The final martyrdom of St. Roy

Too much religion may have turned off voters - Tuscaloosa

That's a bad sign, there, because religion is pretty much what St. Roy had going for him. It's like saying that "Too much spastic behavior may have turned off moviegoers" about a Jim Carrey movie.

Two years ago -- less than that, really, I remember conversations from spring of last year -- Bob Riley was dead. He was a lame duck from the minute his tax plan went down to defeat -- a defeat largely engineered by Roy Moore. The Business Council of Alabama was funnelling money to Lucy Baxley because they thought she was the only person who could stop Moore.

Now, Roy Moore is dead. He was slaughtered 2:1 in a head-to-head matchup with Riley in which he was never able to gain any traction on anything. I don't think it was really "too much religion" so much as it was Riley Judo. Riley was able to use religion to his advantage, because he really is a religious guy, while at the same time he was able to look moderate to corporatist and suburban Republicans.

Whither Roy? I have no idea. He can try to rehabilitate himself, I guess, but his only elected ally (Tom Parker) is also out now after getting beat badly in the Chief Justice race. I think he might just fade away.