Georgia’s U.S. Senate Candidates Debate

The Atlanta Press Club’s Loudermilk-Young Debate Series featuring U.S. Senate candidates Jon Ossoff (D), Rev. Dr. Raphael Warnock (D), and Kelly Loeffler (R) is now over.

The Atlanta Press Club’s Loudermilk-Young Debate Series hosted debates between the candidates for both of Georgia’s U.S. Senate seats.

While Jon Ossoff and Senator David Perdue were also invited to participate, David Perdue declined participation.

Poor Jon… he had the stage all to himself. Thus, the Democratic candidate Jon Ossoff having the floor all to himself, proceeded to pummel his opponent in absentia and “debated” an empty podium, because the cowardly incumbent Banana Republican Senator David Perdue skipped out. An yet, it’s an entirely apropos picture of the coronavirus-stock-trading fraudulent Senator.

Not smart, David. Not smart at all. In fact, it’s pretty damn stupid. You lost by not showing up. In sports terms, that’s called a “forfeit,” or if you prefer pecuniary terms, a “loss given default.” Which is also probably how it’ll all go down for you, anyway. But for Jon, it’s a Credit Default Swap, and he’s the one profiting from your loss/forfeit/default.

After Ossoff’s solo performance, or soliloquy (take your pick), which was broadcast live on Georgia Public Broadcasting, and available online, on Sunday, December 6 from 7 – 8PM EST, the appointed (not anointed) Banana Republican Senator Kelly Loeffler and Reverend Raphael Warnock also participated in a debate in the same venue.

Billionairess Banana Republican Kelly Loeffler stood at the podium with her standard smirky pseudo-smile and stared straight ahead throughout the event, rarely ever making eye contact with anyone present – either the moderator, her opponent Rev. Dr. Raphael Warnock, or the two panelists.

But in all fairness, she did turn her head a few times – but very few.

Reverend Dr. Raphael Warnock, pastor of Atlanta’s Ebeneezer Baptist Church, formerly pastored by the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and where in significant part America’s Civil Rights Movement was cultivated, was calm, cool, collected, and willingly corrected for the record the deliberate misrepresentations, twists, and outright lies that Kelly Loeffler spouted. He was certainly more animated, though not exaggerated. Loeffler, however, was more robotic, automaton-like.

Warnock pointed out that, aside from campaigning, Loeffler had not visited any of Georgia’s rural areas, or small towns during the brief 10-month period of her appointment to office by Georgia Governor Brian Kemp. He contrasted himself with her lackadaisical and purposeful ignorance of her constituency by illustrating how, through his leadership position as church pastor, he has effectuated programs that teach financial literacy, helped others obtain employment or start their own businesses, and taken an interest in other people’s lives his entire life, while Loeffler has only given heed to the love of money.

When Loeffler spoke, she consistently began with or included in many responses, the clause “radical liberal Raphael Warnock,” which only became good name recognition for him. Of course, for those who know him – and most importantly, for those who don’t – the “radical liberal” part is, as hopefully most everyone knows by now, is not anywhere near close to the truth. And the more she repeated it, the more stupid she appeared and sounded. But again, she mentioned his name more than anyone present mentioned hers. Not smart. She never referred to him as “my opponent,” “the Democratic candidate,” or by any other substitutionary adjective.

Loeffler also frequently used the phrase “I have lived the American dream,” which, aside from making her seem she was better than most Georgians, was featured prominently and frequently throughout the debate by Loeffler, and always in conjunction with “I grew up on a farm, I waitressed during high school, and was the first to graduate college in my family.” The enumeration of those items were never used apart from each other. Not even once.

Kelly Loeffler and Jeffrey Sprecher in 2013

And while Loeffer stated numerous times that she “lived the American dream,” she conveniently neglected to mention exactly how she made it.

Naturally, one would imagine (or hope) that it would be the “good old fashioned way,” and to some extent, that’s true for her.

But, not in the way you might suppose – by hard work, determination, and a good plan.

The one thing that Loeffler astutely avoided mentioning was that her achievement of the “American Dream” was obtained by marrying the man who owned the New York Stock Exchange.

She married into money.

And what is particularly egregious, though it hasn’t become an issue in the campaign, is that at InterContinental Exchange (ICE) – the company which her husband founded, whom is also President and CEO, and owns the New York Stock Exchange – she developed, sold, and managed the Credit Default Swaps (CDS). Credit Default Swaps are negotiable instruments that involve “betting” on someone to default on some type of loan, which are “insured” by separate party. The essence of the CDS is that the holder of the instrument is “wagering” that the buyer will default, and therefore, reap the insurance profit, as well as the difference in the selling price, and the failure price.

In a sense, it provides the buyer with protection against default and other risks, by compensating the buyer in the event a debt is defaulted upon. Simply put, the seller of the CDS insures the buyer of the CDS against default.

It’s like betting on a team to lose. But in the case of a CDS, it’s businesses and the economy. And why would someone bet on businesses to fail? It’s perverse.

And yet, Kelly Loeffler has been making her money at ICE by doing exactly that, by betting on businesses to lose. It’s predatory.

Loeffler seemed to have a decent grasp of the concept of the politics of fear, and used it often in an effort to accuse Rev. Dr. Warnock of opposing practically everything American, such as mama, apple pie, and the girl next door.

Her alienation from the average Georgian and average American as a billionairess was painfully evident in most all of her responses, as evidenced by her oft-touted phrase “I have lived the American dream, I grew up on a farm, I waitressed during high school, and was the first to graduate college in my family.” Of course, most Americans don’t fly in private $10 million jets, live in 15,000 square foot $10.5 million mansions, and marry multimillionaires that own the stock market.

As well, she demonstrated that she was already in lockstep with the “silence is golden” byword used by Banana Republicans and the Loser in Chief, POS45, by refusing to acknowledge that he lost the election when asked point blank about the matter. The pat phrase which she used – “the president has every right to every legal recourse, and that’s what’s taking place” – is used by every Banana Republican who fears the Wrath of Trump. Clearly, she doesn’t have the courage of her convictions like Mitt Romney or other TRUE Republicans.

Lisa Rayam, WABE Radio Morning Edition Host and Senior Producer asked Loeffler about her disparaging remarks about the Black Lives Matter movement – “dangerous Marxist movement called the Black Lives Matter political organization,” and “” – which alienated her from many of the members of the Atlanta Dream WNBA team which she co-owns. Loeffler clearly didn’t like that question, as seen by the expression on her face when listening to the question. And, while she was not quite exactly nonplussed, she, in typical politician style avoided directly answering the question by dancing, bobbing and weaving around it, and quickly switching the subject of her response. Thus, she truly never truly answered it.

The greatest problem is, that while she cavorted with her response like a basketball player does a ball in the game, she never made a slam dunk, either by that response, or in any other throughout the entire debate.

The takeaway from the Loeffler-Warnock debate could be largely characterized as follows:

Loeffler: I’ve lived the American dream, I grew up on a farm, I waitressed tables in high school, was the first in my family to graduate college, radical liberal Raphael Warnock…

Warnock: I’ve helped people all my life, I’ll work for ordinary people

The debates were moderated by WAGA-TV/Fox5 Anchor Russ Spencer, with Atlanta Journal-Constitution Political Writer Greg Bluestein and WABE Radio Morning Edition Host and Senior Producer Lisa Rayam as panelists.