Top Georgia politicians swiftly condemned an act of hatred over the weekend after a neo-Nazi group projected a sign praising Nazi leader Adolf Hitler along a busy highway overpass along Interstate 75 in Cobb County.
“This land is our land! Heil Hitler and the GDL,” read the laser-projected sign, which referred to the Goyim Defense League, a hate group based in Florida whose followers are behind antisemitic incidents across metro Atlanta.
Authorities immediately launched an investigation.
“This is not who we are as Georgians,” state Attorney General Chris Carr said. “We are a state with loving people that exude kindness. This act and antisemitism have no place in Georgia.”
Credit: T.J. Kirkpatrick/The New York Times
Credit: T.J. Kirkpatrick/The New York Times
“Antisemitism is as bad as it has been in nearly 80 years,” said U.S. Rep. Rich McCormick, R-Suwanee. “Check on your Jewish friends and neighbors and let them know you support them too.”
“Disgusting and infuriating,” said Atlanta City Council President Doug Shipman.
“Horrifying and heartbreaking to see this fervent hate persist in Cobb County,” said Democratic state Rep. Teri Anulewicz. “I don’t care that this depraved group isn’t based in Cobb. I am devastated and outraged that they continue to believe they have an audience here.”
Though there has been a spike in antisemitic attacks following the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas war, incidents of harassment, vandalism and assaults against Jewish people have been on the rise for years now.
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PENCE OUT. In an alternate universe, the Georgia political world might be buzzing about what former Vice President Mike Pence’s close alliance with Gov. Brian Kemp means for both Republicans in 2024.
Instead, Pence’s failure to gain traction against former President Donald Trump, has rendered him a footnote in the 2024 campaign — and Kemp is keeping his “powder dry” when it comes to backing a GOP presidential candidate.
Pence surprised even close supporters on Saturday when he abruptly suspended his presidential bid, saying it had become clear that it was “not my time” amid lagging poll numbers and fundraising struggles in a race dominated by Trump, his former political boss.
Credit: Audra Melton/The New York Times
Credit: Audra Melton/The New York Times
Had Pence made headway against Trump, Kemp would be among the national politicians who stood to gain. The two have been close since Pence endorsed Kemp in a tight 2018 GOP runoff against then-Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle. Pence headlined a Kemp rally in Macon days before the election.
Pence broke with the former president last year when he traveled to Georgia to endorse Kemp over ex-U.S. Sen. David Perdue, who Trump recruited to challenge the governor.
Kemp, who still considers Pence a close ally and friend, called the former vice president a “man of character” and praised him for being a “steadfast champion for all that makes our nation great.
“While this campaign has come to an end, I know America still needs Mike and his servant leadership in the months and years to come,” Kemp said.
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Credit: Bill Nigut/AJC
Credit: Bill Nigut/AJC
PROGRAMMING NOTE: Be sure to tune into WABE Atlanta 90.1 FM at 10 a.m. this morning when the Politically Georgia podcast debuts as a daily live radio show.
You can catch the PG crew of Greg Bluestein, Tia Mitchell, Patricia Murphy and Bill Nigut — or some combination of the four — every weekday morning from now on. This week will feature several guests Jolt readers will recognize.
And as always, the podcast will be in your feeds on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Play or wherever you listen to podcasts.
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Credit: Miguel Martinez/AJC
Credit: Miguel Martinez/AJC
MAP REDO. A federal judge’s ruling that scrapped Georgia’s political maps because they illegally diluted Black voting strength has set off a scramble under the Gold Dome ahead of a Nov. 29 special legislative session to redraw the boundaries.
And Stacey Abrams, who helped marshal Democratic opposition to the last set of maps, has a message to Republicans aiming to minimize their potential losses.
“My hope is that the leadership in the state of Georgia actually values the voters in Georgia. That we have district lines that reflect the will of the people and not the political intentions of those who happen to hold power,” she said after a weekend stop in Savannah stumping for Mayor Van Johnson.
“It was wrong when Democrats would manipulate the lines and it is wrong for Republicans to do the same. This is not about elected officials getting the districts they want. It’s about voters getting the elected officials they need. And that should be the mission.”
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Credit: Courtesy photo
Credit: Courtesy photo
MORE WORK FOR DA PANEL? Republican state lawmakers established the Prosecuting Attorneys Qualifications Commission earlier this year to investigate “misconduct” by district attorneys. The definition of misconduct is broad and is already being tested by a complaint against Fulton County’s Fani Willis based on her prosecution of former President Donald Trump and his allies for election interference.
Last Thursday, a federal court judge teed up another Georgia prosecutor unpopular with Republicans. Chatham County DA Shalena Cook Jones, a first-term Democrat, was sanctioned for what U.S. District Court Judge R. Stan Baker characterized as evading a deposition hearing and then offering “fabrications” for why she missed the session.
The Jolt’s Adam Van Brimmer asked one of the GOP lawmakers who sponsored the DA review panel, Rep. Jesse Petrea of Savannah, if the federal judge’s reprimand of Jones would prompt him to file a complaint against the DA. He said he would not — but encouraged others to take action instead.
“I have helped create a path for others who have been failed by this DA. That is my job,” Petrea wrote in a text message. “The numerous citizens and families of victims I have spoken to can do so now however.”
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HARD PASS. Top Georgia Democrats greeted the news of U.S. Rep. Dean Phillips’ longshot primary bid against President Joe Biden with a collective eye roll. Phillips launched his campaign Friday.
Most state Democratic leaders ignored the Minnesota congressman altogether. Those who did comment described his challenge as little more than a vanity project.
“We have a saying down here: Atlanta influences everything,” said Mayor Andre Dickens. “Dean Phillips, on the other hand, influences nothing when it comes to the Democratic nominating contest.”
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PENT-UP FRUSTRATIONS. Not long after the U.S. House resumed legislative work following the election of a speaker last week, Georgia U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene proposed a censure resolution against one of her Democratic colleagues.
Greene, R-Rome, seeks sanctions against Rep. Rashida Tlaib of Michigan, a first-generation Palestinian-American. Greene cited Tlaib’s history of criticizing Israel.
“I will not be bullied,” Tlaib said in response. “Marjorie Taylor Greene’s unhinged resolution is deeply Islamophobic and attacks peaceful Jewish anti-war advocates.”
Greene’s censure move drew a retaliatory resolution from Rep. Becca Balint, a Vermont Democrat, who said the U.S. House is “no place for antisemitic, Islamophobic, anti-LGBTQ, racist rhetoric and conspiracy theories.”
AJC contributor Jamie Dupree chronicled the spat in his must-read substack newsletter, “Regular Order.”
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Credit: Hyosub Shin/AJC
Credit: Hyosub Shin/AJC
FIELD HEARING. U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff is continuing his investigation of Georgia’s foster care system with a hearing in Atlanta today that will include testimony from juvenile court judges.
The meeting is part of Ossoff’s Senate Human Rights Subcommittee investigation into the treatment of foster children. The hearing follows another held last week that included testimony from a woman whose daughter died while in the custody of Georgia’s child welfare system.
Ossoff on Friday also released a report that concluded 1,790 children in the care of the state’s Division of Family & Children Services were reported missing between 2018 and 2022, the AJC’s Katherine Landergan reported.
“These numbers are deeply troubling because these are more than numbers, these are children,” Ossoff said at a news conference unveiling the report’s findings. “Children who go missing from care are left more vulnerable to human trafficking, to sexual exploitation, and to other threats to their health and safety.”
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Credit: Hyosub Shin/AJC
Credit: Hyosub Shin/AJC
TODAY IN WASHINGTON:
- President Joe Biden delivers remarks on regulating artificial intelligence. In the evening, he will welcome trick-or-treaters to the White House.
- The U.S. Senate returns and picks back up on confirmation votes.
- The House is out until Wednesday.
- U.S. Rep. David Scott, D-Atlanta, hosts an event at Griswell Senior Center in Jonesboro to help seniors connect with federal agencies and service providers.
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Credit: Maya T. Prabhu/AJC
Credit: Maya T. Prabhu/AJC
NO TAKEBACKS. The 4,000-acre site once envisioned as home for a commercial spaceport continues to be a source of angst for Camden County government officials.
Camden County voters in 2022 rejected plans for the spaceport on the former chemical plant property because launches would send rockets over homes and historic sites on Cumberland Island and Little Cumberland Island. Now, a federal judge has squashed the county’s attempt to reclaim the $2.64 million purchase of the property.
The Camden spaceport saga is closely watched because of subsequent attempts by other groups to use referendums to overturn decisions by local legislative bodies. Opponents of the Atlanta Public Safety Training Center are seeking a public vote on that facility. And residents of Sapelo Island, located just up the coast from Camden County, have mounted a petition drive in hopes of forcing a referendum to challenge a September zoning ordinance change.
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PERSONNEL DEPARTMENT. Camille Taylor, the always-smiling face of the state House press gallery, has moved on to a new position as the senior communications manager at the Georgia Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities.
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Credit: Courtesy photo
Credit: Courtesy photo
DOG OF THE DAY. It may be the spookiest time of the year, but Jolt reader and schoolteacher Christina Smith wants you to know there’s nothing scary about our first-ever Snake of the Day: Jane, Jane Bond.
Jane is a captive-bred ball python who lives with Smith, a snake aficionado, and several rescue snakes. Because Jane is also a bit shy, Christina uses her for classroom lessons to let students know the snake is as scared of them as they are of her.
By sharing Jane far and wide, including in The Jolt, the goal is to demystify snakes and make them an object of respect, instead of fear. Maybe starting the day after Halloween?
Send us your dogs of any political persuasion and location, and cats on a cat-by-cat basis, to patricia.murphy@ajc.com, or DM us at @MurphyAJC.
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AS ALWAYS. Jolt readers are some of our favorite tipsters. Send your best scoop, gossip and insider info to adam.vanbrimmer@ajc.com, patricia.murphy@ajc.com, tia.mitchell@ajc.com and greg.bluestein@ajc.com.
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