Who Wants to Drive a Yugo?

Ever take a test drive in a Tesla? I don’t mean driving your friend’s car down the road, but actually taking a test drive from the showroom floor. There is a moment when the salesman drops the hammer – they call it the launch – and it’s the moment the potential buyer says “Holy moly, I gotta have this…” Sure, the big computer screen is nice, but that doesn’t make the car go fast. It’s quiet and powerful.

Now, take a moment and imagine a Yugo, consistently regarded as one of the worst built cars in history. Produced during the 80s and 90s in the former Yugoslavia, American capitalists imported the low budget cars for low budget people. Shoddy engineering, combined with a disposable mindset in the hey day of coke binges and bright neon colors, led to failure.

Keep the vehicle metaphor in mind.

With the announcement (on official party channels, mind you) that Shafer will not be seeking re-election, and that he’s sufficiently groomed former State Senator Josh McKoon to take over, the race is on for Chairman. Knives have been out for Brant Frost IV’s son for some time now. There are rumblings of turnover in other positions. Backchannel threats of taking people behind a woodshed are rife. Right now, the GAGOP is a jalopy of a clown car. It’s a poorly built Yugo that can’t fit ego or ambition.

David Shafer ran the party into the ground. While article after article has highlighted the party’s demise, it’s worth noting over 81% of the funds the party raised were from qualifying fees, the RNC, and “institutional donors” – people that functionally need the GAGOP to exist just to be able to execute national objectives. The list of small dollar donors and Georgia grassroots support is stagnant. The campaigns all but wrote off the need for a functioning state party. The institution is largely dead.

Not only that, we don’t really get much in the way of an actual vision for how Georgians’ lives will be changed with new party leadership. The former State Senator lost to the current SOS in 2018; he didn’t even make the runoff in a Statewide race. Keep in mind, the party also censured Raffensberger, so the people that don’t like him also had absolutely no influence on his electoral prospects four years later. If the argument is “Well, he had more money,” well…how will you beat the Democrats?

We have well-meaning alternatives…but, okay? Do we really believe that increase turnout 1.5% in 50-some odd counties is a sustained path to victory? Do most Georgians care to know what our State party’s budget is? It’s basically the equivalent of saying we can drive this car another 5,000 miles without an oil change because the ol’ gal’s got it in her.

Everyday Georgians want the launch. They want to see a car the encourages them to get in, but they also want to be thrilled when the pedal is put to the metal. The Kemp campaign did that, as well as the other statewide races outside of the Walker campaign. Rumor is the General Assembly leadership is willing to make the necessary investments of time, energy, and money to protect their majorities. None of the them even consider for one moment they want anyone from the GAGOP in the driver’s seat.

The Honorable Former State Representative Turned Lobbyist Promoted to Editor-in-Chief Before Becoming Owner of Peach Pundit sounded almost excited about the test drive for Chair. I mean, he gets out of the legislature, starts being happy, and apparently enjoys politics again. However, he drives a nice Ford Bronco. Well built. Long lasting. Very comfortable.

To me, it just looks like a group of people trying to sell us a Jaguar that is really a Mercury with a Thundercat taped to the hood. I guess that’s better than a Yugo, but it still makes me want to just take a walk.