The possibility is governed by a pair of big "if's," but some Republicans already have an eye on a potential Supreme Court nominee from Georgia. If President Barack Obama's appointee fails to win approval and if a GOP candidate wins the White House.
Word circulating through some Republican circles is that Georgia Supreme Court Justice David Nahmias, an appointee to the court by Sonny Perdue, could have a case for the seat. One consultant said he had "every possible check on any checklist for a Republican."
The list includes a gig as the senior Justice Department official after the Sept. 11 attacks, a role as U.S. Attorney in Atlanta, six years on Georgia's top court and, perhaps as importantly, a stint as a clerk for the late Justice Antonin Scalia.
On the other hand, Dax Lopez has already completed much of the paperwork.
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The GOP presidential campaign of Ohio Gov. John Kasich continues to lay down markers in the Georgia primary. The Kasich campaign this morning announced political strategist Billy Kirkland will direct its state operations. From the press release:
Kirkland, a resident of greater Atlanta, is the founder and managing partner of PWK Group, LLC, one of the state's leading political and public policy strategy firms. In addition to managing Sen. David Perdue's successful Senate campaign in 2014, he also served previously as national field director of the Faith & Freedom Coalition and held positions with the Georgia Republican Party and the office of former Gov. Sonny Perdue.
New Day for America, the super PAC supporting Kasich's bid for the White House, on Friday tapped GOP operative Jared Thomas to run the campaign in Georgia. Thomas ran Ralph Reed's 2006 campaign for lieutenant governor and was Secretary of State Brian Kemp's top aide until he left in 2015 for a private sector gig.
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On MSNBC's "Morning Joe" today, former Gov. Jeb Bush said Donald Trump ducked out on a handshake after Saturday's Republican presidential debate in Greenville, S.C.:
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We've written before on how anger and worry can bend our perception of the facts. Now we have another example. There is no question that the United States spends more on its military than the next seven nations combined. But this morning, the Gallup organization hits us with this:
Americans are evenly split when asked if the U.S. is No. 1 in the world militarily, with 49% saying "yes" and 49% saying "no." The current percentage who view the U.S. as No. 1 is, by a small margin, the lowest Gallup has recorded in its 23-year trend. It also marks a significant downturn from last February, when 59% said
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One of Georgia's most influential environmentalists raised a red flag about a little-known legislative proposal that could block city governments from releasing the energy consumption data of buildings.
Atlanta's City Council adopted a new energy policy in 2015 that requires owners of buildings larger than 25,000 to benchmark and report their properties' energy use each year. That data would also be used to complete an energy audit once every decade.
Senate Bill 321, introduced by state Sen. Hunter Hill, would define that sort of consumption data as a "trade secret" to be shielded from the public. And that doesn't sit well with Rutherford Seydel, the environmental attorney and co-founder of the Upper Chattahoochee Riverkeeper who also has an ownership stake in the Atlanta Hawks.
He said the proposal was aimed at protecting a "very small portion of the one-percenters" and "really greedy developers."
"These are people that want to shroud their businesses in secrecy so the public can't see how sick their building is," he said Sunday.
Hill and his allies pitch the proposal as a privacy measure and say it doesn't block governments from mandating utility reporting - just the publication of the info.
The Building Owners and Managers Association of Georgia said the measure "provides a balance between the desire of some government jurisdictions to acquire and monitor utility use while protecting the privacy of those who determine that their data should remain confidential."
"In life, in our great society, we give up certain bits of privacy in everything we do. And we give it up knowingly because it's for the betterment of the community," said Seydel. "And that's what this is all about. this is an unbelievable campaign issue if you keep pushing it."
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In case you missed the AJC op-ed by state Sen. John Albers, R-Roswell, on why north Fulton County doesn't need a MARTA rail line, here's a taste:
Another myth to debunk are claims businesses need to have heavy rail transit in order to thrive. Businesses locate to our area because we lead in most major areas as referenced above and employees love and work in their community. Some people are saying Mercedes-Benz chose a new office location based on the MARTA line. That made me laugh out loud. This is a luxury car maker who provides automobiles for their employees!
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From Nicole Hammett at Georgiapol.com, news of proposed legislation to address Georgia's rural health care crisis:
If the bill is ultimately approved, then $250 million in state tax credits per year would be available. The contributor can designate the specific organization that receives the donation, but it must be in a rural county and receive at least 25 percent of its net patient revenue from treating indigent patients.
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The executive committee of the Georgia GOP summoned over the weekend for an emergency meeting to discuss the party's dire financial problems approved a new state budget - and apparently didn't shake up the leadership team.
One Republican insider had described the meeting as an "accountability session" to give party chairman John Padgett and his deputies a chance to right the party's ship. The party filed an end-of-the-year report showing it had roughly $11,000 in cash and more than $230,000 in debt - a stunning deficit for a party that commanded millions just a few years ago.
Party spokesman Ryan Mahoney called it a "productive" meeting that included approval of a financial plan.
"Party leadership continues to work tirelessly to protect Georgia's red state status and win back the White House in November," he said.
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