The Georgia gubernatorial primary was a defeat for former president Donald Trump, who failed in his effort to bring down Republican Gov. Brian Kemp. But it was an even bigger defeat for President Biden.
Washington Post (May 27, 2022)
Remember when Major League Baseball punished Georgians for having the audacity to give the GOP control of their state’s government? It seemed a bit harsh to move the all-star game out of Atlanta in 2021; hurting stadium employees and small businesses, rather than Republican Jim Crow wannabes. It was wrong, like Democrats and their media pals saying voter-ID laws are in “totalitarian states, not in democracies.”
That was Joe Biden, who asked Georgians, “Will we choose democracy over autocracy, light over shadows, justice over injustice?” Kamala Harris added, “I don’t want an America where we are suppressing the right of the American people to vote.” Stacey Abrams claimed Republicans “use racial animus as a means of targeting the behaviors of certain voters to eliminate their participation in elections.”
A CNN headline read, “Voting Rights Under Attack.” MSNBC reported, “We are witnessing the greatest rollback of voting rights in this country since the Jim Crow era.” The New York Times wrote, “Republicans are trying to make voting more difficult, mostly because they believe that lower voter turnout helps their party win elections.”
The attacks seemed unfair; because numerous public polls showed voter ID laws to be widely popular, and the nonpartisan Center for Election Innovation and Research had Georgia on a list of the “easiest states to vote.” Still, false claims filled the air; such as NBC reporting the law banned taking “water to voters in line.” The law, in fact, allows poll workers to give water to thirsty voters, but prevents party loyalists from offering candidate-branded items to waiting voters.
What a difference a year makes, right? This week, the Washington Post put it simply: “Georgia’s primary turnout shows Biden’s falsehoods. Record-breaking turnout is undercutting predictions that the Georgia Election Integrity Act of 2021 would lead to a falloff in voting.” Even CNN had to admit that “Georgia early voting surged as voters dealt with new laws.”
In Georgia’s midterm primaries, early voting (857,401) was triple 2018 levels (299,347) and double 2020 levels (326,351). The GOP primary had 1.2 million voters, compared to 600,000 in 2018. And, despite try-again candidate Stacey Abrams running unopposed, 708,000 voted in this year’s Democrat primary, against 550,000 in 2018.
After predicting “voter suppression” last year, Abrams just got 708,000 primary votes, compared to 424,305 in 2018, and the secretary of state’s office reports black voters cast 102,056 more early ballots this year than in 2018. Boy, those GOP crackers know how to suppress votes, don’t they?
To wit, the Post quoted black Georgian Patsy Reid: “I had heard that they were going to try to deter us in any way possible. To go in there and vote as easily as I did and to be treated with the respect that I knew I deserved as an American citizen — I was really thrown back.”
Democrats probably over-reacted in a bad way, because “election laws” are not a top concern for the DNC’s target voters: #6 for Hispanic and independent voters, and #5 for black voters (source: Quinnipiac). Inflation and abortion are (understandably) the top issues with voters today. Thus, The Hill opined this week, “Stacey Abrams just lost her signature issue.”
I’ve lived most of my life in the South, so I’m not surprised by Tuesday’s results; not the higher voter turnout numbers, or that Republicans stuck with Brian Kemp, the man they nominated four years ago.
Georgians know a winner when they see one, in spite of Donald Trump anointing David Perdue. Kemp’s defeated Democrat Abrams once, managed the state’s COVID policies well, and obeyed his conscience during the Big Lie days. They also know self-serving BS when they see it.
One year ago, Senator Warren (D-MA) decried a “despicable voter suppression bill” in the Peachtree State, despite Massachusetts having six fewer “early voting” days than Georgia. Joe Biden (D-DE) saw “Jim Crow 2.0” laws, despite Delaware having NO early voting until this year, when its early-voting window will STILL be seven fewer days than Georgia’s.
And that – Democrat BS – was Ms. Abrams’ sad response: “It’s correlation without causation. We know that increased turnout has nothing to do with suppression.” It’s one thing to say that in January 2021, and quite another after primary turnout was so much higher and “ease of voting” has been widely reported. Abrams had better find another issue, because Georgians today are more worried about inflation and Delaware’s Joe Blow than suppression and Jim Crow.