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"BIDEN'S INFLATED POLICIES ARE ALREADY FLASHING RED" – LOEFFLER PENS OP-ED FOR TOWNHALL.COM

May 17, 2021
In case you missed it, Greater Georgia Chairwoman Kelly Loeffler penned an op-ed for Townhall, hitting Joe Biden for his disastrous economic policies that have stunted our recovery, as evidenced by the April jobs report. The op-ed slams Biden's billions in wasteful spending and partisan boondoggles (like expanding Obamacare and pandering to teachers' unions), as well as his job-killing agenda that ended the Keystone XL Pipeline and has threatened America's energy-independence. Read the full text of Kelly's op-ed below:


Americans want little more than their lives to return to normal, to get back to school and work so that their families can prosper. But with the virus tapering off, the Biden administration sees their window of opportunity to radically change our country beginning to close. Thanks to the pro-growth policies of the Trump administration, first quarter GDP rose a healthy 6.4 percent, economic output is at pre-pandemic levels, retail sales are up and consumers are flush with cash. Ignoring the economic recovery, the Biden administration has embraced a "Help is on the way" refrain, rather than embracing the momentum driven by reopening. Now data confirms the administration's earliest policies are pressuring our economic recovery.

Start with April's disastrous jobs report that missed expectations by an unprecedented 750,000 jobs. At the same time, help-wanted signs abound with a record-setting 8.1 million job openings, alongside rising average wages. Federal benefits now incentivize extended unemployment, with millions of small businesses unable to hire sufficiently to fully reopen. On average, weekly unemployment benefits are nearly $650, roughly equals about $15 per hour for a 40-hour work week. So it's not surprising to see why small businesses are struggling to compete with the government for their employees. And while wage inflation is occurring, it won't go toward quality-of-life improvements if inflationary policies continue. Workers will need those pay hikes amid rising prices for gasoline, food and housing, thanks to this tax-and-spend playbook.

The risks to a strong, rapid recovery don't end with dislocations in the labor and commodity markets. When you add the full context of the administration's ominous policies – from open borders to wasteful spending – you can sense the headwinds to our continued economic recovery and security.

One of President Biden's first acts was to sign an executive order cancelling the Keystone Pipeline, destroying thousands of jobs and preventing the creation and preservation of many more. Keystone was set to build on our newly achieved energy independence from the Middle East – at a time when Iranian-funded Hamas is conducting strikes on Israel. With the stroke of a pen, Biden signaled his eagerness to trade away our hard-earned energy independence for the Green New Deal, and to cancel thousands of jobs in the process. Not to mention the fact that these very policies put families needlessly at risk of facing the kinds of power outages and gasoline shortages we've already seen across Texas and the South.
 
As if that's not enough damage for the first hundred days, Biden's record-setting spending bills are adding to our national debt, putting more of America's future in the hands of foreign debtors. While the $1.9 trillion "American Rescue Plan" held some needed relief, the vast majority was crammed with partisan boondoggles, including millions to expand Obamacare and billions to pay off teachers' unions who kept kids out of school, and to states who kept their residents locked down. Just 10 percent of that bill was designated for coronavirus relief, despite the nearly $1 trillion that remained unspent in Congress's 2020 relief bills.

But the sugar rush of policy proposals continues, keeping taxpayers on the hook and government at the center of our economy, crowding out small business and consumers. First, the Biden administration's $2 trillion "infrastructure" plan, which allocates less than 5 percent for true infrastructure such as roads and bridges, adds a massive tax hike that would pressure wages and job creation, transfer billions of taxpayer dollars to corporate welfare, increase regulation and add billions to expand government programs. Second, their $2.5 trillion "families" plan would create more entitlement programs, saddle future generations with more debt, pressure the economy by forcing national paid family leave, free pre-K and free community college, unionization, and require even more tax hikes.

From massive, wasteful spending to disastrous energy policy, and job-crushing taxpayer funded subsidies, the Biden administration is attempting to reorient our economy toward Big Government before the pandemic ends. To put us on a stronger path toward recovery, the exact opposite approach is needed. We should scale back the enhanced unemployment benefits to incentivize work; shift our supply chains out of China and back to the United States; prioritize training for displaced workers; support our energy independence, return kids to school and provide more opportunities to empower working families.

Chaotic signals around April's jobs report are flashing red amid a strong recovery that began in mid-2020. Without a course-reversal to stop the wasteful spending of taxpayer dollars and to allow our consumer-driven economy to recover and reopen, our recovery will fail those who need it most.


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18 Apr, 2024
(ATLANTA) – This week, Greater Georgia hosted the second annual Greater Georgia Legislative Awards Ceremony. Held in Atlanta, the event drew over 300 guests to honor state lawmakers and leaders for their accomplishments during the 2024 legislative session. Honored guest speakers included Governor Brian P. Kemp, First Lady Marty Kemp, and Speaker of the House Jon Burns. Award recipients from the Georgia General Assembly included: State Senate Majority Leader Steve Gooch Majority Whip Randy Robertson Majority Caucus Secretary Larry Walker Senator Greg Dolezal Senator Russ Goodman State House Representative Lauren Daniel Representative Matthew Gambill Representative John LaHood Representative Mesha Mainor Representative Steven Sainz View photos from the event below.
16 Apr, 2024
ATLANTA – Today, Greater Georgia released key findings from an analysis of voter data from the state’s Presidential Preference Primary, held March 12, 2024. The data revealed signs of promise for the conservative movement, which is backed by voter enthusiasm, growing support from diverse communities, and an influx of new voters - including 7,000 first-time voters and 30,000 crossover voters. “The Greater Georgia analysis shows both progress and room for growth,” said Greater Georgia Chairwoman Kelly Loeffler. “It is no surprise that conservatives have the enthusiasm advantage going into November, given the failed Biden agenda that has depressed turnout in Democratic primaries across the country. And although we also see signs of new support from minority, first-time, and crossover voters on the Republican side, 2024 will ultimately be about turnout. That’s why we will continue to mobilize voters in support of conservatives up and down the ballot, to promote opportunity, security, and freedom.” More than 588,000 voters participated in Georgia’s Republican presidential primary compared to the 290,000 who participated in the Democratic presidential primary. In the Republican primary, women made up 52% of the electorate. While white voters made up the majority of the electorate at 95%, more Asian and Hispanic voters pulled a Republican ballot than a Democratic ballot. In fact, Hispanic voters represented a larger share of the Republican primary electorate in 2024 than in 2020, indicating growing support within the Latino and Hispanic communities. Most of the Republican electorate comprised those who had pulled a GOP ballot in all or most primary elections. But 30,000 Republican voters, or 5% of the Republican electorate, were either split-primary voters, majority Democratic primary voters, or exclusively Democratic primary voters. These 30,000 voters were more likely to be rural, nonwhite, and lower-income citizens. Notably, nearly 7,000 first-time voters participated in the Republican primary - compared to just 3,000 first-time voters in the Democratic primary. Democrats, meanwhile, saw a dramatic decrease in turnout for the presidential primary compared to 2020, when about 800,000 more Democrats voted. This year’s Democratic electorate was 64% women, 65% black, and 52% over the age of 65. Fewer Hispanic, Asian, and first-time voters participated in the Democratic primary compared to the Republican primary. 6,000 voters left their ballots blank. The lack of enthusiasm reflected in the Democratic primary is consistent with the poll conducted by Greater Georgia earlier this year, which found that 57% of likely Georgia voters had an unfavorable opinion of Joe Biden. Greater Georgia, launched by former U.S. Senator Kelly Loeffler in 2021, is a 501(c4) nonpartisan nonprofit dedicated to growing participation in the democratic process by mobilizing and empowering voters. The group works year-round to educate and register voters, engage with diverse and underrepresented communities, and protect election integrity. ### Media Contact: press@greatergeorgia.com
07 Feb, 2024
ATLANTA – In case you missed it, Greater Georgia commissioned a recent poll of likely and Republican voters across the state ahead of the 2024 election. The poll, conducted by Guidant Polling & Strategy, delved into key areas such as the economy, public safety, and other issues of the day - including the Atlanta Public Safety Training Center, school vouchers, and election integrity reform. As the pollsters noted in their memo, the poll shows strong support for conservative leadership at the state level - and deep dissatisfaction with the status quo in Washington. Read recent coverage about the poll from James Magazine HERE , or view excerpts below. You can also view the full memo HERE . “The basic conservative principles of economic opportunity, safety, and freedom cut across party lines – resonating not only with traditional Republican primary voters, but also with moderates and independents. From education to crime and immigration, to the economy, Republicans at the state level are winning on the issues – in contrast to the unpopular policies of Joe Biden and the Democratic Party. “As we enter the 2024 election cycle, the good news for Republicans is that candidates on the ballot in Georgia will not have to compromise on their conservative values to win a broad coalition of voters. Primary and swing voters alike view Georgia’s conservative leadership as a firewall to the chaos and big government policies of Washington – which means the path to victory relies on promoting the common-sense, conservative policies which are already a hallmark of this state.” Greater Georgia, launched by former U.S. Senator Kelly Loeffler in 2021, is a 501(c4) nonpartisan nonprofit dedicated to growing participation in the democratic process by mobilizing and empowering voters. The group works year-round to educate and register voters, engage with diverse and underrepresented communities, and protect election integrity. ### Media Contact: press@greatergeorgia.com
01 Nov, 2023
ATLANTA – Yesterday, Greater Georgia exposed Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger for only clocking into work 42 times this year, even amid an as-yet unaddressed cybersecurity exposure affecting Georgia's voting machines. Today, state lawmakers echoed those same concerns at a Senate Ethics hearing - where they had planned to question Secretary Raffensperger about his refusal to fix the well-publicized vulnerabilities within Georgia's election infrastructure. The only problem is, Secretary Raffensperger didn't show up - either for the hearing or for a press conference called by his own office earlier in the day. Instead, Secretary of State staff members faced over two hours of questions about why the state had not made plans to fix the security exposures they had known about since 2021, why there wasn't more urgency to do so ahead of a presidential election year, and where the Secretary has been. The oversight panel criticized the Secretary for taking a wait-and-see approach to cybersecurity, for failing to request the funds he needed to fix the machines, and for not giving his full time or energy to defending Georgia's elections. State Senator Randy Robertson summed it up : "There's a lot of times that we look around the Secretary of State's office. I'm talking about the individual who's elected to hold that office. He's a ghost. Today he's at a rotary meeting to speak down in south Georgia...the Chairman notified him of [this hearing] a month ago...if that rotary meeting was more important than coming up here and speaking in front of the Georgia citizens that are watching this, then that's his burden to bear. But these questions that we ask are not for your benefit or for our benefit - as much as they are for the men and women who lost confidence in the Georgia election system." Yesterday, Greater Georgia Chairwoman Kelly Loeffler had a similar message when she called on the Secretary of State to get back to work: "Voters are entrusting our elections to a Secretary of State who has spent more time glad-handing liberal elites and attacking conservatives as ‘election deniers’ than addressing legitimate security issues. This is not a partisan issue - it’s about accountability in a battleground state that will decide the next U.S. President. Ensuring secure elections is not a job that can be done from the green room of MSNBC; right now, with critical security vulnerabilities exposed to the world, this state needs our top elections official to get back to work for the voters of Georgia.” Greater Georgia, launched by former U.S. Senator Kelly Loeffler in 2021, is a 501(c4) nonpartisan nonprofit dedicated to growing participation in the democratic process by mobilizing and empowering voters. The group works year-round to educate and register voters, engage with diverse and underrepresented communities, and protect election integrity. ### Media Contact: press@greatergeorgia.com
31 Oct, 2023
ATLANTA – Today, following the release of a new report by the Washington Examiner , Greater Georgia Chairwoman Kelly Loeffler called on Georgia’s top election official to return to his taxpayer-funded job and direct his full attention to ensuring election integrity - starting by fixing known security vulnerabilities in Georgia’s voting machines. Earlier this year, Greater Georgia and other groups called on Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger to fix a critical security vulnerability in Georgia’s voting machines before the 2024 election. Secretary Raffensperger, whose office had been aware of the vulnerabilities since 2021, announced that he would not update the machines until at least 2025, citing a lack of time - despite his advanced notice and the fact that several other states had already taken steps to implement the patch. But according to open records obtained by Greater Georgia and verified by the Washington Examiner , Raffensperger may have been able to execute the update had it been prioritized over cross-country trips to appear with celebrities, Democrat elites, and liberal media. Georgia’s top elections official has been to his office 42 days in the first nine months of 2023, averaging five days per month and four hours per visit. Raffensperger, who collects a taxpayer-funded salary of nearly $130,000 plus benefits, has spent about 70% of all work days out of office since 2021. Over the last few months, Raffensperger has instead attended the White House Correspondents’ Dinner in D.C., the South by Southwest Conference in Austin, and the 2024 Campaign Journalism Conference in Chicago - managing to score interviews with MSNBC and others. He was recently announced as a headliner for an L.A. conference alongside Hollywood celebs Ed Helms and Michael Douglas. “Voters are entrusting our elections to a Secretary of State who has spent more time glad-handing liberal elites and attacking conservatives as ‘election deniers’ than addressing legitimate security iss ues,” said Greater Georgia Chairwoman Kelly Loeffler. “This is not a partisan issue - it’s about accountability in a battleground state that will decide the next U.S. President. Ensuring secure elections is not a job that can be done from the green room of MSNBC; right now, with critical security vulnerabilities exposed to the world, this state needs our top elections official to get back to work for the voters of Georgia.” In 2021, Georgia’s Secretary of State became the first official in the nation to learn about vulnerabilities in the Dominion software - when the University of Michigan audited the state’s voting machines as part of a lawsuit. The Department of Homeland Security then issued a security advisory in June 2022, urging every state to fix the vulnerabilities “as soon as possible.” Dominion subsequently distributed a software update, which was approved for nationwide implementation in March 2023. Within months, several states including Colorado , Michigan , and Washington independently tested and certified the software update. Michigan announced plans to update its machines in full before the 2024 presidential primary. By contrast, Georgia’s Secretary of State announced he would not implement the update for another two years. To date, the Secretary’s office has not provided a clear timeline or cost estimate for the update and has failed to request funds for it in both the 2022 and 2023 legislative sessions. The office has, however, spent time lashing out at those who have called for the update, including a broad range of cybersecurity and election experts, as “election-denying conspiracy theorists.” They insist that the existing election system is “safe, secure, and accurate” - and have similarly failed to address recent episodes, even in the last two weeks, of early voting failures in DeKalb , Fulton , and Henry Counties. Greater Georgia, launched by former U.S. Senator Kelly Loeffler in 2021, is a 501(c4) nonpartisan nonprofit dedicated to growing participation in the democratic process by mobilizing and empowering voters. The group works year-round to educate and register voters, engage with diverse and underrepresented communities, and protect election integrity. ### Media Contact: press@greatergeorgia.com
26 Oct, 2023
ATLANTA – Today, Greater Georgia Chairwoman and former U.S. Senator Kelly Loeffler issued the following statement after a U.S. District Court rejected Georgia's congressional and legislative maps and ordered them to be redrawn. The Obama-appointed judge sided with liberal operatives like Marc Elias , who have launched a nationwide legal campaign to create more favorable electoral maps for Democrats ahead of 2024. “Whether the Left’s machine is working to put conservatives in jail or toss out legitimate electoral maps, lawfare is their new campaign strategy,” said Greater Georgia Chairwoman Kelly Loeffler. “Today’s ruling by the Obama-appointed U.S. District Court judge is a disappointing but unsurprising victory for liberal activists attempting to interfere in next year’s elections. Greater Georgia expects a successful appeal and that partisan efforts to undermine our state’s legislative and congressional races ahead of 2024 will be dismissed.” Greater Georgia, launched by former U.S. Senator Kelly Loeffler in 2021, is a 501(c4) nonpartisan nonprofit dedicated to growing participation in the democratic process by mobilizing and empowering voters. The group works year-round to educate and register voters, engage with diverse and underrepresented communities, and protect election integrity. ### Media Contact: press@greatergeorgia.com
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