John Oliver looks at GOP Senate nominee Roy Moore, wonders who top Republicans wouldn't support

John Oliver sizes up Roy Moore
(Image credit: Screenshot/YouTube/Last Week Tonight)

In a few weeks, voters in Alabama will pick the next U.S. senator, and the favored candidate is Roy Moore, a twice-ousted Alabama Supreme Court chief justice. On Sunday's Last Week Tonight, John Oliver went through some areas where Moore has voiced extremist positions on conservative social issues. For example, as terrible as you might imagine his views are on homosexuality, Oliver said, "they're actually worse. He favors criminalization of sodomy, and if you ask him about that, things get weird fast."

"Now luckily, due to everything that you've seen so far, Republicans in both the House and the Senate have roundly condemned Moore and his views, and have even gone so far as to — I'm obviously kidding," Oliver said. "He just entered into a fundraising agreement with the RNC, and multiple Republican senators are actively fundraising on his behalf." He let Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) explain why. "That kind of blind loyalty means there is nobody you would not support," Oliver explained. "If the Republican party nominated a swarm of smallpox-infected bees, presumably John Cornyn would say: 'Look, we disagree on a lot of things, but Sen. All Those Bees is a reliable vote on tax cuts. I support the nominee of my party.'"

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Peter Weber, The Week US

Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.