In a Wednesday morning segment debunking just some of the left's lies about the Georgia voting law, the Fox News Channel again demonstrated for consumers why the network not only delivers important information (while others parrot leftist propaganda), but clean-up in the ratings.
For this instance, Fox & Friends co-host Brian Kilmeade brought on Governor Brian Kemp (R-GA) to methodically walk through some of the left's false claims, including their disinformation campaign around topics such as early voting and access to food and water while waiting in line.
Unlike if he had appeared before some belligerent CNN or MSNBC host, Kemp was allowed to explain that anyone can still supply water or food to voters as long as they stay outside a minimum distance from both the polling place and the voters. After Kilmeade explained that poll workers can still have refreshments at the polls, Kemp recalled that, in fact, anyone can do so at the proper distance:
[T]he political groups and others -- nonprofits, whoever -- can still do that, Brian, if they're outside the 150-foot buffer around the polling location or 25 feet from the end of the line. So it's it's not like you still can't do those things. We're just trying to keep voters from being harassed and electioneered while they're standing in line preparing to vote. We've had laws like that and most states have around the country for years.
After recalling that even the The Washington Post had declared that a key Democratic claim (which was peddled by President Biden) were false, he called out former Democratic opponent Stacey Abrams for praising New Jersey over its early voting period even though Georgia has a longer early voting period (click "expand"):
KEMP: But, as you know, hypocrisy is running rampant right now. This bill makes it easy to vote and hard to cheat. I heard you mention on the tease earlier that President Biden got four Pinocchios from The Washington Post, which is incredible because they're absolutely right. What he was saying is not true and even more hypocrisy was Stacey Abrams celebrating New Jersey expanding to nine days of early voting when her own state of Georgia has 17, and we just added more opportunities on the weekend.
KILMEADE: Right.
KEMP: So, they're being mistruthful about what the bill does.
KILMEADE: They're out-communicating you because you have the facts on your side, it seems. Even The Washington Post picked that out.
Kilmeade followed up by playing a clip of President Joe Biden repeating misinformation in claiming that Georgia would be cutting back its voting hours, and the Fox host then quoted the Post headline that exposed the misinformation: "Well, the Washington Post heard that like you heard that, and this is what they figured out. 'Biden falsely claims the new Georgia law ends voting hours early.' It is not true, right? Your hours remain the same, correct?"
Kemp said that indeed as the case, adding that in "134 out of 159 counties," the "bill will actually be expanding the number of hours that people can vote in the process" and that the fury against the Peach State has been both the border crisis "a distraction for them to make a case to do an unconstitutional power grab with HR. 1." And on an amusing note, Kemp pointed out that wait times in Georgia were better than Biden's own state of Delaware.
The two also touched on the issues of voter ID numbers being used with absentee ballots -- which Erick Erickson has pointed out is an improvement because it protects voters by preventing ballots from being thrown out over signatures that have changed over time. Additionally, drop boxes for ballots will be expanded to every county while they will be moved indoors to keep them from being tampered with outside.
Here was what Kemp and Kilmeade said about that (as well as the boycotts) (click "expand"):
KILMEADE: And what you're trying to do is if you don't have ID, you write a state number in or your Social Security number on that absentee ballot. And when it comes to drop boxes, this is the first time you're using them. You just don't want a lot of them. You want to put them in places -- in -- in controlled places -- one per county unless this county is really big. Real quick on drop boxes?
KEMP: Yeah. The other side is saying we're taking that away. There's actually counties that didn't have drop boxes. This legislation requires every county to have one, so what they're saying, again, is not true.
KILMEADE: So, governor, if they're calling you a racist and they're saying you're trying to lock out -- you trying to stop people from voting, and they're saying minorities shouldn't vote, you have to have your communication out team if you feel you have the facts -- and it seems you -- do -- on your side every day because it's relentless. And, again, they're putting Georgia in the boycott eye of the storm. Major League is pressuring to get their All-Star Game out. The PGA is getting pressure to move out the Masters -- major corporations. So it's up to you to save them by communicating what you are doing.
By contrast, when CNN's New Day had Georgia Republican state senator Butch Miller on as a guest to discuss the new law on Tuesday, co-host Alisyn Camerota bombarded him with tiresome misinformation from the left.
Transcript follows:
FNC's Fox & Friends
March 31, 2021
7:25:16 a.m. EasternBRIAN KILMEADE: Governor, almost from the day you had -- on election day -- from Stacey Abrams still not admitting that she lost the governor's race, you've been in the eye of the storm, so to speak. Andnow, first allied but now warring with the former President of the United States, and when you went out and looked at the way Georgia was voting now that the pandemic hopefully is in our rear view mirror, and you made some changes, and you signed this into law. And here are some of the changes -- require a photo for an absentee ballot; limit time to request absentee ballots; ballot drop boxes locations -- you can have one per county unless the county is really big, replace the secretary of state as election board chair with an appointee, allow election boards to replace election officials in underperforming counties, reduce the runoff election time, and bars outside groups from handing out food or water in line. First off, on that last one, you can get refreshments -- you just don't want political organizations to hand them out. It's up to the precincts to do it if they want to do it, correct?
GOVERNOR BRIAN KEMP (R-GA): Yeah. That's outrageous what people are saying. And you can -- the political groups and others -- nonprofits, whoever -- can still do that, Brian, if they're outside the 150-foot buffer around the polling location or 25 feet from the end of the line. So it's it's not like you still can't do those things. We're just trying to keep voters from being harassed and electioneered while they're standing in line preparing to vote. We've had laws like that and most states have around the country for years. But, as you know, hypocrisy is running rampant right now. This bill makes it easy to vote and hard to cheat. I heard you mention on the tease earlier that President Biden got four Pinocchios from The Washington Post, which is incredible because they're absolutely right. What he was saying is not true and even more hypocrisy was Stacey Abrams celebrating New Jersey expanding to nine days of early voting when her own state of Georgia has 17, and we just added more opportunities on the weekend.
KILMEADE: Right.
KEMP: So, they're being mistruthful about what the bill does.
KILMEADE: They're out-communicating you because you have the facts on your side, it seems. Even The Washington Post picked that out. First off, the accusation from, among people, the President of the United States, on the whole water thing as well as other things. Listen.
PRESIDENT JOE BIDEN: What I'm worried about is how un-American this whole initiative is. It's sick. [SCREEN WIPE] Deciding that you're going to end voting at 5:00 when working people are just getting off work?
KILMEADE: Well, The Washington Post heard that like you heard that, and this is what they figured out: "Biden falsely claims the new Georgia law 'ends voting hours early.'" It is not true, right? Your hours remain the same, correct?
KEMP: Yeah and a matter of fact, we've got 134 out of 159 counties, and this bill will actually be expanding the number of hours that people can vote in the process. So what he's saying is not true. But, you know, it leads to the question of this is all just a distraction for them to make a case to do an unconstitutional power grab with HR. 1 and also to distract from the, you know, talking about water flow --- and there's a crisis of people flowing across the Southern border. You know, perhaps they should pay more attention to that than our generous voting times that we have in Georgia, especially compared to his own state of Delaware.
KILMEADE: And what you're trying to do is if you don't have ID, you write a state number in or your Social Security number on that absentee ballot. And when it comes to drop boxes, this is the first time you're using them. You just don't want a lot of them. You want to put them in places -- in -- in controlled places -- one per county unless this county is really big. Real quick on drop boxes?
KEMP: Yeah. The other side is saying we're taking that away. There's actually counties that didn't have drop boxes. This legislation requires every county to have one, so what they're saying, again, is not true.
KILMEADE: So, governor, if they're calling you a racist and they're saying you're trying to lock out -- you trying to stop people from voting, and they're saying minorities shouldn't vote, you have to have your communication out team if you feel you have the facts -- and it seems you -- do -- on your side every day because it's relentless. And, again, they're putting Georgia in the boycott eye of the storm. Major League is pressuring to get their All-Star Game out. The PGA is getting pressure to move out the Masters -- major corporations. So it's up to you to save them by communicating what you are doing.
KEMP: I did 11 interviews yesterday, getting early start today. We’re pushing it hard to get the truth out there and the truth wins in the end as you know.
KILMEADE: Absolutely.
