If there is any person less suited for national politics than Donald Trump, it is Roy Moore. Known once as the “Ten Commandments Judge”, Roy Moore was removed from the Alabama Supreme Court bench when he defied orders from the US Supreme Court.  I have written about him several times over the years.

Last night, he won the Republican primary for Alabama’s US Senate seat left open by Jeff Sessions. It looks likely that he will defeat the Democrat, Doug Jones, and head to Congress.  Trump, who campaigned (badly) for Moore’s opponent, Luther Strange, deleted all the pro-Strange tweets he put up (as if to deny that he ever backed him at all).

Moore is a bombthrower, just like Trump.  His victory is a humiliation for the Washington-based Republican establishment, particularly Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), whose allies pumped millions of dollars into the race to prop up Strange and reassure his colleagues that they could survive the Trump era.

Moore’s victory also opens the door to other anti-establishment Republicans to challenge Republican incumbents with fringier candidates like Moore.

Is this a good thing or a bad thing for Democrats?  Well, in places like Alabama, probably a bad thing. But then again, Dems were never going to win in Alabama. But for other states, a crazed rightwinger throwing out an establishment Republican might be a good thing, as independents and some Republicans might not want to support the crazy and the fringe, leaving room for a Democratic winner. In fact, a Democratic majority in the Senate might even be possible.

On the other hand, that type of thinking gave us… Donald Trump.

Aside from elections, Moore in the Senate will make governing even harder for Republicans. He will not toe the party line.  Who knows where he would be on something like Graham-Cassidy (which died yesterday).

Interesting times.