I’ve maintained for a long time that Gov. Brian Kemp (R-Ga.) is the greatest governor that the Peach State has ever had. He’s at least Georgia’s best governor in my lifetime.
On Friday, he appeared with Erick Erickson at The Gathering in Atlanta. Erickson had made it clear both on his radio show and onstage that he wouldn’t ask the presidential candidates about Donald Trump and the Georgia indictment, but he took the time to ask Kemp about it.
The governor said that he can’t comment on the indictment and indicated that he was subpoenaed to testify to the grand jury in Fulton County, Ga., and could be called as a witness in the trial.
Kemp believes that Trump’s trial isn’t going to happen before the 2024 election, but he’s even more certain that the Democrats want Republicans focused on the trial, not the election.
CNN’s Kaitlan Collins selectively quoted the governor in a post on X (the artist formerly known as Twitter):
Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp on the indictments in his home state: "This trial, despite what dates anybody is asking for, it’s not going to happen before the election."
— Kaitlan Collins (@kaitlancollins) August 18, 2023
Kemp actually preceded what Collins quoted with “In my opinion…” As PJ Media’s own Paula Bolyard said in our Slack channel, “This is why no one trusts the media.”
Kemp had a compelling metaphor for why this election is so important. Picking up a No. 2 pencil, Kemp pointed out that Joe Biden is currently holding this nation’s pencil. His administration is writing the direction of the country when it comes to the regulatory state, the FBI, the Department of Justice, the so-called Inflation Reduction Act, and more.
“He’s pencil-whipping the American people,” Kemp stated.
Republicans need to focus on winning the pencil back and putting the eraser to all the bad things, the governor continued, citing the border crisis, military issues, inflation, getting spending under control, and the government picking winners and losers.
“It should be an easy path to the White House,” Kemp declared.
The governor believes that the key to winning in 2024 is to focus on the future, not on what happened three years ago. He said that the GOP can deal with that after winning victory in 2024.
Kemp knows what it takes to win. After all, he led Georgia Republicans in winning nearly every statewide office in the 2022 elections. The Peach State has had a record economic year with 426 new projects bringing in jobs all over the state. Businesses are expanding, while new businesses are coming into Georgia.
And it’s not just in Georgia; throughout the South, Republican governors have been able to govern as conservatives. Kemp pointed out that the GDP in the South has outpaced GDP in the Northeast for the first time ever.
Good business policies, liberty, freedom, and opening earlier after COVID-19 have made Georgia a national leader. The governor has taken on crime, gangs, and human trafficking, and conservative legislators in Georgia have ushered in adoption reform, foster care reform, and support for the elderly.
At the end of his time with Erickson, Kemp went back to the 2024 election and how it’s about the future, not the past.
“You can believe whatever you want about the 2020 election, but it was three years ago,” he said. He encouraged conservatives to do something about the upcoming election — become a poll watcher, join a campaign, or volunteer in some other way.
“Complaining is not going to help us win in 2024,” he concluded.
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