Brambleman

In Georgia Senate Race, Raphael Warnock is up and Matt Lieberman is down

Above: Rev. Raphael Warnock returns to his Savannah roots in new television ad Warnock looks to break from pack with ad campaign By Jonathan Grant @Brambleman Progressives worrying about Georgia Senate candidate Raphael Warnock’s absence from the airwaves can relax. His first ad, “Grew Up,” went up today, and like his original announcement video, it highlights his humble beginnings in Savannah’s Kayton Homes and rise to prominence in the pulpit of Atlanta’s famed Ebenezer Baptist Church, where Dr. Marin Luther King Jr. and his father both served as pastors. Among Democrats in the crowded field to fill out the remainder of Johnny Isakson’s term, Warnock has a big fundraising advantages and has received endorsements from prominent Dems, including former gubernatorial candidate Stacey…

Georgia Rep. Tommy Benton is a Lost Cause. Will Jackson County voters say “Enough’s enough?”

Above: State Rep. Tommy Benton shares his thoughts about the late Rep. John Lewis Part 1: “You can’t fix stupid” By Jonathan Grant @Brambleman Last week was not a good one for Georgia Republicans. Gov. Brian Kemp continued his stumble through a Covid-induced haze, and his plan for a special legislative session got pushback from the Lieutenant Governor and Speaker of the House. The party’s image took a blow when crazy-talkin’ Qanon supporter/purveyor Marjorie Taylor Greene won the party’s 14th Congressional District runoff in a landslide. New polls show tight races for presidenta and senator, confirming Georgia’s status as a swing state. To top it off (or bottom it out), unreconstructed State Rep. Tommy Benton burst back onto the public stage and…

Senate hopeful Matt Lieberman’s imaginary slave problem is real

Above: Still shot from Disney’s Song of the South (1946), a racially problematic movie removed from the marketplace due to stereotypical depictions of African-Americans and romantic depiction of plantation life. Like the movie’s Uncle Remus, Matthew Lieberman’s Lucius is a so-called “Magical Negro” who can communicate with animals. The slave is imaginary. The problem is real. By Jonathan Grant @Brambleman In 2018, Democratic Senate candidate Matt Lieberman self-published a novel. It was little noticed until late last week, when Huffpost ran an article calling Lucius “deeply bizarre” and “filled with racist tropes.” The negative publicity has increased calls for Lieberman, widely considered a spoiler candidate, to drop out of the the race in favor of the party establishment’s preferred candidate, Raphael Warnock.…

Newnan police get played: “book burning” a bust

Publicizing political smears should be beneath the dignity of a professional law enforcement agency By Jonathan Grant @Brambleman I wouldn’t be writing this post if the Newnan Police Department hadn’t decided for some reason to publicize the “event” depicted above: “Book Burning Event, sponsored by Democrats for Social Change, ANTIFA, and B.L.M. Philosophy, history, poetry, theology, etc. all will burn this Saturday, 6 p.m. at the courthouse. BYOB.” Poetry? A moment’s scrutiny should have told the Coweta city’s finest that this was an act of malicious mischief. And the odds it was the work of a right-wing troll are approximately 100 percent. There’s another photo of the sign below, showing an older white man practicing his golf stroke as he babysits the…

Three more precincts added to change list: The latest on DeKalb emergency polling place changes and drop boxes. Absentee ballots must be in drop boxes by 7 p.m. Tuesday June 9

The latest: Briarcliff, Gresham Road, Bouldercrest, North Decatur, Ponce de Leon, Rock Chapel, Scott, and Silver Lake precincts have been added to the list of changes. June 9 voters in 26 precincts will have to cast ballots in 23 new locations. Drop boxes have been installed in Dunwoody and Stone Mountain. Seven in all, now. DeKalb emergency precinct shifts for June 9 For more details, scroll down to bottom of post to read pdf of changes Ashford Parkside precinct voters will shift to Montgomery Elementarry School; Bouldercrest precinct voters will shift to Obama Elementary School; Briarcliff precinct voters will shift to Sagamore Hills Elementary School; Clairemont East precinct voters will shift to Decatur Recration Department; Coralwood precinct voters will shift to Briarlake…

Election Eve: Here’s the latest list of DeKalb polling place changes and drop box locations. Absentee ballots must be in drop boxes by 7 p.m. Tuesday June 9

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Georgia politics, history, and other stuff