliver Stone of sexual misconduct. Long-time CBS News Anchor Charlie Rose was fired by CBS over misconduct with staff — which he admitted to. Long-time White House Press Corps member Glenn Thrush, with the New York Times, was suspended due to similar allegations pending investigation by the NYT. The longest serving member of the U.S. House Rep. John Conyers (D-MI), 88, is now accused of paying off a female staff member with $25,000 in office funds — who he allegedly assaulted two years ago – to keep her quiet. This pay off was attributed as ‘severance pay’ — not hush money. Then another former staffer of Conyers came forward with allegations of “daily sexual harassment” from Conyers, according to news reports.

Then to beat all — it was also revealed this week that the U.S. Congress has a secret fund created in 1997 used to quietly pay out settlements to women who file sexual harassment, assault complaints against members of congress. News reports say up to $17.2-million in tax payer funds have been paid to 264 claimants — to keep these women silent, but now they are shedding their ‘confidentiality skins’ revealing themselves. This parade of women coming forward should be quite something. Some members of congress are calling for this ‘now-not-so-secret fund’ to be audited and fully investigated — and let the volatile chips fall where they may. Who in congress used tax payer’s money to pay off whom, for what, where, when and why? Sounds like basic Journalism 101. American voters will demand these records be unsealed and let it all hang out. We want the names of sitting and retired U.S. House and Senate members that used this fund to cover their moral and unlawful transgressions. It’s apparent the worst from congress is still to come.

“There is about $15-million that has been paid out by the House on behalf of harassers in the last 10, 15 years,” said U.S. Rep. Jackie Speier (D-CA) in a TV interview on MSNBC. She did not disclose which members of congress used tax dollars as hush money.
Meanwhile, in response to a reporter’s question asking President Trump if he would travel to Alabama and campaign for Moore, the president answered with — “I’ll let you know next week.”

In Washington, more than a dozen Senate Republicans along with Majority Leader Sen. Mitch McConnell have demanded Moore drop out of the race. The Republican National Committee cut ties and withheld campaign funds from Moore. The Republican establishment is pushing back hard against Moore without any proof against him — no photographs, no DNA or forensics, no evidence of any wrong doing without regard to his long-standing pro-America, pro-Trump, pro-military, pro-cops, pro-U.S. Constitution, pro-2 Amendment and pro-religious liberty views.

So what will President Trump do? Maybe it’s time for another Trump Rally somewhere in Alabama showcasing two of the most controversial public figures in modern times. Pack the arena with enthusiasm and then pack voting booths on Dec. 12 — Moore wins.

About the Author Britt Nelson relocated to Costa Rica in 2011 from Florida, where he served as news editor for the Palatka Daily News, a newspaper owned by the New York Times Regional Newspaper Group (NYT-RNG) for 20 years.

Nelson served the NYT-RNG for 18 years in Tennessee, Kentucky, Virginia, North Carolina and Florida as a correspondent, reporter, staff writer, senior staff writer training new reporters, copy editor, page designer, editorial writer, editorial page editor and editorial board member.