Thread by @bluestein

Georgia @GovKemp opens his State of the State honoring the lives lost to the pandemic: “Those great Georgians may be gone, but they will not be forgotten. We will win this fight against COVID-19 and their legacies will live on for generations to come.” #gapol

@GovKemp This might as well be a message to Kemp's fellow Republicans: “There are some who want to look to the past, assign blame, settle old scores, and relive and relitigate 2020. Today I think we should take the advice of those wise farmers. Let’s clear the fields and start planting.”

@GovKemp The loudest and most sustained ovation -- by far -- has gone to Dr. Kathleen Toomey, the state's top health commissioner. "God sent Georgia the right person at the right time," Kemp said. #gapol

@GovKemp A through-line is Kemp's defense of his move to reopen the economy in the early months of the outbreak: “That decision allowed Georgia’s small business community to live to fight another day and some of our largest companies – like Kia and Bridgestone – to have record success.”

@GovKemp Kemp invokes the death of #AhmaudArbery and pledges to push “significant reforms” to Georgia’s citizen’s arrest law. “We can again send a clear message: Georgia is a state that protects all of its people and fights injustice wherever it is found.” #gapol ajc.com/politics/polit…

@GovKemp His close: "It’s time to put our differences aside. Put 2020 in the rearview. Let’s stand together as Georgians and clear the destruction caused by the storms of life. Let’s clear away the conspiracy theories and the division." #gapol ajc.com/politics/kemp-…