The legislative process worked when it came to passing Georgia’s voting law, and bipartisan ideas were included in the measure, but “outside fringes” on both sides are controlling the messaging on it, Georgia Lt. Gov. Geoff Duncan said Monday.
“The far-right somehow thinks that this is some sort of chess move in response to Donald Trump’s misinformation for ten weeks, and the left is screaming and hollering that this is, you know, some sort of massive voter suppression,” Duncan, a Republican, said on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe.”
“I think the real problem with this is the timing,” he added. “You know, the timing of this obviously something that has not sat well with folks on all sides of this issue. And certainly, that’s the price we’re paying right now.”
On one side, several Georgia-based companies, including Coca-Cola and Delta Airlines, along with companies across the nation, have spoken out against the law, and Major League Baseball has pulled its All-Star Game from Atlanta over it. In addition, President Joe Biden has slammed the law as being a repeat of the infamous Jim Crow laws that kept Black voters from casting ballots.
On the other side, former President Donald Trump has called for a boycott on MLB games while Republicans say the law enhances voting rather than limits it.
There is “no way not to point” to Trump’s objections to his loss to Biden when it comes to the new law, Duncan said, but he added that it was “cringeworthy” to hear Trump’s lawyer, Rudy Giuliani, show up in the State Senate and House and “listen to those conspiracy theories” that he was bringing forward.
“That really was the genesis and that’s where the messaging got set up,” said Duncan. “It’s unfortunate.”
Duncan also called on Republicans to quit rehashing the November 2020 election.
“I speak directly to Republicans,” he said. “The quicker we can stop talking about or relitigating that election and move on and turn the page to a GOP 2.0, that’s the best step forward for us.”
For that to happen, Republicans will have to work hard on a national movement, said Duncan.
“If we’re going to try to gain ground in the midterms and try to regain the White House in 2024, it’s got to start here and now,” said Duncan. “Georgia has found ourselves in the center of the spotlight, so I’ll definitely try to do all we can do to put it on display here. But GOP 2.0 isn’t a new party, it’s a better direction forward. It’s one of the things that doubles down on what we do well as Republicans.”
In Georgia, he added, 53.7% of Republicans voted for a GOP state senator, which “proves that folks were paying attention and didn’t like” Trump, “the candidate on the ballot.”
Meanwhile, Duncan said he may not agree with what the MLB did about its All-Star Game, but said that was their decision to make.
“I respect the owners and the players and the commissioner’s office for coming to what I’m sure was a tough decision,” said Duncan. “The people I really feel sorry for are the stadium workers. These are some tough decisions and certainly, I wish we were in a different place than we are right now. I’ll continue to put our best foot forward, continue to looking for high-paying quality jobs to come to Georgia. Continue to invite businesses to invest here in Georgia and invest in our future.”
Source: Newmax
