If not for Charlottesville, the big political story this week — locally, anyway — would have been the self-immolation of Georgia’s Democratic Party.
By now, you’ve probably heard the story. Way-left activists from across America were in Atlanta this past weekend for the annual Netroots Nation gathering. Both of Georgia’s Democratic contenders for governor in 2018 were given the stage to speak. Only one was allowed to be heard.
Protesters holding signs that read “Trust black women” and leading a chant of “Support black women” interrupted the entirety of a speech Saturday by state Rep. Stacey Evans, a white Democrat from Smyrna. Her opponent, Rep. Stacey Abrams, is a black Democrat from Atlanta. The message was clear.
Hours later, Abrams refused to criticize the antics, calling it a “peaceful protest.” Two days later, on Monday, she issued a lengthier but equally toothless statement. The implication of all this, that race will haunt the primary, remains the same.
So far, Abrams has taken the questionable approach of trying to run well to the left not only of Evans, but arguably of any first-tier Georgia Democrat running statewide in at least a decade, even though there is hardly any evidence Georgia’s electorate has shifted to the left. Yes, Democrats who ran as centrists (Jason Carter, Michelle Nunn, Jon Ossoff) have not moved the needle for the party at the ballot box. But that’s probably because most Georgia voters didn’t believe their centrist rhetoric, or because they prefer conservative candidates, and not because they wanted an unapologetic man or woman of the left.
Either way, that’s for Abrams to decide, and I won’t sweat it if she’s the nominee and gets crushed in the general. Maybe MSNBC will be hiring. More noteworthy, and alarming for our state, is her apparent approval of the protesters’ linking ideology to race.
Abrams’ statement indicates the protesters were really just upset about Evans’ record on education policy. If so, why didn’t their signs and chants reflect that? Instead of “trust black women,” why didn’t they say Evans hates public schools, or some such? As someone who has been knee-deep in those same education debates, I am all too aware that leftists know perfectly well how to accuse, even (or especially) falsely, their opponents of hating public schools. Yet, most of their signs and chants were not about education. They were predominantly about race. (One of the few signs about education mentioned “vouchers,” a policy that as far as I can recall has not come up for a vote in the House since Evans was elected.)
While some Georgia Republicans may be tempted to sit back, pass the popcorn and watch Democrats tear one another apart, that’s short-sighted. The left already, and increasingly, applies this kind of “logic” — that only certain types of people can speak truth, or even deserve to be heard — to conservatives. Think of the temper tantrums we’ve seen on some college campuses over the past several months when conservative authors and academics were invited to speak, including attempts to shout down speakers and physically block others from attending their remarks. (As an aside, I’m confused: If “speech is violence,” as some progressivists claim, then how exactly is using one’s voice to silence another — on a college campus or during Evans’ speech — a “peaceful protest”?)
That this “logic” is now being turned on other progressivists is not satisfyingly ironic. It’s a disturbing sign of how deeply this strain of political virus runs on the left. This is not a mere tactic; it’s an ideology unto itself. And the spread of it within Democrats’ ranks, as opposed to being used only against Republicans, may be less a sign of opportunism than of even more fanatical belief in it. That won’t simply disappear after a primary. On the contrary — especially if, as is expected at this point, Abrams wins the nomination.
On a personal note, I’ve known Stacey (Godfrey) Evans since our college days at UGA. She and I agree on a few things political and disagree about many more, but I know nothing about her that would call into question the content of her character.
And here I thought that was what mattered.
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