Republicans are in disarray in Georgia heading into the Senate runoff election
Another loss for the RNC, on Christmas Eve no less. Judge Kimberly Esmond Adams held a hearing in the case of Republican National Committee, et al. v. State Election Board, et al., through which Republicans in Georgia sought to have ballot drop box use limited to business hours. The relief sought would have crippled voters’ ability to safely vote during yet another surge of the pandemic. Judge Adams allowed the ballot drop box rule—which was already in place—to stand, allowing people to vote at their convenience.
Russ Willard, Senior Assistant Attorney General, represented the Defendants. He told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, “The public has confidence that the rules of the game will not be altered to indulge the needs of a political party who is trying to benefit their particular candidates. Plaintiffs want to poke at the bear and adjust the election machinery when we only have one week of early advance voting and one week of absentee voting left to go.” Willard’s statement reveals just how ridiculous the actions of Republicans are and just how far they are willing to go to ensure that Kelly Loeffler and David Perdue return to the Senate.
By the time this ridiculous lawsuit was filed, almost one million people had already voted. As of the date of dismissal, over two million had voted in Georgia, including over 700,000 ballots by mail, which are the votes they had hoped to stop. Republicans have been trying to suppress our right to vote for years. We are not putting up with that nonsense anymore. Because of Trump’s outlandish behavior following his defeat, many believe he is helping the Democrats in Georgia. Good on him.
According to Slate, the more Trump fights against his defeat, the more he helps Democrats. The early votes are disproportionately likely favorable to Ossoff and Warnock, while the bulk of voting day ballots typically go to Republicans. Slate also states that elections following a presidential election favor the opposite party, as most moderate voters lean toward the checks and balances system to ensure the new president does not run rampant. William Saletan, the author of Slate’s piece, said that early polls in Georgia showed the runoff going this way, and all Trump had to do “was get out of the way.” Instead of conceding as most normal candidates would do, Trump has been waging war against the voting system and anyone who does not agree with him, regardless of party affiliation. As a result, instead of worrying about checks and balances, Georgia voters are more concerned with “checking Trump.”
In the end, Trump proves time and again that his only concern is Donald Trump. He couldn’t care less about Loeffler, Perdue, or any other Republicans. Heaven forbid he should exhibit concern about the pandemic. No, it is all about him. The best thing that can happen at this point is that he continues to rail against the system all the way to certification of the vote by Congress on January 6. The Georgia runoff will be done, and we will have hopefully seated Ossoff and Warnock.
Shirley is a former entertainment writer and has worked in the legal field for over 25 years