Ahead of this weekend’s Georgia GOP convention, members of an ultraconservative faction that seeks to block Republican “traitors” from qualifying for office are stepping up their lobbying efforts. So are opponents of the sweeping proposed rules change.
On a late Monday Zoom call, Georgia Republican Assembly head Alex Johnson assailed the “paid political class” that is rallying against the proposal that would give the state GOP’s 1,500 or so delegates the final say in who could run for office as a Republican candidate.
“Right now, they buy the seats,” he told a few dozen GOP delegates, targeting the mainstream wing of the party. “Do we get a seat at the table or are we left with whoever bought the primaries?”
Party insiders say the overhaul, fueled by far-right angst over Gov. Brian Kemp and other mainstream Republicans, is likely to get blocked in the rules committee. But given the hardline group’s increased clout in the party apparatus, the idea can’t be simply dismissed altogether, particularly if it’s brought up on the convention floor.
Hyosub Shin/AJC
Hyosub Shin/AJC
That’s why some conservatives are sounding the alarm bell. On the call on Monday, former state Sen. Mike Crane, an ally of the GRA, noted that Kemp and other targets of the rules change could push through legislation that deprives the party of the power to oversee qualification and make it “irrelevant.”
Others have taken their criticism public. Debbie Dooley, another well-known conservative voice, warned that establishment types could take over the state GOP and use the rule against far-right activists if the overhaul is adopted.
“Grassroots conservatives complain all the time about a few legislators getting in a room and making decisions on what bills get a vote,” she said. “Yet, a rule change is being proposed that would allow a handful of folks to decide who gets to run as a Republican.”
Philip Singleton was a favorite of the GRA during his stint as a state Legislature, and he said he has plenty of reason to empower grassroots conservatives to “combat the establishment” after he was drawn out of his district by GOP leaders.
But he’s trying to organize opposition to the plan, which he said will inevitably backfire and hand the mainstream wing of the party a major victory.
“This rule is like the Georgia GOP jumping into a lion’s den, pulling the lion’s tail and waiting to see who will get bit,” said Singleton, now the top aide for U.S. Rep. Rich McCormick, R-Suwanee. “My bet is everyone.”
Johnson, meanwhile, said the change will bring ideological purity to Republican candidates. Under the rule, a majority of delegates can vote to stop a candidate from qualifying — and that contender couldn’t run as a Republican until the vote was rescinded.
He likened it to homeowners who put a sign on their lawn advertising they own a firearm to deter thieves.
“Politicians thinking of voting badly will start to vote better,” Johnson said.
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Arvin Temkar/AJC
Arvin Temkar/AJC
BACKLASH. Will the anger and energy from critics of the proposed Atlanta public safety center have staying power?
That’s the question that supporters of Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens and city council members are asking themselves after a marathon session featuring overwhelming opposition to the now-approved project.
The complex, derided by critics as “cop city,” wasn’t a focus of Dickens’ winning 2021 election campaign. He’d much rather focus on his “Year of the Youth” initiative than the fraught debate over the center. But it might prove a defining theme of his bid for a second term in 2025.
Likewise for Atlanta City Council members, who also face a 2025 vote. In a preview of the backlash, opponents of the project at City Hall pointedly turned their backs on Councilman Michael Julian Bond, an at-large member, since he made clear he would back the plan.
In politics, of course, a few months might as well be a lifetime. And by 2025, an entirely new set of issues could shape the vote. But many of the speakers vowed Monday they will find ways to stay mobilized.
Another trend among the speakers: Bashing Gov. Brian Kemp and Attorney General Chris Carr over the arrests of a trio activists charged with financial crimes linked to the protests over the complex.
“Are you on the side of a governor who wants to ban abortion?” asked one speaker.
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Hyosub Shin/AJC
Hyosub Shin/AJC
CROSSFIRE. It wasn’t only voices opposed to the training center that we heard Monday. In a video in front of City Hall posted to social media, Georgia Insurance Commissioner John King spoke out in favor of the planned facility, pointing out that he himself was an Atlanta Police Department officer for more than 30 years.
King graduated from the Atlanta Police Academy in 1985 and was also shot in the line of duty.
In his video, Republican King also took pointed swipes at Georgia’s two U.S. senators, Democrats Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock. Both senators spoke out over the weekend to register their concern about the high-profile arrest of three “Defend the Atlanta Forrest” activists charged with money laundering and charity fraud in connection with the protests.
King said in his video that the two senators “have turned their backs on the police department and on their families. … Atlanta deserves better. Support your police and support their families.”
Look for this theme to reemerge down the road in future political campaigns, too.
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Jason Getz/AJC
Jason Getz/AJC
LATE NIGHT. As you may know, the worker bees at The Jolt either stay up late at night or wake early in the morning to put this newsletter together.
Your Jolt team noticed that the AJC Riley Bunch and Brian Eason were covering the long Atlanta City Council session, which stretched from 1 p.m. Monday morning past 5 a.m. Tuesday to accommodate the hundreds of public commenters who showed up to speak ahead of the council’s vote on funding the public safety training center.
That legislation passed 11-4 around 5:30 a.m. and after more than 14 hours of public comment. The council also passed a resolution requesting two seats on the Atlanta Police Foundation board that is overseeing fundraising for the facility since it also requires private dollars.
You can read all of Bunch and Eason’s updates as day turned to night, which turned to morning at AJC.com.
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Courtesy photo
Courtesy photo
HALEY WATCH. Former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley held a fundraiser in metro Atlanta on Monday with several of Georgia’s name-brand GOP fundraisers, a visit that came on the heels of her CNN town hall.
State Rep. Deborah Silcox and Leah Aldridge are leading the Georgia Women for Nikki initiative, campaign organizers say. Eric Tanenblatt, a veteran GOP mover-and-shaker, is one of her most prominent in-state backers.
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LAKE LIFE. Georgia Democrats are raising cash off the Georgia GOP’s scheduling switcheroo that swapped former Vice President Mike Pence, a villain to some Donald Trump supporters, with Kari Lake, an election denier who is a close ally of the former president.
In one appeal for cash, the Democratic Party of Georgia said Trump was “all in” for Lake’s failed Arizona gubernatorial bid.
“Now, both Trump AND Kari Lake will be in Georgia to be keynote speakers at the Georgia GOP’s state convention,” read the email. “It’s a convention of all the most extreme GOP candidates.”
One senior Republican: I’ve never seen a group of people try harder to get Democrats elected than this group of Republicans.
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Haiyun Jiang/The New York Times
Haiyun Jiang/The New York Times
TODAY IN WASHINGTON:
- The U.S. House will vote on a bill that would block the federal government from regulating gas stoves.
- A subcommittee of the House’s Energy and Commerce Committee will discuss the value of car manufacturers continuing to install AM radios.
- The Senate has another confirmation vote scheduled.
- President Joe Biden will meet with his Cabinet.
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Doug Mills/The New York Times
Doug Mills/The New York Times
FOLLOW THE MONEY. The White House this morning has launched a website that will allow the public to track investments related to several key pieces of legislation passed during President Joe Biden’s first two years in office, mainly the Inflation Reduction Act, the CHIPS and Science Act, the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and the American Rescue Plan coronavirus relief package.
The website, Invest.gov, serves as a sleek visual portrayal of Biden’s economic agenda right as his reelection campaign ramps up.
There are two maps: one shows investments that have been earmarked for boosting manufacturing in the private sector; the other highlights spending authorized for infrastructure, health care and other public projects. A dropdown menu allows browsers to zoom in on specific states and territories.
The Georgia map shows $32 billion going to boost manufacturing, $4.4 billion for transportation projects and $219 million in home energy rebates among the bullet points.
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Jason Getz/AJC
Jason Getz/AJC
BETWEEN THE LINES. House Speaker Jon Burns named nine members to the new Georgia Literacy Council on Monday. That’s the panel created by Senate Bill 211 this year and tasked with reviewing programs in the state, with special attention to improving literacy rates among students with dyslexia.
Among the names for the panel that caught our eyes was state Rep. Mesha Mainor, the Atlanta Democrat who chafed some in her party by supporting the Republican school voucher bill this legislative session.
Also on the list: Jeanne Seaver, a longtime GOP activist from Savannah whose professional experience is focused on working in Republican campaigns and running against Lt. Gov. Burt Jones in the 2022 Republican primary. Seaver is currently president of “Moms Against Gambling.”
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Courtesy photo
Courtesy photo
DOG OF THE DAY. They say some dogs look like their people. But let’s meet Piper Duvall, the 10-year-old Australian shepherd who may occasionally act like her person, Georgia Chamber lobbyist Katie Duvall.
A reliable source tells us that Piper not only spends her days taking long walks in the country and short runs away from cows, she also lobbies for any and all forms of food — canine and otherwise.
Piper lives on a farm in “the real Buckhead” in Morgan County, and rumor has it, was pleased to see the Buckhead City movement fail.
Send us your dogs of any political persuasion and cats on a cat-by-cat basis to patricia.murphy@ajc.com, or DM us on Twitter @MurphyAJC.
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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.
