GOP Senate Hopefuls in Georgia Play 4D Chess with Statement on Atlanta Braves

The Peach State will be the focus of the American political universe for some weeks to come still, as a pair of Senate runoff races set to take place in Georgia will decide the balance of that higher chamber of Congress on January 5th.

Under Georgia rules, candidates for Congress must compete in a runoff race if the margin of victory falls within a certain range.  This allows voters to again make their voices heard just before the new session of Congress begins.

There are two Democrats and two Republicans on the ballot, and the pairs have essentially teamed up to get out the vote.

Now, a joint statement by the GOP candidates seeks to establish their position on the potential renaming of the Atlanta Braves baseball team, after a recent announcement by the Cleveland Indians.

Georgia Sens. Kelly Loeffler and David Perdue issed a joint statement Monday, stating that they are opposed to the Atlanta Braves changing their name. The statement comes on the same day Cleveland Indians Owner Paul Dolan told the Associated Press (AP) his team’s name “is no longer acceptable in our world.”

Dolan was referring to Cleveland’s decision to change their team name from “Indians,” a name they have had for 105 years, to a new name that is yet undecided. The decision came after months of deliberation by Dolan and the team, and pressure from groups that called the name insensitive and racist.

Loeffler and Perdue said, “We adamantly oppose any effort to rename the Atlanta Braves, one of our state’s most storied and successful sports franchises. Not only are the Braves a Georgia institution — with a history spanning 54 years in Atlanta — they’re an American institution,” the Chattanoogan reported.

“The Braves’ name honors our nation’s Native American heritage, which should not be erased — and under no circumstances should one of the most celebrated teams in sports cave to the demands of the cancel culture and the radical left,” the statement said.

In Atlanta, there has been little to no talk at all about the Braves potentially changing their name, which makes the statement by Loeffler and Perdue a bit puzzling.  But, if you peel back the political layers of the move, it’s pure genius.

Now their opponents, Raphael Warnock and Jon Ossoff, could find themselves taking questions about whether or not they support the idea of changing the team’s name.  And there is no magically correct answer to that question when it comes to attempting to please voters.

Loeffler and Perdue not only backed these two into a difficult corner to escape from, but had a hand in building that corner from scratch.