With Apologies to B.D.

With Apologies to B.D.

Who beat Roy Moore?

Facebook
Twitter
Email
Flipboard
Pocket

Who beat Judge Roy Moore,
Why an’ what’s the reason for?

“I did, ” says The Washington Post,
“Was our reporting hurt him the most.
He groped Leigh Corfman; she was just 14.
And at the mall he was often seen
Hanging around with girls too young to drive,
or drink, or vote.
But not too young to make a note, of what he’d done.
No one would’ve believed the women, then.
We know better now, thanks in part to them.”

“Was us, ” says Alabama’s blacks,
Whose votes hold tight democracy’s cracks.
For too long we’ve been taken for granted,
This time we knew it really mattered,
For Wesley, Robertson, Collins, and McNair.
Their killers thought they’d got away,
Till Doug Jones brought them Judgment Day.
Selma to Montgomery to Birmingham,
We’ve made those crackers say “God damn!”

Who beat Judge Roy Moore,
Why an’ what’s the reason for?

“#MeToo,” say all the women rising,
Hearts sickened by advertising,
designed to make their dreams feel petty,
Their futures’ just some man’s confetti.
“We phone banked and texted on Rapid Resist,
To bring down this pig, who won’t be missed.”
Our sisters of color took the lead,
Sending a message the country had better heed.

Who beat Judge Roy Moore,
Why an’ what’s the reason for?

“Us too,” say the under-30s
Roy Moore made #AllOfUs feel dirty.
We always said that we’d turn out,
If there was something to vote about.
You Boomers and Gens Z, Y and X
Owe Millennials serious respect.
Now you see what our votes can do,
Don’t count us out! Our work’s not through.”

Who beat Judge Roy Moore,
Why an’ what’s the reason for?

“We helped too,” says the DNC,
though they didn’t send much do-re-mi.
Said they weren’t sure Doug Jones could win,
As Biden and Booker campaigned for him.
“Alabama is an incredibly tough state,”
said the Daily Kos
anticipating another loss.
Democratic PACs kept their money invisible;
Which isn’t the same as Indivisible.

Who beat Judge Roy Moore,
Why an’ what’s the reason for?

“Not us, ” says Bannon, and President Trump,
Who woke up Wednesday looking like chumps.
“I wanted Luther Strange, you idiot!”
Said the grabber in chief with the tiny digits.
“I was Moore’s savior,” said Bannon. “It’s true.
But that’s what I am paid to do.
Don’t say ‘molester,’ don’t say ‘GOP disaster.’
You’re still president. And I’m still the Master.”

Who beat Judge Roy Moore,
Why an’ what’s the reason for?

We cannot back down

We now confront a second Trump presidency.

There’s not a moment to lose. We must harness our fears, our grief, and yes, our anger, to resist the dangerous policies Donald Trump will unleash on our country. We rededicate ourselves to our role as journalists and writers of principle and conscience.

Today, we also steel ourselves for the fight ahead. It will demand a fearless spirit, an informed mind, wise analysis, and humane resistance. We face the enactment of Project 2025, a far-right supreme court, political authoritarianism, increasing inequality and record homelessness, a looming climate crisis, and conflicts abroad. The Nation will expose and propose, nurture investigative reporting, and stand together as a community to keep hope and possibility alive. The Nation’s work will continue—as it has in good and not-so-good times—to develop alternative ideas and visions, to deepen our mission of truth-telling and deep reporting, and to further solidarity in a nation divided.

Armed with a remarkable 160 years of bold, independent journalism, our mandate today remains the same as when abolitionists first founded The Nation—to uphold the principles of democracy and freedom, serve as a beacon through the darkest days of resistance, and to envision and struggle for a brighter future.

The day is dark, the forces arrayed are tenacious, but as the late Nation editorial board member Toni Morrison wrote “No! This is precisely the time when artists go to work. There is no time for despair, no place for self-pity, no need for silence, no room for fear. We speak, we write, we do language. That is how civilizations heal.”

I urge you to stand with The Nation and donate today.

Onwards,

Katrina vanden Heuvel
Editorial Director and Publisher, The Nation

Ad Policy
x