Doug Jones: Roy Moore ‘wants to talk about issues that divide us’

Nov. 30--As Doug Jones and teachers recalled it, the Democratic Senate nominee spent about an hour at Dreamland in Montgomery mostly listening to their concerns about schools.

Outside the restaurant, Jones said he wanted to talk about education, job creation and health care, and draw a contrast with Republican Senate nominee Roy Moore.

"He has never talked about those issues," Jones said Wednesday evening, following the brief meeting. "He wants to talk about issues that divide us."

Jones has made several stops in the county, which he needs to win to have a shot at victory in the general election for U.S. Senate Dec. 12. The Democrat this week has spoken at campaign stops about renewal of the Children's Health Insurance Program and securing Medicare and Medicaid funding, as well as education.

Most education funding and policy issues take place at the state and local level, which Jones and the two teachers who spoke after the event acknowledged. Michelle Summers-Hines, a teacher with the Department of Youth Services in Montgomery, said after the press conference she believed Jones could work with federal departments to pull down funding for things like mental health treatment.

"On the federal level, you can find ways to get the money available," she said.

Summers-Hines said after the press conference Jones mostly listened to the concerns teachers raised.

"He didn't promise us a pie in the sky," she said. "He listened."

Moore was scheduled to speak in Theodore in Mobile County Tuesday night. The former Alabama chief justice, who faces allegations of sexual misconduct from nine women, returned to the campaign trail earlier this week. Moore denies the allegations; the women have stood by their stories, and at least two have said they would be willing to testify under oath.

The Republican nominee is trying to emphasize his opposition to abortion and LGBT rights and has attacked Jones for his support of abortion rights.

Jones is trying to build a coalition made up of traditional Democratic voters, particularly African-Americans, and Republicans who oppose Moore. As he has said in other stops, Jones said Tuesday he was "giving the same speech" to every group he speaks to, emphasizing what he has referred to as "kitchen table issues."

"Don't define me by any political party," he said. "Look at the issues I'm talking about."

At the same time, Jones also went after over his two removals as Alabama chief justice; questions about his pay at the Foundation for Moral law and the allegations Moore faces, saying Moore "does not have the character" to serve in the U.S. Senate.

"The credibility of the women who have made those allegations against him, those Etowah County women, far surpass the denials," Jones said.

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