Thoughts on Georgia Republicans

Have our local and state Republican politicians addressed and responded to concerns regarding the 2020 November election in Georgia? Two pollsters in the state (American Enterprise Institute and Trafalgar) recently released results that stated between 65-70% of Republicans voters believe there were widespread and significant voting irregularities. The public’s perception regarding fair elections is extremely important. When roughly two-thirds of one party, (in a two-party system) believe they were disenfranchised, party leaders had better listen and vigorously respond.

There is this very discernable, simmering anger in the Republican voting populace regarding the 2020 election—not so different from the Democrats in the 2018 Georgia Gubernatorial election (although the National implications from the 2018 election were much less). This anger seems ubiquitous among Republicans. These people are expressing an outrage at a level I’ve never before seen in my lifetime.

When Stacey Abrams lost the governor’s race in 2018, there were allegations of voter fraud against then Secretary of State, Brian Kemp. What did Ms. Abrams do? She worked very hard to implement the consent decree that followed a Democratic lawsuit. U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham recently said, “Stacey Abrams conned the Republican leadership in Georgia into a consent decree that basically adulterated the signature verification system so that you’re comparing the ballot signature to the application signature. They’re the same person who did the fraud. You should be comparing the ballot signature, the envelope signature on the ballot, to a signature that existed before the application was made. She changed that.”

While I personally disagree with Ms. Abrams’ actions and tactics, you must admire her tenacity and her drive to accomplish her goals. What did Brian Kemp do? There has been very little transparency in the role that Governor Brian Kemp, Lt. Gov. Geoff Duncan and Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger played in the 2020 election. They can sugarcoat the details of the administration of this election, but it has been astonishingly short on transparency. So far, it’s been, ‘trust us and don’t worry about it’—nothing here to see. This is completely unacceptable. To make matters worse, Lt. Governor Geoff Duncan stripped several Senators of their Committee Chairs because they vocally disagreed with the establishment Republican administration of our November election.

Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg also injected over $419 million into non-profits organizations during the 2020 election cycle. The Center for Tech and Civic Life (CTCL) re-granted the funds to scores of governmental election officials around the country. According to the Capital Research Center, the CTCL gave $25.9 million to Georgia Counties, including $6 million to Fulton, $5.6 million to Cobb, $4.1 million to Gwinnett, $4 million to Dekalb, $3 million to Clayton, and $1.6 million to Douglas. Didn’t Congress just spend two years and $40 million investigating Russian interference in our 2016 election? Why is it not a problem if Mark Zuckerberg interferes?

What about our state legislators? I’ve heard plenty of state politicians speak about their intentions to fix this disaster. It’s very interesting that every political promulgation from the mouths of our Republican legislators seems to be prefaced by just how great the state is “under the leadership of Governor Brian Kemp.” Then they all seem to pat themselves on the back for supposedly embracing change in the state election laws. Are they sincerely listening to their constituents? Will meaningful changes be made? Time will tell.

Meanwhile, I urge everyone to ensure their voices are heard. The state legislature is currently in session and will wrap up around March 12. We must hold all of our elected officials, Democrats and Republicans, accountable. After all, this messy election occurred on their watch.

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