Senator who bragged of owning private jet now claims to understand poverty

Sen. Kelly Loeffler (R-GA) released a new campaign ad over the weekend, trying to present her as someone who personally understands poverty. But just months ago, Loeffler — the richest person in the Senate — ran an ad bragging about her private jet.

The new spot features Janelle King, a longtime GOP operative and former deputy director of the Georgia Republican Party (but identified only as “founder of Speak Georgia” in the spot), praising Loeffler.

“It’s so important to have Sen. Loeffler in the Senate, especially right now. What we need, more than ever, is a business mind. We need someone who understands how to not only write paychecks and sign paychecks but how it feels like [sic] waiting on that paycheck,” King asserts. “This is the fight for the soul of the country.”

Loeffler, a millionaire former financial services executive, was appointed to fill a vacant Senate seat last December. She placed second in a special election earlier this month for the remaining two years of the term, but because no candidate received a majority of votes, she will now face off against Democrat Raphael Warnock in a January runoff.

The attempt to spin her as someone who has lived paycheck-to-paycheck is quite a contrast from her earlier campaign ads and actions.

Back in February, when the Atlanta Journal-Constitution noted her frequent use of her own private jet to travel to and from the nation’s capital, a Loeffler spokesperson claimed that she used the plane “to best serve Georgians and save taxpayer money.” (By July, she was telling Fox News that she flies on Delta.)

In March, she came under fire — and under investigation— for her ethics after it was reported that she sold millions in stocks following a private, senators-only briefing on the growing coronavirus pandemic. She denied any wrongdoing and the probes were dropped without charges.

In May, she ran a spot boasting of her enormous wealth and playing up her generosity.

“Kelly Loeffler donated her Senate pay to help Georgia fight coronavirus. Kelly used her personal plane to bring stranded Georgians home safely,” a narrator said. “And Kelly gave a million dollars to help a Georgia hospital save lives. Kelly Loeffler is all about Georgia, and it shows, every day.”

Earlier this month, Loeffler was hit with more ethics complaints after soliciting campaign contributions while inside the Capitol — a violation of federal law. Her campaign dismissed the allegations against her as a “frivolous” distraction.

Loeffler, who has previously called herself a 100% Donald Trump loyalist who is more conservative than Attila the Hun, makes no mention of Trump or Attila in this latest ad.

President-elect Joe Biden won Georgia earlier this month by about 12,000 votes.

Published with permission of The American Independent Foundation.