Former President Bill Clinton will be the draw at a Thursday fundraiser in Atlanta for his wife's Democratic presidential campaign. Details are at right. Rumors spread last week that Hillary Clinton would make a surprise appearance, but we've been assured that "only the first President Clinton" will be on hand.
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Retired neurosurgeon and GOP presidential candidate Ben Carson has added an Oct. 14 appearance at the Cobb Galleria to his schedule, per Todd Rehm of Georgia Pundit. A mere $2,700 will get you a photo op with the candidate an an invite to a VIP reception. Baseline entry is $500.
Carson already has a Sunday, Oct. 11 date in Georgia, at the Free Chapel in Gainesville, Ga.
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We know Coca-Cola was a major force in the effort to bury the "religious liberty" bill in the final hours of this year's session of the state Legislature.
Now the Atlanta-based behemoth is trying to reshape the debate about gay rights overseas. The company joined about a dozen other corporate giants announced a new coalition to push for gay rights in the workplace in places beyond the U.S. and Western Europe.
"They deserve a fair chance to earn a living and provide for their families no matter where they live," said HRC President Chad Griffin.
Corporate America has been cited as a force in the push for gay rights in the U.S., with some companies offering LGBT protections and same-sex partner benefits going back decades. Hundreds of companies signed statements advocating for same-sex marriage when the issue to the Supreme Court earlier this year.
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Jimmy Carter isn't letting the melanoma cancer that spread to his brain stop him from traveling to Nepal for another Habitat for Humanity build. From our AJC colleague Jill Vejnoska:
Carter was the main attraction at the Plains Peanut Festival this weekend. He made the Nepal announcement at the Maranatha Baptist Church, where he taught Sunday school. Carter said he was delaying his fourth cancer treatment so he could make the trip with his wife, Rosalynn.
Officials with Habitat for Humanity on Tuesday confirmed that Carter's doctors have cleared him to make the trip.
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Here's a new one. The New Georgia Project, the Stacey Abrams-led voter registration push aimed at getting hundreds of thousands of new minorities to the polls, is teaming with Cardlytics to host a "hackathon" on Oct. 9-10 at Georgia Tech.
The hackers will try to solve voting issues that hobble minorities. Expect programmers, designers, social justice activists and public officials to attend.
"Hackathons are not a new idea," said NGP spokesman Alex Dombronovitchevskovinsky. "But this one, where technology and innovation intersect with social justice challenges that include the barriers to access that many Georgians face from registration to Election Day, is the first of its type in Georgia."
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In today's premium edition we have a deep dive into the majority leader race that's riveting Capitol Hill this week, with Rep. Tom Price, R-Roswell, squaring off against Majority Whip Steve Scalise, R-La. The story includes this bit of wisdom via former Rep. Jack Kingston:
"You have to be on the phone and you just can't let up," Kingston said. "And then the lying factor is unbelievable because it's a secret ballot and the problem with members is they're choosing between friends. And when you're talking about a big race like majority leader or speaker and you're in line for a (committee chairman) gavel … you've got to pick the right guy."
With that in mind, here's what we know at this point about the Georgia GOP delegation's stance on the race: Reps. Tom Graves, R-Ranger; Doug Collins, R-Gainesville; Rick Allen, R-Evans; Barry Loudermilk, R-Cassville; and Jody Hice, R-Monroe, have confirmed publicly or via spokespeople that they're in favor of Price.
Rep. Buddy Carter, R-Pooler, told us Tuesday: "Tom’s in my delegation so that kind of makes me lean his way," though he serves on Scalise's whip team.
Rep. Lynn Westmoreland, R-Coweta County, who also is on the whip team and is close to both men, said he is keeping his choice to himself: “I’m gonna vote, but I’m not whipping or saying or anything,” Westmoreland said.
We have yet to hear word from the camp of Rep. Austin Scott, R-Tifton.
Then there's Rep. Rob Woodall, R-Lawrenceville, who is actively whipping votes for Price among his fellow members of the class of 2010 and the Rules Committee. Said the loquacious Woodall on Tuesday:
"What they may not get to see is all of the back work, all of the work ethic, the discipline, the focus that goes into getting us to that place at the end. I get to tell that story. And when you have worked as hard as Tom has worked and you have never cared who gets the credit -- he's not out there tooting his own horn and I love him for that. But I get to toot his horn and I'm excited about that. And it's a horn worth tooting."
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We also asked Lynn Westmoreland if he is running for governor. His reply: "Well, I don't -- that's in 2018. I'm worried about 2016."
For more background on the pre-2018 positioning, check out our story from earlier this month.
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Today is the final day before the federal government is set to shut down, but both chambers are expected to clear a status quo spending bill that gets us to Dec. 11 -- when another showdown is expected.
The Senate votes at 10 a.m. on a bill that does not strip funding from Planned Parenthood, as most Republicans prefer. Both Sens. Johnny Isakson and David Perdue supported a procedural vote because they wanted to avoid a shutdown (more background on their thinking here).
In the House, Democrats and moderate Republicans are expected to carry it through -- though it will be interesting to see how many Republicans stick with lame-duck Speaker John Boehner, and what those positioning themselves in leadership races do.
It will be a tough vote, for example, for Rep. Tom Price, as he seeks to shore up his conservative credentials for a majority leader bid. Though he did tell the Georgia Chamber on Tuesday: "I don’t think there’s any chance of a shutdown."
Rep. Buddy Carter, R-Pooler, who participated in a hearing slamming Planned Parenthood on Tuesday, is in a similar pickle. A member of the whip team, he sounded like he would support the bill if his vote was needed to avoid a shutdown, but he'd rather not. When asked if he's in favor, he replied:
"That remains to be seen as far as what exactly is available. Im not for funding Planned Parenthood, I can tell you that. I made that obvious in my speeches on the floor and what I put out in the media. But we'll just have to wait and be a gametime decision."
Rep. Rob Woodall, R-Lawrenceville, meanwhile, said he was a "yes" -- as long as the continuing resolution that comes over is actually "clean," meaning free of unpalatable extras.
"Every time someone tells me we’re voting on a 'clean CR,' their definition of clean and my definition of clean are two entirely different things," Woodall said.
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