The "civil union" approach now sounds a bit dated, but U.S. Sen. Rand Paul on Sunday became – so far as we can tell -- the first GOP presidential candidate to express some acceptance of same-sex marriage. The Kentucky senator, on CNN:
***
If you were too busy watching Jordan Spieth on Sunday, here's how Hillary Clinton announced she is running for president:
The early take from NBC's "Saturday Night Live" was far more fun:
Clinton also is commuting to her first campaign events by van -- from New York to Iowa.
Her soft launch captured the attention of the Interwebs: Facebook tells us that during the 24 hours of Sunday, 4.7 million people generated 10.1 million interactions about Clinton. By comparison, 865,000 people had 1.9 million interactions about Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., on his announcement day and 2.1 million people had 5.5 million interactions about Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, on his.
Up next: Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., who announces this evening in Miami.
***
Among those who did take note of Hillary Clinton's entry into the White House sweepstakes on Sunday was U.S. Sen. Johnny Isakson, R-Ga.
Foreign policy, Isakson predicted, will a major driver in the 2016 presidential contest, and could be Clinton's Achilles heel. A few choice quotes, via Fox News:
On whether Clinton jeopardized national security by using a private email account: "We need all the facts to determine whether she did or not…. Unfortunately, some 30,000 emails were destroyed and that's wrong."
On Clinton's overall performance as secretary of state: "She did a good job on the continent of Africa with our relations there. She did a good job in terms of traveling the world, but in terms of Benghazi – that's going to be the one question she's got to answer."
On why Clinton chose a soft Internet roll-out, as the Masters tournament reached a fever pitch: "I would think when somebody has a hundred percent name ID and probably 100 percent feeling, whether positive or negative about her, she doesn't need a big splash."
Georgia GOP chairman John Padgett added his voice to the Republican denunciation chorus, treating Hillary Clinton as if she were already the Democrats' presidential nominee. Said Padgett in a press release:
"As we wait for Hillary Clinton to come clean on the laundry list of scandals that clearly disqualify her as a legitimate candidate for president, Georgia Republicans will continue to grow the Party, mobilize volunteers, and prepare for victory in 2016."
***
The "SEC primary" will look a little less like the SEC, as Mississippi will not be joining the March 1, 2016, presidential party.
"Texas has more electoral votes in the San Antonio media market than we do in our entire state," Reeves said. "That's not including Dallas, Houston … same thing with Atlanta. Where do you think a candidate is going to go … if they have to choose between Dallas, San Antonio, Houston, Atlanta or Hattiesburg?"
As it stands now, Reeves said, Louisiana's will be the Saturday before Mississippi's Tuesday primary and Florida's a week after. He said this is more likely to precipitate stops in Mississippi.
***
Sunday's print and premium editions had a deep look at the New Georgia Project voter registration effort. Here's the top:
It comes as a new Atlanta Journal-Constitution analysis reveals discrepancies between the number of voter registration applications the project reported submitting in five key counties and the amount registrars said they actually received.
In an exclusive interview with the AJC, House Minority Leader Stacey Abrams — whose political future could be on the line — defended her group's work and said its efforts will grow.
"I cannot imagine having delivered a better outcome given our objective," she said. "To accomplish in six months the collection of more than 86,000 applications reflects the good work done by hundreds. I am deeply pleased by it."
Also if you want a numerical reason Democrats are kicking themselves about 2014, it's hard to top this:
According to voter file information compiled by [Better Georgia's Bryan] Long, there were 239,272 new registrants in Georgia in 2010, including 83,896 African-Americans. In 2014, through Oct. 29, there were just 186,297 new registrants, including 72,363 African-Americans.
***
Georgia went from first to worst this legislative session on incentives for electric vehicles. At least, that's the assessment from some EV boosters recovering from a session that put them in the crosshairs.
Lawmakers repealed the $5,000 tax credit for those who purchased or bought the cars, and added a new $200 registration fee for alternative-fuel vehicles. Unless you happened to work for Tesla, which won the right to sell its electric vehicles without going through independent dealers, it was a brutal session for the electric vehicle lobby.
Go Georgia – we have managed to go from being among the best to the worst in just one legislative session.
Francis says only five states have an annual registration fee for electric vehicles (EV) – charging $100 – and Georgia decided to double the electric vehicle surcharge.
***
Gov. Nathan Deal is set to formally sign legislation on Thursday that would legalize medical marijuana. But one Atlanta retailer has stolen a march on the governor by opening a "medical cannabis" shop in Little Five Points.
WXIA's Doug Richards explains that what store owner Paul Cornwell is selling is more nuanced.
Cornwell argues that his store also sells medical cannabis. He stocks therapeutic oil that contains hemp, but does not contain the psychoactive THC, newly decriminalized the Georgia state legislature.
"It's a medical cannabis store," he said.
Yet, Cornwell, a marijuana legalization activist, argues that his sign is accurate, because --
"All uses of marijuana are medical," Cornwell said.
Except, as he points out, he does not sell that either.
***
U.S. Rep. Buddy Carter, R-Pooler, spent part of his congressional recess taking a look at the offshore oil industry in the Gulf Coast. He recounted the trip in an email to supporters, concluding thusly:
"[W]hile the trip was beneficial to all of the nine Members of Congress who participated, it was perhaps most beneficial to me and my colleague from Virginia, Rep. Barbara Comstock, (R-VA) as our coasts have been opened for oil exploration. I am impressed by the safety measures taken by the industry as well as how the industry and environment co-exist. While the economic benefits are obvious with the jobs generated, the financial benefits to the state and nation and the energy independence that it gives our country, my main concerns remain with the environmental impact. While my love for our environment remains as great as ever, after this trip, I am convinced that the industry and environment can coexist."
***
The Senate Foreign Relations Committee plans to vote Tuesday on a measure to give Congress more oversight on a nuclear deal with Iran. As Sen. Bob Corker, R-Tenn., works to build bipartisan support for the measure, he's getting $650,000 worth of air cover from a group tied to former Georgia U.S. senator Saxby Chambliss. From Politico:
An ad targeting Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.) is already running on Boston broadcast stations and Manchester, N.H., cable networks that shows a white van weaving through traffic and exploding atop a parking garage, ending with the voice-over: "Tell Sen. Shaheen, no Iran nuclear deal without congressional approval. Before it's too late." A similar ad is set to launch on Friday targeting Sen. Chris Coons (D-Del.). ...
The American Security Initiative is founded by former Sens. Evan Bayh (D-Ind.), Norm Coleman (R-Minn.), Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.) and Saxby Chambliss (R-Ga.). The group similarly targeted Sens. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) and Rand Paul (R-Ky.) in March.
(Hat tip, Georgia Tipsheet.)
About the Author
