The Republican National Committee is playing hardball in a new ad that blames Democrats’ lies about Georgia’s new election laws for causing Major League Baseball to move its All-Star Game from Atlanta to Denver.
MLB announced in April that it was moving the Midsummer Classic to Coors Field in Denver, from Atlanta’s Truist Park, after Democrats and President Biden likened Georgia’s new election law to “Jim Crow” and urged a boycott — despite Colorado having stricter voting laws than the measures passed in Georgia.
“It was supposed to be Atlanta’s night. But we were robbed,” the Rev. Melvin Everson of Georgia says in the 30-second ad that was released Monday but will air at Tuesday night’s game.
“Democrats stole our All-Star Game to push their divisive political agenda. Politicians and corporations lied, while black communities got hurt the most,” he continues.
“Even though a majority of black voters support laws like voter ID. To Democrats, it’s just a game. But we’re the ones who got played.”
Republicans pointed out at the time that the Washington Post gave Biden “Four Pinocchios” for his claims about the new law.
“The law would ’end voting at five o’clock when working people are just getting off work’ or ’ends voting hours early so working people can’t cast their vote after their shift is over,’” the newspaper wrote of Biden’s accusations. “Many listeners might assume he was talking about voting on Election Day, not early voting. But Election Day hours were not changed,” it concluded.
Sen. Raphael Warnock is also the target of an ad from the National Republican Senatorial Committee that accuses the Georgia Democrat of not doing enough to keep the All-Star Game in Atlanta.
“Baseball’s Midsummer Classic: The All-Star Game. A $100 million boost to Georgia’s economy, until the radical left woke crowd took it all away, forcing the MLB to boycott Georgia,” the 30-second ad released last Thursday says.
“Even [former Georgia gubernatorial candidate] Stacey Abrams opposed the boycott, but Senator Warnock refused to oppose it,” the narrator says.
The Justice Department has sued Georgia over its election reform law.
“This lawsuit is the first step of many we are taking to ensure that all eligible voters can cast a vote; that all lawful votes are counted; and that every voter has access to accurate information,” Attorney General Merrick Garland said in a statement announcing the decision last month.