It’s perhaps unfair to the South to single out the utter corruption of the presidential election in Georgia—the malfeasance crossed the country with impunity—but something about the way it was done calls to mind a high-tech version of Robert Penn Warren’s classic “All the King’s Men.”
That novel, which describes the rise of Willie Stark, a socially liberal socialist in the South, won the Pulitzer and the Oscar (for the film version) in the ‘40s, when those awards actually meant something.
The story has an eerie resemblance to what is going on in Georgia right now with the slicker, more modern candidacy of Jon Ossoff, the former journalist/filmmaker and Democratic candidate in the Jan. 5 Senate runoff.
Ironically, Penn Warren’s novel is narrated by a journalist who becomes Stark’s chief adviser.
Ossoff is campaigning alongside his party mate Raphael Warnock, a pastor you might call “Jeremiah Wright lite.”
The more we learn about the Georgia situation, the more you wonder if democracy exists in our democratic republic.
Many Republicans are, to say the least, disaffected. Some fear they won’t go to the polls in the January runoff.
And, although I sincerely hope they do vote, faute de mieux, as the French say, (for lack of something better), they would have good cause to be fed up and stay away.
There are quite a number of reasons for this, but one that jumps out is the failure of leadership of their own party.
What in the Sam Hill were Republican Gov. Brian Kemp and Republican Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger doing bringing the Dominion voting machines to their state almost at the last minute?
Why did this happen?
“The former chief of staff for Georgia Governor Brian Kemp was one of eight registered lobbyists for Dominion Voting Systems.
“Insiders say it was a ‘sure thing Dominion was in when we learned Thomas was involved.’
“The lobbyist that legislative staff members were referring to was Jared Thomas, a former chief of staff and press secretary for Governor Kemp.
“Another lobbyist for the controversial company was former Georgia Secretary of State Lewis Abit Massey.”
The blog continues:
“The office of Georgia’s secretary of state, Brad Raffensperger, was in charge of the procurement of these devices.
“Records and evidence are indicating Raffensperger, Governor Brian Kemp, and legislative members were heavily lobbied. Some intelligence gathering show ‘family members of certain high profile politicians were paid Hunter Biden style’ by Dominion ‘both directly and indirectly.’”
That’s a bold statement, implying extraordinary corruption, and I have no way of authenticating it, at least at this point.
Nevertheless, it would seem Kemp and Raffensperger are the proverbial “dead men walking” to the Republican rank and file. In a state, indeed in a country, with President Donald Trump, win or ultimately lose, very much still the leader of the GOP, to the extent nobody has been for quite some time, the governor and secretary of state have had their reputations so besmirched they will never be recoverable.
Kemp and Raffensberger are likely candidates to be “primaried” out. They must know this—which makes them dangerous wild cards in the short run.
Meanwhile, Trump is slated to be in the state on Dec. 5 for one of his rallies, this time in the company of and behalf of Republican senatorial candidates David Purdue and Kelly Loeffler. (Also ironically, it was Kemp who appointed Loeffler in the first place when Sen. Johnny Isakson retired.)
Control of the U.S. Senate and much more, including the Democrats’ left-wing agenda, is at stake.
I have a suspicion he will succeed. But who will be watching the machines?
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