Why Can't Democrats tell the truth?
Georgia Senate candidate Jon Ossoff insisted he has no concerns "whatsoever" about the allegations of child abuse at a church camp once run by Democratic ally Rev. Raphael Warnock. In an attempt to divert attention from Warnock, Ossoff went on to falsely claim that his rival Sen. Kelly Loeffler has been "campaigning with a Klansman."
"Any concern that the allegations of wrongdoing by Rev. Warnock could possibly be a drag on the Democratic ticket next week?" one reporter asked Ossoff, just five days out from the Jan. 5 run-off elections in Georgia.
"None whatsoever," Ossoff responded without hesitation. "Rev. Warnock addressed this issue a year ago."
"And here's the bottom line: Kelly Loeffler has been campaigning with a Klansman," Ossoff added, unprompted. "And so she is stooping to these vicious personal attacks to distract from the fact that she's been campaigning with a former member of the Ku Klux Klan."
While encouraging voter turnout on Tuesday, Ossoff declared: "I mean, we deserve better than that here in Georgia."
In his remarks, Ossoff accused the incumbent of "campaigning" with Chester Doles, reportedly the former leader of the Ku Klux Klan. Doles also has ties to the Hammerskins with whom he marched in the 2017 Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville, Virginia.
In one since-contested picture, Doles posed with Loeffler at a recent campaign event in Dawsonville, Ga. He then posted the photograph to the Russian social network VKontakte on Friday with the caption: "Kelly Leoffener [sic] and I. Save America, stop Socialism!"
A spokesperson for Loeffler's campaign moved to denounce Doles and maintain that she had no idea who he was at the time.
"Kelly had no idea who that was, and if she had she would have kicked him out immediately because we condemn in the most vociferous terms everything that he stands for," Loeffler campaign spokesman Stephen Lawson told the Associated Press on Sunday.
02 January 2021, US, Athens: U.S. Democrat Jon Ossoff gestures during a campaign appearance. Ossoff is running for a seat in the US Senate. On January 5, two run-off elections will be held in the US state of Georgia to decide the majority in the US Senate. (to dpa: "The Last Stand") Photo: Lena Klimkeit/dpa (Photo by Lena Klimkeit/picture alliance via Getty Images)