As Memorial Day weekend began, the most ancient of your Insiders moderated a Zoom panel on House Bill 426, a hate crimes bill that is likely to receive a great deal of attention when the Legislature reconvenes next month.
The February slaying of 25-year-old Ahmaud Arbery in Glynn County is the reason. A father and son have been arrested and charged with murder. The man who recorded the incident has been charged with felony murder.
All three are white. Arbery was not.
Participating in the webinar, hosted and recorded by the southeastern arm of the Anti-Defamation League, were former Gov. Roy Barnes; former GBI director Vernon Keenan; state Rep. Karen Bennett, D-Stone Mountain, who chairs the Legislative Black Caucus; and state Rep. Chuck Efstration, R-Dacula, the author of HB 426.
A small set-up: The Legislature passed a hate crimes bill in 2000, but it was deemed unconstitutionally vague four years later. Gathering support for a new one in a GOP-controlled General Assembly has been a struggle.
Last year, Efstration’s bill cleared the House with six votes to spare. It would enhance penalties for incidents in which victims are targeted because of “race, color, religion, national origin, sexual orientation, gender, mental disability, or physical disability.”
The LGBT reference has provoked resistance, and HB 426 has languished in the Senate since. The legislation has not even been granted a hearing.
And then Arbery was killed.
Keenan, who retired as GBI director last year, has been a long-time advocate for a hate crimes legislation. It’s needed, he argued Friday, to generate statistics for measurement, and to serve as a foundation for law enforcement training.
Years ago, Keenan said he was asked what it would take for Georgia lawmakers to act.
“My response was, ‘It’s going to take a very heinous, high-profile crime that is going to embarrass Georgia officials and leave them trying to explain why Georgia is one of five states without a hate crimes law,’” Keenan said.
We have that now.
Just before the webinar started, Bennett, who leads the Legislative Black Caucus, told us that there was sentiment bubbling among her caucus members to put Ahmaud Arbery’s name on HB 426.
She elaborated once we got started. “It’s important because of the rage and humiliation and the anger,” Bennett said.
We asked Efstration about the idea. Please don’t do that, he said -- very politely, adding that he would be in favor of many other things that would formally express outrage and regret over Arbery’s slaying.
Here’s why: Earlier this month, after the leaked video sparked a national outcry, House Speaker David Ralston called on the state Senate to pass HB 426 “with no delay and no amendments” when the Legislature reconvenes next month. The phrasing was no accident.
Were the Senate to amend the bill in any fashion – and putting Arbery’s name on the measure would require that – HB 426 would need to be returned to the House for yet another vote, as lawmakers grapple with a 14% cut in a state budget that takes effect on July 1. A date certain for reconvening in June has not yet been announced, but assume that the pandemic will still be with us -- and that attendance by lawmakers could be sporadic.
“It was a very close vote in the House already. My concern about any amendment is that it might be difficult when it comes back to the House,” Efstration said. “Also, what other amendments might result?”
In other words, the bill’s sponsor fears that adding Arbery’s name to the legislation would complicate passage, increasing the chances for it to fail. In which case the fight for a hate crimes bill would have to begin yet again in January.
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In an interview with Fox News on Monday, Vice President Mike Pence said Georgia is among the states that the Republican National Convention might move to were it to leave North Carolina.
Earlier in the day, President Donald Trump, in a Twitter message, threatened to move the August gathering out of Charlotte unless the state’s Democratic governor guarantees full attendance. Before the pandemic, the RNC had said it expected 50,000 to attend.
Gov. Brian Kemp said Tuesday, via the president's preferred messaging service, that he would be delighted to see it happen. And Georgia GOP chair David Shafer said that he has spoken to both the governor and the Republican National Committee about the possibility.
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Sigh. And yes, the President of the United States re-Tweeted a vile message about Democrat Stacey Abrams on Friday. See it here if you must.
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On Sunday, the AJC posted a piece with this lede:
President Donald Trump is headed for a historic defeat, according to a new election model released by an organization with a strong track record of predicting presidential elections.
Because of the coronavirus' hugely negative impact on the U.S. economy, Oxford Economics' latest election model predicts Trump will only win 35% of the popular vote in November.
Nonsense, wrote Emory University political scientist Alan Abramowitz, who builds his own predictive models. From his Facebook page:
"I'm sorry but this is ridiculous. Trump is not going to lose in a landslide. He may well lose but this is going to be a close election with the popular vote margin probably under six points. We don't have landslide elections anymore because the electorate is both closely and deeply divided. Even a deep recession won't change that reality.
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Jo Jorgensen, a Clemson University psychologist, was chosen by the Libertarian Party as its presidential nominee over the weekend, during a two-day virtual convention involving more than 1,000 delegates.
John Monds of Georgia lost a close race for the vice presidential slot. He was defeated by Spike Cohen on a third ballot – despite an expression of support for Monds by Jorgenson.
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Here comes the money: The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee has reserved more than $18.3 million in airtime for TV ads, including at least $2 million in Atlanta's media market. There's surely more to come from an outfit that spent more than $73 million on ads during the 2018 campaign.
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Georgia isn't the only state where a controversial shooting is drawing national headlines. Elected officials in Kentucky are being forced to explain why no police officers were disciplined after they busted into the wrong home on a search warrant, resulting in the shooting death of 26-year-old EMT Breonna Taylor.
U.S. Rep. Lucy McBath, D-Marietta, has joined U.S. Sen. Kamala Harris, D-Calif., in requesting a federal investigation of the shooting. Their letter was also co-signed by 10 other senators and 32 other representatives, including U.S. Rep. Hank Johnson.
"The killing of Ms. Taylor is an unspeakable tragedy that requires immediate answers and accountability," the letter says. "Accordingly, we ask that the U.S. Department of Justice immediately launch an independent investigation into the shooting of Breonna Taylor, as well as a pattern or practice investigation into the Louisville Police Department for potential civil rights violations."
Last week, McBath and the rest of Georgia's U.S. House delegation similarly asked federal investigators to look into the shooting death of Brunswick resident Ahmaud Arbery.
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President Donald Trump on Friday tweeted an endorsement of former Congresswoman Karen Handel, who faces four opponents in the GOP primary for Georgia's Sixth District congressional seat. If Handel wins on June 9, she will have a rematch with U.S. Rep. Lucy McBath, D-Marietta, in November.
"We need @KarenHandel back in Congress to fight for the incredible people of Georgia!" Trump wrote. "She is a tremendous advocate for our Military, Vets, Border Security and the Second Amendment. Karen has my Complete and Total Endorsement!"
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Sara Riggs Amico, a Democrat vying for the chance to oust U.S. Sen. David Perdue, R-Ga., led her family car-hauling company through bankruptcy last year. Pension liabilities were at the root of the problem. At Medium.com, Amico writes that the pandemic could require many more businesses to do the same. At taste:
To be clear, plenty of bankruptcies result in brutal wipeouts of collective bargaining agreements, pension obligations, or stakeholder value ranging from job losses to securities. But it doesn't have to be that way, and our company's restructuring proves that.
We pre-arranged our Chapter 11 restructuring in full coordination with key stakeholders: our unions, pension, lenders, customers, and team members. As a result, in less than three months we saved all 3,000 jobs without wage or healthcare cuts, saved thousands of pensions, and cut our debt by $350 million. Our partners, the Teamsters, approved our deal by an overwhelming two to one margin — on the first vote.
Not a single party objected to the restructuring or its outcome when the judge gaveled our final hearing. This remarkable outcome was the result of deliberate, carefully cultivated consensus among our stakeholders. We were united in our mission to save jobs and ensure the business' continued operation. We prioritized protecting our workers, and the outcome achieved that as a primary goal of the restructuring. Who wields the tool matters — a lot.
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State Rep. Calvin Smyre, the longest-serving member of the Georgia Legislature, has endorsed Teresa Tomlinson's U.S. Senate campaign to unseat Republican incumbent David Perdue. Smyre praised Tomlinson understanding of "how to deliver good government" with his decision to pick the former Columbus mayor over Jon Ossoff and Sarah Riggs Amico.
This isn’t surprising. Like Tomlinson, Smyre calls Columbus home.
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Yours truly – i.e., all three of us – are hosting a virtual town hall next week to discuss all things political ahead of the June 9 primary. While we can't meet for our traditional Pints & Politics, we hope you can join AJC Editor Kevin Riley and us for an in-depth conversation streamed live through Facebook and YouTube.
Meet Insiders Greg Bluestein, Jim Galloway and Tia Mitchell and hear the latest election news, what congressional and legislative races to watch – plus, we’ll answer your questions about state and local politics.
The town hall will stream live on Wednesday, May 27, from 5-6 p.m. We encourage you to register (it's free) at AJC.com/conversation.
