Roy Moore: A Monumental Ploy For Power?

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By Eleanor Clift

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It started with a rosewood tablet he carved himself and kept in his courtroom in Gadsden, Ala. That was 11 years ago, and the following he gained as the "Ten Commandments judge" enabled Roy Moore to win election in 2000 for Alabama chief justice. Now some think he's hoping to move up another rung based on his opposition to the removal of a Ten Commandments monument he installed in the state Judicial Building in Montgomery. Polls show 77 percent of Alabamians support Moore's contention that displaying the Ten Commandments is constitutional, a number that may stir Moore's ambition. "He's clearly doing this for his own political aggrandizement," says a Senate Republican. The problem is, there aren't any immediate openings in the Republican hierarchy unless Moore wants to take on his party like he did the federal courts. GOP state chairman Marty Connors calls talk of Moore's running for governor or senator "complete and total speculation." But it may be more than that. Gov. Bob Riley, normally a no-tax Republican, is pushing for a $1.2 billion tax increase to close a looming deficit and improve the schools. Republicans are spoiling for an intra-party fight over taxes, a fissure that Moore could exploit when Riley is up for re-election in 2006. But Moore's complained about shortages in courts funding, and maintaining his popularity could be hard. While conservative voters support him, they don't like lawbreakers. Local churches are staying away from the protests. The monument was moved into storage last week, and while Moore has access to his office, he's barred from doing any work until he is tried before the Alabama Court of the Judiciary. No date has been set.

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