Brian Kemp Defies Trump On Georgia Senate Seat Appointment-- Goes For The Big Money Instead Of The Crackpot Wing-Nut

Kemp brings GOP fat cat to meet Trumpanzee

Yesterday, the Atlanta Journal Constitution reported that Georgia Governor Brian Kemp would ignore Trump's demands that he appoint Trumpist congressman Doug Collins to the open-- Johnny Isakson is retiring-- Georgia Senate seat and decided to appoint one of his own financial backers, Kelly Loeffler, instead. We took a look at this possibility last week and noted that Loeffler, who co-owns Atlanta's WNBA franchise and has doled out immense amounts of money to Republican politicians, has always been Kemp's first choice.

Kemp says appointing Loeffler will pacify women voters in the Atlanta area by making the GOP appear more inclusive and less anti-woman, even though Loeffler's agenda is indistinguishable for any other bigoted Republican conservative. The AJC reported that Kemp "is expected to announce Loeffler’s appointment at a press conference early next week, barring any last-minute change of heart."

Her appointment would do little to tamp down the internal Republican fighting over the seat. Trump and his allies have repeatedly pressed the governor to tap Collins, and the two were still at odds over Loeffler’s appointment even after Kemp brought her to a secretive meeting with the president last week.

And it would come as no surprise to Republican insiders, who have labeled Loeffler the presumptive favorite ever since she submitted her application hours before a deadline imposed by Kemp.

Collins’ allies have aggressively pushed Kemp to appoint the congressman in recent weeks, describing the Gainesville Republican as a champion for conservative causes – and a bulwark against impeachment proceedings headed for the U.S. Senate.

And Collins has helped energize his supporters by telling the AJC that he is “strongly” considering a run for the Senate seat in next year’s special election if he’s not picked.

The special election-- which will feature all candidates, regardless of party affiliation, on the same ballot-- poses a conundrum for the Georgia GOP. If multiple well-funded Republicans enter the contest, they could slice up the GOP base, providing an opportunity for a Democrat with his or her party's unified support.

The state Democratic Party has yet to identify such a candidate. But several lower-profile contenders have entered the race, including Matt Lieberman, an educator and entrepreneur who is the son of former U.S. Sen. Joseph Lieberman of Connecticut.

“At this point, whatever pick Kemp makes will be significantly damaged,” said party spokesman Alex Floyd, “forced to limp into November 2020 facing inflamed tensions and internal fights at a time when Georgia Republicans can’t afford either.”

Instead of splitting the GOP base, Kemp has viewed the U.S. Senate opening as a chance to build on it, bringing female voters back to the Republican Party.

He’s also mindful that his selection would not only be on the ballot in 2020 to fill out the remaining two years of Isakson’s term but also potentially alongside Kemp in 2022 when the governor runs for a second term.

Kemp’s allies say Loeffler, a first-time candidate, can help woo women in Atlanta’s suburbs who have bolted a party that’s dominated by white male elected officials.

Loeffler also could pump some of her own personal fortune into a campaign that could break fundraising records.

She runs the Bakkt bitcoin trading platform that’s a subsidiary of the Intercontinental Exchange, the behemoth Atlanta-based financial firm headed by her husband. She is also a co-owner of Atlanta’s WNBA franchise.

Her emergence as Kemp’s favorite for the seat over Collins and other better-known contenders has sparked fierce pushback from some conservative leaders.

They criticize her past campaign contributions to Democrats and question her support for a range of key issues, such as gun rights and anti-abortion efforts. And they worry she’s not committed to Trump.

“If you substitute your judgement for the President’s, maybe you need a primary in 2022,” U.S. Rep. Matt Gaetz, a Florida lawmaker with close ties to Trump, wrote Friday in a tweet directed at Kemp. “Let’s see if you can win one w/o Trump.”

The president, who has directly appealed to Kemp to tap Collins three times in recent weeks, was said to be frustrated with the governor at the meeting Sunday and upset he wasn’t leaning toward Collins or another politically tested candidate.

Loeffler’s allies have tried to allay those fears by pointing to her recent contributions to the Republican National Committee, including two $100,000 checks she and her husband wrote this month to participate in a Trump roundtable in Atlanta.

She also indicated in her Senate application that she shares Kemp’s priorities to “strengthen the border, shutdown drug cartels and human traffickers, lower healthcare costs, and protect our national interests.”

“If chosen, I will stand with President Trump, Senator David Perdue, and you to Keep America Great,” she wrote to Kemp, invoking the president’s 2020 campaign slogan.

Kemp’s supporters, meanwhile, have loudly pleaded for the GOP faithful to trust the governor, whose runaway victory in the 2018 Republican primary runoff was fueled by Trump’s late endorsement.

And the governor this week took to Twitter amid growing conservative backlash to vent about “ridiculous” attacks that he would consider someone for the U.S. Senate who isn’t sufficiently conservative or “100% supportive” of Trump.

“The attacks and games are absolutely absurd,” he said on social media. “Frankly, I could care less what the political establishment thinks.”

Loeffler emerged from a crowd of potential candidates that included current and former officeholders, business executives, a U.S. ambassador, decorated military veterans and radio commentators. A Democratic state legislator even applied on the governor’s website.

A smaller group of top contenders vetted by Kemp’s advisers emerged last week. They include state Rep. Jan Jones, the No. 2 Republican in the Georgia House; and Jackie Gingrich Cushman, an author and financial executive who is the daughter of former U.S. House Speaker Newt Gingrich.

Two Kemp administration officials also made the list: Robyn Crittenden, who briefly succeeded Kemp as secretary of state and runs the state’s largest agency; and Allen Poole, a former county commissioner who now heads a state highway department. 

Poor Collins-- and his Trumpist followers-- haven't given up. Collins ran to Fox News Today to play to the far right Republican base in northern Georgia by dancing around with his hair on fire, screeching about calling on House Intel Committee chairman Adam Schiff testify in the Trump impeachment trial when it goes to the Senate. "My first and foremost witness," said the deranged crackpot, "is Adam Schiff." Poor Collins. Oh, yeah, I already said that.

The most current Morning Consult Trump Tracker shows Trump's favorability in Georgia continuing to fall. Since he was inaugurated, Trump's favorability rating with Georgia voters has decreased by an astounding 21 points and he is now underwater by 3, primarily because independent voters have changed their minds about him and no longer support him or his administration. Just 46% of Georgia voters approve of the job he's doing, while 49% disapprove.