Democratic leaders in the South Carolina legislature have confirmed that state Sen. Clementa Pinckney, who was also pastor of Emanuel AME Church, was among the nine dead killed when a lone, white killer struck during a Wednesday night prayer service.
"He never had anything bad to say about anybody, even when I thought he should," Rutherford, D-Columbia, said. "He was always out doing work either for his parishioners or his constituents. He touched everybody."
…The attack came two months after the fatal shooting of an unarmed black man, Walter Scott, by a white police officer in neighboring North Charleston that sparked major protests and highlighted racial tensions in the area.
The officer has been charged with murder, and the shooting prompted South Carolina lawmakers to push through a bill helping all police agencies in the state get body cameras. Pinckney was a sponsor of that bill.
The newspaper reported that Pinckney's desk in the capitol will be draped in black when the state Senate convenes at 10 a.m.
Pinckney was no stranger to Georgia politicians, who worked with him on the seaport project in Jasper County. Rutherford told The State that his work on the port sometimes alienated his colleagues.
"He was a man with a booming voice and notable presence, but always a peaceful, calming presence," Rutherford told the newspaper. "He did not want to pick fights. Even when I was pushing him to pick a fight on the Jasper Port, he said, 'No, we need to do it a different way.' "
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Below is a YouTube clip in which Pinckney explains the history and importance of his church in 2013:
In 1998, the veteran Washington Post political reporter, David Broder, met Mr Pinckney and described him as a "spirit-lifter".
We found that Broder column in the AJC archives. A few lines:
The five people I met at the start of their final weekend seminar were as diverse as they were impressive: Rep. Elizabeth Coulson, a Republican and physical therapist, represents a North Shore suburb of Chicago. Sen. Deanna Wiener, a Democrat, has a similar district in suburban Minneapolis. The three men, all Democrats, included one in his 40s, Sen. Steve Doherty of Montana, and two precocious 20-somethings, Reps. Matt Dunne of Vermont and Clementa Pinckney of South Carolina.
All of them are focused on doing things that make a difference in people's lives. Pinckney, an African-American Democrat in his first term in a chamber controlled by white Republicans, enlisted support from the Republican majority leader to extend the state's economic development tax credits to small counties like his own. Jasper County now has an industrial park and a new industry providing 125 jobs…
They are not naive or Pollyannaish. They know that legislatures are held in low regard in many states, and they are troubled by the influence lobbyists exert, especially where term limits have made novice lawmakers even more dependent on ''the suits'' for information.
Pinckney said, ''The problem we face as legislators, in hearing from all these different interests, is figuring out what interest we do not hear from . . . poor people, mothers with children, who may not be the big guns."
''Our people expect the best of us, " he said. "They do not send us to the state capitol just to be buddy-buddy with the wingtips. They send us to take care of the people's business, and those of us who take hold of that responsibility, understand that's what it's really about.''
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Rep. John Lewis, D-Atlanta, weighed in on the Charleston shooting this morning to a couple of reporters at the Capitol, comparing it to the 1963 Birmingham church bombing.
"If you cannot go to a church and study the Bible and pray, where can we turn as a nation and as a people? I think this guy thought it out very well. Apparently he took time to talk to the pastor of the church and be seated next to him and suggested to one lady that she should go out and tell the people what he was about to do. And he just executed men and women.
"And now you're going to have many churches having security at the churches. It is frightening, really."
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Meanwhile, a young Alpharetta man is scheduled to appear in an Oxford, Miss., courtroom today to plead guilty to a charge related to a noose left on a statue marking the University of Mississippi's integration. From the Associated Press:
Harris, of Alpharetta, Georgia, faces up to a year in prison and a $100,000 fine. He likely won't be prosecuted for a second charge in his March indictment — conspiracy to violate civil rights — which carries up to 10 years in prison.
His lawyer, David Hill, denies that Harris himself put the noose on the statue of James Meredith in 2014. The violent reaction to Meredith's 1962 admission was quelled by federal troops.
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The Gallup organization reports that it will be harder for Hillary Clinton and other Democratic candidates to play to the center during the 2016 presidential primary:
Forty-seven percent of Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents now identify as both socially liberal and economically moderate or liberal. This is compared with 39% in these categories in 2008, when there was last an open seat for their party's nomination, and 30% in 2001.
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The Supreme Court's same-sex marriage decision could come as early as Thursday. And Atlanta's gay rights activists are ready.
Georgia Equality and Freedom to Marry will hold events in Athens, Atlanta and Augusta, Columbus, Macon and Valdosta no matter what the court decides. From the press release:
"If the Supreme Court hands down a positive ruling, the event will celebrate the victory for the freedom to marry nationwide. If it's a negative ruling, it will be an opportunity to talk about next steps for Georgia and how to end marriage discrimination as soon as possible in the state."
The timing is anyone's guess. But the court usually dispenses these decisions on Mondays and Thursdays, and the ruling is expected before the term ends at the month's end.
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Everyone is also waiting with bated breath on the Supreme Court's ruling on Obamacare subsidies. House Republicans are trying to reach consensus on a response if the Court strips subsidies from millions of Americans, and had a closed-door meeting Wednesday on a leadership plan. Here's National Journal:
- Continue the Affordable Care Act's subsidies through the end of 2015, absent a Court stay of its decision that did the same.
- Immediately repeal the individual and employer mandates.
- Starting in 2016, states would be allowed to opt out of the law and its other various regulations. States would receive a block grant, the same amount as the subsidies that their residents would receive, to implement their own health care plans.
- In states that don't opt out, individuals would continue to receive subsidies but could use them to purchase plans on and off of the ACA exchanges.
- The plan would sunset in 2017, compelling a new Congress and president to come up with a comprehensive Obamacare replacement.
We caught up with freshman Rep. Rick Allen, R-Evans, after the meeting, and he seemed to be on board. "The president’s the one who put us in this position, and the American people know it now," Allen said. "They know it’s a flawed law, and we have to provide a bridge to get out of this thing."
Allen pointed out that Obamacare has been law for five years. "So if we can get this thing fixed, I think two years is a good time to do it," he said.
The House plan -- it won't be an official bill until after the Supreme Court ruling -- is different from Senate Republicans' bill to keep the subsidies going under the present system for two years, while killing the mandates.
Both plans will face heat from the right. Over at redstate.com, WSB Radio host Erick Erickson writes that if King v. Burwell goes against the administration, Republicans should demand full repeal and no less, and barnstorm the country with that message:
If Republicans do not do this we can be assured that (1) they are interested in fixing Obamacare, not repealing it and (2) are political and moral cowards.
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Atlanta Democratic U.S. Rep. John Lewis and Rep. Terri Sewell, D-Ala., a Selma native, wrote a joint op-ed on AL.com saying Selma's famous Edmund Pettus Bridge should remain named after the KKK leader:
Renaming the Bridge will never erase its history. Instead of hiding our history behind a new name we must embrace it —the good and the bad. The historical context of the Edmund Pettus Bridge makes the events of 1965 even more profound. The irony is that a bridge named after a man who inflamed racial hatred is now known worldwide as a symbol of equality and justice. It is biblical—what was meant for evil, God uses for good.
The Alabama Senate recently voted to rename the bridge, and Lewis initially responded with a mild statement saying the people of Alabama should decide.
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State Rep. Buzz Brockway got a shout-out from the Technology Association of Georgia. The Lawrenceville Republican was awarded the association's legislator of the year for pushing a measure that advances solar energy and encourages school districts to use more tech in classrooms.
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From the "Of course, he did" department, comes this from the Hollywood Reporter:
New York-based Extra Mile Casting sent an email last Friday to its client list of background actors, seeking extras to beef up attendance at Trump's event.
"We are looking to cast people for the event to wear t-shirts and carry signs and help cheer him in support of his announcement," reads the June 12 email, obtained by The Hollywood Reporter. "We understand this is not a traditional 'background job,' but we believe acting comes in all forms and this is inclusive of that school of thought."
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