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Brian Kemp Is Better at Politics Than You Are. The Georgia governor’s resounding victory over Stacey Abrams — and Donald Trump — confirms his political savvy.
National Review ^ | November 9, 2022 | Dominic Pino

Posted on 11/09/2022 7:29:42 AM PST by karpov

Brian Kemp is a winner. Though his margin of victory was large, his win was not inevitable.

Donald Trump made it a mission to defeat Kemp after he refused to play along with Trump’s stolen-election nonsense in 2020. He endorsed David Perdue, the former Georgia senator, in the Republican primary.

Going up against the former president, who remains the most prominent personality in the Republican Party, was no small task. But Kemp approached his reelection campaign intentionally and with considerable skill.

First step: Defeat Perdue. Already a known quantity statewide, Perdue could have defeated Kemp. Many other Republicans who faced the threat of running against a Trump-endorsed candidate in the primaries essentially conceded the race before it began or retired from politics altogether.

Not Kemp.

He was the incumbent governor. He had defeated Stacey Abrams in a close race in 2018 after being baselessly accused of “voter suppression” by the entire left wing of the country. He had assembled a solid conservative record. He cut taxes and oversaw extraordinary job growth (the state’s unemployment rate is below 3 percent). He signed a law banning abortion after a heartbeat is detected. He expanded school choice for Georgia K–12 students.

He stood up to the entire national media on Covid policy. When other governors were locking down and contemplating Covid passports, he was the first to let businesses and churches reopen and pushed to reopen schools. The Atlantic hyperventilated about “Georgia’s experiment in human sacrifice.” Georgia’s Covid death rate is middle-of-the-pack, nearly identical to New York and lower than New Jersey and Michigan, whose Democratic governors were objects of adoration for Kemp’s critics.

He stood up to the entire national media, corporate America, and the Democratic Party on Georgia’s voting law. “Easy to vote and hard to cheat” was his line

(Excerpt) Read more at nationalreview.com ...


TOPICS: Politics/Elections; US: Georgia
KEYWORDS: briankemp; bs; chicom; dominicpino; dominion; garbagerag; kemp; nevertrumper; rino; russiansonfr; thenationalspew
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To: lizma2

““What has Kemp done except enable and defend the Big Cheat?”

Maybe because he figured out how to cheat in Georgia?”

There.

You said it.

Exactly what I was thinking.

It would be kinda amusing if Abrams claims “cheating” again...and was correct both times.


21 posted on 11/09/2022 7:52:05 AM PST by cgbg (Claiming that laws and regs that limit “hate speech” stop freedom of speech is “hate speech”.)
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To: Skywise
I am not a fan of Kemp personally but he’s done OK by being aggressive on covid and recovery, minding kitchen table issues, addressing voting issues with the legislature, signing the heartbeat bill, etc.

Get over 2020 already. Trump lost by defeating himself. The GOP lost both senate seats because people sat at home during the runoff. Walker is the only Republican statewide who didn’t have an easy win yesterday (Kemp’s ground game mattered). He’s headed to a runoff and will likely lose as Republicans again stay home. He’s Trump’s candidate. I’ll do my part to get Warnock out but will others?

I suspect Kemp may have ambitions after his victory speech but I don’t know if he’s aiming at Ossoff’s senate seat or something else. He’s not as confrontational as DeSantis.

22 posted on 11/09/2022 7:53:09 AM PST by newzjunkey (Giant meteor 2022!!!)
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To: cowboyusa

“Kemp will campaign with Walker, that will help.”

For some reason that does not reassure me—one bit.

;-)


23 posted on 11/09/2022 7:53:17 AM PST by cgbg (Claiming that laws and regs that limit “hate speech” stop freedom of speech is “hate speech”.)
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To: karpov

Deifying zero-integrity RINOs.


24 posted on 11/09/2022 7:54:18 AM PST by one guy in new jersey
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To: newzjunkey

You need to spend some time number crunching the 2020 numbers.

The Democratic turnout was insanely impossible.

Look at it in all the key states and precincts and it will be obvious to you.


25 posted on 11/09/2022 7:54:36 AM PST by cgbg (Claiming that laws and regs that limit “hate speech” stop freedom of speech is “hate speech”.)
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To: robowombat

That and hubris......also sometimes it’s just better to just STHU once in a while. 😏


26 posted on 11/09/2022 7:56:15 AM PST by V_TWIN (America...so great even the people that hate it refuse to leave)
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To: wiseprince

Kemp didn’t even know covid was easily transmissible and had terrible advice early on. We didn’t lock down and there were probably preventable deaths because Georgians didn’t want to mask up. We probably had “excess deaths” but that was Georgians being Georgians. Kemp seemed a bit aggressive reopening the state but he was panicking over the economy. At this point it doesn’t matter, the state rebounded for the most part. But he isn’t as colorful as our neighbor to the south so gets little credit. Trump is letting his ego destroy his legacy and drag the movement down. He needs to step aside.


27 posted on 11/09/2022 7:58:31 AM PST by newzjunkey (Giant meteor 2022!!!)
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To: cgbg

“The Democratic turnout was insanely impossible”

When there’s more votes than voters it’s more than insane......it’s plain ol’ criminal......and nothing happened.


28 posted on 11/09/2022 7:58:37 AM PST by V_TWIN (America...so great even the people that hate it refuse to leave)
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To: Chgogal

Thanks for the reminder.

Trump, warts & all, has done more to energize the GOP than anyone since Reagan.

The factors controlling these election outcomes have nothing to do with him.


29 posted on 11/09/2022 7:59:08 AM PST by skeeter
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To: skeeter

Please pass it on…thank you.


30 posted on 11/09/2022 8:02:04 AM PST by Chgogal (Welcome to Fuhrer Biden's Weaponized Fascist Banana Republic! It's the road to hell.)
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To: FLT-bird; Travis McGee; Pelham

Nothing on our side could stop last night

Not trump or GOPe or neocons

It’s demographics and the liberalization of every generations from boomers down

Boomers are dying off in volume

Non white minorities are burgeoning

This the result

If whites outside the south voted like we do this wouldn’t happen

But it’s culture there

43-45% of whites in America are libs

Toss in 2/3 to 4/5 of minorities vote left

It’s insurmountable I fear

Since 2016 a ton of right voting white boomers died

And that’s only going to accelerate

Meanwhile dem voting minorities breed like rabbits

We warned folks here 20 years ago

Some of us were zotted for our Efforts

Where’s that red wave in the Rio Grande valley

Did I miss it?


31 posted on 11/09/2022 8:05:25 AM PST by wardaddy (Sound and Fury Republic now home to more than a few globalists who really love the mainstream media )
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To: Skywise
I’m done with this team rino crap.

Kemp and Rattenspewer BREEZE back into office - while Herschel Walker, Trump's guy, struggles.

TOTALLY not an engineered "outcome".

Anyone who believes this is a dupe.

32 posted on 11/09/2022 8:08:20 AM PST by kiryandil (China Joe and Paycheck Hunter - the Chink in America's defenses)
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To: newzjunkey

Not sure what’s destroying his legacy. Thr cluster of crap that has happened since he’s been gone enhances his legacy. I understand Trump’s anger regarding the steal and the fact that Kemp turned a blind eye and pretended nothing happened. The Repukes are in control of Georgia and they are going to keep throwing the Senate to the Rats until they get what they want.


33 posted on 11/09/2022 8:09:03 AM PST by wiseprince (Me,)
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To: karpov

I think much of what you say is true. I used to live in Georgia and liked Brian Kemp. However, I will always believe that his appointing Kelly Loeffler as US Senator instead of the obvious choice of Doug Collins opened the door for the Democrats and ultimately cost us control of the Senate.


34 posted on 11/09/2022 8:10:17 AM PST by doggieboy
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To: wardaddy
We warned folks here 20 years ago

Some of us were zotted for our Efforts

I remember that dust-up, which I stayed clear of at the time.

You were right, of course.

35 posted on 11/09/2022 8:11:40 AM PST by kiryandil (China Joe and Paycheck Hunter - the Chink in America's defenses)
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To: cowboyusa

“Kemp will campaign with Walker, that will help.”

Every single Republican in Georgia must vote in the runoff. This time everyone realizes that the balance in the Senate depends on Georgia.


36 posted on 11/09/2022 8:15:01 AM PST by Freee-dame
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To: wardaddy

Reportedly exit polls showed that 74% of Americans think that the country is heading in the wrong direction. I did not hear the reasons why the people thought it was heading in the wrong direction. Some people believe that is heading in the wrong direction because abortion is supposedly being outlawed. They did not vote for Republicans.


37 posted on 11/09/2022 8:19:31 AM PST by Freee-dame
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To: FLT-bird

I love Trump but I can’t spin this election as anything but a defeat for him.

But I’ll listen if you want to try.


38 posted on 11/09/2022 8:23:23 AM PST by SaxxonWoods (The only way to secure your own future is to create it yourself.)
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To: SaxxonWoods

Believe what you want. Trump wasn’t on anybody’s ballot though.


39 posted on 11/09/2022 8:26:43 AM PST by FLT-bird
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To: karpov
Kemp and LtGov Duncan worked behind the scenes to prevent the GOP legislature from enacting further election reforms in the last session. Kemp's floor leaders made clear "the governor will not permit any ballot security bills to pass" and used underhanded methods at the end of the session to prevent even discussing them. Kemp and Duncan even stripped Senator Burt Jones of his chairmanship of the Insurance and Labor Committee because Jones supported President Trump -- but fortunately Burt Jones just won the LtGov race and will be the new president of the senate.

As effective as Gov Kemp has been in many aspects, he is stubbornly dedicated to ballot drop boxes and his beloved Dominion machines. It is my experience that when a man does his enemy's bidding, somebody's got him by the short hairs. Somebody has something on Brian Kemp.

By the way, did anyone else find it curious that Stacey Abrams was uncharacteristically gracious towards Kemp in her prompt concession speech last night?

40 posted on 11/09/2022 8:30:37 AM PST by Always A Marine ("When you strike at a king, you must kill him" - Ralph Waldo Emerson)
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