The ridiculous argument we often hear from Democrats is that Republicans are suppressing the votes of the American people so that they can continue to win elections. Rather than admit their own mistakes and take ownership for their recent string of losses, Democrats continue to play the blame game – ignoring their own issues within their own ranks. Just take a look at what they are doing within my own state of Georgia.
In the Atlanta metro area and in my own DeKalb County where I previously served as chief executive officer, Democrats have held power for the better part of the last few decades. If there are problems with people voting, then it is the responsibility of the Democrats in charge to ensure that operations run smoothly before early voting starts. In fact, DeKalb County received a $4.8 million grant to hire more staff, purchase more equipment and open more early voting locations.
Despite this assistance, DeKalb County is still struggling. Unless Democrats completely mismanaged the funds they were given to streamline their voting operations, they should not have the issues we are seeing with long lines stretching a half mile out or the technical difficulties in the area. Republicans aren’t suppressing any voters. The problem lies with Democrats’ incompetence in how they handle the operations within their own jurisdictions.
And if Democrats are complaining about their string of losses in recent years, they have no one else to blame but themselves. They lost the 2016 election to then-candidate Donald Trump, and then they lost even more seats in the Senate in the 2018 midterm elections. In Georgia, they lost the state’s gubernatorial race in 2018 in a year where Democrats had momentum. The real cause of these losses stems from the Democratic Party leftward turn, which is also the reason I endorsed President Trump in this year’s election.
Over the past few years, we have seen Democrats embrace far-left policies like defunding the police, eliminating private health insurance, supporting abortion up until birth and packing the Supreme Court with judicial activists. And we can never forget how Democrats fanned the flames of hate and stoked racial division that led to the riots we saw throughout the summer and still to this day. Democrats are simply out of touch with the American public, and voters have shown their disdain by voting Democrats out of office at every chance.
Take Vermont Senator Patrick Leahy, for example. During Justice Amy Coney Barrett’s confirmation hearings, Senator Leahy complained about the long voting lines in DeKalb County and was afraid that they were a form of voter suppression. If a northeastern senator is willing to complain about the politics of Georgia, I have two suggestions for him. First, at least come visit us and learn to pronounce DeKalb County correctly the next time you want to stick your nose into our business. Second, get your facts straight.
As the first black county executive, I can tell you that the majority of governing authority in DeKalb County is African American and has been that way for almost two decades. All elections are planned and coordinated locally by the elections board and the elections office – that includes deciding polling, adding polling locations if they are needed, providing adequate voting machines that work and hiring and training employees to ensure the election process runs smoothly. If Senator Leahy believes the long lines of black voters is a form of “suppression,” then blame the Democrats in charge, both white and black. Any suppression is coming from Senator Leahy’s own party.
But regardless of the spin we may see from Democrats and their allies in the mainstream media, there is no voter suppression at the polls. Any “suppression” is the result of either Democrats mismanaging their own resources or pushing insane agendas that are scaring the American people away in mass droves. Democrats can’t blame anyone else for their own mistakes – it’s time for them to take a long, hard look in the mirror.
In just a few short days, Americans who haven’t already voted will cast their ballots for the upcoming election, and when President Trump wins his reelection and Republicans keep the Senate, it won’t be a result of voter suppression. It will be a result of Democrats failing to fix the problems plaguing their own party. As a Democrat myself, I have tried to tell my fellow Democrats the problems afflicting our party. But rather than listen, Democrats have failed to heed my warnings. Unfortunately for them, when the smoke settles on Election Day, they will wish they had. Democrats will face a reckoning that will make the 2016 election look like child’s play, and they will only have themselves to blame.
Vernon Jones is a Democrat Representative in the Georgia State House and supporter of President Donald Trump.
