Georgia was supposed to let Delta join fellow big corporations on its taxpayer funded tit. Crony capitalist Republicans, led by Lt. Governor Casey Cagle, attached a government handout for Delta to a tax bill that cut the state’s income tax. Governor Deal championed the government handout which all but guaranteed its passage.
Populists on the left and right waged warfare against the government handout, but Governor Deal and Lt Governor Casey Cagle quashed any dissent within the legislature. It’s no surprise that Delta and their lobbyists poured tens of thousands of dollars into Cagle’s and other establishment players’ pockets.
Opposition to Delta’s government handout was led by State Senator Michael Williams, a pro-Trump Republican candidate for governor. He opposed the handout for weeks, long before it was on establishment Republicans radar.
On Friday, Williams slammed Lt Governor Casey Cagle and establishment Republicans for effectively neutering the legislative process by preventing an amendment in committee that cut out the Delta handout. After establishment Republicans stopped him in committee, Williams managed to stall the legislation on the Senate floor and prevented a rush vote on the handout.
But on Saturday morning, Delta shot themselves in the foot with a single tweet.
Delta joined a large number of left wing corporations (most of which benefit from government subsidies) in cutting ties with the National Rifle Association following the Parkland massacre.
The decision to drop the NRA enraged conservatives who rallied behind Michael Williams’ calls to cut the government subsidy. Williams rallied grassroot Trump voters all weekend on social media, creating a frenzy that could not be ignored by Campaign Casey and other senators Monday morning. Thousands of tweets, emails, and phone calls were directed at Lt Governor Cagle.
Delta’s decision to end its partnership with the NRA enraged grassroots conservatives, most of whom had rallied behind Michael Williams’ staunch opposition to crony capitalism and government handouts. Williams rallied Trump voters all weekend on social media, creating a frenzy that could not be ignored by Lt Governor Casey Cagle and his establishment supporters in the Senate on Monday morning.
Thousands of Georgia conservatives tweeted, emailed, and called Lt Governor Cagle and demanded he kill the Delta handout.
By Monday morning, conservative news outlets were writing about Michael Williams’ uprising:
http://thegatewaypundit.com/2018/02/georgia-senate-vote-massive-tax-break-delta-days-airline-severed-ties-nra/
Williams’ social media frenzy of supporters and real conservatives forced Cagle into a corner on Monday afternoon. In a last ditch effort to protect his Delta handout, Cagle did a whip count to find out if he still had enough support to pass it out of the senate.
Realizing that Williams had turned Georgia Republicans – and even a few of his senate supporters – against him, Cagle tweeted a statement saying he would stop Delta’s government handout if Delta did reinstate their relationship with the NRA.
It’s important to read the fine print of Cagle’s statement. It’s clear he is willing to resurrect Delta’s government handout if the company apologizes. The fact is, Michael Williams out-maneuvered Casey Cagle.
Williams opposed Delta’s government handout before the conversation became politically charged over the NRA. Establishment Republicans like Cagle only backed down for political expediency.
Cagle’s victory lap isn’t deserved, yet the mainstream media is fueling his version of the story. It’s what lying politicians do: They buddy up with the liberal media in exchange for supporting liberal causes.
Don’t be fooled folks. Casey Cagle didn’t want to kill the Delta government handout of taxpayer money, he just needs Republicans to follow along until the May primary.
Senator Michael Williams is the hero of this story and should be commended for his clever out-maneuvering of the establishment.
