Political Rewind

Tuesday on Political Rewind: State election officials begin the biannual process of removing names of inactive voters from the voting rolls. State officials intend to remove voters who have died or moved to another state from the list.

Voting rights groups said they will be watching the process to make sure the state conducts it properly. Critics say the process disenfranchises voters by undoing the registration of Georgians who may want to vote in future elections.

Plus, a new Democratic candidate enters into the race for Secretary of State. State Rep. Bee Nguyen announced yesterday she will run for Brad Raffensperger's position in 2022.

Also: After years in which Georgia hovered near the bottom of states in giving family benefits to state workers, Gov. Brian Kemp is expected to sign into law a bill that will provide paid parental leave for some 250,000 state workers.

Panelists:

Rene Alegria – President and CEO, Mundo Hispanico

Tamar Hallerman – Senior Reporter, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Monday on Political Rewind: Recent data shows a slow in the spread of the virus in many states, including Georgia. Gov. Brian Kemp lifted many of the remaining pandemic restrictions placed on Georgia businesses including gyms, bars and restaurants. But is it too soon to relax public health guidelines?

The Atlanta City Council is considering whether to approve Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms’ executive order allowing outdoor events of up to 10,000 people. Colleges and universities across the state have yet to announce their plans for the fall semester.

Vaccine rates in the state continue to lag behind much of the nation. According to data from the Georgia Department of Public Health, around 25% of Georgians are fully vaccinated, while around 32% of the national population is fully vaccinated.

Meanwhile, a new Republican candidate is close to entering into the race for the Rev. Raphael Warnock's Senate seat. Former politics columnist Jim Galloway said Commissioner of Agriculture Gary Black will soon announce his candidacy.

Plus, we discussed Kemp's visit to the U.S.-Mexico border last week. The trip was billed as an opportunity for Kemp to visit the Georgia National Guard stationed at the border, but governor also commented on the politics of immigration

Panelists:

Keren Landman — Physician, Epidemiologist and Journalist

Jim Galloway — Retired Columnist

Friday on Political Rewind: President Joe Biden marked his 100th day in office in Georgia yesterday, where he made the pitch for his expansive progressive agenda. He outlined sweeping legislation that would invest in nearly all corners of American life; from early childhood education and family paid leave to passenger railroad and renewable energy infrastructure.

Biden appeared at a rally in Duluth with the Peach State’s pair of newly elected Democratic senators Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock. Gwinnett County saw a majority of its voters cast ballots for the three Democrats in the 2020 election. It was a crucial win for their party and a sign of the changing political landscape of the Atlanta suburbs. Ossoff and Warnock could be crucial to any legislation Biden seeks to pass in congress.

Meanwhile, Attorney General Chris Carr announced this week he would step down as chair of a controversial association of Republican state attorneys general. The move comes as Carr sizes-up 2022 reelection challenges from Democratic opponents.

Panelists:

Patricia Murphy — Lead Political Writer, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Rana Cash — News Director, Savannah Morning News

Thursday on Political Rewind: The three men awaiting trial for murder in the death of Ahmaud Arbery now also face federal hate crimes charges. Federal indictment could lead to life sentences for Travis and Gregory McMichael and Roddie Bryan.

Plus, after telling the nation that America is on the move again in a speech before a joint session of Congress last night, President Joe Biden is in Georgia today. He marks his first 100 days in office with a rally in Gwinnett County and a visit in Plains with former President Jimmy Carter.

Georgia is receiving increased attention from national politics following its decisive role in the 2020 election. The state's pair of newly elected Democratic senators, Jon Ossoff and the Rev. Raphael Warnock, will be crucial to Biden’s plans of passing sweeping public policy.

Panelists:

Audrey Haynes — Professor of Political Science, University of Georgia

Kevin Riley — Editor, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Wednesday on Political Rewind: The governing body behind Georgia's public universities and colleges is on the search for a new chancellor. But appointed members of the Board of Regents are facing criticism after former Gov. Sonny Perdue was reported to be among the final candidates for the role.

A college accrediting agency warned the board to keep politics out of the search. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports that a letter to Regent chair Sachin Shailendra from The Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges advised the board pick a candidate based on their skills and abilities to avoid "politicizing" the search. Perdue has no experience in education administration.

Also, President Joe Biden is scheduled to travel to Georgia tomorrow following his first speech to a joint session of Congress later tonight. His speech will serve as a review of his first 100 days in office. Biden's Thursday trip to Georgia reflects the new importance of the Peach State in national politics following the 2020 election of Sens. Raphael Warnock and Jon Ossoff.

The pair of Georgians gave Democrats a majority in the U.S. Senate, bolstering the president's abilities to pass his progressive agenda.

Panel:

Greg Bluestein — Politics Reporter, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Tuesday on Political Rewind: Newly released U.S. Census figures show Georgia’s population grew by one million people, a more than 10% increase, in the past decade. The growth is not enough to give the state an additional seat in Congress. So, what do the new numbers mean for Georgia?

In the next several months, the U.S. Census Bureau is set to release data for lawmakers to use in redistricting: the process of drawing new maps for elective offices. Georgia House Speaker Rep. David Ralston (R-Blue Ridge) told Political Rewind last week that redistricting will probably not begin until after October.

Also: Former Georgia congressman Doug Collins announced he will sit out the 2022 election cycle, ending speculation he would seek the GOP nomination in the race for Sen. Rev. Raphael Warnock’s Senate seat or take on Gov. Brian Kemp in a GOP gubernatorial primary.

Plus, GPB's Stephen Fowler breaks down his new analysis of demographic data from Georgia's November and January elections. His recent article outlines the decline in white rural turnout that led to Democrats flipping both U.S. Senate seats.

Panelists:

Stephen Fowler — Politics Reporter, GPB News

Tamar Hallerman — Senior Reporter, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Monday on Political Rewind, a conversation with author and photographer Andrew Feiler about his new book, A Better Life for Their Children: Julius Rosenwald, Booker T. Washington, and the 4,978 Schools That Changed America.

The books tells the story of the unique partnership between business executive Julius Rosenwald and educator and public intellectual Booker T. Washington. Together, the pair would help build enduring institutions of public education in Black communities across the South.

Rosenwald grew up in a Jewish family and became the leader of one of the largest retailer in the world at the time, Sears, Roebuck & Company. A friendship and partnership with Booker T. Washington led the pair to raise money and support for the building of almost 5,000 schools for African American children between 1917 and 1937.

Of the original 4,978 Rosenwald Schools across fifteen southern and border states, only about 500 survive. While some have been repurposed and a handful remain active schools, many remain unrestored and at risk of collapse. To tell this story visually, Andrew Feiler drove more than twenty-five thousand miles, photographed 105 schools, and interviewed dozens of former students, teachers, preservationists, and community leaders in all fifteen of the program states.

Feiler, a fifth-generation Georgian, tells the stories of some of the students who went to the schools, including John Lewis and Maya Angelou.

Friday on Political Rewind: Blue Ridge Republican David Ralston has just finished presiding over yet another session as Speaker of the Georgia House of Representatives. It’s a position that makes him a lightning rod for controversy, such as election measures passed in the just-ended session.

But during his tenure, Ralston has also earned praise for his efforts to bat down bills opponents have sometimes called extreme and anti-democratic. As the 2021 session came to an end, he pointed with pride to the overhaul of the citizens arrest law and increasing funds for the state’s mental health budget. He also squashed efforts to expand Georgia gun laws and rejected an effort to punish Delta Air Lines for the company’s condemnation of the election law.

It is the election law that will likely be the legacy of the 2021 session. That’s just one of the issues the Atlanta Journal-Constitution’s Patricia Murphy and I discussed with Ralston.

Panelists:

Rep. David Ralston — Speaker of the Georgia House (R-Blue Ridge)

Patricia Murphy —- Political Reporter and Columnist, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Today is Earth Day, an annual celebration of the place we call home. But that home is now under threat, as man-made carbon emissions and other pollutions wreak havoc with the environment and climate.

Have we made any progress toward addressing the harmful impacts of climate change? If we fail to act, what will Georgia look like in the decades ahead? Our farms? Our coastal cities? The increasing number of dangerous scorching days of summer heat? And who is most vulnerable to the changes?

President Joe Biden marked the day by declaring a new emissions goal; a pledge to reduce the country’s greenhouse gas output by 50% in the next 10 years. How do individuals play a role in addressing the crisis?

Panelists:

Mayor Van Johnson – Mayor of Savannah

Dr. Kim Cobb – Professor in the School of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, Georgia Tech

Kevin Riley – Editor, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Shante Wolfe – Electoral Politics Director, Sunrise Movement

Wednesday on Political Rewind: 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