Georgia, I love thee for resoundingly electing Rev. Raphael Warnock and Jon Ossoff to the United States Senate in a remarkable victory for democracy.
Georgia, I love thee for not “only” flipping GA blue for Biden on Nov. 3rd, but then you also added a huge dollop of whipped cream on top of an already scrumptious peach pie and flipped the Senate BLUE too!!!
Georgia, I love thee for the tremendous voter organizing and outreach on the ground fueled by the resolve of African-American activists and POC organizations in partnership with a beautiful rainbow of fired-up and motivated volunteers and staff. This is what coalition-building looks like.
Georgia, I love thee because you are now officially designated Gridlock-Buster-Superheroes! as your voters leaped tall hurdles in a single bound and knocked out poison-pill-mitch with a double-punch win---so Democrats in Congress can act quickly to pass desperately needed economic aid for struggling Americans.
Georgia, I love thee for your extraordinary political organizer who is a gifted and persistent champion of voting rights, Stacey Abrams.
Georgia, I love thee for the courage and fortitude of every single individual who exercised their right to vote whether by mail, drop-off box, or by standing in line during a devastating health and economic crisis.
Georgia, I love thee because even with your terrible, fraught history as a bastion of the old south, GA voters chose an African-American and a Jew to represent them and all Georgians in the U. S. Senate.
Georgia, I love thee for supporting the candidacies of two smart, articulate, (and now!) Senators-elect who have humor, policy chops and integrity.
Georgia, I love thee for the tireless mobilizing of voters done by leadersand groups such as New Georgia Project, LaTosha Brown and Black Voters Matter Fund, PoderLatinx, Asian American Advocacy Fund, Fair Fight Action, Georgia Equality, Georgia Latino Alliance for Human Rights, SONG Power, Black Male Voter Project, DeKalb, Gwinnett & Cobb County Dems, Bullock County NAACP, Coffee County Dems, Georgia Stand-Up and so many more. Chime in with your names for orgs & activists who deserve a shout-out. Of course, all the fundraisers & contributors to the GA GOTV work on DK get kudos!
Georgia, I love thee because I think you may have actually helped salvage U.S. democracy itself while reinvigorating us to fight yet again for the rule of law. (Okay, maybe a bit of hyperbole, but I do like the sound of it!)
Georgia, I love thee for each and every one of your youth voters and infrequent voters and first-time-ever voters who decided this was their time to turn out and vote!
Georgia, I love thee for inspiring thousands of volunteers across America (and Canada too! plus other volunteers abroad) to write postcards and letters by the millions in under 8 weeks! And then we mailed out those millions of missives for democracy, courtesy of all our faithful, but overburdened USPS workers, who delivered them to voters in cities, towns & rural areas all over Georgia. (Or as I like to call it---Felt Pens & Stamps United!)
Georgia, I love thee for demolishing the pathetic right-wing replay of voter suppression; instead you showed us how effective grassroots organizing can be when it focuses on the issues everyday people actually care about: “In effect the two men ran as themselves. As unabashed liberals. In Georgia.”
Georgia, I love thee because even in that terrible moment in which we witnessed a violent, armed mob of white nationalist terrorists commit despicable acts of sedition, as directly incited by the criminal-in-chief, the stunning victories of Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock provide a bracing antidote, plus powerful reinforcement for each of us, in our own way, to keep steady and focus on achieving progressive policy ideas.
Georgia, I love thee because the people of Georgia showed us what the future might look like if we remain vigilant and work like hell + protest like hell.
And last but not least Georgia, I love thee for giving us a cause for celebration.