November 6th 2023.
Stacey Abrams has commended her former opponent, Governor Brian Kemp, for refusing to overturn the election at Donald Trump 's request. In an interview with MSNBC 's Inside With Jen Psaki, Abrams acknowledged how Kemp spoke out against Trump's election interference in the state, despite the Governor's controversial history. When questioned about the ramifications of his good deed, Abrams responded, "Brian Kemp did not commit a crime, which is what Donald Trump called on him to do. And I applaud his refusal to commit a crime. I applaud his refusal to overturn an election that was rightfully conducted. But that does not create a hero."
Abrams went on to explain that Kemp's actions should not be used to erase his previous attempts at voter suppression in the state. She noted that while we should applaud him for doing his job, it should not be seen as going above and beyond. "Doing your job is the expectation that we should have," Abrams said. "One of the challenges of the last eight years has been a lowering of our threshold for what we expect of public officials. It's insufficient that you are lauded for simply doing the job you were hired to do, and then you get to erase the bad that you continue to do."
The former Georgia State representative has been a vocal advocate for voter registration reform, founding the nonprofit Fair Fight Action to promote changes in voter registration laws for more equitable elections. Abrams stressed that while we should note Kemp's refusal to commit a crime, this should not absolve him from his role in preventing eligible voters from exercising their rights.
"The work done by Brian Kemp and Brad Raffensperger for average Georgians continues to reverberate," Abrams said. "And it is a terrible, terrible, terrible stain on our democracy. You don't get to claim that you are a defender of democracy when you are still engaged in behavior that undermines it."
Despite her criticism of Kemp, Abrams made it clear that she and others can "very easily separate" Kemp's one instance of justice from the rest of his controversial moves. As Abrams continues to work to rectify voter suppression and promote equitable elections, she reiterates her call to hold public officials to a higher standard.
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