Political Rewind

Monday on Political Rewind: Former President Donald Trump’s rally in Perry over the weekend drew big names on the 2022 ballot for Republicans. The event also stirred up controversy: Trump continued his attacks on Gov. Brian Kemp, exasperating the schism between loyalists to the former president and the main figures behind the state Republican Party.

Former Atlanta Journal-Constitution columnist Jim Galloway said the public derision on display might turn off voters from participating in important statewide Republican races at the top of the ballot in 2022.

"And if you don't have a lot of votes at the top, then it's going to hurt all the way down the ballot," Galloway said.

The former president falsely claimed the Arizona recount showed there had been fraud in Maricopa County voting, and encouraged Georgia GOP leaders to demand a similar so-called "audit" of presidential election ballots here.

Panelists:

Rep. Teri Anulewicz — State representative (D-Smyrna)

Leo Smith — Republican consultant and president, Engaged Futures Group

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

Friday on Political Rewind: A federal appeals court took up the question of Georgia's controversial abortion statute, HB 481. The law, which would effectively outlaw abortion, has yet to go into effect because of a lower court's ruling. Our panel discussed the potential consequences of restrictive abortion law.

Georgia's law is one of a number of legislation involving abortion access across the country that have become significant recently. A controversial law in Texas allows U.S. residents to sue anyone who might have helped facilitate an abortion after six weeks. And the Supreme Court will soon consider a Mississippi law drafted specifically to get the court to deliberate on the precedent set by the landmark Roe v. Wade decision.

Meanwhile, Gov. Brian Kemp issued the formal call for a special session of the General Assembly to redraw Georgia's political maps. On Nov. 3, lawmakers will gather in the stateCapitol to take part in the decennial redistricting process. Notably, Kemp is not asking the legislature to address other issues, including election law or an anti-crime agenda, despite pressure to do so from conservatives in the state Republican party.

Panelists:

Stephen Fowler — Politics reporter, Georgia Public Broadcasting

Dr. Subasri Narasimhan — Assistant professor, Hubert Department of Global Health and the Center for Reproductive Health Research in the Southeast at Emory University

Patricia Murphy — Columnist, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Thursday on Political Rewind: The Atlanta Race Massacre occurred 115 years ago this week. On Sept. 22, 1906, a white mob began a four-day rampage through Black communities in Atlanta. Twenty-five Black residents were murdered, hundreds more were terrorized, and buildings and businesses were destroyed. The mob's anger was stoked by segregationist politicians and sensationalist reporting from the city's two major newspapers at the time, The Atlanta Constitution and The Atlanta Journal.

Despite its lasting damage, the Atlanta Race Massacre was largely ignored by city officials and many historians. It was not until 2006 that the city publicly recognized the event. The massacre was added to the Georgia's social studies curriculum in 2007.

We looked back at this underreported history with the The Atlanta Journal-Constitution’s Ernie Suggs, who recently wrote about the subject to mark its 115th anniversary. He said the violence that day was part of a racist system that held sway across the country in many forms.

“These racial acts of violence are not simply isolated expressions of individual expressions of hatred and what have you," Suggs said. "In many cases, they are linked to systems of white supremacy that exist in the South, systems of white supremacy that link together many segments of the white community. And now you have Black people beginning to penetrate into these segments. The response to this Black progress is going to come from many directions.”

In the news today, defiance of the ban on mask mandates on Georgia’s public university campuses is picking up steam. More than 50 faculty members at the University of Georgia said they will require students to wear masks in their classes. It is a move that could cost them their jobs.

Panelists:

Kevin Riley – Editor, The Atlanta-Journal-Constitution

Ernie Suggs – Reporter, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Dr. Kurt Young — Chairman of the department of political science, Clark Atlanta University

Wednesday on Political Rewind: Despite enormous speculation Stacey Abrams intends to run for Georgia governor in 2022, she has so far kept quiet on her political plans. During a sold-out event this week in San Antonio, Abrams kicked off a national tour. During the event she again avoided any mention of the governor's race. Her tour will take her to dozens of cities.

Meanwhile, Brad Raffensperger is taking the first steps in a virtual tour to begin promoting his new book on how he fought former President Trump’s heated efforts to have Georgia’s election results overturned. On CNN this week, he said he think the former president does know he lost the election, despite Trump's lies about the outcome.

Panelists:

Greg Bluestein — Political reporter, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Dr. Karen Owen — Political science professor, University of West Georgia

Tuesday on Political Rewind: Our panel discussed a tragic mark: The state reported 191 COVID-19 deaths, the single biggest one-day death toll since the delta variant of the coronavirus arrived in the state. Meanwhile hospitals across Georgia are continuing to struggle with the dramatic increase in COVID-19 patients filling their facilities.

Also, the controversial new Texas abortion law will soon face its first test in court. A San Antonio doctor is being sued for performing an abortion on a woman whose pregnancy had advanced past the six-week limit Texas has set in law. How might the outcome of that lawsuit affect a Georgia lawmaker’s plan to introduce a Texas-style abortion bill here?

Meanwhile, Senate candidate Herschel Walker defended music superstar Nicki Minaj for posting a dubious but widely circulated claim about the COVID-19 vaccine.

Panelists:

Tamar Hallerman – Senior reporter, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Tammy Greer – Professor of political science, Clark Atlanta University

Monday on Political Rewind: Georgia remains near the bottom of states with fully vaccinated residents. Some local officials are offering incentive programs, such as gift certificates, to encourage people to get COVID-19 shots. Augusta Mayor Hardie Davis joined our panel and discussed the latest efforts of his city.

Pfizer reported a low-dose vaccine is effective in young children. Vaccination of young people against COVID would represent a huge victory in the fight against the pandemic, but will misinformation stunt the effectiveness of this new development? 

"You have a worldwide population that is now addicted to certainty," Jim Galloway said. "It doesn't care what the information is. If it carries the imprimatur of the certainty there with it, that's where they want to go."

Also, Buckhead's attempt to separate from the city of Atlanta has gained national attention. Our panel discussed how this decision could impact the Republican Party, and other cities in Georgia.

Panelists:

Mayor Hardie Davis — Mayor of Augusta

Jim Galloway — Former political columnist, Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Heath Garret — Republican political consultant

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

Wednesday on Political Rewind: Republican state Sen. Butch Miller said he intends to introduce a bill patterned after Texas’ contentious new abortion law during the upcoming session of the Georgia legislature. The Texas measure empowers private citizens to sue and collect financial damages from anyone facilitating an abortion.

This comes just a week before a federal appeals court takes up Georgia’s now-stayed abortion law, which effectively bans the procedure for most women.

Meanwhile, Gov. Brian Kemp continues his criticism of President Joe Biden’s broad vaccine mandate. There is fear the language he is using will further inflame the partisan tensions already at play in Georgia. Kemp said the mandate will, “push Georgians to the breaking point” and could lead to an uprising and mutiny.

Panelists:

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

Fred Smith — Professor of constitutional law, Emory University

Dr. Alan Abramowitz — Professor of political science, Emory University

Friday on Political Rewind: The Love Songs of W.E.B. DuBois is a big-hearted epic leading us through the generational history of an African American family with deep roots in Georgia. Author Honorée Fanonne 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 present 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

Thursday on Political Rewind: Georgia Democrats last night pledged to continue their fight against efforts to curtail reproductive rights in the state. The 11th Court of Appeals is scheduled next week to hold a hearing on Georgia's HB 481, which seeks to prevent abortion after six weeks of pregnancy.

"What happens in Texas won't stay in Texas," state Rep. Beth Moore (D-Peachtree Corners) said during the virtual press conference of lawmakers and reproductive rights advocates.

If the lower court's ruling is upheld, the case could then go before the Supreme Court. There, justices will review the law and the precedent of Roe v. Wade.

In other news, Fulton County tapped Former Atlanta City Council President Cathy Woolard as its new elections chair Wednesday evening. Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger opposes the appointment because of Woolard's past support for Stacey Abram's Fair Fight Action. He threatened to enact Georgia's new voting law to remove county elections board members in response.  

Meanwhile, a rally scheduled in Washington, D.C., on Saturday will bring together support for those imprisoned on charges related to the storming of the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.

Guest host Donna Lowry discussed the latest on these stories and more with our panel.

Panelists:

Mayor Deana Holiday Ingraham — Mayor of East Point

Leo Smith — Political strategy consultant, CEO of Engaged Futures Group

Kevin Riley — Editor, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Wednesday on Political Rewind: Two top public health experts, epidemiologist and Emory School of Medicine Associate Dean Dr. Carlos del Rio and Dr. Amber Schmidtke, the writer behind The COVID Digest, an informative newsletter covering COVID-19 trends in Georgia, joined our panel to answer questions about the current COVID-19 surge.

Does the latest data tell us we’ve reached the peak in new cases of COVID-19 in the state?

Are hospitals still facing a care crisis?

How safe are people who are fully vaccinated?

How long will their protection likely last and when might they need booster shots?

If you are vaccinated, why should you wear a mask at the grocery store or a movie theater?

The panel also discussed challenges faced by people behind the state's public health efforts. During a recent meeting of the state's public health board, Public Health Commissioner Dr. Kathleen Toomey praised the resolve of health care and public health workers in the face of abuse and ridicule.

Del Rio said he is noticing low morale among health care workers over a year into the pandemic.

"At the beginning of this pandemic, people were applauding and they were cheering for health care workers and bringing food to hospitals," he said. "Right now, there's a protest outside hospitals. There's anger against health care workers. And many people are leaving the health care field as a result of that. And I think we need to really realize that this could have tremendous consequences, not just for COVID, but for many other diseases."

Panelists:

Dr. Amber Schmidtke — Chair of the Division of Natural Sciences and Mathematics at the University of Saint Mary, and writer, The COVID Digest

Dr. Carlos del Rio — Associate dean, Emory School of Medicine and Professor of Medicine, Infectious Disease Division, at Emory University

Greg Bluestein - Political reporter, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution