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GAGE SKIDMORE
lim street scribe
A Red Ripple
VOTERS REPUDIATE AUTHORITARIAN REPUBLICANS
By Ed Tanl news@flagpole.com
ir.a:mnniir» flag football
Celebrating the Seniors
PLAYERS WHO WILL GO DOWN IN GEORGIA FOOTBALL HISTORY
By Cy Brown news@flagpole.com
An expected “Red Wave” of Republican vic
tories during the Nov. 8 midterm elections
instead turned out to be a pale pink politi
cal puddle for the Republican Party.
Voters across the nation rejected the
“Big Lie” extremism and “stolen election”
pouts of former President Donald Trump,
whose hand-picked candidates vying for
major GOP wins were disappointed in
races ranging from senators to governors
to secretaries of state. Against all odds, the
Democratic Party managed to hold on to
its slim lead in the Senate while holding
Republicans to a smaller-than-expected
majority in the House of Representatives.
Here in Georgia, Republicans scored
major victories up and down the ballot, and
incumbent Gov. Brian Kemp romped to an
easy win in a rematch with his Democratic
opponent, Stacey Abrams. The Peach State’s
race for U.S. Senate between incumbent
Democrat Raphael Warnock and Trump-
endorsed GOP challenger Herschel Walker
attracted national attention even before it
went into a runoff election set for Dec. 6.
With Democrats narrowly in control of the
Senate, a win for Warnock would provide
the party with an important extra vote in
the narrowly Democratic chamber. Early
voting in the Dec. 6 Georgia runoff election
begins on Sunday, Nov. 27.
In our neighboring state of Florida,
GOP candidates also won political contests
for offices large and small, most notably
a re-election victory by Florida Gov. Ron
DeSantis, whose win fueled speculation
that he might be eyeing the White House
more than the statehouse. Meanwhile at
Mar-a-Lago, former President Trump is
thirsting for a return to the powers of the
presidency and fuming over his disdain for
DeSantis while watching his chosen candi
dates go down in defeat in political races in
Arizona, Nevada, Pennsylvania and other
states.
Trump’s claims of a stolen 2020 elec
tion did not seem to sit well with millions
of midterm voters in 2022. In Arizona,
Trump-backed candidate Kari Lake, who
ran on conspiratorial claims of rigged elec
tions, lost the governor’s race to Democrat
Katie Hobbs. Loser Lake posted a petulant
Twitter tweet saying, “Arizonans know BS
when they see it.” That would seem to be
the case, since they rejected the candidacy
of Lake and other “election deniers” in the
state and delivered them a drubbing that
was both comic and karmic.
The party of a first-term president rou
tinely loses in midterm elections, some
times badly, as when President Barack
Obama’s Democratic Party was given what
he called “a shellacking” by GOP voters in
the 2010 midterms. This time the situation
was different. Voters were, as always, con
cerned about bread-and-butter issues like
the economy, health care and crime, but
this time democracy itself was on the bal
lot. The MAGA mob that stormed Capitol
Hill on Jan. 6, 2021 and the overturning of
the longstanding right to abortion pushed
by GOP-appointed judges on the Supreme
Court were wake-up calls for voters across
America. By the millions they turned out
to repudiate the authoritarian agenda of
Trump and his minions.
The lackluster showing by Republicans
during this year’s midterm election should
be a lesson for the party and its support
ers. For too long the Republican Party has
been under the spell of its “crazy wing”
of liars and deniers who seem to think
that GOP means “Gotterdammerung On
Purpose.” Now the fever maybe breaking
in the nation’s weakened body politic. Just
six days before the election, President Joe
Biden reminded Americans that, “We,
the people, must decide whether we’re
going to sustain a republic where reality is
accepted, the law is obeyed and your vote
is truly sacred.” On Oct. 18, a discouraging
front-page headline in The New York Times
had said, “Most Voters Say U.S. Democracy
Is Under Threat, But Few Feel Urgency.”
Voters saw the urgent threat to democracy
from Trump and his henchmen on Nov.
8 and democracy won... this time... when
American voters remembered the words
of George Washington: “Guard against the
postures of pretended patriotism.” ©
It doesn’t have to look pretty. Style points
don’t count. The only thing that matters is
getting the win.
Georgia beat Kentucky 16-6 on a cold,
windy evening in Lexington to move to
11-0 and finish undefeated in regular sea
son conference play. The victory makes
Georgia the third SEC team in 30 years
to finish consecutive seasons with an
undefeated conference record. The trip to
Atlanta for a showdown with LSU for the
SEC Championship looms.
There are other matters that must be
attended to first, though. Georgia Tech
comes up to Athens this Saturday. Bragging
rights and a perfect 12-0 record are on
the line. Beat Tech, and it doesn’t matter
what happens in Atlanta, just like last year.
(Hopefully, we handle LSU better than we
did Alabama the first time around.)
But the Tech game isn’t only about
running the state and achieving a perfect
record. Saturday is Senior Day, and this year
we get to honor the most important senior
class in the history of Georgia football.
These dudes played
through the COVID
season, won a national
championship and
now have us situated
to potentially pull off
an improbable repeat.
Since I began writ
ing these columns,
one of my hobby
horses has been the
fanbase’s need for
new heroes. Because
the 1980 team was
our only national
champion for decades,
those dudes were the
epitome of Georgia
legends for decades.
We’ve seen enough
from Herschel Walker
recently to know there’s always a time for
growth and moving on. Thankfully, we have
a whole slew of excellent players who may
repeat as national champions and go down
as the greatest Dawgs of all time.
I’m talking about dudes such as Stetson
Bennett IV. I still remember the buildup to
the Rose Bowl in 2017, when Bennett, still
a walk-on, ran the scout team playing the
part of Heisman-winner Baker Mayfield.
Then-defensive coordinator Mel Tucker
described Bennett as a “beast,” thus begin
ning the legend of the Mailman.
He’s had his share of highs and lows at
Georgia, but the only thing anyone will
ever remember is the highs. No one will
remember how we all wanted to bench him
about three times during his career. They’ll
remember that dime to AD Mitchell in
Indianapolis. I never thought I’d say this
unironically, but he may be the greatest
quarterback in Georgia history. Not the
best, necessarily, but the greatest.
While Bennett will get the lion’s share
of the glory, there are other, less-heralded
members of UGA’s offense that deserve
some praise. Kenny McIntosh waited his
turn behind Nick Chubb, Sony Michel,
Zamir White and James Cook. He only got
to play in spots until this year, when he
emerged as RBI. He had the best game of
his career against Kentucky, racking up 143
rushing yards and a touchdown.
Kearis Jackson is another player who
doesn’t get enough credit. I’ll be honest,
there have been times this season when I
forgot he hasn’t graduated. But he has a
knack for stepping up when needed, like
a few weeks ago against Mississippi State.
He’s been a shoelace tackle from returning
a punt for a touchdown about a half-dozen
times in his career, and I’m holding out
hope he can still get one before he’s done.
On defense, Christopher Smith has held
down the secondary for three years. It was
his pick-six against Clemson last year that
got the ball rolling on the title-winning
campaign. His decision to return for one
more season helped set up our defense with
sorely needed leadership and experience. I
don’t know if we’re in the position we’re in
right now had he not come back.
Ditto for Nolan Smith. Unfortunately,
his Georgia playing career is over after he
tore his pectoral muscle. Note that I said
“playing” career. Smith is still around,
traveling with the team, encouraging and
coaching his fellow outside linebackers. I
wish he could play down this stretch run,
but I’m glad he’ll still be a presence within
the team.
A special shoutout to a couple of juniors
who are pretty much guaranteed to make
the jump to the NFL after this year: Jalen
Carter and Kelee Ringo. Carter is the best
player on this year’s team and was the best
on last year’s team, too—which makes him
one of the best to ever wear red and black.
Dudes like him don’t come around often, so
enjoy watching him with the Dawgs while
you can.
Some plays get cute names when they go
down in history. I’ve noticed that when peo
ple refer to his game-sealing pick-six in the
national championship game, folks just call
it “Ringo.” As in. “After Ringo, I cried like
a baby.” That’s all that needs to be said of a
play that legendary and a player that good.
Damn good Dawgs, one and all. ©
2020 election denier Kari Lake unsurprisingly denied her own defeat last week.
Bulldog fans will always remember Kelee Ringo's pick six.
8
FLAGPOLE.COM ■ NOVEMBER 23, 2022
MACKENZIE MILES / UGA ATHLETIC ASSOCIATION