AP Photo/Brynn Anderson Former Alabama Chief Justice and U.S. Senate candidate Roy Moore speaks at a campaign rally in Fairhope Alabama democracy_rules.jpg W hile the rest of the world has its #MeToo moment, the Republican Party appears to be crawling back into the dark ages, when men charged with sexual misdeeds responded by defaming their accusers as liars. The predatory Roy Moore, who may just win the Alabama special Senate election now that harasser-in-chief Donald Trump has rallied behind him, has won the Republican National Committee’s seal of approval . Having once said Moore should withdraw from the race , Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell now says he will “let the people of Alabama make the call.” The only Republican senator not prevaricating or staying silent is the retiring Arizonan Jeff Flake, who has written a check to Moore’s Democratic opponent, Doug Jones. It’s an awkward spot for a party that heads into the midterms led by a president with approval ratings as low...

(AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin) House Speaker Paul Ryan, joined by House Republicans, speaks to the media following a vote on tax reform, on November 16, 2017. democracy_rules.jpg T here’s a great deal wrong with the House-passed tax overhaul bill, but its most heinous provision may be one that effectively blows up both the campaign-finance laws and the charitable sector at the same time. By essentially repealing the so-called Johnson Amendment, a tax provision that bars charities from engaging in partisan politics, the House legislation frees up big donors to funnel even more unlimited, undisclosed money into campaigns, and, for the first time, to deduct that money from their taxes. The bill also threatens the credibility and viability of charitable groups, and would drastically reduce charitable giving—even as it robs education, housing, and health-care assistance from working families who invariably will turn to charities for help. The Senate tax bill does not repeal the Johnson...