According to Republican Georgia Senator Kelly Loeffler, her run-off opponent for her seat, the affable and slightly left-of-center Democrat Raphael Warnock, "is the most radical candidate for Senate our country has ever seen." He is "dangerous" and embraces "anti-American values," according to a website that Loeffler has put out called, no, really, radicalraphael.com. It's filled with some of the most hilariously over the top bullshit that takes moderate political positions and frames them as so evil that you'd think that Warnock, who is the pastor of the Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta (yes, that Ebenezer Baptist Church, the one where Martin Luther King, Jr. was a pastor), is Satan, Godzilla, and Osama Bin Laden combined into a Megazord of socialist doom.
Really, this shit is that insanely hyperbolic.
(Note: I'm putting aside Loeffler's racist attacks on and misrepresentations of Warnock's religious teachings and beliefs, as well as taking his words supporting Rev. Jeremiah Wright completely out of context. That's been dealt with elsewhere.)
For instance, under the category "Anti-Gun," Loeffler's campaign says, "In April 2014, Warnock Opposed HB 60, a Bill to Allow Guns in Bars without Restriction and in Some Churches, Schools and Government Buildings." That's what's radical to Republicans right now: for a pastor to oppose allowing guns in churches. A white preacher could say the law should allow him to fuck a parishioner of his choosing on the altar at every service, and Republicans would treat it as a sacrament. But a black pastor saying he doesn't want his congregation locked and loaded? Sacrilege. By the way, more Georgians oppose arming teachers in schools than support it. And a majority support a ban on assault-style rifles. But, sure, Warnock is the fuckin' radical here.
All the attacks are that level of hysterical. Why is Warnock "anti-Israel"? "In A Sermon, Warnock Called For A Two-State Solution," which was the position of the goddamn Republican Party until 2016. Oh, also, Warnock criticized the Israeli government for gunning down unarmed protesters, which, obviously, is a radical statement. Truly Christian patriots in the USA would want Israel to murder the fuck out of whomever it chooses.
Some of it is legitimately funny on top of being enraging. There's this one: "In An August 2020 Podcast Interview, Warnock Said That He Wants To 'Reimagine' The Role Of The Police – Which Is A Term Used By Black Lives Matter Interchangeably With 'Defund.'" In that podcast, here's exactly what Warnock said: "No, we should not defund the police. We should certainly reimagine the relationship between the police and communities." So Warnock specifically said he opposed defunding the police, but, for Loeffler and the GOP, he's lying because he said "reimagine," which is bad because BLM supporters have used that word. That's some breathtaking leaps of logic. Like that's some crazed jackrabbit shit right there.
On a side note, this also points up the utter uselessness of a debate over the phrase "defund the police." The GOP is going to make anything Democrats say into anti-American or evil or baby-killing or what the fuck ever. Democrats could say, "We love the police so much that we want to blow them" and Republicans would say that it shows disrespect for the cops because the Democrats neglect to mention how they'd take care of the balls.
You want more? Under "Defends Cop Killers," Loeffler's campaign writes, "In February 2020, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution Reported that 'Warnock Has Long Used the Pulpit to Preach about Progressive Policies' and Has 'Used His Platform to Routinely Call for the Abolition of Capital Punishment.'" You got that? The guy who is the pastor preaching in the same pulpit where Martin Luther King preached is being criticized for talking about voting rights and social justice, the very things King fought for. Someone should ask Loeffler if she believes in what King preached. And capital punishment? First of all, the majority of people in Georgia oppose it. And so does the motherfucking Catholic Church. You know, the religion of Amy Coney Barrett, whose faith Loeffler jumped to defend?
This is genuinely irrational shit. And while, yes, a certain amount of this is the way politics works, there is something so Trumpian and insidious in insisting that the truth is the opposite of observable reality and that your weaknesses are actually your opponent's. Warnock isn't out of the mainstream and radical. That's Loeffler. By far.
On health care, Loeffler's campaign says, "Kelly will partner with the President to lower prescription drug prices, end surprise medical billing, and help put people ahead of the special interests." Nothing about getting insurance and health care to people. Actually, not much else beyond that sentence (which hasn't been updated to change the presumed president). Warnock's says, "Reverend Warnock is committed to expanding affordable access to health care in any way possible, including through a public option and early Medicare buy-in." He doesn't support Medicare-for-All, but Loeffler says, "Warnock Would Join Democrats To Support Medicare For All." (I want him to support that, but he's not that liberal.)
Raphael Warnock isn't even as radical as Tom Udall or Kamala Harris, both of whom support Medicare for All.
Loeffler is just a shitty Senator, a shitty candidate, and a shitty person fronting for a shitty party trying to maintain its opportunity to treat everyone shitty. Vote her the fuck out.
