Tuesday, August 09, 2022

Georgia on my mind.

 Warnock raises more money. Warnock is ahead in polling.

More from that first link.

Warnock is pastor of the church Martin Luther King Jr. led. Walker carried a football.

More - same item -

Walker announced a wave of new staff members Monday, most with broad national Republican experience, in an effort to beef up a campaign that coasted through a Republican primary based in part of adoration of Walker's past as a University of Georgia football demigod.

The move came as Walker took hits for his position that the United States does not need to do anything about air pollution or carbon dioxide emissions because China is a worse polluter.

“Since we don’t control the air our good air decided to float over to China’s bad air so when China gets our good air, their bad air got to move," Walker said Saturday. "So it moves over to our good air space. Then now we got we to clean that back up.”

Walker has been making similar remarks for months, but they came under new scrutiny after the Walker campaign kicked a reporter out of the Saturday event being hosted in a public park in Gainesville. That's another example of a Walker campaign that has often shielded the candidate from all but friendly questions.

Does Walker, new handlers or not, have a Senatorial grasp of air quality issues? Is it a surprise Walker is polling as well as he is? Would Walker, if winning, bring anything to the Senate to make Republicans stronger or more effective, other than nose count? Can you imagine Walker's level of policy thinking moving Mitch McConnell more favorably toward Walker and Georgia? Unless Mitch was already inclined to move? How do you see Walker dealing with a 755 page budget bill, other than following caucus leadership? New leadership, changing horses midstream, often signifies a belief a campaign is faltering, or that advisor changes could lift a trailing candidate's fortunes.

Do you imagine a stable of new blue-ribbon hucksters can counter this? Or this?

Recalling Eric Gratins losing his recent campaigns, the ex-wife tell-all being a part, the latter link discloses:

The 30-second spot, produced by the Republican Accountability Political Action Committee, opens with a voiceover asking if viewers think they know the ex-Georgia Bulldogs collegiate football standout. Mr Walker won the coveted Heisman Trophy — an award bestowed on the player deemed to be the best in college football — in 1982.

The ad then asks viewers to listen to Mr Walker’s ex-wife, Cindy Grossman, describe her ex-husband’s violent tendencies.

She said Mr Walker’s eyes would “become very evil”, adding that she “got into a few choking things with him”. But Ms Grossman said her ex-husband went further than that.

“The first time he held the gun to my head, he held a gun to my temple and he said he [was] gonna blow my brains out,” she said.

Mr Walker’s history of domestic violence and gunplay has been the subject of prior reporting on court documents by other outlets, including the Associated Press. Last year the AP reported that Ms Grossman’s sister said in a sworn affidavit that Mr Walker had “stated unequivocally that he was going to shoot my sister Cindy and her boyfriend in the head” during a 2005 phone call.

One of the strategists behind the ad, Sarah Longwell, told The Independent the ad is just the opening salvo in a campaign that will feature testimonials from Georgia Republicans opposed to Mr Walker’s candidacy, along the lines of similar ads produced during the 2020 election by the Republican Voters Against Trump project she co-produced.

Well, how might a Karl Rove spin that? Are the new handlers up to the Rove level? It seems allegations in this direction might even crimp Walker trying to tout his gun rights Second Amendment policy ideas.

__________UPDATE_________

It needs to be said. Opposition to Walker is not because he is black. Warnock also is black. He has a record in office. Clyburn is a powerful House leadership figure, who is up to the job even while I disagree with his conservative nature. Barbara Lee. Great progressive. Nina Turner? Better than Brown, but she did not win. Keenan McCardell, said to be a brilliant wide receiver's coach after a stellar pro football career. Cory Booker, Standford grad, skilled football player. Elected and reelected. Obama, Harvard Law School, still able to shoot a three point basket. Karl Anthony Towns, one of the most polished basketball interviews, as well as a well rounded player moving into the prime of his career. Jordan, special. Malcolm, special. Bo Jackson, special. All three, smart as you'd want. It is that Walker is aiming above his capability, and his party is using his recognition without regard to whether he is up to the job.

Warnock ran and won. Based on voters seeing him as the better choice. Give him credit for that and for being the better candidate of the two seeking that Senate seat this year. Quality matters.