I have called the Georgia Tourism Board and informed them that if the Republicans in their legislature strip ordinary Georgians of their right to vote after their historic, hard and honestly won victories which delivered the nation from right wing misrule, that I will not spend a penny in their state. I will conduct my hurricane evacuations to the Hippie Haven in the Hills (Asheville) or Charlotte, NC (the weary city of bankers).
I live in SC. We try hard but the concrete of structural racism hardened here long ago. The best of our progressive talent has been driven from the Palmetto State. Liberals hope their children will find a future in a strong, blue state. Our lucky friends retire to places like Boulder and Portland. Outside of a fierce pocket of resistance in rapidly gentrifying Charleston County (Which just elected a female LGBT sheriff) rednecks rule the land. They are aided by co-opted black preachers and a massive network of right wing megachurches. In the past year we have buried three of the state's most active progressive voices. I was born here and realized far too late that to remain here is a death sentence. It is now too late to escape.
About once a year, I'm forced on the road by a hurricane evacuation. We drive over to Atlanta and stay in liberal Decatur. We ride MARTA downtown and seek out cheap Thai food. After an expensive day or two we head back to Charleston, hoping, and sort of not hoping, that it is still there. Each of these evacuations ends up costing about a thousand dollars. It's almost impossible for a powerful hurricane to reach Atlanta. If the Georgia legislature insists on cheating my friends, I shall take that reluctant thousand dollars elsewhere and I shall work my my progressive friends in SC to see that many other do so. When the storm approaches, I shall remind my friends that spending money in Georgia is rewarding the thieves who robbed it's working poor of their right to vote.
I'm not asking you to help me start this. It has begun. I run a PAC called Up is Good and we'll be Tweeting out our reminders to boycott George when the Upmobile is on it's way to Asheville. You can help now by calling and informing elected officials and tourism workers in Georgia that you'll be boycotting the start.
My friends in Georgia risked their lives to win those elections. With Covid hanging in the air, they dodged death and brought hope to street corners. Their reward and our boon is a White House and Senate in the hands of decent leadership for the first time in years. The nightmare of Trump is over for now and the grueling recovery can begin. South Carolina, despite squndering 100 million dollars in a campaign against Lindsey Graham managed by professionals who never left their desks, contributed nothing to the nations salvation. I am ashamed.
The professional political operatives which run the Democratic Party, including Mr. Harrison, who is a nice guy but lost so badly in SC in his 100 million dollar campaign for the US Senate, don't really want to fight the Republicans. They like a high drama, low stakes contests largely waged in the way which keeps the red buttons on Act Blue clicking. They don't want to hurt anybody. In the end, Washington politics is like professional wrestling, a fake performance to romance the dough out of the credulous masses. Win or lose, as long as some crazy ex soccar Mom in Congress is winding up the outrage, they'll pretend to fight for the working class while they will for real cash every check we send.
This is not how war is waged. You have to do damage. You have to compromise the opposition's capacity to make war. You have debilitate their mechanisms of supply and movement. You have to demoralize the people who send them money and persuade them that the war against those who work are brown, or gay or female is too dangerious for them to be associated with.
Letters to the Editor and petitions don't do this. On line fundraising doesn't do this. Wringing our hands in zoom meetings makes it worse.
Costing businesses money does this. Until they've made us all poor, it always works. We're told it never does, but we've seen it break the back of Walmart which vowed never to raise wages. It persuaded CVS to stop funding right wing PACs. It may yet persuade the part owner of Publix to stop funding insurrections. If we unite in building a national list of states which have stripped people of their voting rights and we successfully divert money from their tourism sectors, those cash starved elements will weaponize their people focused businesses to make sure the Republicans take the locks of the polls.
I guess #boycottgeorgiatourism will do for a hashtag.
Remember if the target doesn’t know you are doing it, you may as well be mail ordering trump flags for your house. If you cancel plans to travel to or spend money in Georgia, make sure the restaurants, hotels and attractions you might have visited know. Notify election officials. Sweat the people at Georgia tourism. Make sure that real people with real bills know that their politicians cost them money. They will tell you they don’t care. They will be lying.
If we're not willing to do that much, our Democratic moral outrage is just cheap theater and the checks we send to DC are delusional wastes of money.
You can reach me by email at wjhamilton29464@gmail.com or by calling (843) 870-5299