With the run-off election for both Senate seats from Georgia under way I want to draw attention to the two Republican candidates. David Perdue used a campaign rally with President Trump in the run-up to the general election to ingratiate himself with Trump and the crowd by mocking the name of the Democratic vice-presidential candidate, Kamala Harris. Everyone knows the difference between genuine mispronunciation of a foreign name and deliberate mockery - everyone at that event certainly did - and they clearly appreciated Mr. Perdue's taunts. It was reminiscent of Virginia Republican senator, George Allen's use of the slur "macaca" to call out a reporter of color during a speech when he was campaigning for Governor in 2006. Allen's run for governor fizzled after that; this was before overt racism became a feature of the Republican Party under Trump. And Georgians at large appeared not to appreciate Perdue's taunt. He failed to get 50% of the vote and Trump lost Georgia outright. In a similar display of insensitivity to the opinions of a large segment of the electorate, Kelly Loeffler has made her opposition to the Black Lives Matter movement quite clear. Players on the Atlanta Dream WNBA team owned by Loeffler have made their displeasure with her equally clear. Many but not all of them are women of color. Both Georgia senators are also implicated in stock-trading on the basis of privileged information available to members of Congress but not to the public. There is a word for the behavior of Perdue and Loeffler and it is "deplorable". Remember Hillary Clinton's use of the word in the 2016 election? Her mistake was using it to describe Trump voters. The word perfectly fits Trump, and a sizable majority of Americans clearly agreed. It also fits Perdue and Loeffler. No doubt there are deplorable individuals all over the political spectrum. And Republicans have no difficulty in identifying and denouncing such behavior from Democrats. In the upcoming Senate elections in Georgia middle-of-the-roaders can and should send a clear message - racism, the use of racist dog-whistles and insider trading are all deplorable.
- drrama7