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Georgia Lieutenant Governor declares independence from Trump | Georgia News

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By JEFF AMY, Associated Press

ATLANTA (AP) – Republican Lieutenant Governor of Georgia declares independence from Donald Trump in new book and urges other GOP members to follow.

Geoff Duncan has come under heavy criticism from the former president and many other Republicans for his harsh criticism of Trump’s efforts to reverse his presidential defeat. In a new book, “GOP 2.0”, he sets out his vision for a different future for the Republican Party.

The book, which comes out next week and was obtained exclusively in advance by The Associated Press, mixes Duncan’s perspective on what went wrong with Trump and the aftermath of the 2020 election with his ideas on the how the GOP might once again welcome the moderate, college-educated suburban voters who have strayed from the party. He says he doesn’t want to be anti-Trump, but post-Trump.

“I just wanted to have a conversation with anyone in America who considers themselves conservative,” Duncan said in an interview before the book’s release.

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Duncan never writes Trump’s name in the book, a gesture he says he did on purpose.

“I won’t worship it,” Duncan writes. “I won’t apologize for his excesses. I won’t believe his lies. I will not imitate his tone. I will not falsely flatter voters that he is misinformed. And I will certainly not fool my constituents because he wants to.

He recounts a visit with Trump during a pre-election race in a motorcade, where he found him knowledgeable about Georgia’s problems. He says he thinks Trump could have been re-elected in 2020 by showing up on his case instead of voicing his grievances. But Duncan concludes that Trump’s post-election behavior has shown the former president to be so flawed he’s glad he lost.

“Looking back, maybe his flaws and the resulting loss have been our saving grace,” Duncan writes. “We found that not all political victories in the world could make up for other shortcomings.”

Most Republicans think differently. Duncan chose not to run for Georgia in 2022, saying he couldn’t campaign effectively for the job and promote his party vision at the same time. But he should have faced a major challenge with no guarantee of re-election.

Duncan says he gets a lot of support, but it’s hard to see many top Republicans rallying to the GOP 2.0 banner. Georgia Governor Brian Kemp and Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger were attacked by Trump alongside Duncan, and the two Republicans tried to appease supporters as they tried to win re-election.

Duncan sums up his prescription for what Republicans should do next to a three-word slogan – politics, empathy, tone. He argues that Republicans need to pursue better politics to broaden its appeal, empathize to effectively reach voters, and reject a divisive tone aimed primarily at pissing off their grassroots voters.

On politics, Duncan commits further apostasies from GOP orthodoxy in the book, claiming he can no longer support the death penalty as compatible with his opposition to abortion. He writes that his sons once asked him, “Daddy, why are you fighting so hard to protect unborn babies but endure the death penalty?”

He is also moving away from absolutist support for gun rights, saying Republicans will lose influence if they don’t show some willingness to compromise on issues like background checks.

“We can’t stop gun violence completely, but we can keep the debate in check by taking smart steps that balance our freedom to bear arms with everyone’s right to safety,” Duncan writes.

Duncan goes back and forth on Georgia’s new electoral law, supporting many of its measures, but not all. He acknowledges that most Republicans were motivated by the loss of Trump, but accuses Democrats of unfairly attacking the end product even after some of the worst provisions were removed.

“No one thought Bill was perfect, but it wasn’t a monster,” Duncan writes.

The book is peppered with metaphors and stories of Duncan’s academic and professional career as a pitcher. When he talks about tone, he argues that Republicans need to vary their rhetoric despite demands from supporters.

“The crowd wants you to throw a fastball on every pitch and knock it off the batter,” Duncan writes. “They are literally screaming at you to bring warmth!” But if you do, you will end up losing the game.

Duncan repeatedly argues that grassroots Republicans are misled by partisan media and their own leaders. People should seek media coverage outside of their ideological silos, he says, and Republicans should avoid some of the “entertaining and tantalizing battles that unfold on social media.”

The book has a serious right arrow tone. Some would say naivety, but Duncan calls it optimism: “What if – if – the Republican Party can get rid of its loyalty to evil leaders, and if our party can understand, love and forgive others, I think we can find a better way. forward and elect a new type of Republican president in 2024.

Follow Jeff Amy on Twitter at http://twitter.com/jeffamy.

Copyright 2021 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.


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