Gov. Kemp: MLB ‘caved to fear’ over voting bill

ATLANTA – Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp criticized Major League Baseball over its decision to move its All-Star Game from Georgia over a sweeping voting bill he signed into law last month.

At a Saturday afternoon news conference, Kemp said the League’s decision was an example of “cancel culture” in the face of Democrats’ criticism of Georgia’s new law.

WATCH: Kemp’s full news conference from Atlanta

“Yesterday, Major League Baseball caved to fear and lies from liberal activists. They ignored the facts of our new election integrity law and they ignored the consequences of their decision on our local community. In the middle of a pandemic, Major League Baseball put the wishes of (Democrat) Stacey Abrams and (U.S. President) Joe Biden ahead of the economic well-being of hardworking Georgians who were counting on the All-Star Game for a paycheck,” Kemp said. “Georgians and all Americans should know what this decision means. It means cancel culture and partisan activists are coming for your business. They’re coming for your game or event in your hometown, and they’re coming to cancel everything from sports to how you make a living. And they will stop at nothing to silence all of us.”

Liberal activists have stepped up calls for corporate America to denounce Republican efforts to tighten state voting laws, and businesses accustomed to cozy political relationships now find themselves in the middle of a growing partisan fight over voting rights.

READ: Full 98-page Election Integrity Act of 2021

Kemp defended the law against its critics Saturday, saying those who denounce the bill misunderstand its purpose, and he flat accused the MLB of hypocrisy.

“They don’t care about jobs, they don’t care about our communities, and they certainly don’t care about access to the ballot box. Because if they did, Major League Baseball would have announced that they were moving their headquarters from New York yesterday, in New York,” Kemp said. “It’s easier to vote in Georgia than it is in New York. Even more ridiculous is that MLB didn’t cite a single reason that they disagreed with the bill in their statement. Everyone standing here today and those at home know why, because the facts and the truth don’t support their narrative. It’s because the Election Integrity Act expands access to the polls and ensures the integrity of the ballot box.”

“I can’t say that I like it, but I certainly understand it,” Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms said of the decision by MLB. “Just as the legislators and the governor, made the decision, the legislators and the governor made the decision to go forward with this bill, people are making decisions not to come to our state.”

Democrats are calling the changes to the voting laws “Jim Crow 2.0,” while Republicans are calling it a “more secure voting process.”

“Secure, accessible, fair elections are worth the threats. They are worth the boycott, as well as the lawsuit,” Kemp said. “I want to be clear. I will not be backing down from this fight, and neither are the people who are here with me today.”

Former President Barack Obama said on Twitter, “Congratulations to @MLB for taking a stand on behalf of voting rights for all citizens. There’s no better way for America’s pastime to honor the great Hank Aaron, who always led by example.”

“Anybody who actually reads this bill quickly sees that it strengthens security, expands access, and improves transparency in Georgia’s election,” Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr said. “Again, anybody who actually reads this bill sees how comparing it to the Jim Crow era, one of the most tragic periods in American history where human beings were killed and truly were prevented from casting their ballot, is preposterous, irresponsible and fundamentally wrong.”

Civil rights groups have sued to block the new Georgia law, which was passed after Democrats flipped the once-reliably Republican state in an election that Donald Trump falsely claimed was rife with fraud.

Delta Air Lines and The Coca-Cola Co., two of Georgia’s best-known brands, this past week called the new law “unacceptable,” although they had a hand in writing it. That only angered Republicans, including Kemp and several U.S. senators, who accused the companies of cowering from unwarranted attacks from the left.

Kemp said state leaders worked in good faith with leaders in the business community on the legislation, including some of the same companies that have now “flip-flopped on this issue.”

“We shouldn’t apologize for making it easy to vote and hard to cheat,” he added.

Some activists have called for consumer boycotts of Delta, Coca-Cola and others.

They dismiss business leaders’ assertions that they helped water down the bill to ease earlier, more restrictive proposals.

They argue that those leaders should have tried to block the plan altogether.


About the Authors: