Last week, the Republican National Committee released its much-shortened calendar of a dozen proposed televised debates for the 2016 presidential primary.
Georgia will not play host to any of them, nor will any of the states that Secretary of State Brian Kemp is attempting to corral into an “SEC” primary on March 1 -- Alabama, Mississippi and perhaps Tennessee and Arkansas.
It’s not so much a snub as a squeeze.
You know that the RNC has set July 18-21 for its presidential convention in Cleveland, an early date to shorten the primary season and, in theory, allow the nominee more time to heal from his/her wounds. But the primary season is being whittled on the front end as well.
Iowa will probably still hold its caucuses in January, but Republicans (and Democrats, too) are hoping to push the New Hampshire primary into February. And the debate calendar reflects that.
Three GOP debates are scheduled for February 2016, in New Hampshire, South Carolina and Florida. The Florida debate is to be broadcast by both NBC and Telemundo, which means debaters are likely to direct themselves at Latino voters.
But that debate is likely to provide Georgia Republicans with their last comparison-shopper's look at the candidates before they vote.
Nonetheless, Kemp’s plan for a regional but smaller version of past Super Tuesday votes is getting some attention. Kemp was recently on NPR explaining his decision to go with a footballish moniker:
In the interview, Kemp said he doesn’t know which GOP candidate might benefit most from an SEC primary. “I'm not really sold on the fact that it's going to help a certain person,” he said.
But it should be noted that former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee, who recently quit his Fox News gig to concentrate on a 2016 bid, has expanded his Georgia book tour to include these appearances, according to Todd Rehm of GaPundit.com:
-- 4 p.m. Jan. 30, FoxTale Book Shoppe, 105 E. Main St. #138, Woodstock;
-- 7:30 p.m. Jan. 30, Annual Johnny Hunt Men's Conference, First Baptist Church of Woodstock, 11905 Highway 92, Woodstock;
-- Noon, Feb. 2, Barnes & Noble, The Shoppes at River Crossing, 5080 Riverside Drive, Macon.
-- 4 p.m. Feb. 2, Fort Benning, 479 Fort Benning Road.
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We're picking up word that former state senator Dan Moody, who represents the 6th Congressional District on the State Transportation Board, has resigned. The position is already listed as vacant on the DOT website.
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The president's foes have long refused to let him have the State of the Union bully pulpit to himself, but the "responses" have proliferated beyond the standard Republican retort (Sen. Joni Ernst of Iowa) in the age of Obama and YouTube.
Tuesday night we also had the Spanish-language reply (Rep. Carlos Curbelo of Florida), the tea party response (Rep. Curt Clawson of Florida), the "I'm running for president" response (Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky).
Several Georgia Republicans taped their own responses. Here's new U.S. Sen. David Perdue, R-Ga.:
"It's time for the President to get serious about working with Congress to get things done, not circumvent the Constitution every chance he gets."
New U.S. Rep. Barry Loudermilk, R-Cassville:
"Instead of reforming our tax code by making it simpler, fairer and empowering you to have more control over your own money, the president is proposing a plan that empowers the IRS and further complicates our current tax system."
U.S. Rep. Tom Graves, R-Ranger:
"Some of these ideas, they may sound good. But with a ballooning national debt of more than $18 trillion, what we didn't hear is a realistic way to pay for them. Or the consequences of expanding the federal bureaucracy."
U.S. Rep. Doug Collins, R-Gainesville:
"President Obama has said that he wants to reduce burdensome regulations, while his agencies produce a record number. He has said that he wants to reduce the national deficit, which has nearly doubled in his six years of leadership."
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President Barack Obama will join Rep. John Lewis in March 7 in Selma, Ala., to commemorate the 50th anniversary of Bloody Sunday. Expect talk about a revised Voting Rights Act that has been stalled by congressional Republicans following the Supreme Court's 2013 rejection of the Section 5 coverage formula.
Lewis said he extended the invitation personally to the president. Lewis' statement:
"We are very grateful that President Obama will be able to participate in the 50th anniversary commemoration in Selma. It is an important moment in our nation's history when we pay tribute to the ordinary people of Selma who had the extraordinary courage and determination to meet injustice and brutality with non-violent resistance. It is because of their commitment to equal access that millions of Americans--women, Latinos, Asian and Native Americans--are now participants in the democratic process. It is fitting and appropriate that the President would join us, and I am delighted that he will be able to attend."
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We told you yesterday that strategist Tharon Johnson opted against challenging DuBose Porter to lead the Democratic Party of Georgia.
Here's the rest of the list of candidates for the party's executive team:
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