The Bernie Sanders presidential campaign estimated that more than 5,000 of his fans packed the Fox Theatre on Monday night to hear from the Vermont senator.
The crowd was notably young, and largely – though not thoroughly – white. But noticeably missing from the group: Any sign of Democratic officeholders.
We can’t be completely certain, but we walked up and down the aisles and searched the lobby for any familiar faces among the Democratic establishment and couldn’t find any. If you're an office-holder and were in the crowd, send us a note.
The lack of local networks coming together is a far cry from the crowd that met front-runner Hillary Clinton last month when she spoke at Clark Atlanta University. Among the group standing in the first rows was Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed, U.S. Rep. John Lewis, former Ambassador Andy Young and Democratic Party of Georgia head DuBose Porter.
On the other hand, those present at the Fox may have witnessed the debut of a new political presence in Atlanta. Rap artist Killer Mike, a.k.a. Michael Render, served as front man for Sanders. The campaign liked his intro well enough to post it:
A few of us had a back-stage conversation with Killer Mike. Bernie Sanders once recorded a folk album. Would he consider a duet with the presidential candidate? Only if it were off-mike, Killer Mike said.
The rapper said he can rhyme, and he can cuss, but he’s a terrible singer.
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Donald Trump's (poorly reviewed) stint hosting Saturday Night Live will end up providing a boost to some of his lesser-known Republican presidential rivals.
Variety reported Monday that NBC has reached an equal time agreement with the campaigns of John Kasich, Lindsey Graham, Mike Huckabee and Jim Gilmore. No, the quartet will not host SNL -- though we suspect Graham would do well -- but get early-state ad time this weekend:
Variety reported last week that the network was offering 12 minutes during primetime on Nov. 27 and 12 minutes in the "Saturday Night Live" slot on Nov. 28. Trump appeared for 12 minutes and 5 seconds on "SNL."
Discussions are still ongoing with the campaign of George Pataki, who also requested equal time.
Equal time comes from the byzantine FCC regulations of broadcast networks -- not cable -- with exceptions for news shows and documentaries. Since SNL is neither, other candidates could request "equal opportunities" on the network.
In honor of Thanksgiving, we give you one of the highlights of Trump's show, albeit one that did not feature Trump. We don't want to be forced to embed Gilmore videos, now.
[hulu id=zvkfwp5gb4o9zsgnvv2w1a width=650]
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Barbara Hickey, who takes over as head of the Georgia Federation of Republican Women in January, also owns the Etiquette School of Atlanta. The Marietta Daily Journal asked her about the etiquette of one of the GOP presidential candidates:
"I would say, 'Think before you said that. I know you're thinking it, and I understand why you're thinking it, but what you say has consequences. You may have just lost a very good friend. You might have had a great friend if you got to know them and understood why they were acting the way they were. Just think before you act and talk,'" Hickey said.
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A new nationwide online poll by Washington news outlet Morning Consult of the approval ratings of all 100 senators finds that Georgia Republicans Johnny Isakson and David Perdue have identical 51 percent approval ratings. Perdue's 26 percent disapproval is a tick above Isakson's 24 percent, and also at the poll's 2 percent margin of error.
The finding puts the Georgians squarely in the middle of the senatorial pack as far as home-state approval. Perhaps they sought tips from the nation's most beloved senator, who was in Atlanta on Monday: Bernie Sanders of Vermont.
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Sen. David Perdue still proudly wields the outsider label - even if he's temporarily abandoned the jean jacket - as we noted in a Monday post. But he also added a few other notable takeaways during his address to the Atlanta Press Club.
The Republican defended the GOP's call to temporarily halt the Obama administration's program to accept 10,000 Syrian refugees over the next year. Said Perdue: "This is not racism. It's not prejudice. It's about protecting Americans."
He predicted a final Senate vote on a $45 billion highway funding bill by the end of the year, though he still has reservations about the plan because, he said, it includes three years of funding but six years of policy.
(Perdue voted against an earlier version of the measure while fellow Georgia Sen. Johnny Isakson supported it.)
"It will happen this year. It’s one of our priorities. I voted against the highway trust fund bill. The reason I did is it’s a six year deal. It ought to be in perpetuity. And it ought to be funded," said Perdue. "My hope is that we'll find some way to fund it in perpetuity so we'll find long-term solutions."
And he gave a shout-out to his top aide - and a slam to himself.
"Derrick Dickey is the most knowledgeable political mind, I think, in the country," Perdue said of his campaign manager-turned-current chief of staff. "And the proof is standing right here before you. Because I’m probably the worst candidate that you ever saw
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Governing magazine tells of one of the rare instances when a governor's endorsement mattered in a presidential race. From the website:
It worked perfectly.
Clinton -- who had not finished in first place in any of the previous primaries or caucuses -- won 57 percent of the vote in Georgia, and was able to parlay that into wins in every Super Tuesday state except for Massachusetts, the home of one of his rivals, the late Sen. Paul Tsongas.
"Clinton would have fared pretty well in the Southern states anyway, but Georgia was definitely a trigger," said longtime Georgia political journalist Tom Baxter.
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