editorials

Stacey Abrams is having a hard time telling the truth these days. She has whined incessantly since losing the 2018 election for governor of Georgia to Brian Kemp declaring that she did not lose the election and has refused to concede the election. She even claimed that she was legally the governor of Georgia. She just lost her lawsuit against Georgia’s Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger and the State Board of Elections over allegations that the 2018 gubernatorial election was “rigged.” And recently, on a nationallytelevised talk show, admitted that she knows that she is not the governor of Georgia, but wanted to make a point about voter suppression, which she blamed for her loss. Now, she claims she never denied the outcome of the 2018 election. Confused?

Republican National Convention researcher Garrison Douglas shared 35 separate quotes from Abrams since 2018 about her refusal to concede to Kemp, including, “No, I didn’t lose. I just didn’t win,” and “We don’t have to concede elections anymore because when we concede we are condoning systems that are used to oppress us.”

Douglas pointed out that Abrams “is trying to rewrite history” by insisting that “she never denied the outcome” of her 2018 loss.

Abrams, who founded Fair Fight Action, and other plaintiffs filed a complaint in November 2018, immediately after the gubernatorial election alleging illegal and unconstitutional practices had denied the right to vote to thousands of Georgians. The allegations attempted to raise issues regarding Georgia’s absentee ballot procedures, voter registration, and voter list management practices. The U.S. District Court, in a 288-page order filed on September 30, 2022, denied every allegation at issue.

At the time of Abram’s initial complaint, newspapers probed Abrams’ claims and found them lacking in substance. On November 9, 2018, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution

reported that its investigation had found “no evidence…of systematic malfeasance — or of enough tainted votes to force a runoff election (between Kemp and Abrams).“ According to Washington Post fact checker Glenn Kessler, following the 2018 election, Abrams claimed that she “won” the election, that the election was “rigged,” that it was “stolen,” that it was not “free and fair,” and that “Kemp had cheated.” Kessler said, “Abrams played up claims the election was stolen until such tactics became untenable for anyone who claims to be an advocate for American democratic norms and values.”

Just three weeks before the 2022 election, Governor Kemp is being celebrated for running a state that did not close down during the pandemic (as Abrams wanted to do) and actually excelled financially when other states faltered as they stumbled to come back from closures that stymied business. Georgia is doing so well in fact, that it can afford to forego the state gas tax, making Georgia one of the least expensive states in which to travel the highways.

The state’s commerce is thriving. Just looks at its Brunswick and Savannah ports. In 2022, for the ninth year in a row, Georgia was named the top state in the U.S. in which to do business. Money has rolled out across the state for broadband, education, and neighborhood improvements, among other initiatives. So, what is not to admire about Brian Kemp?

Abrams has really had to scramble to compete with the Governor’s track record. Now, she is seizing on the continued from page

emotional issue of abortion which she has identified as a main topic for the election, and criticized the state’s new “Heartbeat” legislation as an affront to women’s rights.

Abrams is losing ground in the polls. Double digits now separate her and Governor Kemp — in his favor. In the past few days, Abrams has launched an initiative to claim the votes of black males, a group with which her support has waned since the 2018 election. Let’s hope Abrams’ former supporters are seeing the light and seeing her for what she is — an opportunistic political player who will say and do anything necessary to achieve her purpose.