Political Rewind

Tuesday on Political Rewind: New progress was made on major pieces of legislation as state lawmakers worked late on Crossover Day. The legislature faced a self-imposed deadline yesterday to pass bills through either body of the General Assembly.

Our panel of insiders discussed the legislation that made the cut, including bills restricting absentee voting and citizen’s arrest reform.

Plus, Gov. Brian Kemp voices his criticism of the federal COVID-19 relief bill. During an interview on Fox News, Kemp also told reporters he would support a Trump 2024 presidential election bid.

Panelists:

Mayor Hardie Davis, Jr. — Mayor of Augusta

Rep. Bee Nguyen — State Representative (D-Atlanta)

Heath Garrett — Republican Consultant

Tamar Hallerman — Senior Reporter, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Monday on Political Rewind: Legislators face an important deadline at the state Capitol. Crossover Day at the General Assembly means any legislation unable to pass out of either legislative chamber today are dead until next year. Several measures remain up for consideration in the General Assembly, including legislation restricting voting access for Georgians and a much-discussed reform of the state’s citizen’s arrest law.

Legislation under consideration could mean major changes to the way elections are governed. Some legislators are pushing for changes to shift power over elections from the governor and the Secretary of State into the hands of lawmakers in the General Assembly.

Also, Georgia teachers are now eligible to be vaccinated against COVID-19. Officials hope the move will ensure schools across the state are able to keep their doors open for in-person classes.

Panelists:

Donna Lowry — Host, GPB’s Lawmakers

Jim Galloway — Former Lead Political Writer, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Riley Bunch — Statehouse Reporter, CNHI News

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

Friday on Political Rewind: The coronavirus pandemic has highlighted and exacerbated existing inequities across society. One example is the severe economic and personal toll coronavirus has had on women — both at work and at home.

Data that has emerged during the COVID-19 crisis underlines a stark economic reality for women. Since the beginning of the economic shutdown last year, 2.1 million women have dropped out of the workforce in the United States. According to the National Women's Law Center, women accounted for 55% of U.S. jobs lost in the last year. That jeopardizes the economic and societal progress women have made, particularly in the working world, while the pay gap between men and women grows. These hardships are even more pronounced for women of color, who were already disadvantaged compared to their white counterparts long before the pandemic began.

Taifa Smith Butler, president of the Georgia Budget and Policy Institute, said women entrepreneurs face unique challenges in the current economy and receive a disproportionate lack of support from efforts to aid small business.

"We have seen entrepreneurs' doors close and not have access to capital or support with the payment protection programs," Butler said. "Looking at women entrepreneurs, will they be able to maintain and sustain their economic growth and their businesses through this pandemic?"

Some experts say it could be years before women recover from the economic setbacks dealt by the virus. 

These financial and professional hardships are in addition to the mental and emotional stress working mothers, and women overall, face while trying to balance family and home responsibilities with their jobs. Subha Barry, president of Working Mother Media, pointed to the concept of the "third shift," otherwise known as the "mental workload" of managing a household.

"Long before this pandemic started, women were actually always working a third shift — and that is whether or not you had children," Barry said. "You still work the third shift. If you think of the first shift as work, second shift as home, the third shift was planning for everything — from the birthday parties to remembering to send out the gifts and cards, to organizing everything, to making sure there's, you know, the grocery lists are made even if somebody else did the grocery shopping. So there was a third shift already. Think about the added burden on top of that that has come in on women."

Panelists:

Subha Barry — President of Working Mother Media

Taifa Smith Butler — President and CEO of Georgia Budget and Policy Institute

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

Thursday on Political Rewind: The U.S. House passed H.R. 1 yesterday, a bill that, if passed by the Senate and signed into law, would enact sweeping consequences for Georgia election law. Experts say the legislation is one of the most significant enhancements of federal voting protections since the 1960s.

If enacted, the legislation would weaken state-imposed voter ID laws, mandate automatic voter registration and restore voting enfranchisement to people previously incarcerated in prison.

Former Sen. David Perdue used his first interview since leaving office to criticize the bill and its Democratic supporters in Congress. During his appearance on Fox News earlier this week, Perdue again raised unsubstantiated allegations of election fraud and did not offer any evidence to support his claims.

Meanwhile in the state Capitol, lawmakers consider a bill requiring nursing homes and long-term care facilities to accept visitors, even in the midst of a pandemic. Supporters of the bill say social isolation is having a terrible effect on the health of older residents, while the legislations detractors say the law goes against established public health guidance.

Panelists:

Rep. Mary Margaret Oliver — State Representative, (D-Decatur)

Edward Lindsey — Former Republican State Representative

Dr. Andra Gillespie — Professor of Political Science and Director, James Weldon Johnson Institute on the Study of Race and Difference, Emory University

Kevin Riley — Editor, The Atlanta Journal Constitution

Wednesday on Political Rewind: Reforms or restrictions? That's the question on the latest bundle of laws that would change the way Georgians vote. Voting access advocates are expressing concerns this legislation will make voting harder, and describe it as an attempt at voter suppression by state Republicans.

But first, we remember the life of civil rights leader Vernon Jordan. The Atlanta-born activist and powerbroker fought to desegregate Georgia’s universities and later served as an adviser to President Bill Clinton. He passed away Monday night at the age of 85 at his family home.

Panelists:

Greg Bluestein — Politics Reporter, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Sen. Jen Jordan — State Senator, (D-Atlanta)

Dr. Alan Abramowitz — Professor of Political Science, Emory University

Leo Smith — GOP strategist and Founder, Engaged Futures Group

Tuesday on Political Rewind, our focus is the ongoing debate over voting rights. The Georgia House yesterday passed a package of bills that critics say will likely reduce turnout in future elections. The state senate will now add those House bills to its long list of measures to change how Georgians vote. Protestors, including representatives from the ACLU and NAACP, gathered at the capitol building yesterday to voice their frustration with the changes.

Meanwhile in Washington, the U.S. House may vote today on a sweeping measure designed to defend against state efforts to suppress voting, end gerrymandering and more.

Also, the U.S. Supreme Court today takes up a case challenging two restrictive Arizona election laws. But at stake is the larger question of whether its ruling will diminish the protections of one of the final provisions of the federal Voting Rights Act.

Panelists:

Tamar Hallerman — Senior Reporter, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Dr. Amy Steigerwalt — Professor of Political Science, Georgia State University

Julianne Thompson — Republican Strategist

Chuck Williams — Reporter, WRBL-TV Columbus

Monday 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 honors 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 and his hero was Robert E. Lee. During a childhood spent in Alexandria, Va., and Walton County, Ga., Seidule 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."

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

Friday on Political Rewind: Georgia teachers will soon be able to be vaccinated against COVID-19. Yesterday, Gov. Brian Kemp announced his plan to expand the circle of Georgians eligible for shots to include educators and school staff starting early in March. Kemp said the move is an important step in encouraging schools to reopen for in-person classes.

Also, Democrats and voting rights groups are mounting a furious counterattack to legislation designed to restrict early and absentee voting in Georgia. Stacey Abrams’ organization Fair Fight Action is putting millions of dollars into ads condemning the bills under consideration at the state Capitol. Lawmakers described the legislation as voter suppression yesterday.

In testimony before a U.S. House committee on Thursday, Abrams urged Congress to pass a federal law that will block states looking to pass legislation that would make it harder to vote.

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution’s Patricia Murphy and our panel look at these stories and more.

Panelists:

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

Dr. Audrey Haynes — Professor of Political Science, University of Georgia

Dr. Bernard Fraga — Professor of Political Science, Emory University

In this morning's headlines, starting March 8th, teachers and school staff in Georgia are eligible for a COVID-19 vaccine. 

Gov. Brian Kemp expanded the list of those eligible to receive the vaccine yesterday, to the relief of the state's teachers who have been asking for this as many students return to in person learning.

Thursday on Political Rewind: Few areas of our lives during the pandemic have been as fraught with anxiety and uncertainty as our schools.

As the virus rages through communities across Georgia, school systems have struggled to open classroom doors to students.

Georgia teachers have died of the virus, and many fear the risks they take leading in-person classes. Parents struggle to balance their hopes of getting their children back to normal school life with their worry the virus will be brought home.

Now, Gov. Brian Kemp is signaling preparations to include teachers and other staff in the ranks of those eligible to be vaccinated in the weeks ahead.

Are we ready for school life to resume normally? And at what cost?

Panelists:

Maureen Downey — Education Columnist, Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Tracey Nance Pendley — Georgia Teacher of the Year, Atlanta Public Schools Fourth-Grade Teacher

Dr. Sarah Vinson — Child and Adolescent Psychiatrist

Kevin Riley — Editor, Atlanta Journal-Constitution