As Rep. Doug Collins, R-Ga., and ranking member of the House Judiciary Committee,  valiantly defends President Trump against the deep state coup trying to unseat this duly elected President of the United States, the mind ponders the now lost possibility of a Sen. Collins from Georgia defending President Trump and being an impeachment juror in any Senate trial. Instead we are getting a big business donor whom we are assured has all the boxes checked and an “R” next to their name. You know, someone like a Mitt Romney or a Jeff Flake.

With Collins we would have been assured of a passionate conservative loyal to the Trump vision of draining the swamp. Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp, whom President Trump campaigned for and helped to victory over Stacey Abrams in a contested election, has paid back Trump with the appointment of Kelly Loeffler, not Collins as Trump preferred, to fill the seat of Sen. Johnny Issakson, who is leaving the Senate for medical reasons:

Georgia Republican Gov. Brian Kemp nominated business executive Kelly Loeffler for the Senate on Wednesday despite President Donald Trump and the conservative base’s concerns regarding her ties to Planned Parenthood, Stacey Abrams, and previous Democrat donors.

Gov. Kemp  tapped Loeffler to replace the outgoing Sen. Johnny Isakson (R-GA), who will retire at the end of December. Loeffler will reportedly describe herself as “pro-Trump” despite conservative criticism of her as well as her lack of support for the president during the 2016 presidential election….

The Family Research Council (FRC) was the latest pro-life organization to express concern over Loeffler’s lack of pro-life credentials.

Family Research Council Action President Tony Perkins said in a statement Tuesday:

“Family Research Council Action is concerned about the likelihood that Georgia Governor Brian Kemp is considering a candidate to fill the remaining term of Senator Johnny Isakson that has no public record validating a conservative political ideology. While Governor Kemp does have a conservative pro-family record, Kelly Loeffler does not.”

Despite assurances concerning her adherence to core conservative values and Trump’s drain-the-swamp agenda, Loeffler, the CEO of Bakkt, a bitcoin trading and a storage platform, has been all over the map on whom she donates to and supports, a record in stark contrast to that of the steadfast  Collins, for whom Donald Trump Jr. held a fundraiser:

Donald Trump Jr., President Trump’s son, hosted a fundraiser for Collins in late October and said in November that Collins “is a fighter and exactly the kind of person Republicans should want in the senate. We need someone who gets it, not someone who will have to learn on the job.”…

Loeffler donated $750,000 during the 2012 presidential election to Romney super PAC Restore Our Future. The financial executive has also donated hundreds of thousands of dollars to former Speaker Ryan’s political campaigns and PACs. Now, when the question of her potential Senate appointment has come to media attention, Loeffler donated $100,000 to Trump Victory, a joint fundraising committee that is raising funds for the Trump campaign and the Republican National Committee (RNC)….

Loeffler is the co-owner and co-chairman of the Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA) Atlanta Dream.

After the Trump administration announced plans in 2018 to cut family planning funding from abortion providers such as Planned Parenthood, WNBA President Lisa Borders said that she and the league “stands with Planned Parenthood.”

Loeffler’s Atlanta Dream has also pushed back on some socially conservative policies in Georgia.

In 2016, The Atlanta Dream was one of more than 100 businesses and universities that opposed state Sen. Josh McKoon’s (R-GA) Religious Freedom Restoration Act that would protect companies’ and Americans’ religious freedom.

Trump once said that he donated to both Democrats and Republicans because he said he never knew in his business dealings who he would need a favor from. Loeffler’s associations are more ideological and contrary to anything President Trump now has in mind:

Loeffler has even donated to many Democrats, including former Sen. Chris Dodd (D-CT), Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-MI), and America Coming Together political group, which was primarily funded by George Soros and the Service Employees International Union (SEIU).

Say what? Politics is said to make strange bedfellows, but Soros and Loeffler making common cause together?

Rep. Collins’ colleague, Republican Matt Gaetz, has warned Kemp that picking Loeffler may make him a one-and-done governor with no political future once Loeffler is free to vote her true conscience

Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL), a staunch ally of President Donald Trump, said that Georgia Republican Gov. Brian Kemp is ending his political career by nominating business executive Kelly Loeffler over Rep. Doug Collins (R-GA).

Kemp is known for his pro-life views and his support for restriction on conception-to-birth abortion-on-demand. So why did he nominate Loeffler whose positions are not even close:

Many conservative and pro-life groups across the political spectrum have come out to oppose Loeffler’s nomination to the U.S. Senate. Marjorie Dannenfelser, president of the SBA List, objected to Loeffler’s position as a member of the board of directors of the Grady Memorial Hospital in Atlanta, Georgia. Dannenfelser called the hospital an “abortionist training hub.”

“Kelly Loeffler should be disqualified as a GA Senate appointment. She’s on the board of Grady Memorial Hospital, largest abortion provider in the state,” Dannenfelser said. “Grady is an abortionist training hub. Its doctors are leading advocates AGAINST @BrianKempGA pro-life laws.”

This may be the night the lights went out on the GOP’s future prospects in Georgia.

Daniel John Sobieski is a former editorial writer for Investor’s Business Daily and freelance writer whose pieces have appeared in Human Events, Reason Magazine, and the Chicago Sun-Times among other publications.