It is time to pick a fight…
I took my three month holiday on your dime. Before I left, I wrote about the plot hatched by the GRA to remove David Ralston with the help of Democrats.
Speaker Ralston passed yesterday. This doesn’t warrant a joke. His politics were what they were, but he took his role as Speaker seriously. Our state benefited immensely through three different governors for it.
Some will disagree about his legacy. That’s a fair disagreement. The GRA’s tone as of late has taken a turn to…for lack of better word, hatred…
As Proverbs 29:2 says, “When the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice: but when the wicked beareth rule, the people mourn.” Ralston’s sickness ought to be a warning to others who act as he does that God is just, and just as the Scriptures tell us that God providentially brought sickness upon King Asa and King Herod of old, God sometimes even today brings sickness upon His enemies to stop them from furthering harm.
GRA email, dated 11/15/22
Over the last 24 hours, we’ve received a tremendous amount of information about the likely author of the GRA’s content. It isn’t relevant. You do not answer hate with more hate. But, the litany of content, posts, and graphics sent over to us points to one undeniable truth:
The GRA is an organizational mess right now, and has been for some time.
Alex Johnson is the national president for RA organizations. Even with fewer than half of the states having an organized RA state group, Alex has his hands full. We congratulate him for it, but responsibilities are tough.
Brant Frost IV’s son is not known for organizational prowess. He generally finds it pretty difficult to motivate people to do his bidding. Let’s also not forget he was put on blast for willfully and openly breaking GRA convention rules as parliamentarian.
GRA has suffered widespread collateral damage, too. David Shafer is flailing as GAGOP chairman. He is wasting thousands of dollars on defending himself and the poor suckers he duped into being “alternate electors.” He is the perceived GRA mouthpiece in a very significant role. For all their talk of running the party better than the good ol’ boys before them, they look awfully similar to the good ol’ boys before them.
In that light, it doesn’t help when you call people Nazis and celebrate their illness.
So what, Grifter? Why does this all matter?
During leadership changes, you’d expect a transitioning body to have some instability. Georgia House Republicans, so long the ire of GRA, are no different. Some would argue that Ralston’s rule was dictatorial; others benevolent. Everyone knew he kept the caucus focused, though. Generally speaking, the GOP agenda moved forward.
Whether Speaker Burns will see the same success is unknown. We all hope he does. Yet, Speaker Burns is not Speaker Ralston, meaning that his leadership is always going to be wait and see. He doesn’t have a unifying vision right now, and very well might not have until he’s through his first session…
…except, he does have the GAGOP / GRA cabal.
The caucuses in both chambers need a reliable partner in the GAGOP. Right now, they don’t have it. Governor Kemp’s campaign papered over the failures of the state party. He built a well-oiled machine because he knew the party is unreliable. That doesn’t mean the problem went away, though. David Shafer is almost universally despised inside the Gold Dome.
There are tangible financial impacts to this. US postage rules allow the State Party, so long as they control the mail process, to use non-profit rates. Campaigns lost six-figures by not having a party that can send multi-candidate mail. That means fewer staff, less infrastructure, and no investments in growing the base.
Practical reasons aside, the GRA has crossed a line. It’s personal. It’s hurtful. The GRA doesn’t mourn his death. Fine, but flaunting that to the people that do is an abomination. Evil men are running the GRA right now. Their personal slights cut so deep it will be easy to unify disparate political groups.
“We act as good Christians do” is a unifying vision that Speaker Burns can rally the troops to immediately. It’s the foundation of alliances he can form. He can set a marker for what his vision for Georgia is without heavy lifting at the legislature. And, he has the perfect opportunity with the hundreds of thousands of new Republicans voters. They told us who they were when they voted in May.
Those voters want decency. Those voters want respect. Those voters want prosperity.
And there were about 600,000 of them across the state. Even rallying one-half of one-percent of those voters to engage the upcoming convention process would obliterate the GRA.
Now is the moment, Speaker Burns.
Now is the time to pick a fight.
