On Wednesday, Democrat Jon Ossoff blatantly lied about Sen. David Perdue’s (R-Ga.) record on COVID-19 stimulus checks. Ossoff and his fellow Democrat, Rev. Raphael Warnock, have seized on the stimulus checks as an issue in the Georgia Senate runoff elections on January 5. Perdue has expressed skepticism about the checks in the past, but he clearly voted for the first round of stimulus checks in the CARES Act in March.
Yet Ossoff claimed that Perdue never supported the checks.
“Your daily reminder that David Perdue has fought against stimulus checks for the entire pandemic,” the Democrat tweeted on Wednesday. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.), among others, retweeted him.
Ossoff and Warnock have called on Congress to pass a new COVID-19 relief package this year that includes direct stimulus checks to Americans.
“David and Kelly should be in Washington delivering $1,200 checks for every single Georgian, and $500 for every child in this state, because people are hurting and we need help now,” Ossoff said at a rally on Tuesday that also featured incoming President Joe Biden, The Hill reported.
During the event, Biden also called for a COVID-19 relief package to “deliver direct cash payments to people right away.”
“Your two Republican senators are not supporting that kind of package,” Biden argued. “Both Jon and Raphael do.”
While the Democrats are attempting to paint Sens. Perdue and Kelly Loeffler (R-Ga.) as anti-stimulus check, both Republican senators voted for the CARES Act in March, which included direct checks.
In May, Perdue told the Marietta Daily Journal that he “personally opposed” the idea that individuals who have not lost work should receive $1,200 payments. In July, Perdue told PBS NewsHour that he preferred a payroll tax cut to direct payments.
These statements indicate doubt about the virtue of stimulus payments and support for an alternative policy, but they do not erase Perdue’s record. Both Perdue and Loeffler voted for stimulus payments in March.
Ossoff’s claim that “David Perdue has fought against stimulus checks for the entire pandemic” is flat-out false, a malicious lie about the senator’s record.
Democrats are pulling out the stops to defeat Perdue and Loeffler and secure 50 seats in the U.S. Senate so that incoming Vice President Kamala Harris can cast the tiebreaking vote and implement Joe Biden’s agenda.
Georgia Republicans must turn out in force to provide a check on Ossoff, Warnock, and Biden.
Tyler O’Neil is the author of Making Hate Pay: The Corruption of the Southern Poverty Law Center. Follow him on Twitter at @Tyler2ONeil.
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