As if Georgia and the American South need more help in shaking loose the shackles and shadows of the American Civil War, Georgia State Senator Colton Moore (R-District 53) is suggesting that any actual trial or felony convictions for former president Donald J. Trump might likely incite a new civil war.
Senator Moore, a freshman in the body, and formerly a backbencher in the state house, was best known for once calling for the resignation of well-respected, then-Speaker of the State House of Representatives David Ralston.
Just beneath the “Donate” button on Moore’s campaign re-election website (coltonmoore.com), it reads: God. Guns, Liberty. Leadership.
Though those four nouns are not mutually exclusive, it takes a certain type of individual to lump them all together.
For the record, I am a Christian, a gun owner and NRA member, a lay historian, and a Libertarian who has served in dozens of civic, nonprofit, and business community leadership roles over a period of decades. I’ve learned that loudmouths and bullies very seldom make good leaders.
Though I am guessing Moore is already planning to run for the 14th Congressional district seat held by U.S.
Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene, is saying something to state that his opinions, public statements, and practical threats make Rep.
Greene sounds like a voice of reason. As President Trump is most likely not to escape the multitude of felony charges in Georgia tied to 19 co-defendants in his RICO case – in a trial most likely to be held next spring in the Fulton County Courthouse – I would expect we may hear a later call from State Senator Moore for a second burning of Atlanta.
We have already heard the senator call for a Special Legislative Session, first shot down by Governor Brian Kemp and followed by State House Speaker Jon Burns. Moore then suggested the state senate hold impeachment hearings for Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis, followed later by suggestions to criminally charge the D.A. for this prosecution of the former president. He believes the charges to be political in nature and the entire investigation, much like its target, to be merely a witch hunt.
On the other hand, I can easily envision Senator Moore back in the day carrying the pitchfork, tar, and feathers for those witch hunts.
Moore is also calling for the Georgia General Assembly to defund the Fulton District Attorney’s office. Never mind the bulk of those budget dollars come from Fulton County property and sales taxes, though there are some nominal state and federal dollars passed through.
Criminal charges against the D.A. won’t happen, while impeachment hearings by the state senate, I would not rule out, as Moore is not the only Trumpcard- carrying, perhaps even well-intentioned wack-a-doodle in that body. Georgia’s current lieutenant governor, Burt Jones, presides over the state senate and also served as an “alternate elector” in the Georgia GOP’s alternate universe where Donald Trump won the presidential election in Georgia. Jones, fortunately, at this point safely remains an unindicted co-conspirator.
When Moore’s calls for a special session were rebuffed, as those are generally expensive, intentionally rare and more typically called for things like legislative redistricting, Moore then morphed his request into “Emergency Session,” a term I have never actually heard used by the governor or either chamber’s leadership, but perhaps more fitting for reacting to major natural disasters, a declaration of war, or even a crippling pandemic.
I have been around Georgia and its politics long enough to remember how ineffective the loudest voices often are, typically also brandishing a baseball bat or their firearm of choice. Names and faces like Lester Maddox, J.B. Stoner and Congressman Larry McDonald (who died tragically 40 years ago) come to mind. Those deceased voices from the hard right, even then on the fringe, were at least somewhat understood as a product of their times.
Senator Moore doesn’t turn 30 until next month. So, what’s his excuse for taunting us with statements that might have sounded extreme coming from his grandfather? I believe strongly in the right to free speech, but the senator appears to be working hard to lead a club that almost no one else actually wants to join.
Moore’s day jobs are auctioneer and dump truck driver. There is nothing wrong with blue-collar work, but most hard-working Georgians I know are above calling their colleagues and peers cowards, socialists, Marxists, and the like, simply for not seeing things as they do. Fortunately, only two other members among 236 in the Georgia General Assembly so far seem to see things the same way, so again, less means Moore.