GA-Sen B: HuffPost, “Matt Lieberman (D) Wrote A Book Filled With Racist Tropes”
Huffington Post has a piece out about how U.S. Senate candidate, Matt Lieberman (D. GA), self published a book he wrote in 2018 called “Lucius” which is about an old man who believes he owned a slave for all for most of his adult life and how the slave could communicate with animals and plants. Sounds pretty bizarre, right? Well, it gets worse:
The main character, an elderly white southern man named Benno, regularly deploys the N-word and says some members of the Ku Klux Klan were “basically good people.” The 213-page novel, in which the racist main character tells the story of his life to a narrator with a biography similar to Lieberman’s, ultimately suggests Lucius functioned as a sort of pet for Benno.“I know my approach to this delicate subject is not palatable for every reader,” Lieberman wrote in a statement. “I expected some readers to react with disgust.”On that front, Lieberman was right. James Woodall, the president of the state NAACP chapter, told HuffPost in a phone interview the book contained “racist tropes.” He said Lieberman should drop out of the Senate race.
Whatever Lieberman’s intention was with this book, it’s not a good look for him. Honestly, he shouldn’t still be in this race. If anything, his candidacy might hold back Rev. Raphael Warnock’s (D. GA) chances of winning this jungle primary race:
Georgia is rapidly trending from red to purple, thanks to its fast-growing Atlanta metro area, presenting a prime opportunity for Democrats.
Not only are both presidential candidates investing in the state, but Democrats are making a play to unseat Sen. David Perdue in Georgia's other US Senate election, where Jon Ossoff is the Democratic nominee, and looking to flip the open seat in Georgia's 7th congressional district.
But because of the dynamics of the special jungle election, the Democrats in the race all risk the possibility of being locked out altogether from the field if Loeffler and Collins secure the top two spots.
FYI:
Loeffler, who co-owns the Atlanta Dream, has spoken out against the Black Lives Matter movement and opposed efforts by the league to honor it.
In an extraordinary show of public protest, players from five teams—including the Dream—wore “Vote Warnock” T-shirts Tuesday.In the last 48 hours, Warnock’s campaign said it gained 3,500 new donors and raised $183,000, though as of June 30, Loeffler had brought in four times more cash than Warnock overall, according to OpenSecrets.
By the way, things are getting heated on Team Red:
A pro-Kelly Loeffler PAC backed by allies of Gov. Brian Kemp has reserved another $5 million worth of TV and radio ads through the end of September to bolster her U.S. Senate bid.
That’s on top of the $1.5 million that the Georgia United Victory fund is already spending the first two weeks of August to help her fend off a November challenge from fellow Republican U.S. Rep. Doug Collins.
The congressman’s campaign compared Loeffler’s spending to a notorious Ponzi scheme.
Also, this:
U.S. Rep. Doug Collins hasn’t shied away from his long friendship with Democrat Stacey Abrams. Now their warm relationship is at the center of U.S. Sen. Kelly Loeffler’s latest attack ad.
The Republican, a wealthy former financial executive self-financing her bid for office, launched the ad Thursday as part of a $15 million volley of ads her campaign has so far spent or reserved on airtime this cycle.
The ad opens with an image of Collins chatting with Abrams, the 2018 gubernatorial nominee vilified by some conservatives, and asserts the two worked together to “raise taxes.” It later flashes a photo of the two smiling politicians, who served together in the state Legislature, outside the Georgia House chamber.
Georgia:
