Political Rewind

There’s been a tremendous backlash in the conservative faith community after Governor Deal announced he will veto the “religious liberty” bill. Our panel of insiders discusses how the governor came to his decision and what supporters of the bill plan to do next to give the measure new life.

On this Sine Die edition of “Political Rewind,” our panel of insiders takes a look at what happened during the final frantic hours of the legislative session.

Our panel looks at the issues still in play as the 2016 session of the Georgia general assembly gets set to adjourn on Thursday night, March 24. Among them are campus carry, expediting rape kit processing, and expanding the number of medical conditions that qualify for treatment with medical marijuana.

Starting out under the Gold Dome, both the House and Senate have passed HB 757, “an Act to protect religious freedoms.” 

In news from Washington, President Obama picked the top judge from the DC Circuit to be the next Supreme Court justice. Merrick Garland is a former federal prosecutor who had been previously been recommended to the president by a leading Republican for openings on the Court. 

Another round of Tuesday primary voting has come and gone, and with it another round of opportunities for those trailing Republican front-runner Donald Trump to make a dent in his ever growing delegate lead.

Well, the eleventh Republican presidential debate is in the books and what did we learn? Probably that a smaller, seemingly more manageable field of candidates does not necessarily lead to grand discussions of ideas and a spirited debate on policy differences. This debate might well be most remembered as the debate in which the front runner for a major party’s nomination for the most powerful elected office in the world declared that there was no problem with his “manhood.”

The 2016 SEC/Super Primaries are now history. On the Republican side, businessman Donald Trump won 7 of the 11 contested elections on March 1, including southern states Georgia, Alabama, Arkansas, Virginia and Tennessee. The south was once thought to be a Sen. Ted Cruz stronghold. Trump also won Massachusetts and Vermont. Brandon Phillips of the Trump campaign joins the panel to talk about Trump’s strategy in Georgia. Cruz, meanwhile, won his home state of Texas, its neighboring state Oklahoma and Alaska. Florida Senator Marco Rubio won in Minnesota.

The SEC/Super Tuesday Primary day is finally here, as is the special Primary edition of GPB’s Political Rewind. With both major party front-runners appearing poised for big nights, their closest challengers just hoping to stay in the game.

To quote the late, great Larry Munson whenever the Bulldogs were trailing in the 4th quarter, “It’s gettin’ late.” As the SEC primaries approach, for every candidate not named Hillary Clinton or Donald Trump it is indeed getting late. The former secretary of state appears to be poised to win the South Carolina primary and if her “firewall” holds, sweep the SEC states when they go to the polls. Trump has big leads in every SEC primary state save Texas, the home state of Sen. Ted Cruz.

Fresh off his victories in South Carolina and Nevada, Donald Trump heads into the SEC/Super Tuesday primaries with what appears to be unstoppable momentum. Polls in Georgia show the GOP frontrunner with what may be an insurmountable lead in the state, while Sen. Ted Cruz’s campaign is counting on his organization and ground game in Georgia to prove the pollsters wrong. Meanwhile, Sen. Marco Rubio is counting on the continued winnowing of the Republican field to eventually put him in a one on one contest with Trump before it’s too late to stop the billionaire businessman. Gov.

As Republicans prepare to go to the polls in the first of many to come southern primaries, Donald Trump continues to lead the field in most polling. The South Carolina contest is getting more heated with the GOP frontrunner’s legal counsel serving Sen. Ted Cruz with a cease and desist order because of a campaign ad that uses Trump’s words. South Carolina governor Nikki Haley has announced her endorsement of Marco Rubio, much to the disappointment of former Florida governor Jeb Bush. Will Haley’s endorsement of Rubio help push him to the front of the pack?

Bernie Sanders brought his presidential campaign to Atlanta with a rally at Morehouse College. Sanders was introduced by State Sen. Vincent Fort, who earlier in the day had switched his presidential support from Hillary Clinton to Sanders. Atlanta rapper Killer Mike also offered an impassioned endorsement of the Vermont senator. Sanders is trying to chip away at Clinton’s support among African American voters as southern states, including Georgia, prepare to vote on March 1st. Clinton, meanwhile, called for the end of “systemic racism” in a speech in Harlem.

The major party presidential candidates have put the northeast in their rearview mirrors for now and have turned their attention southward and westward. On the Democrat side, Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton held anther contentious debate, this time in Wisconsin. Secretary Clinton continued to push the argument that Senator Sanders’ math does not add up when it comes to paying for his proposals. Sanders, meanwhile, continued to rail against Wall Street.

Well, the first in the nation primary is history. The people of New Hampshire have made their choices known and have only added to the confusion surrounding this year’s presidential races. On the GOP side, Donald Trump far outpaced his competition with just over 35 percent of the vote. Ohio Governor John Kasich finished second with nearly 16 percent of the vote while Iowa caucus winner Sen. Ted Cruz tallied nearly 12 percent to finish third. Gov. Jeb Bush and Sen. Marco Rubio finished close behind.

The Democratic Party’s last debate before the New Hampshire primary was the best debate of the 2016 election season so far. Hillary Clinton accused Bernie Sanders of promising things that he will not be able to deliver and of an “artful smear” of her while Sanders continued to rail against the income inequality and the influence of money in politics and talk about Clinton’s ties to Wall Street. Will Sanders be able to maintain his lead in New Hampshire and even up the contest? How will his message play as the campaign turns west and south?

The first votes of the 2016 election season have finally been cast. Did Ted Cruz’s victory in the Hawkeye state caucuses make him the new GOP frontrunner? Did Donald Trump learn enough lessons about retail politicking to help him prove the pollsters right in New Hampshire? Does Marco Rubio’s third place finish in Iowa position him as the establishment candidate most capable of challenging and beating Trump for the Republican nomination? What about Jeb Bush, Chris Christie and John Kasich?

The Republicans competing to replace Barack Obama held their final debate before the February 1st Iowa caucuses and their frontrunner was a few miles down the road hosting an event for the vets. Donald Trump’s boycott of the GOP debate reportedly grew out of his months long feud with Fox News anchor Megyn Kelly and his perception that the network was not treating him fairly. In Trump’s absence, GOPers on the stage seemed to turn their attention to the runner-up in the polls, Ted Cruz. So how did the “Trumpless” debate play out?

Citing his ongoing feud with Fox News anchor and upcoming debate moderator Megyn Kelly, GOP frontrunner Donald Trump pulled out of the last Republican debate before Tuesday’s Iowa caucuses. Trump has accused Kelly of being unfair to him. Fox News has accused Trump of “terrorization”. Trump said that instead of debating, he may hold an event for the wounded warriors and the vets. Will his absence finally give some air to the establishment candidates trying to gain traction if not in Iowa, but in New Hampshire and beyond? Will voters tune in to watch a “Trumpless” debate? Sen.

The “First Amendment Defense act of Georgia” has been introduced in the Georgia State Senate. Though some think the bill moves the same sex marriage debate further to the right, its author, Sen. Greg Kirk, sees the bill as being more palatable than the previously passed in the Senate “Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA)”. Is it? Will it gain any traction in the Senate and move on to the House? U.S. Senator David Perdue has blocked DeKalb County State Court Judge Dax Lopez from becoming Georgia’s first lifetime appointed Federal judge.

Former GOP vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin flew into Iowa to deliver a full throated, Obama and establishment bashing endorsement of Republican frontrunner Donald Trump. How does the former Alaska governor’s support for Trump affect the upcoming caucus? Does Palin’s support solidify Trump’s support among evangelicals? Does it have legs outside of Iowa? How will it play in Georgia? And how is the Ted Cruz campaign hurt or not hurt by the endorsement?

The Republicans debated for the first time in 2016 in North Charleston, SC and the gloves finally came off in the formerly friendly scrimmage between businessman Donald Trump and Senator Ted Cruz of Texas. Trump continues to assert that there are questions about Cruz’s eligibility to run for the presidency, while Cruz pointed out that under the strictest interpretation of “natural born citizen” that Trump himself would not be eligible for the job. Did the back and forth between the top two candidates change any voters’ minds as the first two contests of the 2016 approach?

Welcome to our first Wednesday edition of Political Rewind! From now on we will be on LIVE Wednesdays at 2pm in addition to our normal time Friday afternoons at 3. The Georgia general Assembly gaveled to order on Monday, January 11th with an ambitious list of things to get finished before their forty day session expires. And with many legislators predicting a fast session, there may be much to be accomplished in a short period of time. Governor Deal delivered his annual State of the State address and discussed issues critical to keeping the ship of state sailing forward.

Well, it’s a New Year and with the New Year comes a new chapter in Georgia’s history with the convening of the Georgia General Assembly. This year’s session will be busy for the state’s legislators as they tackle everything from education reform to religious freedom to defense of the First Amendment, while trying to get out of town in time to raise money and campaign for reelection by primary time in May. And will teacher merit pay and a new model for school funding gain any traction in an election year? Rep. Lynn Westmoreland has announced that he will not seek another term in the U.S.