Our AJC colleague Eric Stirgus reports this morning that a GOP state legislator asked the entire higher education system to submit six years’ worth of information about hiring, teaching, and administrative decisions based on anti-racism and social justice.
It’s the latest GOP backlash over critical race theory, the graduate-level coursework that studies racism as a historical pattern that’s ingrained in law and other structural institutions.
But we noticed a glaring flaw in the 11-page letter from Republican state Rep. David Knight of Griffin, which seeks all publications and materials that use the term “anti-racist” or explicitly reference three scholars: Ibram Kendi, Carol Anderson and Beverly DiAngelo.
The works of both Anderson and Kendi have been targeted by Republicans in other states. But we’re pretty certain Knight meant Robin DiAngelo, whose book “White Fragility” has come under fire from conservatives.
Knight might have gotten her mixed up with Beverly D’Angelo, the actress who starred alongside Chevy Chase as Ellen Griswold in the National Lampoon’s Vacation films.
As one Democrat noted: “It turns out it might be an investigation into the use of state funds to teach about Christmas Vacation.”
***
UNDER THE GOLD DOME, Thursday, Feb. 10:
- 7:00 a.m.: Start your engines, committee work begins early for the day;
- 10:00 a.m.: The House gavels in;
- 10:00 a.m.: The Senate convenes.
***
We told you yesterday about the Capitol backlash to the social media posts of Buckhead cityhood leader Bill White.
White had suggested on Instagram that the recent death of MARTA CEO Jeffrey Parker was connected to $200 million of “missing” money meant to be spent on a MARTA project in the Campbellton Road corridor.
Melissa Mullinax, the MARTA chief of staff, responded to White’s conspiracy. Here is it in full:
“There is absolutely no truth to the notion that money is missing or has been stolen. MARTA has recommended a transit project in the Campbellton Corridor that has a smaller estimated cost than the original project. It is extremely unfortunate that language from some Councilmembers has been twisted into false headlines of stolen money and used in the worst kind of way by social media trolls.”
We continued to hear from lawmakers throughout the day Wednesday distressed at White’s attacks on Parker, who died by suicide in January.
One of Buckhead cityhood’s original backers, state Sen. Brandon Beach of Alpharetta, grimaced when asked about them.
“That was uncalled for,” he said of White’s attacks. Beach, the former chair of the Senate Transportation Committee, said Parker has been “a dear friend. That was just uncalled for.”
***
Credit: TNS
Credit: TNS
34N22, the super PAC supporting Herschel Walker’s Senate campaign is out with a new ad featuring several of Walker’s high school classmates, as well as his football coach from Johnson County High School.
You can see it here.
***
We told you last week that the Democratic Party of Georgia was beefing up its staff earlier than ever, with 27 employees working in various capacities to prepare for the November election.
Georgia Republicans have built their own robust operations, too. There are nearly 40 GOP staffers now working in Georgia, including 20 field staffers, said Garrison Douglas of the Republican National Committee.
That includes a strategic initiative team assigned to community centers devoted to outreach to Asian-Pacific American voters and Black residents. There are also three “election integrity” staffers and a data and communications team.
***
Credit: TNS
Credit: TNS
The flap over Stacey Abrams’ mask-less episode this week reminded us how well she had managed to avoid controversy and pitfalls of campaigning since she launched her bid in December — and how abruptly that can end.
Republicans are racing to capitalize off the flap, with Gov. Brian Kemp pledging to sign a measure that would let parents decide whether to require their children to wear masks at public schools. And former U.S. Sen. David Perdue saying he would have already signed an executive order to do so.
The Abrams campaign has indeed had a rough week. But campaign manager Lauren Groh-Wargo contended in an interview that the race’s dynamics still favor the Democrat.
“We are unified. They are deeply divided. And Trump is calling their shots,” she said.
She pointed to Abrams’ hot fundraising streak, the federal ruling that restricted Kemp from using a new law to raise unlimited campaign cash and the GOP warring over the former president.
“We have a much stronger fundraising pace, and the governor loses a powerful tool after he was defeated in court on his unconstitutional changes to state law to help him raise more cash,” she said.
***
A federal judge suggested he could delay Georgia’s primary election, possibly until June or July, if he rules that the state’s new political maps illegally weakened representation of Black voters.
The AJC’s Mark Niesse tells us the judge in the Georgia redistricting challenge floated the idea of a delay as an alternative to the decision made in an Alabama case, where the court upheld the contested maps because of the timing of the May primaries.
“I could change the whole calendar,” U.S. District Judge Steve Jones said. “I need to hear all the evidence before I make a decision,” likely soon after court hearings conclude early next week.
***
Credit: Bob Andres
Credit: Bob Andres
The Democratic Attorneys General Association has thrown its support behind state Sen. Jen Jordan, an Atlanta attorney who spent much of the past month as the only Democrat in her primary, calling her “the people’s lawyer.”
Sandy Springs attorney Christian Wise Smith entered the primary race last week.
DAGA, which has a goal of electing and supporting Democratic attorneys general, announced this morning that they are endorsing Jordan because she will use the office as a “powerful tool for justice,” the AJC’s Maya T. Prabhu tells us.
***
Our Washington Insider spoke to as many Georgia Republicans in the U.S. House as she could about the Republican National Committee’s censure of Reps. Liz Cheney and Adam Kinzinger for serving on the Jan. 6 committee.
None of the Georgia lawmakers said they didn’t approve of the resolution, although they stopped short of co-signing the “legitimate political discourse” line that drew the most controversy.
Half of the Georgia GOP caucus — Reps. Barry Loudermilk, Drew Ferguson, Austin Scott and Buddy Carter — didn’t respond to questions about where they stand.
***
POSTED: Georgia U.S. Sens. Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock are ready to play their part in helping president Joe Biden make the Supreme Court more diverse.
Biden hasn’t yet said who he will nominate but vowed to stand by his campaign promise to select a Black woman. Ossoff and other Democrats on the Senate Judiciary Committee are headed to the White House today to discuss the process.
***
There is more momentum behind efforts to ban members of Congress and their spouses from trading individual stocks, and U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff is hoping his proposal remains in the forefront of discussion.
“We have not just active engagement but active engagement and expressions of support from leadership in both houses of Congress,” he told reporters Wednesday. “We are building a bipartisan coalition that includes Democrats and Republicans in both chambers who support banning stock trading by members of Congress.”
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi also addressed the topic Wednesday, saying she would like to make sure whatever is done also includes the judicial branch, which currently isn’t required to adhere to the same financial disclosure requirements as members of Congress.
“The court system, the third branch of government, the judiciary has no reporting,” Pelosi said. “The Supreme Court has no disclosure. It has no reporting of stock transactions, and it makes important decisions every day.”
***
U.S. Rep. Drew Ferguson and seven other members of the Georgia GOP congressional delegation have written to the Joe Biden administration in support of Georgia Access, the 1332 Waiver that Gov. Brian Kemp created to overhaul how Georgians buy health insurance under the Affordable Care Act.
Former President Donald Trump’s administration approved the state’s plan, but the U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services under President Joe Biden has not yet made its decision.
Part of the 1332 waiver is already in effect, with the state subsidizing insurance payouts, but part is in limbo. The Biden administration, noting that the American Rescue Plan and other federal actions had changed the lay of the land for Georgia’s marketplace, put out a new request for public comment on the waiver. The window for submitting comments ended last month.
In their letter, the eight GOP representatives wrote, “We encourage you to look at the facts of Georgia’s waiver and recognize our citizens require a tailored, state-based approach to delivering accessible health insurance coverage.”
***
It may not be a scientific poll, but the listeners of Gainesville’s WDUN radio station know who they want for lieutenant governor — local Honda dealer and state Senate President Pro Tem Butch Miller.
The online straw poll asked listeners who they would vote for in the LG primary and got more than 1,000 responses. It gave Miller a huge win over state Sen. Burt Jones, 73% to 16%, with Jeanne Seaver and Mark McGregor getting single-digit support.
***
Tim Reitz, the chief of staff for Georgia U.S. Rep. Jody Hice, has been named the next executive director of the House Freedom Congress, a reporter from Real Clear Politics revealed.
Hice won’t be returning to Congress next year because he is running for Georgia Secretary of State.
***
We don’t want to dig too deep into U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene’s latest rant against House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, because nearly every statement she made warranted a fact-check.
But let’s just say the internet had a bunch of fun after she uttered the statement “Nancy Pelosi’s gazpacho police.” It appears Greene meant to reference the Nazi Gestapo secret police force and not a bowl of chilled vegetable soup.
***
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.
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