In April 2021, Major League Baseball’s abrupt decision to yank the All Star game from Truist Park in protest of the state’s new election law helped energize Republicans upset at what they saw as liberal overreaction to the changes.
Now Democrats hope that the cancellation of the Music Midtown festival will prove just as galvanizing to their supporters as a challenging November election nears.
Eager to upend a political landscape dominated by economic uncertainty, Democrats quickly blamed their GOP rivals for the demise of the two-day event, which was slated to bring tens of thousands of concertgoers to the heart of Atlanta in September.
“Republicans want to say they’re all about business,” said state Sen. Jen Jordan, the Democratic nominee for attorney general. “But the radical no-compromise wing of the GOP controls their party. And this is a consequence of that.”
Though festival organizers would only cite “circumstances beyond our control” for their decision, officials said that legal fallout stemming from a Republican-backed gun expansion signed in 2014 paved the way for the cancellation.
A judge’s ruling that made it harder for organizers of short-term private events held on public land to ban firearms led to what officials described as an impossible situation: Allow guns and risk a boycott by some artists – or restrict the weapons and invite a tough legal challenge.
Credit: Ryan Fleisher
Credit: Ryan Fleisher
Democratic reaction was swift. Stacey Abrams blasted Gov. Brian Kemp’s “dangerous and extreme gun agenda.” State Sen. Michelle Au said when Republicans pass pro-gun rules opposed by many businesses, “no one should be surprised when it hurts our economy and changes our way of life.”
“As with the MLB All-Star game, this economic fallout ultimately hurts Georgians – much like the laws themselves,” the Johns Creek Democrat said.
Kemp declined comment. But state Rep. Rick Jasperse, who authored the 2014 law, said an attempt to ban guns at the festival would only mean “good Georgians” would comply – and open the door for those intent on “causing chaos and crime” to ignore the restrictions.
“Good Georgians who can qualify for a permit and carry a weapon do so to protect themselves from that element in our society,” said Jasperse, a Jasper Republican.
State Sen. Burt Jones, the GOP nominee for lieutenant governor, dubbed Music Midtown the “new All Star game” for a different reason. He criticized Abrams, who had nothing to do with the event’s cancellation.
Some Republicans talked privately about legislation next year to give private events more leeway to ban weapons if their events are on public land, but we’re told that effort isn’t likely to gain traction in next year’s legislative session.
Meanwhile, North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper, a Democrat, rolled out the welcome mat for the event to move to his state. That led Abrams’ campaign to lash out her Republican opponent.
“Brian Kemp is still staying silent with jobs on the line. It’s shameful that another state’s governor has spoken out on a potential loss of $50 million to Georgia’s economy while our governor is choosing to ignore a problem he and his allies created,” said Abrams spokesman Alex Floyd.
“Governor, it’s past time to address how you’re putting not only our lives but also our economy at risk.”
With the cancellation of the festival, a possibility first reported by independent journalist George Chidi, attention now shifts to other large-scale events that use public land.
Organizers say One Musicfest, a hip-hop and R&B festival scheduled for October at Atlanta’s Central Park, is expected to continue as planned. But other major outdoor festivals are under the microscope.
Credit: Handout
Credit: Handout
***
GREEN AND BLACK. The Athens-Clarke County Commission is set to vote Tuesday on a measure to decriminalize marijuana, setting just a $1 fine for possession under an ounce. The proposal would also set a punishment as a civil penalty rather than potential jail time.
Local prosecutors and law enforcement have largely stopped arresting or prosecuting residents for possessing small amounts of marijuana in recent years, officials say. Athens would join more than a dozen communities in Georgia that have passed similar ordinances.
***
VIRAL MOMENT. Republican Senate hopeful Herschel Walker blasted author Elie Mystal after he criticized the former football star on MSNBC as a candidate who embodies “what Republicans want from their Negroes.”
Walker posted a minute-long video on Twitter that quickly went viral.
“Here’s what I got to say about that: Shame on MSNBC and shame on him. I’m going to pray for both of them because they need Jesus,” Walker said.
“When I saw what he said, it reminded me of the differences between myself and my opponent, Sen. Warnock and the left-wing crazies that believe America is fundamentally a bad country full of racist people.”
***
BIPARTISAN BOOST. The U.S. Senate approved a measure late Monday sponsored by Democratic U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff of Georgia and Republican U.S. Sen. Chuck Grassley of Iowa to boost funding for first-responders, mental health courts and other crisis intervention programs.
The measure aims to improve training courses to help first-responders address people suffering from PTSD or traumatic brain injury. And it calls for a new Centers for Disease Control and Prevention study of law enforcement officials who may have suffered a traumatic brain injury in the line of duty.
The proposal, which passed the U.S. House earlier this summer, is expected to soon be signed into law by President Joe Biden.
***
TOSSED. A judge has thrown out the lawsuit filed by Georgia U.S. Rep. Andrew Clyde and two other Republicans challenging the fines they received after refusing to pass through metal detectors on the House floor.
The magnetometers were installed after the deadly Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol by a pro-Donald Trump mob at the urging of Democrats, who also used their majority to implement fines on lawmakers who circumvented the devices stationed outside each entrance to the House chamber.
The federal judge, a Trump appointee, said the Constitution’s “speech or debate clause” gives members of the House and Senate wide freedom to set rules without being questioned in court about it.
This same legal theory was used to toss a separate lawsuit filed by U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene regarding her fines for violating House masking policies.
The mask rules are no longer in place on the House floor, but the metal detectors still remain more than a year after the insurrection.
***
TODAY IN WASHINGTON:
- The Senate is working through nominations while members still wait for word on the reconciliation package.
- President Joe Biden is still quarantining and working virtually after he started testing positive again for COVID.
- The House is not scheduled to return until early September.
***
STUDENT DEBT. More than 100 Democratic lawmakers have written a letter to President Joe Biden seeking to extend the pause on federal student loan repayments beyond the end of the month.
Biden earlier this year extended the pause, which was scheduled to expire in April. But new reports indicate he remains undecided about another postponement of the date where millions of former students need to resume repaying their debts.
Credit: Bob Andres
Credit: Bob Andres
Among the Georgia lawmakers who signed the letter are U.S. Sen. Raphael Warnock and U.S. Reps. Nikema Williams, Lucy McBath and Hank Johnson.
Warnock, running for a full six-year term, has also pressed Biden to take aggressive action to cancel student loan debt. The president is expected to announce his decision this year.
***
UNDISCLOSED AID. Political groups aligned with Stacey Abrams did not properly disclose the money they raised and spent on her behalf during her 2018 run for governor, the state ethics commission has ruled.
The AJC’s James Salzer reports that the New Georgia Project, a voter registration group that Abrams founded, and a separate but affiliated organization called the New Georgia Project Action Fund raised $4 million and spent $3 million before the 2018 election.
***
PEACE TREATY? Do polls showing an overwhelming majority of Republicans support Gov. Brian Kemp signal an end to the Trump-inflamed infighting within the state GOP? We explore that question here.
***
LISTEN UP! The Politically Georgia podcast now has a 24-hour hotline. You can leave us a question at (770) 810-5297 and we’ll answer it in an upcoming episode. And tune in on Spotify, Apple or wherever you get your podcasts.
***
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.
Sign Up to receive the Morning Jolt & AJC Politics newsletters in your inbox. Just click here.
