There’s No Joy in Atlanta…and You can Blame Republicans
Yesterday, MLB made a terse announcement that the league is moving the All Star game AND the MLB draft out of Atlanta as a response to Georgia Republicans passing its voter suppression bill which included voter suppression tactics like stricter ID requirements and shortened absentee voting periods. The worst provisions, though, included giving the legislature authority to reject county voting results, removing the Georgia secretary of state from the state elections board voting members, and the cruel criminalizing of giving water and food to voters standing in line.
In a statement, MLB commissioner Rob Manfred said,
“Over the last week, we have engaged in thoughtful conversations with Clubs, former and current players, the Players Association, and The Players Alliance, among others, to listen to their views. I have decided that the best way to demonstrate our values as a sport is by relocating this year’s All-Star Game and MLB Draft.
“Major League Baseball fundamentally supports voting rights for all Americans and opposes restrictions to the ballot box. In 2020, MLB became the first professional sports league to join the non-partisan Civic Alliance to help build a future in which everyone participates in shaping the United States. We proudly used our platform to encourage baseball fans and communities throughout our country to perform their civic duty and actively participate in the voting process. Fair access to voting continues to have our game’s unwavering support.”
Joining Atlanta based Delta Airlines and Coca Cola, along with other companies, MLB is ratcheting up the pressure on the GOP to stop its massive voter suppression efforts in a desperate effort to cling to power as its demographic shrinks. It worked in Indiana years ago when then governor Mike Pence signed the anti-gay bill that explicitly allowed private businesses to refuse service to people they didn’t like under the guise of “religious choice”. After massive backlash against businesses and sports in Indiana, the state legislature “clarified” the bill by adding that, notwithstanding why the bill was written in the first place, it couldn’t be used to deny service to anyone.
That’s not good enough for Georgia, though. The GOP must be stopped in its tracks in Georgia because it’s doing the same thing in 42 other states. If companies, sports leagues, activists, and Americans stand against this anti-democratic and anti-American effort to consolidate power, this effort can be stopped.
Did you happen to see the statement put out by the Atlanta Braves team? “They” are of course outraged and disgusted.
However no mention, none whatever, about how any team member feels about it. Much less the non-white ones. Those contracts must have a hell of a “no political statements to the press” clauses in them.
1The restrictions to voting were bad, but allowing the legislature to change votes – that was felonious! The Texas Lege is poised to follow the TX Senate down that path. We need that federal voting law passed!
2I’m happy MLB took a stand, but I sure wish they had done it before the bill was passed.
3I totally agree that MLB and high profile businesses should have made their statements and taken stands before the Georgia law was signed. Frankly, in Georgia, the GOP is so pissed they were 0-3 in the presidential and senate runoff elections that nothing could have derailed their voter suppression legislation.
4That said, I do think other businesses and other high profile organizations like MLB can make a difference by making it clear there will be ramifications to voter suppression. Unlike the Qgop, many businesses and organizations understand their employees and, more importantly, their customers reflect the demographics that elected Joe Biden.
I hope this becomes a trend. Hope this isn’t wishful thinking again.
Republican leaders in Georgia and Texas are both angry with the companies (so much for “pro-business”) and threatening reprisals against the companies. This is downright crazy. Do they think Delta, Coca-Cola, Dell, etc. will just roll over? Do they think the employees of these companies will vote for them, contribute to their campaigns anyway?
I notice no one has mentioned the emergency at the Capitol yesterday, when a man ran down two Capitol Police (one fatally injuried, the other expected to live) at a checkpoint and then rammed into a stronger pop-up barrier, hopped out, and threatened approaching police with a knife. Capitol Police shot the driver (who also died in the hospital) and after a thorough search of building and grounds in case someone tried to take advantage of the excitement to sneak in or plant explosives…it was over.
A huge difference in response from January 6, when hours passed with a mob inside the Capitol building, hunting for Congress members they wanted to kill, vandalizing, stealing. This time the D.C. National Guard started for the Capitol right away. (Under previous administrations, the situation in January with known crowds expected, the DCNG would’ve been pre-positioned on the Capitol grounds…but not under 45.
5‘If companies, sports leagues, activists, and Americans stand against this anti-democratic and anti-American effort to consolidate power, this effort can be stopped.’
Good.
6I would consolidate that wording by using the term catalyst.(effecting change without being changed.) I see the GOP as having stepped, not in manure but rather super glue. Unable to even pivot in their footsteps of the Senate chamber, flailing at the onerous consequences growing from a force majeure.
@Elizabeth Moon: This was not the first incident of its type. A few years ago, a woman tried to drive onto the White House grounds and, thwarted, made her way to the Capitol. She drove erratically and was shot. Only then was it discovered that she had her 19 month-old daughter in the car with her.
You really can’t prepare for crazy people doing stuff like this. At least neither of these people had guns on them. We just hope there won’t be any copycats. I also hope this won’t delay the removal of the National Guard. They’ve come from all over the country since Jan. 6 and they need to go home.
The toll on the Capitol Police, along with the DC police, geez, I just don’t know. Besides the deaths, there were over a hundred injuries and some of those were severe and permanent. Add in the death and injury yesterday and the Capitol Police have suffered more losses this year than they have in all their years of existence combined, IIRC.
7I am not forgetting the crazy person who brought a gun to the Capitol and shot two Capitol Policemen to death a few years ago. He’s the reason ordinary people can’t just walk into the Capitol anymore. The Visitors Center was built after that tragedy so that everybody not in an official capacity has to go through there to get into the building itself.
8Thirdly, and back on the topic, I just hate it when the Nats play the Barfs in Georgia and I have to listen to that damn chopping and chanting. To make things worse, the Kansas City Chiefs have adopted the same crap. I wish the powers-that-be would simply ban it across all sports. It’s disgusting.
It is hardly surprising that the Barfs management is so completely tone-deaf, as their statement proved.
9I think the pressure on just 5 companies is poor strategy. There are other businesses, not necessarily with headquarters in Georgia, that are important to the state’s business: banks, trucking companies. Where are the unions? The IBEW has a 10-story building in Atlanta? Where are the churches? I expect nothing from the baptists but there are at least 2 Catholic dioceses? The private universities? Where are you Emory?
And so on.
10This article got me thinking — I had switched from Coke to Crystal Lite [made by Kraft] this week. Before buying it, I did make sure it’s not based in Georgia but tonight I suddenly realized — “Um, wait. There are 42 other states doing the same thing!”
So, it was back to Google:
1] Kraft is based in Chicago. OK, then.
2] Illinois has a Democratic governor and mostly Democratic legislature. That helps.
Then the kicker:
3] Illinois just passed VOTER EXPANSION LAWS. It made the easier-access laws adopted due to the pandemic permanent. YES!!!
3a] It did that despite the Republicans in the state government kicking up a fuss. Aww — poor babies.
Hmm. That switch to Crystal Lite might just become permanent. Once this whole mess is over [IF] I’ll weigh the benefits of rewarding Georgia by switching back. Or not.
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I’d left Home Depot decades ago for a totally different reason:
I asked a clerk if they carried piano hinges and he said, “We don’t sell pianos.”
I figured the only reason they would hire ignoramuses was so they could pay them a pittance — and I was out.
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I had looked up the top 100 Georgia-based companies earlier [link below] and the only other one, I think, that I could affect with a boycott was UPS. But in this time of online shopping, I can’t very well dictate how various companies send me stuff. So that’s a tough nut to crack.
https://www.zippia.com/advice/largest-companies-in-georgia/
11Correction to #11:
There’s one other company I could affect — Georgia Pacific — but I’ve been boycotting it for forever anyway.
Koch Bothers.
12Nuff said.
Just saw some jerk form National Review who claims to be a lawyer declare that the Georgia bill is not a voter suppression bill. Bet you my pocket lint that 1.) he really can’t read or 2.0 think and 3.) that he only claims to be a lawyer.
13Of course, the PGA refused to do the right thing and still is having the Tour Championship in GA.
14