Georgia politics

GA Politics

Dale Cardwell will be this week's featured guest on this Sunday's Kudzu Vine Listen live at 7:00 or download it later. Also, David Johnson of Strategic Vision will join near the top for the hour to discuss the just released Georgia poll.

On the October 21 episode of The Kudzu Vine, hosts David, Tim, and Bernita survey a turbulent week in Southern politics before welcoming U.S. Senate exploratory candidate Josh Lanier. The show opens with Louisiana’s elections, where Republican Bobby Jindal won the governorship without a runoff. Tim notes the lack of a strong Democratic challenger and Louisiana’s tendency to split tickets, as seen in Democrat Mitch Landrieu’s decisive re-election as lieutenant governor. Despite GOP spin, the hosts argue Republicans didn’t achieve broad victories: down-ballot Democrats performed strongly, structural effects from post-Katrina population loss skewed totals, and no clear GOP momentum appears nationally, especially with President Bush’s approval sinking to 24%.

The conversation shifts to Georgia’s sluggish Democratic fundraising. Vernon Jones burned less cash than expected, Dale Cardwell raised another $50,000, and Rand Knight continues to struggle for visibility. Congressional candidates are also underperforming, with Bobby Saxon’s $50,000 haul simultaneously modest yet impressive compared to statewide campaigns. Internal turmoil—including Saxon replacing his campaign manager—adds to concerns. In congressional races, the hosts assess Republican efforts to challenge Democratic incumbents Jim Marshall and John Barrow. They argue Barrow appears safer due to district demographics, strong fundraising, and willingness to support Democratic priorities like children’s health care—contrasting sharply with Marshall’s more cautious positioning.

Guest Josh Lanier closes the episode by introducing his Senate exploratory campaign. A Vietnam veteran and longtime Washington policy professional, he emphasizes patriotic values, responsible national security, and sweeping campaign-finance reform, vowing to cap donations at $100 and model a grassroots, public-financing-inspired approach.

Robert Nowack, GA-8 Candidate for Congress joined us

On this October 7 episode of The Kudzu Vine, hosts David, Tim, and Catherine recap a packed weekend in Georgia politics before welcoming guest Rashad Taylor, newly hired political director for the Democratic Party of Georgia. Catherine begins by reporting from the Georgia Federation of Democratic Women’s meeting at Clayton State, a well-attended event featuring former First Lady Jane Vandiver, recognition of Businesswoman of the Year Beth Pereira, and lively Q&A sessions with Senate hopefuls Dale Cardwell and Rand Knight.

The show then shifts to the Bill Richardson presidential campaign’s multi-stop visit, with caller Juliana Ilari offering an extensive field report. She describes Richardson’s packed schedule—from a Black Legislative Caucus luncheon to grassroots events at the IBEW and a Globe fundraiser—highlighting strong turnout, enthusiastic labor and Young Democrat participation, and Richardson’s ability to energize crowds with close personal engagement. 

Conversation turns to Georgia statewide maneuvering, including speculation that Sen. Johnny Isakson’s chief of staff returned home to prepare a gubernatorial run, potentially reshuffling Republican ambitions and prompting questions about Sonny Perdue’s future. The hosts compare GOP succession struggles with Democrats’ own need to continue rebuilding their bench. 

Finally, guest Rashad Taylor joins to introduce himself and outline his new role at the DPG—candidate recruitment, targeted legislative races, messaging, and delegate selection. He spotlights the District 127 special election, praising Democratic candidate Dr. Barney Berg-Gardner and urging volunteers to assist with turnout efforts crucial to flipping the seat.

The Kudzu Vine’s late-September episode opens with David, Tim, and Bernita easing into fall and reviewing recent shows, including an appearance by Tim Cairl and coverage of a Barack Obama fundraiser and South Fulton’s municipal elections.

After brief sports chatter—Falcons, fantasy football, and a brewing NFL upset—the hosts turn sharply to politics, starting with rising frustration over Representative Jim Marshall’s vote against expanding children’s health care (S-CHIP). Bernita and Tim criticize Marshall’s rationale, particularly claims involving undocumented immigrants, and argue that he increasingly votes like a Republican despite representing a Democratic district. The trio debates whether Democrats should continue supporting representatives who routinely break with core party positions, especially on issues like children’s health care, which enjoy bipartisan public backing.

They explore wider intra-party tensions: the DCCC’s allocation decisions, Republican attacks on vulnerable incumbents, and the limits of political triangulation. The conversation expands to concerns about Representatives Sanford Bishop and David Scott, both recently ranked among the “worst” Black members of Congress in an outside assessment—prompting discussions on ideology, representation, and shifting reputations.

Shifting local, the hosts examine political fault lines in Jonesboro, highlighting the candidacy of Dr. Donna Sartor, who is running a progressive, community-focused campaign in a city divided between “Jonesboro Pride” and “Friends of Jonesboro.”

The episode’s featured guest, Dr. Bonnie Byrd Gardner, then joins to discuss her background as an educator and administrator and her run in the special election for Georgia House District 127. She outlines priorities including children’s health care (peach care reauthorization), agricultural fairness, and restoring withheld state education funds—arguing that Georgia needs more educators in the legislature to uphold constitutional commitments to its schools.

This episode of The Kudzu Vine opens with hosts Tim Shiflett, Bernita Smith, and guest co-host Melanie Goux filling in for David as they dive into a packed night of Georgia and national political talk. Before welcoming their guest, Tim Cairl of the Georgia Young Democrats, the hosts recap Senator Barack Obama’s Atlanta rally and a pricey but poorly organized fundraiser that left some donors feeling overlooked.

This leads to a broader conversation about the Democratic presidential landscape in Georgia, where Bernita argues the race is wide open, with Obama, Clinton, and Edwards all viable but underinvesting in real groundwork. They also examine Bill Richardson’s potential in the state, boosted by influential supporters like Wendy Davis. Melanie discusses her grassroots group Georgia for Hillary, formed to connect scattered Clinton supporters across the state through a new website and coordinated volunteer networks.

The hosts then switch to a local controversy: an Atlanta Journal-Constitution report that mistakenly inflated Senate candidate Dale Cardwell’s fundraising by $400,000—a major error they attribute to an inexperienced newsroom after staff layoffs. 

The episode’s featured guest, Tim Cairl, joins to describe his work as Executive Director of the Young Democrats of Georgia, overseeing 33 chapters with plans to expand to 50. He details their strategic retreats, chapter-building, peer-to-peer outreach, voter-file contributions, and youth-focused electoral targeting for 2008. Cairl explains how new chapters are formed, how young voters are trained and integrated, and how rising enthusiasm from the presidential race is already boosting engagement across the state.

On this September 16 episode of The Kudzu Vine, guest co-host Catherine Smith of Blog for Democracy joins David and Tim to cover a wide range of Georgia and national political developments. Smith discusses her work with Fulton County Democrats and recounts a recent local forum featuring representatives from five presidential campaigns, where Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama topped both pre- and post-speech straw polls. She also highlights her long-standing activism in both Michigan and Georgia Democratic politics.

The hosts dive into Governor Sonny Perdue’s opposition to House Speaker Glenn Richardson’s sweeping tax proposal, which would eliminate income taxes in favor of taxing services. All three criticize the plan as regressive, warning it would raise costs on essential services like plumbing, veterinary care, and medical visits, and potentially even reintroduce taxes on groceries. They argue the proposal threatens local control and would disproportionately hurt working families.

Turning to congressional politics, the trio reviews news that Republican Chris Edenfield is launching a challenge against Democratic Rep. John Barrow, though his moderate messaging and limited organization make him an uncertain contender. They also note a possible Democratic primary challenge to Rep. Jim Marshall by progressive activist Robert Novak.

The episode’s featured guest, David Johnson, CEO of Strategic Vision, discusses his firm’s new poll showing Fred Thompson surging among Georgia Republicans and Hillary Clinton gaining ground among Democrats. Johnson explains name recognition advantages, shifting GOP attitudes toward George W. Bush, debates over including potential candidates like Newt Gingrich, and why Georgia remains more Republican than neighboring Southern states.

Georgia 1st Congressional District Candidate Bill Gillespie joined us for the show.