Roy Barnes and Nathan Deal blame political parties for stoking division

Barnes, the state’s last Democratic governor, and Deal, a two-term Republican, teamed up last year to try to rebuild faith in the state’s election system.

And they joined together this month to discuss the challenges of leadership at a panel moderated by University of West Georgia political scientist Karen Owen.

Not for the first time, Barnes and Deal said they doubted they could be nominated by their respective parties in today’s climate. (Deal, a throwback conservative, said he “for sure” wouldn’t make the cut in today’s MAGA-dominated GOP.)

But Deal went a step further. He said that “political parties are one of the biggest problems we have” in working to solve problems. He said internal politics forces candidates to focus on red-meat “clutter” rather than health care or education.

“You don’t hear candidates talk about that. They’d rather talk about AR-15s or other things that to the average voter do not make any sense at all, but that’s what they have to put up with. That’s what they have to listen to. And it’s not a very pretty picture.”

Barnes agreed, invoking the legacy of the late Republican U.S. Sen. Johnny Isakson of Georgia.

“Nathan is right. The Democrats think I’m too conservative and the Republicans thought Johnny Isakson and you were too liberal. The truth of the matter is, there’s not much difference between us because we all have common goals.”

Other takeaways:

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Credit: Jason Getz/AJC

Credit: Jason Getz/AJC

GOOD MORNING! We’re 18 days away from Sine Die, also known as the final day of the Georgia legislative session. State lawmakers are off today. They’ll be back tomorrow.

Here are five other things to know for today:

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Credit: Hyosub Shin/AJC

Credit: Hyosub Shin/AJC

KEMP TRAVELS. As the fight over Gov. Brian Kemp’s litigation overhaul thickened last week, the Republican was monitoring the back-and-forth from afar.

The governor, recently elected as chair of the Republican Governors Association, was in Florida raising cash for the organization. One picture showed him on a yacht with GOP donors Philip and Tikky Nicozisis.

His political adviser, Cody Hall, said to expect Kemp to keep up the travel schedule.

“As Chairman of the Republican Governors Association, Governor Kemp will continue traveling the country raising money and building support for the organization to ensure we elect Republican governors in Georgia and other states across the nation in 2025, 2026, and beyond.”

So where do things stand with his overhaul? Supporters expect a vote on the House floor this week, though they also anticipate an amendment with changes to the legislation, designed to limit certain lawsuits and curb big jury awards.

Among the parts of the bill under scrutiny is a provision that could make it harder for victims of sex crimes to seek civil damages. Another would create bifurcated trials, which allows cases to be split into two stages — deciding fault, then damages — rather than considering everything at once.

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BORROWING. When it comes to building things, Gov. Brian Kemp pays cash — and he’s proud of it.

The Republican governor has touted how last year Georgia did not borrow money to pay for construction projects. He wants to do it again this year. But he’s getting pushback from the Republicans who control the state House of Representatives.

The House budget would borrow more than $321 million to build schools and prisons as well as purchase school buses, the AJC’s David Wickert reports. House Appropriations Committee Chair Matt Hatchett, R-Dublin, said it’s one-third the amount of debt the state has typically issued in past budget years.

“Debt in Georgia is not the same debt in Washington, D.C., where cash is borrowed to pay for runaway spending,” Hatchett said, noting Georgia is one of several states with a AAA bond rating from the major agencies.

Senate Republicans appeared cool to the idea, with several budget chairs last week saying the House’s budget exceeds the state’s revenue estimate. Senate Appropriations Committee Chair Blake Tillery, R-Vidalia, said removing the bond package would reduce state revenues by about $300 million. That’s why he has asked state agency heads to prepare for a potential 1% budget cut.

“The request is made to get your input on potential future budgetary changes,” Tillery told department heads. “If you would prefer to not provide such information, should the Senate take the position of the Governor and not create a bond package, we may be forced to reduce your budget without your input.”

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Credit: J. Scott Applewhite/AP

Credit: J. Scott Applewhite/AP

BEST DRESSED. Our AJC colleague Maya T. Prabhu isn’t the only one with a “best dressed” list of politicians out this week. Derek Guy, known for his menswear critiques on X, has his own Top 5 write-up of Washington politicos. And Georgia Democratic U.S. Sen. Raphael Warnock made the cut.

From Guy’s Politico piece:

“In Washington, the style bar is set so low for men that even a properly hemmed trouser can vault you into the ranks of the city’s best dressed. But Sen. Raphael Warnock goes beyond those basics. … In politics, where dressing too well can invite the wrong kind of attention, Warnock strikes the perfect balance. He walks right up to the line of style distinction without ever crossing into distraction.”

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Credit: AP

Credit: AP

ON THE RADAR. President Donald Trump’s latest moves on the world stage could have expensive effects in Georgia.

Officials from Portugal and Canada indicated last week that they may be reconsidering earlier commitments to purchase F-35 fighter jets from the United States. Part of the multibillion-dollar planes are assembled in Lockheed Martin’s Marietta plant.

On Friday, Canada’s new prime minister, Mark Carney, asked his defense minister to review Canada’s recent contract to buy 88 F-35’s from the U.S., the Associated Press reported.

“To be clear, the F-35 contract has not been canceled, but we need to do our homework given the changing environment, and make sure that the contract in its current form is in the best interests of Canadians and the Canadian Armed Forces,” a defense spokesperson said Friday.

Earlier in the week, Politico reported that Portugal’s outgoing defense minister Nuno Melo said “recent positions” by the United States meant that country should also reconsider whether it can trust its military operations to an American company.

“The world has changed … and this ally of ours … could bring limitations to use, maintenance, components, and everything that has to do with ensuring that aircraft will be operational and used in all types of scenarios,” Melo said.

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CLEARED FOR TAKEOFF? A California-based company wants to manufacture air taxis in Georgia so Atlanta drivers can soar above the chaos of the city’s notorious traffic. When they do, state lawmakers want to be ready to regulate them.

House Bill 116 would let the state Department of Transportation regulate vertiports — areas where electrically-powered aircraft can take off and land vertically.

The bill is mostly in preparation for Archer, the company that has built a manufacturing facility in Covington.

The bill has already passed the House and last week it cleared the Senate Transportation Committee. Sen. Greg Dolezal of Cumming, the committee chair, said the goal was to have statewide consistency around regulation of vertiports by letting the Department of Transportation regulate them instead of local governments.

“Archer and other companies are going through FAA testing, they believe within the next few years they will be able to fly people from a vertiport to the airport in an Uber-style travel,” Dolezal said.

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Credit: Natrice Miller/AJC

Credit: Natrice Miller/AJC

LISTEN UP. Today on the “Politically Georgia” podcast, the hosts answer questions from listeners about Gov. Brian Kemp’s civil litigation proposal, Crossover Day, clean energy and more. Then, the AJC’s Maya T. Prabhu dishes about her list of best dressed state lawmakers.

If you have a question or comment for the show, give us a call at 770-810-5297. And be sure to download the show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts.

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Credit: Ben Curtis/AP

Credit: Ben Curtis/AP

SHUTDOWN AVERTED. Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer was able to negotiate a few last-minute assurances from Republicans, including legislation to spare Washington’s local government from a $1 billion budget cut, but that hasn’t stopped his critics’ furor that he helped pass the funding bill.

Ten Senate Democrats, including Schumer, voted with Republicans to move legislation forward on Friday to keep the government funded and avert a partial shutdown. It passed largely along party lines hours ahead of a shutdown deadline. Georgia Sens. Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock joined nearly every member of their party in voting “no” both times.

Schumer isn’t due back in Washington until March 24, so there is a chance the temperature cools over the recess. But for now, it is the latest example of the ideological differences that define the Democratic Party.

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries and most U.S. House Democrats lobbied the Senate to reject the government funding bill and the cuts to non-defense spending it will require.

Jeffries and his top deputies even made an unscheduled visit to the Capitol on Friday ahead of the procedural vote in a last-ditch attempt to sway Schumer. He told MSNBC over the weekend that Democrats from both chambers are united in their fight against the GOP agenda, but there was a difference in opinion on the funding legislation.

“We opposed it from the very beginning, all the way through the Senate vote and we’ll continue to oppose these types of cuts to the extent that they are put forward by Republicans,” Jeffries said. “The Senate position was the Senate position.”

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Credit: Luis M. Alvarez/AP

Credit: Luis M. Alvarez/AP

TODAY IN WASHINGTON:

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AS ALWAYS, send your best scoops, gossip and insider info to greg.bluestein@ajc.com, tia.mitchell@ajc.com, patricia.murphy@ajc.com and adam.beam@ajc.com.