Roy Moore tweeted out a challenge to Mitch McConnell, and a sharp Senate GOP official brought it on

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), like many other top Republicans, has urged the GOP Senate nominee in Alabama, Roy Moore, to quit the race after half a dozen women have accused him of hitting on, fondling, or assaulting them when they were teenage girls as young as 14. On Wednesday night, Moore pointedly suggested that he won't take McConnell's advice.

Moore is accused of trawling for teenage girls in restaurants and at the mall in the late 1970s and early '80s, so he may not be up on teen pop culture from the last 20 years — but Chris Hansen, executive director of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, clearly is.

The NRSC dropped its support of Moore soon after the first allegations appeared. Now it is flaming him. As one wise movie once said, "This is not a democracy, it's a cheerocracy." And in that contest, Moore seems to be losing.

The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

Join more than 350,000 subscribers and keep yourself informed with a selection of The Week’s most interesting, enlightening and entertaining stories - plus daily puzzles.

Join more than 350,000 subscribers and keep yourself informed with a selection of The Week’s most interesting, enlightening and entertaining stories - plus daily puzzles.

Sign up