Tag: Kelly Loeffler

Democrats win control of Senate after Warnock, Ossoff victories

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Democrats have won control of the Senate after securing victories in two runoff races in Georgia, a historic shift that will effectively give the party full control of the government under President-elect Joe Biden.

Democrat Raphael Warnock defeated Sen. Kelly Loeffler (R-Ga.), while Democrat Jon Ossoff defeated Sen. David Perdue, in hotly contested runoff races, giving each party 50 seats in the Senate. Vice President-elect Kamala Harris will cast the tie-breaking votes, giving Democrats control of the Senate for the first time since 2014.

Warnock’s victory over Loeffler was called early Wednesday morning. The race between Ossoff and Perdue was closer and was not called until the afternoon, as police clashed with a right-wing mob that stormed Capitol Hill to disrupt the Electoral College vote count. Continue reading.

Loeffler leans in to Trump’s culture war in battle with WNBA

When Georgia business executive Kelly Loeffler was appointed to replace the ailing Sen. Johnny Isakson in December, it was clear that her ownership of the WNBA’s Atlanta Dream could become an issue during the 2020 special election to fill out the term.

The league, which is 83 percent women of color, is known for its frosty relationship with President Donald Trump, a politician who dominates the political landscape with culturally inflammatory and racist rhetoric. Some right-wing activists were angry at Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp for not picking Rep. Doug Collins, a staunch Trump ally who became known for defending the president from his perch as ranking member of the House Judiciary Committee.

“The WNBA has been an outspoken supporter of Planned Parenthood, even partnering with the pro-abortion organization in opposing President Trump’s pro-life policies,” the Concerned Women for America, a socially conservative evangelical group, said in a statement at the time. Continue reading.

Conservative writer slams GOP senator for spreading ‘legal disinformation’ about the First Amendment

AlterNet logoWhile many argue that social media outlets like Facebook and Twitter need to do a better job of policing content posted by President Donald Trump and his allies, Trump supporters have a very different view. They claim that those outlets are discriminating against Republicans and violating the First Amendment protections. Far-right Republican Sen. Kelly Loeffler of Georgia made such claims during a recent appearance on Fox News — and a well-known conservative journalist, David A. French, is schooling her on what the First Amendment actually does.

Loeffler told Fox News: “It’s very clear that there needs to be strong action, and that’s what I’m taking. I’m taking strong action to protect the 1st Amendment — the freedom of speech for all Americans regardless of their political party. I’ve signed onto legislation to look at the limits on immunity from litigation that currently protects big tech. You know, if you look at what’s happened, it’s all happened against conservative speech — and we need to take a close look at that…. Right now, conservative speech is really under fire by big tech.”

Sen. Josh Hawley of Missouri has introduced a bill that would amend Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act of 1996 and allow lawsuits against platforms like Twitter and Facebook on the grounds that they are censoring political speech. Loeffler voiced her support for the legislation: Continue reading.