I have always avoided writing opinion in the Cobb County Courier.
And despite the fact that I am personally a Democrat (and have never hidden it when people ask), I have always attempted to be even-handed in my coverage of policy and politics in the local news we cover.
But here I am, writing not only an opinion piece but an endorsement of two senatorial candidates.
So I’ll make it blunt, short and not so sweet.
Loeffler and Perdue’s statement today casting doubt on the votes of millions of Georgians was an assault on democracy.
The spectacle of Georgia’s two sitting U.S. Senators casting doubt upon the American electoral system at a time of extreme polarization in the nation is disgusting and dangerous, and for this reason I’m making a public endorsement of Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock.
I swore when I began the Courier that I would never endorse candidates. As far as I’m concerned the role of the Courier has always been to report on local institutions and events: land use and zoning, health care in the county, the criminal justice system, elections, and whatever else I have the resources to cover.
But Kelly Loeffler and David Perdue enlisting in Donald Trump’s attempt to refuse to leave office when he’s been defeated decisively in a fair election is a bridge too far.
Trump lost the election. Decisively. He will lose the electoral college, decisively when it convenes.
Every court case he has filed thus far in his tantrum-driven attempt to cling to office has been dismissed.
For Trump to have lost on this wide a scale through the fraud of local election officials would have taken a conspiracy of the proportions claimed by the QAnon nutjobs.
Loeffler and Perdue do not deserve the votes of civic-minded Georgians.
Biden and Harris won Georgia because of the hard work of the individuals who supported them, Trump’s low approval ratings, and changing demographics in the state. And the fact that they got more votes than Trump and Pence.
Not because of widespread fraud.
And the dogwhistle racism which has accompanied the charges of fraud by focusing on Biden’s margins in majority Black cities is something to be rooted out by all ethical officials, not to be encouraged and exploited.
For this reason I encourage all responsible Georgians to cast their votes for Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock.
Hi Larry – I searched your site for an article titled “Stacey Abrams Launches assault on American Democracy” but I wasn’t able to find one. I’m curious why you weren’t equally upset with her for “…casting doubt on the votes of millions of Georgians…” when she claimed she had actually won the 2018 governor’s race. Of her own admission, she did so without any evidence. She did it, literally, because she had personal “doubt” that a fair vote would result in more votes for Kemp.
In Stacey Abrams’ own words, she said to the New York Times Magazine: “I have no empirical evidence that I would have achieved a higher number of votes. However, I have sufficient, and I think legally sufficient, doubt about the process to say that it was not a fair election,”
In contrast, President Trump has, at least, presented empirical evidence in the form of multiple sworn affidavits from witnesses across the country. The sworn affidavits include US Postal workers, election monitors, and other officials and citizens in multiple states.
This evidence is working its way through the courts. It might end up being insufficient, or it might be sufficient to prove his claims. At this point, we don’t know, but we should let the process work before making such bold claims that our politicians are launching an assault on American democracy. (Note, your claim that all lawsuits have been dismissed is incorrect. There are some dismissed, some settled, some ongoing, and some that have been won by Trump’s campaign)
I hope we can agree on one thing: there is a problem with the voting process in Georgia (and in some other states), and it needs to be fixed. But, in order to fix it, we need OBJECTIVE JOURNALISM to inform the people so we can know what the real problem is and so we can decide what is the best solution.
Hi, H.B.
I’m not going to go into the weeds of the differences between Abrams’ claims and the ongoing dispute because it sends me way into the weeds of writing another opinion piece here in the comments section. I might address that later though.
The court cases are matters of fact though, and the only win Trump’s lawyers have had is a partial one in Penn. The GOP monitors were allowed to stand 6 feet from the poll workers instead of 10, and Alito made an administrative ruling that ballots received after Election Day should be kept separate in case of future litigation.
Other than that all the cases that have been heard crashed and burned.
The Georgia case was thrown out from lack of evidence.
The Arizona case was withdrawn when Trump’s lawyers determined it was going to be thrown out.
The Nevada case was thrown out for lack of evidence.
The Michigan case was thrown out for lack of evidence.
The one (not several) post office worker who signed an affidavit (for Project Veritas) retracted it when postal investigators questioned him. He then retracted his retraction and the investigation continues. His work history indicates he might have mental health problems and people are now waiting to see which of the contradictory affidavits he’s willing to go to court with.
I’d be willing to dig deeper into any wins the lawsuits have had if you tell me where they are, but I’ve been tracking them pretty closely.
Didnt Trump claim fraud before the election took place? I can’t possibly see how he would of had any evidence of such a thing before the election even took place. These are all political ploys and Republicans are sheep for falling for it.