The truth is that Mr. Bannon is a partial architect of this mess. He’ll support any Republican candidate who promises to vote against Mr. McConnell for Senate leader, and when that’s your only political standard you end up with oddballs and misfits as candidates. Judge Moore twice lost his Alabama Supreme Court seat because he refused to enforce court orders, so his potential for self-implosion wasn’t news.

Luther Strange, the current Senator who was appointed by Alabama’s former Governor to replace Attorney General Jeff Sessions, is every bit as conservative as Mr. Moore without the flakiness. He’d be running away with the special election, while Mr. Moore was barely ahead of Democratic nominee Doug Jones even before the Washington Post story. A write-in campaign for Mr. Strange would be desirable, though it’s a long shot. If Mr. Moore stays in the race, Alabama voters will have to be the jury that renders a verdict on the charges against him, as our friends at the New York Sun put it.