Political Rewind

Wednesday on Political Rewind: President Joe Biden now faces a daunting challenge back at the U.S. Capitol as he attempts to make good on commitments to sign into law federal voting rights legislation. It's a move he pushed for during his visit to Atlanta on Tuesday. Can Biden wrangle enough support to pass the voting rights legislation he described as crucial to our democracy? Meanwhile, Gov. Brian Kemp defended Georgia's voting laws.

The Panel:

Adam van Brimmer — Editorial page editor, Savannah Morning News

Chuck Williams — Reporter, WRBL-TV Columbus

Donna Lowry — Host, Georgia Public Broadcasting’s Lawmakers

Greg Bluestein — Politics reporter, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Timestamps

:00- Introductions

3:24- Gov. Kemp announces he plans to use $1.6B in tax breaks

9:58- Medicaid expansion

13:38- The aftermath of Biden's Visit

28:56 - The Atlanta Journal-Constitution's Greg Bluestein joins

31:07- Speaker Ralston's approach to the legislative session

38:52- GA Today Political Rewind Newsletter

40:20- Chuck Bailey switches course, decides to run for lieutenant governor

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Tuesday on Political Rewind: 'Go Dawgs' is the rallying cry around Georgia this morning after The University of Georgia breaks a four-decade dry spell. But, President Biden will make his own headlines when he visits Atlanta and prepares to announce a carve-out to the filibuster that would push forward key voting rights legislation.

The Panel:

Dr. Amy Steigerwalt — Professor of political science, Georgia State University

Edward Lindsey — Former state legislator, Atlanta

Mayor Hardie Davis — Augusta

Tamar Hallerman — Senior reporter, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Timestamps

0:00 — Go Dawgs!

4:16 — President Biden's visit to Atlanta

12:04 — Explaining the Filibuster

18:35 — Explanation of the voting rights bills in limbo

23:57 — Stacey Abram's absence in President Biden's trip to Atlanta

28:24 — Constitutional carry

40:42 — Legalized gambling

47:16 — Campaign finance

Monday on Political Rewind: President Biden declared Georgia to be ground zero for voter suppression laws ahead of his visit. But activists say if Biden wants voter protections, he should stay in Washington, D.C., and focus on the two bills stalled there in the Senate. Plus, a high positive rate in COVID tests around the state.

Panelists:

Alan Abramowitz — Emeritus professor of political science, Emory University

Audrey Haynes — Professor of political science, University of Georgia

Tammy Greer — Professor of political Science, Clark Atlanta University

Jim Galloway — Former political columnist, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Friday on Political Rewind: The three men found guilty of murdering Ahmaud Arbery were set to be sentenced today in a Brunswick courtroom. All three face a mandatory 30 years in prison, but we asked: will any of them be given a chance of parole? The tragic deaths last year of Arbery, Rayshard Brooks, George Floyd, and other African Americans accelerated demands for racial and social justice … and gave new legitimacy to the Black Lives Matter movement. In Glynn County, a new organization came to life to push for change in a county long seen as hostile to its Black residents. But how much progress has been made in achieving these goals? We asked our panel.

The Panel:

Elijah Bobby Henderson — Co-founder, A Better Glynn

Margaret Coker — Editor-in-Chief, The Current

Patricia Murphy — Columnist, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Tiffany Williams Roberts — Public Policy Director, Southern Center for Human Rights

Thursday on Political Rewind: In a special live 2 p.m. edition, we mark the anniversary of a dark chapter in U.S. history. Last year on Jan. 6, supporters of former President Trump stormed the U.S. Capitol in an attempt to halt the democratic process. The shockwaves continue to reverberate in Georgia and across the country in 2022. This all plays out today as funeral services for late former Sen. Johnny Isakson are underway.

The Panel:

Kevin Riley — Editor, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Leo Smith — GOP consultant and president, Engaged Futures

Jim Galloway — Former politics columnist, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Donna Lowry — Host of "Lawmakers," Georgia Public Broadcasting

Wednesday on Political Rewind: It was one year ago today that Georgia voters handed control of the U.S. Senate to Democrats when they elected Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock. But as the 2022 election cycle gets underway, Republicans and Democrats are ready for a fierce fight to determine which party will claim dominance of state politics. Like many states, Georgia is seeing a powerful new wave of COVID-19 cases. The Department of Public Health reported more than 67,000 confirmed cases over the new year holiday weekend. Gov. Kemp is set to announce his support for a further loosening of Georgia’s gun laws. Plus, Andre Dickens is sworn in as Atlanta's new mayor…and there’s tightened security on Capitol Hill as the one-year anniversary of the insurrection approaches.

The Panel:

Emma Hurt — Reporter, Axios 

Greg Bluestein — Politics reporter, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Leroy Chapman — Managing editor, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Riley Bunch — Public policy reporter, Georgia Public Broadcasting

Tuesday on Political Rewind: The new year brings the same COVID frustrations for people across Georgia and the country. Dr. Carlos del Rio returned to the show to share insights and advice on coping with the latest wave of the coronavirus. Journalists Ellen Eldridge and Tamar Hallerman also weigh in on the impact of the virus as we enter the start of another year with the pandemic.

The Panel:

Dr. Carlos del Rio — Executive associate dean, Emory School of Medicine & Grady Health System

Ellen Eldridge — Senior health care reporter, Georgia Public Broadcasting

Tamar Hallerman — Senior reporter, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Monday on Political Rewind, our first show of 2022. We discussed the stories that will likely drive the news in the months ahead—including COVID-19, internal schisms in the Georgia GOP, Stacey Abrams' second shot at governor and more.

Panelists:

Dr. Andra Gillespie — Professor of political science and director of the James Weldon Johnson Institute for the Study of Race and Difference

Rep. Mary Margaret Oliver — Democratic state representative, Decatur

Edward Lindsey — former Republican state representative

Jim Galloway — former political columnist, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Monday on Political Rewind: We revisit a conversation with professor, author Ty Seidule. It’s been more than 150 years since Confederate general Robert E. Lee surrendered to Gen. Ulysses S. Grant at Appomattox, Va., effectively ending the Civil War. But that conflict refuses to rest easily in history. To this day, some argue why the war was fought, while a larger battle rages over how the nation should honor those who led a rebellion against their own country.

As a young boy, West Point professor of history Ty Seidule was taught stories about the glorious lost cause of the South. His childhood hero was Robert E. Lee. During a childhood spent in Alexandria, Va., and Walton County, Ga., Seidule writes, he lived in a bubble, unaware of the dark history of the horrific treatment of Black communities.

He tells the riveting story of his coming to terms with U.S. history in a new book, Robert E. Lee and Me: A Southerner's Reckoning with the Myth of the Lost Cause.

Panelists:

Retired Brig. Gen. Ty Seidule — Chamberlain Fellow and Visiting Professor of History at Hamilton College, author of Robert E. Lee and Me: A Southerner's Reckoning with the Myth of the Lost Cause, Department of Defense representative on Confederate Base Naming Commission

Jim Galloway — Former lead political writer, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Monday on Political Rewind: We revisit our conversation with Honorée Fanonne Jeffers on her debut novel, "The Love Songs of W.E.B. DuBois." It is a big-hearted epic leading us through the generational history of an African American family with deep roots in Georgia. Jeffers, a National Book Award-nominated poet, tells the story through rich characters and their family ties; from Creek Indian ancestors, through the wrenching years of slavery and to their eventual emergence as members of the Black professional class.

Influential Black intellectual W.E.B. DuBois is a constant presence throughout the novel. Jeffers said she wanted DuBois' love of Southern Black communities to be the glue binding the threads of her story together. 

"I wanted that love to be the spine of the novel," Jeffers said, "So that when we move through different, very difficult moments — historical moments — you would always know that we will return to that love."

It is a story filled with joy and sorrow, with Georgia at its center. The novel's vivid characters reflect on their ties to the South, with one character noting it is hard to believe one can ache for a place when it hurt you so badly.

"I cried when I wrote those words, because I do ache for the South," Jeffers said. "There's a feeling that those of us who grew up in the South have, and we do ache for that place."

Panelists:

Honorée Fanonne Jeffers — Author, The Love Songs of W.E.B. DuBois

Patricia Murphy — Lead columnist, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution