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Bookman: Brian Kemp’s brand of Republican no longer plays on national stage
Time and again on the campaign trail, Gov. Brian Kemp has made it clear that he sees his mission as two-fold, “to make sure Stacey Abrams ain’t gonna be our governor — or the next president.” It’s an effective bit of rhetoric, testament to the Republicans’ strategy of treating Abrams not as another state-level politician […]
Bookman: Top Republicans embrace Marjorie Taylor Greene’s violent rhetoric
In a recent campaign video, U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, Republican from Georgia, likened Democrats to destructive feral hogs allowed to range free and destroy the American countryside. But Marjorie had a solution: As the camera followed her, she grabbed a rifle and climbed aboard a waiting helicopter, where she tracked down and shot a […]
Bookman: How much is too much for Herschel Walker’s ‘family-values’ voters?
You can tell Herschel Walker was raised right. After all, only a gentleman would think to send a “Get well” card – hand-signed, from #34! — to the girlfriend whose abortion he had just financed. That’s classy, or as close to classy as you’re going to find in this mess. It is not classy to […]
Bookman: National politics, career arcs explain why Kemp polls ahead of Abrams
I follow polls. I study polls. I look to polls for insight into how people outside my immediate circle might be thinking about things. But no, I do not trust polls. If you trust something you put faith in it. Trust implies a readiness to make decisions based on what those polls tell you, and […]
Bookman: Fulton DA builds 2020 election conspiracy story from bottom to top
I don’t think Georgia is prepared for what’s coming its way. I don’t know how it could be, not with the most important and controversial trial in American history looming in its not-too-distant future. Now, maybe that trial will never happen. After months of investigative work into an alleged criminal conspiracy to interfere with and […]
Bookman: Sometimes, it’s not about the money. Take Music Midtown, for instance.
“The cancellation of Music Midtown will cost Georgia’s economy $50 million,” says Stacey Abrams, the Democratic candidate for governor. “It’s shameful, but not surprising, that the governor cares more about protecting dangerous people carrying guns in public than saving jobs and keeping business in Georgia.” On the issue itself, Abrams is right. It’s a scandal […]
Bookman: No guts no glory if Herschel weasels out of Warnock debate
Back in the primary, Herschel Walker wanted nothing to do with a debate against his Republican opponents, but at least he had a lame excuse of an excuse. With polls showing Walker with an insurmountable lead among Republicans, he could shrug off calls for a debate on the grounds that none of his opponents had […]
Bookman: Georgia GOP puts Herschel Walker in bad position
The nomination of Herschel Walker to be U.S. senator was an act of cynical disrespect, not just to the important office that he seeks, but also to Walker’s legacy and to Herschel Walker the person. In sports terms, a coach who cares about his players will put them in a situation where they are most […]
Bookman: Mark Meadows could come to regret acquiescence to Trump coup attempt
For two hours Tuesday, former Trump White House aide Cassidy Hutchinson calmly, matter-of-factly testified to the commission of high crimes by the former president and by many of those around him. She told her fellow Americans that Trump had been informed on the morning of Jan. 6 that the mob assembled by his command had […]
Bookman: Why wait till next session to pass an outright abortion ban in Georgia?
I have a question for Gov. Brian Kemp: When’s the special session? Last week’s monumental ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court overturning Roe v. Wade has swung the gates wide open to Georgia’s conservative governing party, giving Republicans permission to enact the anti-abortion legislation that they claim to have always wanted. I have no doubt […]
Bookman: Evidence builds that Trump knew he lost, so attempted coup was criminal
We can’t know what’s happening inside the secret, special-purpose grand jury convened at the Fulton County Courthouse in Atlanta. We can’t hear the sworn testimony being given about Donald Trump’s multiple efforts to overturn the 2020 elections here in Georgia; we can’t read the documents being subpoenaed; we can’t know what revelations the investigation might […]
Bookman: Responsible gun owners know it’s nuts to permit firearms that scare police
Last week an untrained 18-year-old kid, armed with an AR-15 and multiple high-capacity magazines, intimidated an entire police force into doing nothing while he slaughtered their town’s helpless schoolchildren. For more than an hour, while kids frantically texted and called 911 begging to be rescued, the “good guys” did nothing. They did nothing because they […]