His Pronouns are We/Us

The political grandstanding continues in the wake of the fallout from the indictment of former President Donald Trump and several alleged co-conspirators. As the Georgia Republican Party has turned its focus from raising money in preparation for conducting electioneering activities up and down the ballot in 2024 to raising money to help a millionaire, David Shafer, pay for his legal defense, MAGA/GRA activists and elected officials alike are pushing and shoving to see who can grandstand the most.

Enter State Senator Colton Moore (GRA-53).

Senator Moore was a bright spot for the Georgia Republican Assembly in an otherwise dismal 2022 midterm election cycle for GRA backed candidates. Moore won the seat being vacated by long-term State Senator Jeff Mullis in a strongly Republican, northwest Georgia district.

Before the ink was even dried on the indictment, Moore rushed out a letter to Governor Brian Kemp demanding a special session to impeach and remove from office Fulton County DA Fani Willis. Of course, Moore posted the letter to Kemp, and CC to Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, on his Facebook page just after 10:00 AM on the same day he dated the letter, which likely means Kemp was not the first person to read the letter addressed to him.

No shock, Moore includes a fundraising link for himself as well.

What’s curious about Moore’s letter is he was in such a rush to get out the letter that he failed to double check his citation to the legal authority he uses to call a special session (referred to by Moore as an “emergency session” in the letter). His citation is incorrect.

Moore cites the Georgia Constitution Art. IV, Section II, Paragraph VII(b) rather than Art. V, Section II, Paragraph VII(b). While typos do happen, when one is engaged in political grandstanding by publicly releasing letters to the Governor even before the Governor likely had time to read the letter, one should make sure to cite the section on how to call for a Special Session of the Georgia General Assembly rather than refer to the section of the Georgia Constitution on the Board of Pardon and Paroles (or was it just a Freudian slip given the legal circumstances?).

Moore also begins the letter, which includes only has his signature at the bottom, with, “We, the undersigned…”

“We”?

I’ve seen politicians who refer to themselves in the third person, Bob Dole having been well know for the practice, but that was still only in the singular. This may be a first for a politician being a “we”.

To meet the legal requirements for calling a Special Session, a “we” is critical, as it takes more than one member of the General Assembly to call for a Special Session. It takes three-fifths (3/5) or 60% of all members.

There are 180 members of the Georgia House and 56 members of the Senate. The minimum “we” is 108 members of the House and 34 Senators. Currently, there are 102 Republicans in the House and 33 Republicans in the Senate. I may be a lawyer with limited math skills, but even I know 102 is less than 108 and 33 is less than 34. While it may be within the realm of possibility for Moore to pull one, just one Democratic Senator over to call for a Special Session to impeach and remove Fani Willis, finding six Democratic House members to join all 102 Republicans is a more difficult proposition.

While Moore is young and many of his generation have been known to self-identify under various pronoun combinations, referring to oneself as a “we” still does not legally make one a “we.” Furthermore, even if the “we” is “me, myself, and I,” that number of individual members falls well short of the 142 members.

What’s more, what is the actual possibility of accomplishing the objective Moore is seeking?

Article III, Section VII, Paragraph II of the Georgia Constitution notes it takes two-thirds (2/3) vote of the Senate to convict and remove an impeached member of the Executive Branch. That would require thirty-seven (37) Senators or, to break it down, all Republicans and four (4) Democrats voting to convict Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis for what many sees as a purely political abuse of the criminal justice system on behalf of the Democratic Party.

I don’t see any possibility that four Democrats would join all Republicans to convict Willis. It’s just not going to happen. Even if Moore is joined by “myself and I”, he’s still a vote short!

If that is the case, then even if the requisite number is reached, or, alternatively, Governor Kemp calls for a Special Session, the likelihood of a successful outcome is nearly non-existent, like one out of a million.

The last time a Special Session was called that did not involve legislative redistricting was 2018 when outgoing Governor Nathan Deal called a Special Session to deal with relief in the aftermath of the devasting Hurricane Michael. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution at the time reported that a Special Session would cost Georgia taxpayers $40,000 a day. I would assume like everything else these past few years, that number would be significantly more in 2023.

One of the voices against calling a Special Session, especially when it was so close to the regular session convening in January, was then Senator, now Georgia Republican Party Chairman, Josh McKoon. McKoon told the AJC, “If this was truly about desperately needed financial help for a storm that happened Oct. 11 … why didn’t we meet the following week? If it’s not desperately needed, why not wait until Jan. 14” when the next regular session begins?”

DA Fani Willis has set the date of the trial for the beginning of March, which means when the General Assembly meets in January, it will have three months to consider a doomed to failure impeachment and removal before the trial starts.

There is, of course, another alternative…if the charges have no merit, let it play out.

On August 14, 2014, Texas Republican Governor Rick Perry was indicted by a Travis County grand jury for “abuse of official capacity,” a felony. The act that led to his indictment was the threatened veto of $7.5 million in funding for the Public Integrity Unit, and “coercion of a public official,” also a felony, for basing the veto on the refusal of Travis County DA Rosemary Lehmberg to resign after she was convicted of and incarcerated for DUI.

The Texas Supreme Court tossed out the charges, including ruling the “coercion” charge violated Perry’s right to free speech, which is eerily similar to several of Willis’s charges, and on April 6, 2016, Travis County dismissed the case. In June of 2015, while still under indictment, Rick Perry launched his campaign for President. Perry would go on to serve in the Trump administration as the U.S. Secretary of Energy from 2017-2019.

Rosemary Lehmberg left office in January 2017.

While Perry did use his own mugshot to raise money, as many, including President Trump, will likely do as well (David Shafer tweeted out his own mugshot this morning), grandstanding, like Moore is doing, does nothing to help destroy the Democrats’ narrative.

Last month, National Review highlighted four state Republican Parties that are on the verge of collapse: AZ, CO, MI, and MN.

Georgia got a (dis)honorable mention:

The Georgia GOP spent more in the first six months of 2023 than it paid out in all of 2022 to represent “alternate” Republican electors targeted amid Fulton County’s probe into whether Donald Trump and his allies committed crimes while trying to overturn his 2020 defeat.

Newly filed campaign disclosures show that the party paid out more than $520,000 in legal expenses in the first six months of 2023. That’s about 75% more than what was paid out in 2022 and five times what the party spent for legal expenses in 2021, according to disclosures.

More than $340,000 of that went to defend the fake electors who are possible targets in the Fulton County probe. Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis is expected to announce indictments in the case in August. It’s unclear whether any of the fake electors will face charges. . . .

The party raised $722,000 during the previous six months, through June 30, so a large chunk of what it took in went for legal expenses. It still listed having nearly $1.4 million banked.

Georgia Republicans may be temporarily saved by the fact that Brian Kemp and Kelly Loeffler have both stepped in to fill in the funding and grassroots gap left by a GAGOP that is so far off its mission that it is nearly irrelevant in Georgia politics, but it is not a long term strategy. When it comes to federal elections, there are still certain electioneering activities that ONLY the GAGOP (and the DPG for that matter) can do. That includes funding for the Presidential race in Georgia in 2024, and there is almost no path for a Republican to win the White House that does not include Georgia.

At a time where statesmanship is needed, we have a clown car full of wishful hopes, political scapegoating, and broken promises. Moore can’t deliver on what he is seeking, but he is willing to push out a fundraising piece full of bad citations and false hopes to win the approval of the GRA/MAGA crowd. I can’t think of anything more caricature of a politician than that.

What’s more, when there is not a Special Session or conviction, Moore will likely, as it is the GRA’s style, attack and undermine his fellow Republicans for being the adults in the room.

It’s all just more great leadership brought to you by the Georgia Republican Assembly (GRA).

P.S., if you catch any typos, let me know before for Governor reads this!