One of my concerns about this election cycle is that some of the driving forces behind Republicans' 2021 sweep in Virginia, and an unexpectedly strong showing in New Jersey, may have receded in voters' minds. The good news for Republicans is that the new top-of-mind issues that have replaced COVID restrictions and school closures are beneficial to them, as well: Inflation and crime. But Tuesday marks the first national referendum on pandemic policies, with the benefit of hindsight. Republicans generally sought to reopen state economies and schools in relatively short order, and to minimize mandates to the greatest extent possible. Democrats, broadly speaking, did the opposite, often at the behest of special interest groups like anti-child teachers unions. The results have been catastrophic, especially for kids. Voters need to have a say, because elections are the only hope of visiting accountability upon some of the people who are most responsible for the worst anti-science and coercive decisions of the past few years.
But as we move further away from the pandemic, those concerns and frustrations are naturally fading. Luckily, some Democrats seem hellbent on reminding Americans of what they did. For instance, Democratic campaigns from Gretchen Whitmer's in Michigan to Tim Ryan's in Ohio have welcomed Randi Weingarten onto the trail on their behalf. This did not work well for Terry McAuliffe in Virginia last year, but they're giving it another whirl. The arrogance of embracing a woman responsible for so much harm practically screams, we don't care what you think, and her union's money is more important to us than student outcomes. They're unashamedly doubling down:
Politico: “National teacher union chiefs are hitting the campaign trail with former President Barack Obama and first lady Jill Biden to support Democratic tickets in Arizona, Michigan and Pennsylvania.” https://t.co/2D24Mo9Mle
— Josh Kraushaar (@JoshKraushaar) November 3, 2022
And in Georgia, Stacey Abrams criticized Gov. Brian Kemp -- who defeated her four years ago, a fact about which she's been lying ever since, among other things -- for reopening the state too soon. When I first saw this clip circulating yesterday, I assumed it was a flashback to 2020. Not so. It's brand new. Look at the 2022 election night graphic in the lower righthand corner of the screen. She just said this (while wearing orange, by the way, leading up to a huge football game in her state, pitting the wildly popular Georgia Bulldogs against an opponent that wears orange):
This is not an older clip. She just said it. https://t.co/t888ee4cRv
— Guy Benson (@guypbenson) November 5, 2022
I can only imagine the Kemp campaign contemplating, bewildered, how fortunate they are to have their opponent closing out her messaging by smearing law enforcement and volunteering that she wishes Georgia was locked down for longer. And the latter point only serves to remind people of this infamous moment that crystalized her hypocrisy. And she's still playing stupid optics games about COVID:
WATCH: Stacey Abrams tells a room full of her fans to ‘socially distance for social media’ https://t.co/xtJLv2z3eM
— Twitchy Team (@TwitchyTeam) October 27, 2022
Stacey Abrams while in a crowded room maskless: “if you're over 18 you gotta socially distance [outside] FOR SOCIAL MEDIA” pic.twitter.com/cEfFeF7laI
— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) October 27, 2022
Abrams is also pre-blaming her likely impending loss on...black men getting manipulated, or whatever:
Stacey Abrams explaining her poll numbers: "Unfortunately, this year, black men have been a very targeted population for misinformation. Not misinformation about what they want but about why they want what they deserve." pic.twitter.com/HhPxK0vVgj
— Zaid Jilani (@ZaidJilani) November 6, 2022
Seems like she has some internal polling pointing to a surprising number of black men in Georgia voting Republican this year, so of course she has to point fingers at their supposed gullibility. How incredibly condescending. Here's one of those black men, by the way:
Former Congressman and Atlanta Democrat Kwanza Hall has endorsed the two Republican candidates for Georgia's top state offices in the 2022 midterm election. In releases Friday morning, Hall announced his endorsement of Republican nominees Gov. Brian Kemp for re-election and Burt Jones in his race to be the next lieutenant governor. "Over the last four years, I’ve witnessed Governor Kemp make tough decisions – ones that weren’t always popular at the time – in unprecedented circumstances," Hall said in a statement. "While we don’t agree on every issue, it’s abundantly clear that Brian Kemp is a man of character, a strong leader, and someone who Georgians can trust to put them and their interests first." Earlier this year, Hall was one of the candidates running in the field to be the Democrats' nominee for lieutenant governor. While he came in first in the May primary, Hall lost in the runoff to Charlie Bailey. Democrat Stacey Abrams, who is challenging Kemp in the gubernatorial race, endorsed Bailey over Hall in June.
If Herschel Walker manages to win outright Tuesday, as opposed to heading to a runoff (probably the more likely outcome), he'll have Stacey Abrams to thank. She is a self-indulgent, out-of-touch, and counter-productive figure. She's doing her party no favors in her state, and elsewhere. In case you missed it, I interviewed both Brian Kemp and Herschel Walker on my radio show last Friday. I'll leave you with this 'Jim Crow' 'voter suppression' update:
Yesterday’s early & absentee votes carried us to 2,504,956 pre-Election Day votes cast. We have 57,599 absentees that may still be cast. We could get close to 2.55 million. Previous record 2,114,114. Set to beat it by over 20%. #gapol pic.twitter.com/qO18lyIyt2
— Gabriel Sterling (@GabrielSterling) November 5, 2022
