Several other corporate citizens are taking a stand against the Georgia election laws bill passed earlier this week, and perhaps most notably is Major League Baseball (MLB):
Major League Baseball announced Friday that this season’s All-Star Game and draft will not be held in Atlanta in response to Georgia’s recently passed laws that placed new restrictions on voting.
The new host city for the July 13 game has yet to be announced, according to the league.
“Over the last week, we have engaged in thoughtful conversations with Clubs, former and current players, the Players Association, and The Players Alliance, among others, to listen to their views,” MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred said in a statement. “I have decided that the best way to demonstrate our values as a sport is by relocating this year’s All-Star Game and MLB Draft.” [CNN]
Governor Kemp (R-GA) is very upset:
“Today, Major League Baseball caved to fear, political opportunism, and liberal lies,” Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp said. “Georgians – and all Americans – should fully understand what the MLB’s knee-jerk decision means: cancel culture and woke political activists are coming for every aspect of your life, sports included. If the left doesn’t agree with you, facts and the truth do not matter.”
Shall we count the trigger words? I see liberal, cancel culture, woke, with bonus points for citing facts and truth. That’s how to talk to your base, now isn’t it?
So who’s lying? I’m no lawyer, so I have to poke around to see what more experienced folks think. WaPo’s Jennifer Rubin has a law degree and here’s one of her takes on it; Peter Stevenson, also of WaPo, who does not appear to be a lawyer but hopefully consulted same, presents a summary:
A close examination of the language in the law shows it does contain new restrictions on voting; some are likely to make it disproportionately more difficult for poorer voters and voters of color to cast their ballots.
It’s also correct that there are ways in which the law expands voter access, particularly in ways that will be visible in rural areas.
The context is important of course: This is playing out in the wake of Georgia’s swing to Democrats in the 2020 presidential election and the ensuing baseless charges of fraud from the Trump campaign and its allies. Republican lawmakers in the state — as many of their counterparts across the country have — quickly began drafting a bill critics say is a political reaction from a party beholden to Trump.
And, to my mind, that last paragraph is the most important. It resonates with me as an engineer. Engineers are people often admonished Don’t fix what isn’t broke! because that might end up breaking something that was working before. In fact, breaking something is not only a non-zero probability, it’s often a rather larger-than-comfortable probability.
And there’s no evidence, as duly established by former President Trump, his lawyers, and the court system working in concert, of any systemic ballot fraud, of anything being broken. If you’re a believer in democracy.
Stacy Abrams, no doubt bête noire to the Georgia GOP for having led the organizing effort for the Democrats in Georgia, says she’s “disappointed” in the MLB decision:
My full statement on @MLB All-Star Game: #gapol pic.twitter.com/mq4DauVQ8B
— Stacey Abrams (@staceyabrams) April 2, 2021
But I have to say it’s worded in such a way that I cannot call it horrified or appalled. Sure, she legitimately mourns the loss of business and jobs for Georgians, but this is really about pressuring the GOP legislators.
And, to be honest, this MLB reprimand – and let’s not mince words, this is a nasty reproving stare by MLB, just as happened to North Carolina in 2016 when they passed an anti-transgender bathroom usage law, and the NBA moved their All Star game out of Charlotte, NC, in reaction, which many credit that act with the revocation of said law a couple of years later – is a far higher profile move than many other corporate citizens can make. Every time a baseball broadcaster opens their mouth, there’s a good chance something about the MLB All Star game being moved out of Georgia because Georgia isn’t treating its citizens right, will come popping out.
Getting the word out to other companies to think twice before expanding to Georgia.
So while CNN may think Abrams has reproved MLB, I don’t think so. I think she’s using this decision to remind the Georgian GOP that they may be committing political suicide with this move; moreover, MLB and Abrams are reminding them that there is time to fix this mistake. Abrams is saying she’s up for forgiveness and that she supports Georgia businesses and people.
Redemption is an important part of the American landscape, but it requires admission of error and repentance. I will be very interested to see if the Georgia GOP blinks, admits error, apologizes and fixes the mistake – or if they dig in their heels and continue to prop up the Big Lie that, somehow, Biden cheated his way to victory. If it’s the latter, we may see the composition of the Georgia legislature change.
And that would be a shock to the GOP nationwide.
