Political Insider
Political Insider

Rats! When vermin invade the Gold Dome

A rat was spotted near the Georgia Senate chamber, pictured here shortly before its demise. AJC/Greg Bluestein

Credit: Greg Bluestein

Credit: Greg Bluestein

A rat was spotted near the Georgia Senate chamber, pictured here shortly before its demise. AJC/Greg Bluestein
By
March 28, 2017

It wasn't quite the vermin invasion Sonny Perdue once warned about, but a solitary rat spotted outside the Georgia Senate during one of the busiest days of the legislative session created quite a stir - and a whirlwind of snark.

The rat soon met an untimely demise, care of a Senate doorkeeper who was handy with a garbage pail. But it shall live on in a flood of social media posts and a memorable outtake you can find below.

We were interviewing state Sen. Renee Unterman about Georgia's Medicaid options when the rat - we'll call him King - peeked out from underneath a desk. The Gwinnett Republican gamely gave us permission to post the audio below:

The jokers were soon crawling out of the woodwork.

About the Author

Greg Bluestein is the Atlanta Journal Constitution's chief political reporter. He is also an author, TV analyst and co-host of the Politically Georgia podcast.

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