If Kelly Loeffler were trying to make herself more unlikable and out of touch, what would she be doing differently?

The establishment and Mitch McConnell favorite is currently locked in a heated primary battle with Doug Collins in what will be an even more heated general election race for Georgia’s open Senate seat (Georgia using a jungle primary, so the Democrat is also present in both races). Now, Loeffler is launching one of the more pathetic attacks I’ve seen in politics, claiming that Collins supports criminals because he was once (gasp) a criminal defense attorney.

Before becoming a career politician, @CollinsforGA helped violent criminals avoid jail time. Many of them broke the law again.

Meet Danny Clore, a proud member of the Criminals for Collins Coalition. https://t.co/4JAznXqJkZ #gapol #gasen

— Kelly Loeffler (@KLoeffler) July 21, 2020

She went so far as to start a portion of her website dedicated to this, because some overpaid campaign consultant actually thought this was clever.

Is her big example some mass murderer or organized crime figure? No, it’s a clown who allegedly dealt meth. Did Collins wave a magic criminal loving wand to get him off? No, he defended him in a court of law under the system conservatives supposedly care about keeping in place. Perhaps there was a lack of evidence? I don’t know, nor does it really matter. Alleged criminals are entitled to a defense and Collins is not a bad person for doing that job.

Why is Loeffler doing this? Because Collins has finally taken a lead against her, being up +2 at the very end of June. The poll also showed that Collins beats his Democrat opponent while Loeffler gets beat. Another poll taken in July also has Collins up +2 against Loeffler.

Meanwhile, Loeffler is also having to battle the appearance of corruption because of stock trades made on her behalf after being given an early briefing on coronavirus. It appears nothing illegal was done, but perceptions matter in elections. The idea that the establishment picks the best candidates has always been a myth. Look at Martha McSally currently heading for another belly flop in Arizona.

Loeffler appears to be a very weak campaigner, and if this latest attack on Collins is any indication of how bad her campaign will be in the general, she may very well lose if she’s the candidate. Given all that’s at stake, especially with Donald Trump struggling right now, Republicans can not afford to lose the Senate. If they do, it would be open season on basic norms and institutions. If Loeffler can’t be a better candidate then this, she should drop out. Her vanity is not worth the country’s future.