CUMMING, Georgia — Georgia Republicans are disappointed with what many consider to be paltry direct payments negotiated by the White House and Congress as part of last month’s coronavirus economic relief package.
But days before two critical Senate runoffs that will determine which party controls the chamber for the next two years, other GOP members are concerned the deal has dampened voter enthusiasm.
President Trump’s unsuccessful push for $2,000 rather than $600 federal checks created chaos last week after the measure was passed by Congress following input from the White House. It also put Georgia Republican Sens. David Perdue and Kelly Loeffler in an awkward position, risking upsetting Trump’s base ahead of their Tuesday races.
In the parking lot of Cumming’s Good ol’ Days Bar and Grill before a Loeffler rally, software engineer Keith Sharp, 63, said struggling workers were “mad as hell” at the legislation.
“I’m not affected by all this because I can remote work, but if I was a small business owner, I’d have a pitchfork and torch in my hand,” Sharp told the Washington Examiner. “They are playing politics with people’s lives.”
While Sharp blamed Democrats, school bus driver Bruce Brown, 70, suspected the Republican brand had been damaged by the haggling. Brown, though, agreed with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell’s decision to stall talks about increasing the payments.
“Take your time, and do the proper procedures, and let everybody say what they want to say, and then have a vote,” Brown said.
Teresa Garner, 64, who was standing nearby, believed the tensions could be a drag on the Republican ticket on Jan. 5.
“I think you’re right,” the accountant said to Brown. “But I think that people who are waiting on money may not see it that way.”
Despite Republicans contributing to the delay, Brown added that low-information voters may not realize Democrats “held this thing up for so long.”
“So, if you’re a casual observer, maybe it has some effects,” Brown said.
During her speech, Loeffler touted how she and Perdue had brought $47 billion in financial aid to Georgia.
“We’re continuing to fight for more relief, but we also have to hold Democrats accountable,” she said. “Look, they want to support the Kennedy Center. I want to support Kennesaw.”
After her remarks, Edward Murray Jr., 69, described Trump’s strategy as “kind of like buying votes.”
“But, on the other hand, there’s a lot of people that are out of work, and it’s not their fault,” the retired industrial engineer said. “That’s our money, not theirs. I mean, that’s what the problem is. They give it to all their buddies and special countries and everything. They do certain things with it, which is not good. It’s not helping us.”
Barbara Cure, who isn’t eligible for the assistance, said it “ticks” her off that only $600 was brokered for “hard-working American people,” while $750 billion in “foreign aid and crap” will be sent abroad.
“The $2,000 isn’t passed for anybody who needs the $2,000. Anybody who continued to work through this whole pandemic shouldn’t be getting a check. We don’t have that kind of money in this country, but the money we do have should damn well be spent on our country and not others at this point of time,” the IT consultant said.
Cure went on, “I’m disappointed in both sides, quite frankly. It should have been a one-page bill. I think he did the right thing to at least throw a number at them.”
In the end, both Perdue and Loeffler endorsed Trump’s $2,000 effort, but they couldn’t back their words with actions because McConnell didn’t call a vote on his proposal for more generous payments before the 117th Congress was sworn in on Sunday.
The bipartisan House package for $2,000 checks, supported by 40 Republicans, would have added $464 billion to the settled $900 billion package. And it didn’t address Trump’s complaints of wasteful spending in the attached $1.4 trillion fiscal 2021 government funding bill, nor did it target the unemployed.
McConnell’s compromise augmented the bill with provisions Trump had sought in repealing a Big Tech lawsuit liability shield and creating a commission to study federal election integrity.
The confusion has angered people around the country. McConnell’s home in Louisville, Kentucky, and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s property in San Francisco were vandalized over the weekend due to the uncertainty.
The latest package follows a similar $2 trillion measure passed in March.
