“MAGA Republicans — are not going to go and vote for this guy Kemp,”
–Former President Donald Trump, March 26, 2022.
By Jack Bernard
PEACHTREE CITY, Ga. | Well, my favorite con man, Donald Trump, was recently here in Georgia in all his bombastic glory. His trip to our fine state was marked by his obsession with the 2020 election.
He constantly continues to promote the Big Lie, that the election was stolen from him. As for Trump’s assertions and his obstructionist strategy, a U.S. District Court Judge said it best: “The illegality of the plan was obvious…President Trump corruptly attempted to obstruct the Joint session of Congress on January 6, 2021.”
P.T. Barnum, obviously Trump’s role model, would be extremely proud. But for the Georgia GOP, not so much.
For a long time, I have been saying that the Democrats are in serious trouble because of out-of-control inflation, the ill-conceived and failed Build Back Better Bill, and President Joe Biden’s inability to sell his accomplishments. Biden’s approval level is in the basement, with little chance to turn it around by November.
But now I believe that Stacey Abrams and Senator Raphael Warnock may have a fighting chance, because of our verbose friend, Donald Trump. He stated emphatically that if BrIan Kemp is on the ticket “Herschel Walker is going to be very seriously and negatively impacted.” I don’t often agree with Trump, but this time he is correct. And it’s all due to Trump’s inability to care about anyone except himself.
I’m a pragmatic person who looks at facts. I still believe that Stacey Abrams and Senator Raphael Warnock could be in for a very tough time in the upcoming election, especially with the General Assembly’s glaringly partisan voter suppression efforts. However, Trump is dividing the Georgia GOP. Kemp supporters are being castigated as “RINOs” (Republicans in Name Only) even though Kemp is the most conservative. Likewise, Georgia’s Republican Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, another conservative Trump opposes, is getting the same treatment.
Kemp and Raffensperger are both conservatives. Why would Trump endorse former Senator David Perdue for governor and Rep. Jody Hice for secretary of state in the GOP primary?
The answer is simple. Kemp and Raffernsperger did not support Trump’s attempt to overthrow the will of the people and install him for another term as president in November 2020. Similarly, Trump has endorsed challengers to Attorney General Chris Carr and Insurance Commissioner John King, both Republican office holders, and others because these two have been insufficiently vocal in repeating Trump’s “Big Lie.”
The question then becomes: “Will the GOP unite after the primaries”? If Kemp is the gubernatorial candidate, will the MAGA people stay home, as Trump indicated?
And should Perdue win the primary (highly unlikely), will disgruntled Kemp supporters sit out the November election? And will either situation cause both Stacey Abrams and Senator Warnock to carry the victory, despite the national and state-wide dissatisfaction with the Democrats? Could be. We will soon see.
- Have a comment? Send to: elliott@brack.net
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