In reference to the new voting legislation, Biden said Georgia needs to “smarten up” to avoid the businesses threatening to boycott or even leave the state.
While speaking with reporters on Tuesday, Biden said, “It is reassuring to see that for-profit operations and businesses are speaking up about how these new Jim Crow laws that are just antithetical to who we are.”
“There’s another side to it too. When they in fact move out of Georgia, people who need help most, people who are making hourly wages, sometimes get hurt the most,” Biden said.
He said he supports however businesses decide to protest the law. “I think it’s a very tough decision for a corporation to make or group to make, I respect them when they make that judgment, I support whatever judgment they make. The best way to deal with this is for Georgia and other states to smarten up. Stop it, stop it,” he said.
Last week, Major League Baseball announced it would pull its All-Star Game out of Atlanta, and before that Biden said he would “strongly support” players pushing to move the game.
“I think today’s professional athletes are acting incredibly responsibly. I would strongly support them doing that,” Biden told ESPN last week. “People look to them. They’re leaders. The very people who are victimized the most are the leaders in these various sports.”
Other corporations issued statements condemning the new legislation, including Coca-Cola, J.P. Morgan and Delta.
Georgia Governor Brian Kemp recently outlined the key points of the bill in an op-ed:
• It expands access to early voting statewide by requiring two mandatory Saturdays and allowing local election officials the option of up to two Sundays during early voting. This change would apply to all 159 counties in Georgia for the first time and result in hundreds of hours of increased early voting opportunities across the state.
• SB 202 requires all voters to provide a driver’s license or a free state ID card number to request and submit an absentee ballot. This would replace the cumbersome signature match process, thereby significantly streamlining – and securing – absentee ballot verification and tabulation. Every Georgia voter must already present some form of photo ID to vote in-person.
• For the first time ballot drop boxes – which were not available to Georgia voters prior to the COVID-19 pandemic – are mandated in every county, while also ensuring all drop boxes are secured around the clock.
• SB 202 protects polling locations from electioneering by private individuals. Within 150 feet of the precinct, election officials may provide water at stations. Beyond 150 feet, as previous Georgia law allowed, private individuals may campaign and provide food and water for voters.
• It also requires local election officials to continue tabulating votes until counting is complete and mandates the use of security paper to ensure complete authentication of ballots.
MLB Expanded Deal with CCP-Tied Chinese Company a Day After Boycotting Georgia
Major League Baseball (MLB) expanded its contract with a Chinese telecommunications company just after it boycotted the state of Georgia over its election reform law.
Chinese state media reported on April 1 that the MLB will continue to be aired on the streaming platform operated by Chinese tech giant Tencent, which has significant ties to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). Tencent is of the Chinese companies that had temporarily dropped NBA games as a form of censorship after former Houston Rockets general manager Daryl Morey spoke out in support of the pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong.
On April 2, the day after the announcement of the Chinese deal, the MLB moved its annual All-Star game out of Atlanta, Georgia, in response to a set of election reforms signed by Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp last month. MLB Commissioner Robert Manfred said in a statement that the move would “demonstrate our values as a sport.”
The MLB did not respond to the Epoch Times email in which they asked the organization to confirm the Chinese deal and ask why it would do business with a country which has been recognized by the U.S. as carrying out genocide against Uyghur Muslims.
Sen. Marco Rubio blasted the MLB over its hypocrisy on Twitter, writing, “Dear GOP:
@MLB caves to pressure & moves draft & #AllStarGame out of Georgia on the same week they announce a deal with a company backed by the genocidal Communist Party of #China. Why are we still listening to these woke corporate hypocrites on taxes, regulations & anti-trust?”
Dear GOP:@MLB caves to pressure & moves draft & #AllStarGame out of Georgia on the same week they announce a deal with a company backed by the genocidal Communist Party of #China
Why are we still listening to these woke corporate hypocrites on taxes, regulations & anti-trust? https://t.co/GWToVhAZvW
— Marco Rubio (@marcorubio) April 2, 2021
The Left has perpetuated numerous falsehoods about Georgia’s election integrity law, claiming it was racist and oppressive. Their lies are so outrageous, even the Washington Post was forced to give President Joe Biden “Four Pinocchio’s” for lying and saying the bill would restrict voting hours.
Georgia Governor Brian Kemp recently outlined the key points of the bill in an op-ed, and explained, among other things that the law actually “expands access to early voting statewide by requiring two mandatory Saturdays and allowing local election officials the option of up to two Sundays during early voting.”
It would also mandate secured ballot drop boxes in every county and protect polling locations from electioneering.
For the full report, click HERE.
Report: MLB Boycott Likely to Negatively Impact Black-Owned Businesses in Atlanta
Major League Baseball’s boycott of Georgia over its election integrity law will likely have a negative impact on Atlanta’s black-owned businesses, according to a report by the Daily Caller.
Atlanta’s businesses are 30 percent black-owned, and it has been estimated the state will lose out on more than $100 million due to the MLB’s decision to move the 2021 All Star Game out of the city.
Black-owned businesses in Atlanta could acutely feel the revenue loss. Nearly 30% of Atlanta’s businesses are black-owned, landing it the fifth-place spot on career resource website Overheard on Conference Call’s ranking of “Best Cities for Black-Owned Business in 2021.”
Savannah, where 23% of businesses are black owned, was the 20th best city in the ranking, Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported in February.
MLB intended to play the exhibition game at the Atlanta Braves’ Truist Park, but moved the location due to the new voter laws which are aimed to curb alleged voter fraud. Among other things, the law requires voters to provide a photo ID when they submit an absentee ballot.
“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,” Commissioner Rob Manfred said in a statement.
Democrats and the left have perpetuated numerous falsehoods about the Georgia election integrity bill, claiming, among other things, that it is racist because of its requirement for an ID to submit an absentee ballot.
Governor Brian Kemp recently explained in an op-ed, the bill “requires all voters to provide a driver’s license or a free state ID card number to request and submit an absentee ballot. This would replace the cumbersome signature match process, thereby significantly streamlining – and securing – absentee ballot verification and tabulation. Every Georgia voter must already present some form of photo ID to vote in-person.”
The MLB has been called out for its hypocrisy after requiring fans to present a photo ID to pick up tickets at will call:
Hey @MLB, this you? pic.twitter.com/4onEFdmt5U
— Nancy Mace (@NancyMace) April 3, 2021
