Kemp is consistent in refusing responsibility & laying blame anywhere but where it belongs
As the national news spotlight shines on Georgia once again because of the regressive voting law passed by the state GOP 10 days ago, Brian Kemp continues the GOP tradition of refusing to take responsibility for his party’s actions. In his press conference on Saturday, he gave a defiant speech condemning Major League Baseball for… standing up for the right to vote? In a sometimes angry diatribe about so-called cancel culture, he swore he’d never back down. It wasn’t quite the same caliber speech as Churchill’s “We shall fight n the beaches,” but Kemp is no Winston Churchill, except in his racist attitudes.
Rather than seriously evaluate their position, a coterie of state Republicans grinned at the cameras and blamed Stacey Abrams and Coca-cola for how Georgia is being portrayed in the global press as a regressive Jim Crow reboot.
Here are some things you can do to fight back:.
- Make your 2022 plan to vote EARLY! Check to be sure you have ID and that it doesn’t expire soon. If you don’t have ID, start the process now to obtain one. There are organizations that can help, like https://www.spreadthevote.org/georgia.
- Understand what the bill requires so that your vote will be counted. The first article below explains the majority of the provisions. Please don’t spread misinformation as you communicate with lawmakers, friends, or your community about how this bill hurts Georgians. It is bad enough without making it sound even worse than it is.
- Contact our representatives in Congress. Yes, we can count on Senators Warnock and Ossoff to do the right thing if and when the Voting Rights Act and the For the People Act are presented for a vote in the Senate, but they need to hear that they have your support. And yes, Andrew Clyde will undoubtedly vote against any bills that protect voting rights, but he needs to know that not everyone in GA09 is a red-hatted, insurrection-supporting right-wing white supremacist.
- Support groups taking action to combat the new law. Articles below describe how activists are pressuring businesses to fight the worst provisions of the law and the lawsuits already filed agaisnt it. Find an organization that focuses on voting rights and support it however you can. If you can afford to donate, great. If not, volunteer your time or talents to help them get out their message and do the work.
- Don’t lose hope. That’s one of the reasons the GOP continues to fight against the rising tide of history, to discourage “others” (that’s us!) from voting. One of the major reasons they rushed to change election laws in Georgia is because Trump’s big lie (which they helped spread) depressed some GOP votes in the Senate runoff elections. Don’t be like those GOP voters!!!
- Take a long view. Even if we’re successful in preventing the most egregious sections of the bill from being enforced, this battle is nationwide and will continue for the foreseeable future. Commit to countering efforts to disenfranchise voters as part of your ongoing work to address the major issues of our time: racism, climate crisis, and the ongoing threat to our functional democracy.
