Georgia voters overwhelmingly voted for Democrats Jon Ossoff and Rev. Raphael Warnock to take office in the Senate because they promised $2,000 relief checks.
Georgia voters overwhelmingly voted for Democrats Jon Ossoff and Rev. Raphael Warnock to take office in the Senate because they promised $2,000 relief checks. Now that they are in the Senate, that promise is falling apart.
President Biden doesn't support $2,000 relief checks for Americans, and is instead touting $1,400 checks. Georgia Democrats are already angry with this revelation that the key campaign promise of both men is likely to be broken, and rather quickly at that, according to Mediaite.
Oscar Zaro, a Georgia Democrat said that "Warnock and Ossoff made it a point to endorse and exclusively say '$2,000 checks.' A lot of the people in my district voted blue in the runoff for two main reasons. One: Loeffler and Perdue denying us relief during COVID while profiting millions themselves; and two, $2,000 checks."
Trump had been a proponent of $2,000, going against the GOP in his endorsement of more money for Americans and not less. Senator Mitch McConnell and others opposed Trump in his ask for more relief, while progressive Congresswomen Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi endorsed his ask.
At a Jan. 4 rally for the two Georgia Democrats, Biden said "If you send Jon and the reverend to Washington, those $2,000 checks will go out the door, restoring hope and decency for so many people who are struggling right now."
That apparently was not Biden's intention, as he's now touting $1,400 checks instead. Another Georgia Democrat, Rogelio Linares who canvassed on behalf of the two men, said that he feels "like sh*t" over the issue and called it "a betrayal of the working class.
"I was lying to people that were relying on this," he said. "At the time I didn't know it was a lie. But that was not the reality."
Ossoff routinely attacked Perdue for not endorsing the $2,000 checks, saying "If David Perdue really wanted $2000 direct relief checks for the people, he'd be on the floor of the Senate demanding McConnell put up the House bill for a vote."
If David Perdue really wanted $2000 direct relief checks for the people, he'd be on the floor of the Senate demanding McConnell put up the House bill for a vote. pic.twitter.com/5lA9POLYcF
— Jon Ossoff (@ossoff)
Biden's admission that he's planning to lower the relief ask from $2,000 to $1,400 came as unwelcome news to the progressive wing of the Democratic party, which basically held their noses and voted for Biden despite their preference for further left-leaning candidates.
Newly minted Missouri Congresswoman Cori Bush stated it simply: "$1,400 ? $2,000"
$1,400 ? $2,000
— Cori Bush (@CoriBush)
During his last days in office, Trump signed a stimulus bill that contained checks for $600. If the new package contains checks for $1,400, those two together would total $2,000. But it's unclear if voters were expecting to have two checks totaling $2,000 over a period of several months, or a check for $2,000 in addition to the smaller $600.
By Jan 4., when Biden delivered his speech in support of $2,000 checks, the $600 had already been approved and the rollout process had begun.
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