Kemp wants guns everywhere and the Georgia GOP's culture wars of 2022 strategy
The 2022 election season is here
Welcome to my freemium newsletter by me, King Williams. A documentary filmmaker, journalist, podcast host, and author based in Atlanta, Georgia. This is a newsletter covering the hidden connections of Atlanta to everything else.
we fight on that lie - Slim Charles, The Wire
One year ago today.
One year ago today, Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock made history by going 2-for-2, winning both seats for the Democrats nationwide.
Since that time, Georgia, like many other GOP-led state legislatures, has decided the 2020 election and its runoff never happen again. A historic trend of white aggrievement politics, often occurring directly after a contentious election dates back to the Reconstruction era. History doesn’t repeat itself but it does rhyme, the GOP is taking their legislatures back. And using an old trope, white fear plus the ever-popular misinformation tactics, and boogeyman politics to do so.
1. The Georgia Republican Party is about to go into full-on culture wars in 2022
Echoing a statement by House Speaker David Ralston (R-Blue Ridge) in the summer of 2021, the Georgia GOP will be going into full-on culture wars in both the upcoming legislative session and on the campaign trail. The state GOP is already lining up a series of red herrings and wedge issues to define themselves against their Democratic counterparts on the campaign trail. The state GOP is already gearing up to attack critical race theory, ‘Atlanta crime’, Buckhead secession, anti-vax/mask mandates, and now gun control. In doing so, the GOP is ensuring their base plus would-be swing voters have enough to be angry at Democrats for or scared of Democrat control, to potentially win.
Constitutional carry is coming to Georgia
On the anniversary of one of the most monumental elections in Georgia’s history, the election of its first-ever Black Senator in Reverend Raphael Warnock, and its first Jewish Senator in Jon Ossoff, Governor Brian Kemp decided to announce that he would pursue constitutional carry.
Constitutional carry, (also called permitless carry) is a controversial opinion that anyone who’s a citizen should have the right to carry a firearm, anywhere, concealed or unconcealed, with or without a permit. But has been embraced for years by far-right members, gun supporters, the NRA, and now the national GOP, via various state legislatures over the last decade.
It’s expected that the Georgia Republican Party will be putting forth a new state law that will effectively give every Georgian a right to possess a firearm without any permits, concealed or unconcealed whatsoever. Joining states such as Tennessee and Texas which have already passed similar bills. The move is a win-win for Kemp.
Where did constitutional carry come from?
Constitutional carry grew out of resentment of then-new gun registration laws beginning in the 1970s but grew in full swing since the year 2000 and has grown in prominence. But has been embraced for years by far-right members, gun supporters, the NRA, and now the national GOP, via various state legislatures over the last decade. Constitutional carry gained more national prominence in the 2000s by several Republican-led state legislatures and special gun control groups. The state of Georgia is actually one of the first to implement a permitting type of system. Back in 1976 state legislator (and future Governor), Zell Miller instituted what is known as arguably the first modern gun permitting system.
District of Columbia v. Heller
District of Columbia v. Heller refers to a 2008 Supreme Court case regarding gun control. In that decision, D.C. vs Heller has since been used as a touching point for ending or greatly reducing the role of gun control laws everywhere.
In that case, a challenge was made to a longstanding law The Firearms Control Regulations Act of 1975. A law that was passed due to the rise in urban violence and handguns in D.C. That law banned D.C. residents with the exception of police, alongside some special provisions for certain individuals (Capitol Police), branches of government (FBI), and the armed services (National Guard), etc, from having a gun in the city. As a result, this aided in the crackdown on urban violence.
D.C. vs Heller also struck down effective anti-urban violence programs
D.C like so many other cities in the 1970s that were experiencing an uptick in violence was often one where African American majorities emerged. As a result of the riots of the 1960s including the big one in 1968, the largest period of white flight in the US ensued in the late 1960s, continuing through the 1970s, as a result, its subsequent urban blight, led to a rise in handgun-related shootings. Cities from the 1970s to the 1990s across the country all passed similar anti-gun laws in combination with massive gun control efforts that would greatly reduce crime by the 1990s. But since the 2008 D.C. vs Heller decision over 1,400 Second Amendment challenges (as of November 2021) have been decided regarding the role of gun control initiatives in the US.
Gun control and gun rights are red vs blue in a different form
By Kemp going early into the gun control debate he: A) keeps his name in the press, B) keeps his name in the mouths of his detractors, C) moves further to the right than his GOP challenger, David Perdue, and D) gets support from gun owners across the aisle.
This screenshot of the IG story of Atlanta rapper Killer Mike offers a simplistic take but the one that’s gonna be prevalent throughout the 2022 Governors race against Stacey Abrams. Kemp also is moving further to the right, echoing a larger sentiment of GOP/Conservatives who view gun control or the lack thereof as the only issue. This overlaps with greater support from the GOP/Conservatives on allowing firearms in more public places, concealed or not.
Kemp’s team also assessed properly that while this does not track well the Democrats or black voters, it does with white voters. Who now are aided by a continued feedback loop of anger via culture war strategies. Strategies of a fearful rise in crime permitted by Democrat-run cities and committed by young black men. It’s unfortunate that this is what it’s come to you, but it is an effective strategy for winning votes. And would-be supporters of Kemp now have even more reason to support the governor in reelection.
2. In 2022, the Empire Strikes Back
The 2022 Georgia elections will be the talk of US politics for the next 12 months. The Peach State on November 8th, 2022, will be the Super Bowl of electoral politics. And for Republicans, Georgia is a litmus test on the future of the GOP, with its current success of anti-mask, pro-school openings, pro-voter suppression tactics, and culture wars about to be put to the test.
In 2022, we have:
A Brian Kemp (R) vs Stacey Abrams (D) sequel for the Governor’s mansion
A sequel of 2018’s Attorney General race in Chris Carr (R) versus returning challenger Charlie Bailey (D), plus a new challenger in current State Senator Jenn Jordan (D).
Secretary of State Brad Rafensperger (R) vs Bee Nguyen (D) as well as 2020 big lie supporter Jody Hice (R).
US Senator Raphael Warnock (D) vs the field for a 6-year US Senate seat
US Congresswoman Majorie Taylor Greene vs every Democrat in District 14
Public Service Commissioner’s Race
Buckhead Cityhood
And maybe cityhood in The City of DeKalb, as well as three in Cobb
The 2022 election is being even more favored for the Republicans
This upcoming election will see the state Dems needing to win at least one, but realistically both chambers of the state House to be effective-it’s very unlikely. Despite it being heavily drawn to favor Republicans, leaving the Dems to focus on winning all the top four seats, Governor, Lt. Governor, Attorney General, and Secretary of State. Plus retaining Warnock’s seat in the US Senate and maybe winning the few swing district statewide races.
The GOP is running on culture, they are changing laws based on lies
What this means is a coordinated effort to draw support angering their base against Democratic opposition. With a strategy based on culture versus substance, using the strategy of Virginia, which saw a full sweep of the top 3 positions of the state using this strategy.
3. David Perdue launched his gubernatorial campaign by kicking out reporters
And his official launch event, former Georgia US Senator David Perdue’s campaign kicked out the local press. Local Macon-area reporter Ashton Webb tweeted about the event after initially being invited from WMAZ 13 News.
Perdue since his loss to Jon Ossoff, exactly one day ago, has been rumored to be attempting to return to Georgia politics. Perdue was asked in a letter by several prominent state-level members of the Georgia GOP to not run against governor Kemp in the primary. Perdue is one of several candidates who embrace either Trumpism, the big lie, or both. In the case of Perdue, the Georgia GOP is concerned his presence could derail the party in a very tight race against Stacey Abrams.
Perdue is also the cousin of former Georgia Governor and US Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue. Sonny Perdue is also someone who may become the head of the Georgia education system next year.
4. The Buckhead cityhood leader retweets nationalist site
Bill White, the leader and chief fundraiser of the Buckhead cityhood movement, has apologized for retweeting from a white nationalist group. VDARE, a well-known white nationalist group tweeted out another non-contextual statement that crime is going up and cities that are controlled by both Blacks and Democrats. A common trope of white supremacy that is now a part of the repertoire for general GOP stances.
The statements of Bill White have been further aided by right-leaning programs, since the summer of 2020 by Fox News personalities such as Tucker Carlson, to whom the issue of Buckhead Cityhood has appeared on his show before. Carlson’s tv show, its overt ties to white nationalist points, has been one of the biggest factors in white radicalization and hyper-partisanship.
In what has been a rather misstep, Bill White, like Kemp and Co, are firing on all cylinders. It’s going to be interesting to see what strategy the Dems use to counter.