The Jolt: GOP senators renew push for Clarence Thomas statue at Capitol
A group of powerful Republicans in the Georgia state Senate is reviving the proposal to install a statue of U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas on the grounds of the state Capitol.
The measure is backed by state Sen. Jason Anavitarte, one of the chamber’s leaders, and state Sen. Ben Watson, who represents the coastal area where the conservative jurist grew up. The legislation landed in the hopper this week.
It’s likely to face stiff opposition from Democrats, who vigorously fought a similar measure last year. In last year’s heated debate, state Sen. Nikki Merritt, D-Grayson, protested that Thomas is a “hypocrite and a traitor” to gasps from the chamber.
Thomas, a native of the southeast Georgia town of Pin Point, was nominated to the bench by George H.W. Bush in 1991 and became the court’s second Black justice. He’s now its longest-serving member.
Anavitarte, R-Dallas, said Thomas “was determined not to allow his environment or the challenges the world imposed on him or his financial circumstances to dictate his American dream. That determination and resolve is worthy of recognition in the Capitol.”
Thomas was confirmed to the court in 1991 after contentious hearings that included Anita Hill’s allegations that he sexually harassed her.
When the Georgia Senate approved a version of the statue measure last year, it faced sharp criticism from some Democrats who said legislators should wait until Thomas retires, and others who invoked his more controversial opinions, including opposition to affirmative action.
State Sen. Emanuel Jones, D-Decatur, said he respected Thomas’ accomplishments but called his policies offensive. “We can’t whitewash history,” he warned.
“I wouldn’t want my little grandsons and granddaughters to come up here and be told the Clarence Thomas story.”
Opponents of the statue also brought up reports about the role of his wife Virginia “Ginni” Thomas, who backed Donald Trump’s effort to overturn the results of the 2020 election.
Despite the objections, Republicans passed the measure in the state Senate, but it never came to a vote in the state House. The revived measure, Senate Bill 69, also stipulates that private funds would be used to design and create the statue.
If successful, Thomas wouldn’t be the only living Georgia native to be honored on the statehouse grounds, which feature statues, plaques, portraits and marble busts of historic and contemporary leaders. A statue of former President Jimmy Carter, who was governor of Georgia from 1971 to 1975, stands just outside the Capitol.
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LOEFFLER ON HOLD. Former U.S. Sen. Kelly Loeffler was on hand at the state Senate Wednesday morning to be honored by Republicans for the work of her voter registration organization, Greater Georgia Action.
It was all going smoothly, with Loeffler speaking from dais to thank the members of the chamber for the work they do on behalf of their constituents. But when a resolution honoring her was included on a list of measures to be adopted unanimously, freshman Democrat Josh McLaurin stood to object.
McLaurin read from the Greater Georgia website, which specifies that Greater Georgia was founded to register conservative Georgians to vote. “In that way, it is part of the game we all play, the electoral game,” he said.
“I believe that this resolution does not belong on the unanimous consent calendar. It’s not something that me or many of my colleagues want to assign our name to.”
Along with Greater Greater Georgia Action, Loeffler also launched the “Citizens for a Greater Georgia” political action committee last cycle, one of two leadership committees created to elect Republicans to the state Senate, including most of the GOP members in the chamber Wednesday. Senate President Pro Tem John F. Kennedy, R-Macon, served as the chairman.
Without unanimous consent, the measure will now go to the Senate Rules Committee, where it’s expected to be approved and sent back to the floor. It is likely to pass easily in the Republican-led Senate. But, next time, McLaurin and other Democrats will have the opportunity to vote against it.
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UNDER THE GOLD DOME (Legislative Day 12):
- 8 a.m.: Committee hearings begin;
- 10 a.m.: The House convenes;
- 10 a.m.: The Senate gavels in.
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WAKE UP CALL. The so-far sleepy legislative session at the Capitol seems to have gotten its wake-up call Wednesday, with movement on several bills.
The state Senate passed its first bill, approving a measure from state Sen. John Albers, R-Roswell, to expand the jurisdiction of the Georgia Bureau of Investigation in crimes related to terrorism. Senate Bill 11 passed 49-3.
Also on the Senate side, state Sen. Billy Hickman, R-Statesboro, introduced SB 57, a hotly anticipated bill to legalize sports betting, including non-parimutuel horse racing, with proceeds going to the Georgia Lottery.
The bill from Hickman does not call for an amendment to the state constitution, a roadblock for past gaming efforts, and is designed for a simple majority vote.
Former Georgia Supreme Court Chief Justice Harold Melton recently wrote that he does not believe that legalizing sports betting would require an amendment to the state constitution, since it could be classified as a lottery. Melton wrote the opinion at the request of the Metro Atlanta Chamber, which supports sport betting.
“The reality is Georgians are gambling,” state Rep. Bill Mitchell, D-Stone Mountain, told Donna Lowry on Lawmakers Wednesday night. “If they’re going to gamble anyway, I’d like to see it regulated by Georgia for the benefit of Georgians...It’s an idea whose time has come.”
Mitchell said he believes a bill to allow casino gambling in the state would likely require a constitutional amendment.
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MORE BILLS. Also introduced this week:
- A bill from state Rep. Joseph Gullett, R-Dallas, to allow municipalities to opt-in for ranked choice voting, or instant runoffs, in local races. State Rep. Mary Margaret Oliver, D-Decatur, is a co-sponsor.
- State Sen. Rick Williams, R-Milledgeville, introduced Senate Bill 68 to classify dogfighting as racketeering activity for prosecution. The bill has the backing of known dog fan, Lt. Gov. Burt Jones.
- Keep an eye out for legislation from state Sen. Ben Watson as early as today to allow for the state takeover of the health insurance exchange marketplace for Affordable Care Act plans.
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TODAY IN WASHINGTON:
- The National Prayer Breakfast will bring lawmakers from both chambers together, along with the president and vice president.
- President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris will also meet later with members of the Congressional Black Caucus about policing
- The U.S. House is expected to take a vote about whether to remove Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., from the Foreign Affairs Committee because of past statements she made that were deemed antisemitic.
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NUTTY TARIFF. Members of Georgia’s congressional delegation have lobbied U.S. trade officials for years to lift a hefty tariff on American pecans sold into India, the country with the world’s second-largest population who also apparently enjoy pecans.
The effort has finally paid off. On Wednesday, the Republic of India announced that it will reduce the tariff from 100% of the price of imported pecans to 30%. As a result, the pecan industry, which is heavily concentrated in Georgia, could see its business in India increase from $1 million per year to $50-$60 million by 2030, according to Pecan South magazine.
U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff, who traveled to India last year to meet directly with decision-makers on the issue and hosted a roundtable with pecan farmers and U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai, said he was glad to see pecan growers’ efforts pay off.
“They’ve been working on this for years,” Ossoff said. “They deserve a huge amount of credit for pushing this, and it will help open up this huge market to Georgia pecan growers. But there’s still more work to do.”
U.S. Sen. Raphael Warnock, as well as U.S. Reps. Austin Scott and Sanford Bishop, are also among those who have been engaged on the issue in recent years.
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PRAYERS WELCOME. Over 200 members of Congress, as well as President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris, are expected to attend the National Prayer Breakfast this morning at the U.S. Capitol.
Georgia Congresswoman Lucy McBath is the Democratic co-chair for this year’s event.
The traditional gathering has long been a chance for a nonpartisan moment during partisan times. This year, members of Congress have also made a break with the previous host of the breakfast, the International Foundation. As a result, this year’s event will be smaller.
The Associated Press reported that some members of Congress felt uneasy about the lack of transparency with the foundation’s fundraising and other activities it hosted in Washington.
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ADIOS, ALABAMA. Georgia grassroots Republicans will be familiar with CJ Pearson, the young activist who was most recently a spokesperson for the losing Vernon Jones for Congress campaign.
Writing for the New York Post, Pearson announced he’s dropping out of college at the University of Alabama, convinced that all higher education is now “an institution more fixated on teaching students what to think than how to think.”
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AS ALWAYS, Jolt readers are some of our favorite tipsters. Send your best scoop, gossip and insider info to patricia.murphy@ajc.com, tia.mitchell@ajc.com and greg.bluestein@ajc.com.
About the Authors
Patricia Murphy is the AJC's senior political columnist. She was previously a nationally syndicated columnist for CQ Roll Call, national political reporter for the Daily Beast and Politics Daily, and wrote for The Washington Post and Garden & Gun. She graduated from Vanderbilt and holds a master’s degree in journalism from Columbia University.
Greg Bluestein is the Atlanta Journal Constitution's chief political reporter. He is also an author, TV analyst and co-host of the Politically Georgia podcast.
Tia Mitchell is the AJC’s Washington Bureau Chief and a co-host of the "Politically Georgia" podcast. She writes about Georgia’s congressional delegation, campaigns, elections and the impact that decisions made in D.C. have on residents of the Peach State.
