Republicans openly embrace their racism in Trump's absence

[Nevilledog]

Link to tweet

Tweet text:
Amanda Marcotte
@AmandaMarcotte
The visuals in Georgia reminiscient of the 60s are no accident. Republicans are leaning hard into overt racism now, since that's what their voters want. In Tennessee Republicans are fighting super hard to continue to honor the literal KKK.

Republicans openly embrace their racism in Trump's absence
Following Trump's lead, Republicans in Georgia and Tennessee make their racism more blatant
salon.com
10:19 AM · Mar 26, 2021

https://www.salon.com/2021/03/26/republicans-openly-embrace-their-racism-in-trumps-absence/

Republican Gov. Brian Kemp has one word for how he felt signing a new law aimed at making it significantly harder for people — especially people of color and people living in urban neighborhoods — to vote in Georgia: "Proud."

"I was proud to sign S.B. 202 to ensure elections in Georgia are secure, fair, and accessible. I appreciate the hard work of members of the General Assembly to make it easy to vote and hard to cheat," Kemp tweeted on Thursday, sending out a photo that drew immediate comparisons to an infamously repugnant 1960s era Alabama governor.

There is, of course, no evidence of voters cheating in Georgia elections, or that the new law — which imposes onerous restrictions on voting, makes it easier to challenge the eligibility of voters, and opens the door to GOP takeovers of election boards — in any way addresses fraud. The law does ban handing out water to people waiting in line to vote, however. Of course, that's not about preventing cheating but making sure voters are physically unable to handle the long lines in certain neighborhoods that were created by previous assaults on voting access. "Cheating" — like "fraud" — is one of those Trumpian code words to smear Black voters and imply there's something inherently illegitimate about people of color having the franchise.

While Kemp would undoubtedly deny the racist intent of the law if asked outright, the visuals behind his signing photo were unmistakeable. As journalist Jill Filipovic pointed out on Twitter, "a photo of all white men signing a bill that cements their political power by disenfranchising Black voters" is "not a gaffe," but "a deliberate message." In case anyone was missing the message, another set of visuals drove it home: State Rep. Park Cannon, a Black Democrat, being arrested for asking to attend the signing ceremony.

*snip*

[Baked Potato]

1. Republicans: "Please ignore we are screwing you--Remember our Hate Alliance"

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

2. To them it was a feature not a bug.

[Midnight Writer]

3. As I have often said, we don't have a Trump problem. We have a Republican problem.

[thx64536]

4. You can't have a Hitler without the 1930's German people

The way you become a leader is find a parade and step in front of it.