title:  Principles Over Power: Why Republicans Need To Do What’s Right To Remain Relevant
text: Over the last few weeks, I ve watched as the last shreds of the Republican Party s  family values  rotted away.As Alabama voters prepare to go to the polls in December they have two choices before them.They can vote for the Democrat and prove that they refuse to tolerate an accused child molester and sexual predator being in their party and in the Senate, or they can put political power over the morality they have long preached about.In other words, they can either put power over principles or put principles over power.They can t do both.And while they are damned if they do and damned if they don t, choosing the latter of those two options would be a far better and more honorable choice.Some things go above politics, and sexual assault is, and rightfully should, be one of them.Voting for Moore for the sake of political power throws every sexual assault victim under the bus. It will especially be a slap in the face of women across the country, a major voting block that has already been overwhelmingly voting Democrat for many years.If Republicans want to have any chance of surviving as a legitimate political party for many more decades to come, it is critical that they start by drawing a line in the sand when it comes to Moore and the people who defend him such as Donald Trump.This starting point alone can restore a little of the respect the GOP has lost. Perhaps then, they ll even be courageous enough to rejects the racists and the sexists and the Nazis, which will do more to grow the ranks of the party than the Southern Strategy ever did.And then the Republican Party can get past being a haven for extremists and anti-government zealots and get on the road to becoming a sane party with real ideas instead of simply opposing and obstructing at every turn, which has not been good for the country at all.America has lost its respect of the international community and our reputation has been seriously sullied. Letting Moore step inside the Senate would send a message to the world that America supports child molestation and the sexual assault and harassment of women.Such a message from the Republican Party smacks of hypocrisy. After all, we are talking about the same party that constantly bring up the sexual assault allegations against Bill Clinton.But just like how they constantly bring up Abraham Lincoln in an attempt to claim that the Republican Party must still be great, their rhetoric about Bill Clinton is old and tired and not really that relevant today. The GOP is far removed from the days of Lincoln. And Bill Clinton was president two decades ago and if he were running today he would not win. The sexual assault allegations alone would prevent him from even getting on the ballot.However, by supporting Donald Trump, who was accused by a dozen women of sexual assault during the 2016 campaign, Republicans committed a serious hypocrisy that undermines their Bill Clinton talking point.If Moore wins next month, Republicans will only be doubling down on that hypocrisy and they ll be past the point of no return. And the consequences will be severe.America is more diverse than ever before. Women have emerged as a force to be reckoned with after decades of old white guys running the show. Minorities are also set to become the majority of the population, and once that scale tips, the GOP will no longer be able to be the party of white people. It just won t work.It s just a matter of time, and time is running out for the Republican Party.And that s why they must rise above politics and stand for something bigger than themselves.Sexual assault and child molestation should not be rewarded with power and prestige. And that should go beyond the political arena as well, whether the behavior is coming from a corporate CEO or the part-owner of a website or a church leader or any other position of power.Republicans need to start practicing the  morality  they preach and they can do that by putting politics aside and do the right thing.That s what Republicans did in 1860 when they voted for a dark horse candidate as their flagbearer. Lincoln then put politics aside to assemble one of the greatest Cabinets in our history, bringing together liberal and conservative Republicans and even a Democrat or two.And even though Lincoln remained neutral at first and the politics of day made it really difficult, he made the decision to put politics aside and pushed for the passage of the 13th Amendment. Such a move at the time could have cost Lincoln a second term, but he did it anyway.Lincoln put principle over power in the face of an even more contentious and hateful political environment than we are experiencing today. It s time for Republicans to do the same now.Seven years ago, my first article for this site explained how Republicans have put power over principles for decades to the detriment of our progress towards a better future for everyone.Today, I want inform my loyal readers that this will be my final article for Addicting Info.It has been an honor and a privilege to write here for so many years. I must first thank my readers for making this job possible. Knowing that I was informing so many people across the country and around the world motivated me to make writing about politics my career. And now it is time to move on in order to further pursue that goal.It is hard to leave the best job one has ever had. Through the years, I have made friends and lost friends. I have been here through the struggles and the triumphs. And I have done that while drastically improving as a writer and a person along the way.With that being said, it is especially hard to leave the people I work with, and there are many, both past and present, who deserve a shout-out. I would like to personally thank Wendy Gittleson, Sarah Wood, Eve-Angeline MItchell, John Prager, Justin Acuff, Elisabeth Parker, Shannon Barber, Andrew Simpson, Conover Kennard, Jameson Parker, Ryan Denson, Patricia Colli, Randa Morris, Joe Fletcher, Dylan Hock, April Louise Childers, Justin Rosario, Shannon Argueta, Allison McHam Vincent, Christopher Blair, Oliver Willis, Kerry-anne Mendoza, Nathaniel Downes, Nurmi Husa, and David E. Phillips for enriching my life and helping me develop into the writer and person I am today. You have all been amazing friends and colleagues and I would not be where I am without you.Last, but not least, I want to thank Matthew Desmond for believing in me enough to give me my start and keep me around all these years. You have been the best boss I could ever have hoped for and your friendship and support has been invaluable to me. You ve been an inspiration and I will always be grateful and fiercely loyal to you. You changed my life in ways you may never know.This is not goodbye forever. Perhaps one day, I ll return as long as the door remains open for me to do so. But for now, this is Stephen D. Foster Jr. signing off.Featured Image: Mark Wilson/Getty Images