It is not the time for false equivalencies or lazy analysis. That is dangerous and unhelpful as we fight to uphold democratic norms in our state and country. Let's revisit @staceyabrams' words in November 2018:
"I acknowledge that former SoS Brian Kemp will be certified as the victor in the 2018 gubernatorial election...
To watch an elected official—who claims to represent the people of this state, baldly pin his hopes for election on the suppression of the people’s democratic right
to vote—has been truly appalling. So, to be clear, this is not a speech of concession.
Concession means to acknowledge an action is right, true or proper. As a woman of conscience and faith, I cannot concede. But my assessment is that the law allows no further viable remedy...
But stoicism is a luxury and silence is a weapon for those who would quiet the voices of the people, and I will not concede because the erosion of our democracy is not right...
I will pray for the success of Brian Kemp, that he will indeed be a leader for all Georgians. That he will pledge to fight for the rights of those who disagree with him – and keep his promises. That he will refuse the call of those who see how close this election was.
Because we know that some propose to make voting even harder. They see voter engagement in communities of color and cry fraud or lie about the cost of democracy to justify closing more polling places.
I pray he will reject this vicious and tired response – in favor of preserving what is left of our state’s reputation for equality and civil rights.
But I will not leave it to prayers alone."
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It is irresponsible for a trusted news organization @wsbtv in Georgia to be using a right-wing polling firm - a firm used by multiple GA GOP candidates including the Republican secretary of state - and give credence to their biased, outlier data.
Independent pollsters without an agenda of re-electing Trump have repeatedly shown what every political observer knows: GA is a toss-up. The failure of WSB to report the bias of its pollster is unacceptable; the station should retract this outlier poll and immediately cut ties.
And some receipts showing Landmark is a partisan firm with a mission to elect and promote Republicans: Landmark has worked for a vast number of GOP campaigns in Georgia. Landmark’s biggest client is Brad Raffensperger who paid Landmark $2.5 million for his SOS campaign.
Right now Georgia Republicans are trying to pass a law that forbids the state and counties from mailing absentee ballot applications to voters. (As the GOP SOS did in the June primary -- which got him scolded afterwards by his natl party.) This is unacceptable.
This means, for ex, that rural counties that are seeing covid surging & are bracing for a tough fall, won't be able to decide themselves if they want to send apps to voters in their county to help stop the spread & ensure their residents can safely participate in elections.
The GOP needs to realize that vote by mail is a tool that can benefit either party and that localities - as well as the state - should maintain as many possible tools in their toolbox to promote vote by mail generally and certainly in the midst of a raging, ongoing health crisis.
The democracy tragedy we are witnessing today across GA- long lines, malfunctioning machines, inadequate resources and training for elections officials, provisional ballot issues, inadequate back up paper ballots & more- were all predictable & preventable by one entity: (1/25)
the Georgia Secretary of State. The SOS chose to move unfunded mandates and massive quantities of mail through counties, rather than ensuring uniformity across the state through the proper resourcing of elections centrally via the state. (2/25)
In GA the SOS is required to ensure that the democracy you get doesn’t depend on where you live or what you look like; yet they didn’t take the actions needed to make democracy real for all. Again. After a similar meltdown in fall of 2018 due to incompetence & malfeasance. (3/25)
As we’re fielding concerns about the potentially troubling precedent of the GA Presidential Primary delay, some thoughts on what’s happening in GA and why @fairfightaction is supportive of the delay in this instance, but generally not supportive of delaying elections. 1/15
Our support is due to the incredibly unfortunate timing of the escalation of the pandemic plus the state’s spring election calendar. Next week is the final week of in-person early vote in the state, and many large counties were scheduled to open additional early voting sites.2/15
Next week is also the start of most large school districts in the state being closed, events are finally being canceled in the state, and tomorrow morning the Governor is convening an emergency legislative session to declare a state of emergency. 3/15
As the Dem presidential primary moves forward while the Trump GOP is in the midst of building a historic voter suppression operation for the fall, we wanted to take a moment to thank the candidates who have supported Fair Fight's efforts. 1/8 apnews.com/af2f0ede054d8b…
To be clear: @fairfightaction & @staceyabrams are not endorsing a presidential candidate; instead, we are working with the Democratic state and nat'l infrastructure to make sure the nominee has a strong voter protection program through #FairFight2020. 2/8
So first, we want to thank @amyklobuchar, @ewarren, @KamalaHarris and @SenGillibrand for taking part in our campaign to support reproductive rights and fight the abortion bans that moved in GA and around the country. 3/8
We have been informed that David Emadi is taking the Abrams for Governor campaign to court. Who is Emadi? A Brian Kemp campaign donor, former Republican Party official, and the handpicked chief of what he has fashioned as a Kemp Revenge Commission. #gapol THREAD 1/8
Emadi is taking this action after he was given all of the Abrams’ campaign’s financial documents when he demanded them via a spate of subpoenas this spring in his first act as commissioner. Why is he taking the Abrams campaign to court a year after the election? 2/8
Because he is demanding campaign communications that are irrelevant to his bogus and politically motivated investigation. However, there is no precedent or legal justification for a political patron of a sitting governor to demand all of an opponent’s campaign communications 3/8