Back in June, the Georgia Republican party announced big plans for a "Second Amendment celebration" in Duluth on Oct. 24 with promises of a large gun-toting crowd.
There was to be a "Great Gun Give-Away" where qualified residents could enter to win a wide array of firearms at random. And all the Republican presidential candidates were invited - "
," the party advised.
Come Saturday, though, there will be no Republican-sponsored firearm roulette after all. Party spokesman Ryan Mahoney said the event was canceled a few weeks back but would not say why. The gun raffle, though, will go on.
The party has had some fundraising struggles this year, and it brought in former U.S. Rep. Jack Kingston to help. A recent big party dinner brought in more than $150,000, according to the party, exceeding goals.
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Only 10 people were major donors to Democrat Lincoln Chafee's quixotic presidential campaign. And two of them are from Georgia.
NPR reports that Atlanta attorney Patrick Flinn and Atlanta pediatrician John O'Shea both ponied up for his campaign, which took in about $15,000 - including $4,100 from the candidate himself.
Flinn told the station his "decision to contribute was a reflection of the fact that, in some measure, I wanted to support a measure of positiveness."
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Georgia may be ratcheting up the pressure on FanDuel and DraftKings. But there's only so much the state can do to target the controversial daily fantasy sports sites without federal help.
That's Gov. Nathan Deal's take on the blunt letter that Georgia Lottery officials sent to the leaders of both online betting sites. (You can find your copy here.)
Said Deal:
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Today is gut-check day for the 11 finalists for three new Court of Appeals gigs.
Gov. Nathan Deal is expected to conduct final interviews with each one of them. His decision could soon follow.
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We told you last night how the conservative House Freedom Caucus mostly stood behind Rep. Paul Ryan for speaker. Rep. Jody Hice, R-Monroe, is one of a handful of holdouts, while Rep. Barry Loudermilk, R-Cassville, backs Ryan.
Much of this whole brouhaha has to do with arcane debates over House rules. Loudermilk pitched one specific change, which he explained to us Wednesday as being modeled on "crossover day" in the Georgia General Assembly, in which a bill must clear one chamber or else it's dead.
Loudermilk's deadline twist applies to the 12 annual appropriations bills that dictate government spending. But instead of declaring them dead, the rule holds Congress hostage:
"If we haven't passed all the appropriations by the last Friday before the August recess, we don't go home. We stay here. And so there's also a provision in the Constitution that I've got to go look up again that basically says the Senate can't recess unless the House concurs. And we can just hold the Senate in until they pass approps. That's what needs to be done."
For years, Congress has passed maybe a couple appropriations bills, but at the end of the year lumps all the rest together in an "omnibus" negotiated behind closed doors that no one reads and is passed a couple days after it is introduced, with no time to scrutinize or amend it.
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We've got new details about Hillary Clinton's visit to Atlanta on Oct. 30. She'll be holding an "African-Americans for Hillary Grassroots Organizing Meeting" at Clark Atlanta University at 2:30 p.m. People who want to go can RSVP here.
Clinton will then head to Charleston, S.C., that evening for a speech to the local NAACP.
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an Atlanta trip soon. We've come across a fundraising invitation for a Nov. 7 brunch reception: $1,000 gets you in, while $2,700 makes you a host.
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Yes, it's just one poll in one state, but we may look back on this moment in a few months, given Donald Trump's polling dominance to date. From Politico:
The retired neurosurgeon leads the Republican field with 28 percent, while Trump has fallen behind with 20 percent. A September survey had Trump at 27 percent, and Carson at 21 percent.
On cue, this quote arrived in our inbox this morning from the fiscally conservative Club For Growth -- which has been airing ads attacking Trump in Iowa:
"Ben Carson's life story and his career in medicine are very impressive, but the full measure of his statements on economic liberty seems to indicate significant inconsistencies," said Club for Growth President David McIntosh. "For example, Carson has sharply criticized Obamacare, but has promoted a de facto nationalization of private health insurers. Likewise, he has called for needed entitlement reform, and yet recommends a new government-run catastrophic care program. Contradictions such as these have made it impossible for the Club for Growth to conclude that Dr. Carson would be a pro-growth president."
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