Once again, Georgia will either be the center of the political universe or at the least it will be one of half a dozen small theaters of combat. I don’t see how Donald Trump is going to win the state for two reasons: 1. Georgia is uber polarized at this point and 2. Trump goes out of his way to alienate Georgians. Brian Kemp is a popular governor. Trump has trashed both the governor and the First Lady of the state and that is suicidal, particularly three months out from Election Day. That’s the backstory that led to this debacle. Atlanta Journal-Constitution:
An altercation broke out at a recent Donald Trump campaign office opening in Valdosta when a conservative activist confronted a Republican state legislator who sponsored changes to the state’s election laws, according to interviews and a police report.
The scuffle took place near the end of the campaign’s office opening on July 29, an otherwise celebratory event that drew dozens of attendees and several Republican state legislators. No charges were filed, though authorities say the confrontation turned physical.
Oh, it turned physical, alright. It turned positively gross, with one man spitting in another man’s face. This is how politics has degenerated in the name of Trump, thy MAGA kingdom come, thy cult leader’s will be done, and if you won’t do it now and voluntarily, we’ll just beat the crap out of you.
State Rep. John LaHood, R-Valdosta, told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution that after he finished speaking he went to mingle with the crowd when activist Sam Carnline of Cairo confronted him with his concerns that a series of election-related measures weren’t strong enough.
Georgia’s election system has come under fire since Trump’s narrow 2020 defeat, and Carnline is among the activists who have pressed for paper ballots over the current voting system. Multiple investigations and recounts have confirmed the results of Trump’s loss, although he has continued to claim he was robbed.
LaHood said he engaged in a “passionate discussion” with Carnline, who wore a T-shirt advocating for paper ballots, until his wife walked up and they both decided to leave. At that point, authorities say the intensity escalated.
According to the Valdosta Police Department report obtained by the AJC, one of the attendees who intervened was Brandon Phillips, a veteran Republican operative who is now the top aide to U.S. Rep. Mike Collins of Jackson.
“Brandon Phillips got in the middle of the conversation because he didn’t like the questions he was asking,” the police wrote of Carnline. “Words were exchanged between he and Brandon, because he was upset that Brandon spit in his face.” […]
“I probably pointed at him and told him to get away from me. He immediately spit in my face. And at that point, I pushed him and shoved him as hard as I could,” Carnline said.
“He jumped back up. I cocked my fist back and was intending to hit him, but I might have just glanced his shoulder,” Carnline said. “Then people talked me down. But he deserved it.”
This is your GOP: fists flying, spitting, if this doesn’t take you back to grade school I don’t know what will. And this is after a convention where people like Mike Pence, Mitt Romney, Liz Cheney and Paul Ryan were conspicuous by their absence, despite being lifelong Republicans.
We have, for all intents and purposes here, three political parties: the Democrats, the Republicans and MAGA. In 2016 the Republicans and MAGA were as one, that’s why Trump won. Not so much in 2020, which is a main reason Trump lost, although not the only reason. Now the question becomes, when Trump loses in 2024, will he still be the standard bearer and run again in 2028, which is suicide? Because after Trump loses in 2024, he will become the only one-term president in history to have lost a presidential race twice. Or, will the party finally purge this poison from their system and move on and regroup?
We need two fully functioning political parties to have a democracy. Or, maybe the United States will go the way of some other countries and there will be more parties of lesser percentages. My instinct has always been that the GOP will finally crash and burn and then actual conservatives will rebuild a new conservative party. And I have no idea what will happen to MAGA. Without their cult leader, I don’t know what they’ll do.
Maybe Trump will have them drink the kool-aide after he loses in November. I say this only half facetiously. MAGA and Trump are both unhinged and there is no telling what they will do.
Their ‘policies’ are childish.
It’s no surprise their behavior is.
They all seem stuck at 12years of age.
I rarely am shocked by anything I read, but I have to say fisticuffs shocked me. And spitting.
12 years? You give them too much credit. I’d say more like 7.
I hate to sound like Mark Twain or Groucho Marx, but 12 year olds might object to that!
But I agree with you wholeheartedly!
When grown men, politicians, can’t solve differences without hitting each other with their fists, we have moved closer to the cave.
Madness generates it’s own logic.
At least, guns weren’t involved. Georgia law currently allows “any ‘lawful weapons carrier’ to carry handguns openly or concealed in most public spaces without any background check or permit required.”
Also (per Everytown): “Though Georgia repealed its Citizen’s Arrest law in 2021, the state still has a dangerous Shoot First law that allows a person to kill another in a public area, even when they can safely walk away from the danger.”
I guess no one had a gun handy because they figured they were all going to be in “friendly” territory. I wouldn’t be the least bit surprised to see THAT idea changing soon.
Look, Republicans shooting Republicans would not be surprising. The young guy who took a shot at Trump was a registered Republican. And let’s face it, most real Republicans, to wit, the Cheneys, John Bolton, Mitt Romney, Paul Ryan, Geoff Duncan, I could go on, hate Trump and have made no bones about that.
Trump effectively killed the GOP by being the pied piper for the deranged fringe elements. He’s the reason we have people like Marge Greene, Bobo, that whole lot of imbeciles.
the split is happening, Abbott and Patrick and Paxton primaried moderate Republicans. how many Republican voters will support Democrats or just won’t vote this November
I didn’t know that about Texas. Well, fine. Let the lifelong Republicans sit this one out. Although I would infinitely prefer they vote for Harris/Walz, but if they don’t vote at all, less for Trumpty.
This is August Trump kind will have forgotten about this by November. When Fat Donnie loses,,they will.blame Kemp and Raffensburger.
I lived in GA,for 12 years. The ignorance of these bozo Trump supporters cannot be overstated.They really are that stupid.
Anybody who would vote for Marge Greene is a bona fide imbecile.
Have you forgotten? If Trump loses this election he may end up in jail.