Last week, we told you about a report that state lawmakers were pushing a Georgia Lottery-driven casino that would operate off an island in the Savannah River.
In the Savannah Morning News, Alderman Tom Bordeaux declared it would be "a horrible mistake."
Tim Bryant and his new partner, Katie Andrew, spoke with state Rep. Ron Stephens, R-Savannah, who defended the concept as an improvement over a system that allows video lottery machines in neighborhoods across the state. Listen to the entire exchange here:
Said Stephens:
"Two years ago – we used to go out and bust the convenience stores, for these rogue machines that they would put into their backrooms. And it was directly competing with HOPE, to the tune of a billion dollars or more. We don't even know. Two years ago, we made it legal – which essentially makes mini-casinos in the wrong places. They're next door to churches and schools. They might as well be bars and strip clubs."
That, in case you missed it, was the money quote. But let Stephens continue:
"The idea is to take all these machines and move them to a remote tourism destination location, to give a gaming-type atmosphere. Not a full-blown casino, but just these video lottery terminals. I believe I would rather have the tourists funding the HOPE scholarship for those people who want to do that, rather than these neighborhoods, as former Representative Bordeaux said, in these cheesy, backrooms in convenience stores."
Now, as for Mr. Bordeaux. Stephens also took a whack at him. “I’ve been talking to Tom about this for a couple of years. He takes his money now and runs to Reno and Las Vegas and several of these other places. I want to give him the opportunity to support our HOPE recipients here in Georgia,” Stephens said.
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Congress makes its triumphant return today. Democrats, with a post-December exile looming, will be basking in the knowledge that no one likes a loser. From the Gallup organization:
The Republican Party's favorable rating, at 42%, is essentially unchanged from 40%. This marks the first time since September 2011 that the Republican Party has had a higher favorability rating than the Democratic Party.
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The U.S. Senate will stage a cloture vote this evening to allow attorney Leigh Martin May to ascend to the U.S. District Court bench in Atlanta. May's final confirmation is scheduled for Thursday.
May was part of a seven-judge "Peach Pact" negotiated by the White House and Georgia's senators. Julie Carnes and Jill Pryor were confirmed to the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals in recent months. DeKalb County Judge Eleanor Ross, Atlanta attorney Mark Cohen and Assistant U.S. Attorney Leslie Joyce Abrams have cleared committee consideration and hope they can sneak through during the lame duck. Georgia Court of Appeals Judge Michael Boggs has been blocked by Democrats.
Here's the big picture on the lame duck from the New York Times' Carl Hulse:
"The tone in the next two months is going to set the tone for the next two years," said Senator John Barrasso of Wyoming, a member of the Republican leadership.
If they cannot make deals now, they might never be able to, because all sides have real incentives to act.
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Just in case you missed it, from Tim Alborg, the solar guy:
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Peach Pundit has some cool interactive maps showing where the Democrats gained votes last week, as compared to 2010. Check 'em out here.
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That very same website this morning also has an essay from former state lawmaker Edward Lindsey of Atlanta, urging the rise of Republican pragmatism in the state Capitol. His closer:
To meet these needs, Republicans should resist the stonewalling of the forces of the bureaucratic status quo and the harsh and stark screams from CAVE ("Citizens Against Virtually Everything").
Instead, we must be the party of reform by recognizing these compelling concerns of everyday citizens across all demographic categories and make their worries our calling. Only by having the courage to so, will we make Georgia a better place to live and solid red for years to come.
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Former state lawmaker Rashad Taylor tells us that Democratic operative Patrick Meredith, 33, a Cherokee County native who served as a field director for Kasim Reed in the 2009 mayoral race, died on Election Day of a brain aneurism. Among his clients were state Sen. Vincent Fort, D-Atlanta. From a statement issued by Reed:
"He loved politics, and he loved campaigning because he believed that if our government worked well, it could really make the world better for folks who don't always get a fair shot at their dreams."
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More news from coastal Georgia: The Glynn County Commission has decided that its meetings will be a weapons-free zone -- a bit of pushback on H.B. 67, last year's gun bill, reports the Florida Times-Union:
"I don't want people to carry guns into our meetings," Commission Chairman Michael Browning said. "I may be a little older, but I can still duck pretty fast. But it's not about me. We have to protect the people."
The law allows local governing bodies to opt out as long as signs are posted and checkpoints established to check for weapons.
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