Kelly Loeffler, Inspired by Stacey Abrams, Starts a New Voting Rights Group to Prevent People From Voting

If you thought former Senator Kelly Loeffler would slink off into political obscurity, returning to what sounds like a pretty nice life as a very wealthy woman, after her loss to Raphael Warnock in January’s runoff Senate election, you’d be wrong! Perhaps jealous of all of the attention and praise that’s been justifiably given to Stacey Abrams’s organization Fair Fight, Loeffler has started a new group named Greater Georgia, with the goal of, as far as I can tell, ensuring as few Democrats in the state can vote as humanly possible.

Greater Georgia, which Fox News reported will be kicked off by a “seven-figure investment” from Loeffler, will allegedly focus on voter registration, turnout campaigns, and what Loeffler described in a statement as efforts to enhance “election integrity.” “Our state is greater—and our democracy is stronger—when everyone’s voice is heard, and that’s exactly what Greater Georgia’s work is about,” Loeffler wrote.

But it’s obvious that she only wants some people to have their voices heard. We all know what “election integrity” is code for! As the Atlanta Journal-Constitution noted, Greater Georgia will “push conservative electoral policies as state lawmakers weigh a range of new voting restrictions after the GOP defeats.” In an interview with the Journal-Constitution, Loeffler claimed what she and her new organization are calling for is “transparency and uniformity,” which apparently includes voting restrictions like forcing voters who want an absentee ballot to show proof of identification.

Republicans know that the only way to shore up their slipping grip on power in the state is to stop Democrats, and in particular Black voters, from voting. Recognizing this reality, Georgia Republicans this year have introduced a set of voting restrictions that one activist described to Mother Jones as “Jim Crow with a suit and tie.” And now, Loeffler will be right beside them, pouring her own money into an anti-democratic effort to strengthen white minority rule and to rig the rules for her potential Senate run in 2022.

What does Stacey Abrams think about Loeffler’s copycat efforts? She hasn’t said anything publicly yet, but Lauren Groh-Wargo, the head of Fair Fight Action, had this to say to the Journal-Constitution. “If Kelly Loeffler wants to spend even more of her money on losing causes, she is free to do so,” Groh-Wargo said. She added, “And she is free to appropriately name her group ‘Unfair Fight.’”