The dean of the University of Georgia's journalism school has deleted a tweet calling Republican Brian Kemp a "nice guy" and a childhood friend, following that with an apology for what he called an "ill-timed and poorly written" post.
Charles Davis tweeted a congratulatory message about Kemp shortly after the Republican won his party’s nomination, writing that the two went to high school together in Athens.
“Politics be damned. He is a nice guy, always was. Kind to a fault. He’s a friend, always has been, and will be when we’re old(er) and grey(er). That’s how all this should work, people.”
After he was pilloried by Kemp's critics, some of whom called him a racist for supporting the Republican, he deleted the Tweet and wrote that he has "read and learned so much from you all."
Later, he added that he retracted his earlier message on his own and that he shouldn't have used a social media account linked to the school "to post a message that some construed as political."
The professor’s social media posts were quickly highlighted by right-leaning media, who criticized a practitioner of First Amendment rights for censoring himself.
So did some Georgia conservatives, including former state Rep. Edward Lindsey, who wrote on Twitter:
“Apologizing for being civil? Is this what political discourse has come to? I will go out on a limb here and confess that I like 99% of the people I disagree with politically. It's called being an adult and setting an example.”
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A trend is developing here. First there was Jason Spencer, who dropped his drawers to ward off terrorists. Then Roy Moore, who set off a purported pedophile alarm.
Now, the Marietta Daily Journal reports that Jack Staver, a former candidate for the Cherokee County commission, has been suckered by Sacha Baron Cohen in Showtime's "Who is America?"
The premise? A class on how to catch illegal immigrants. From the MDJ:
Staver said the segment he appears in was shot about a year ago and was described to him as a video about training in Krav Maga, a military self-defense system developed and used in Israel, a video shoot for which he was paid $150.
"I'm a pretty sharp guy and not one to usually fall for stuff like this," Staver said Monday afternoon. "But I got hoodwinked. I sure did."
In the episode featuring Staver, he is seen suggesting that some attendees of a popular Hispanic celebration go there to rape underage girls. Staver was portrayed as one of three men training to lure and "trap an illegal Mexican," Cohen said in the show.
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That TV spot from the Republican primary for governor, in which Brian Kemp waved a shotgun in the direction of Jake, an alleged suitor to one of his daughters, served as a kind of cultural Rorschach test for Georgia.
To some, it was a funny twist on an old and well-accepted theme: The shotgun wedding. To others, the joke had gone cold in an era in which school-site massacres have become almost routine.
Another culture quiz has popped up in another race for governor, this time in Florida.
The TV ad features Ron DeSantis, President Donald Trump's pick in the GOP race for governor. The theme is kids, family, and Trump worship. If you're of one mind, it's a winking spoof of worries over Trump's growing hold on state Republican machinery.
If you're of another inclination, you don't see the wink. You see the makings of a personality cult, and wonder if the audience for the 30-second clip was one particular viewer in the White House. Watch here:
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Republican Brian Kemp is facing a fresh round of criticism for featuring a link to his campaign Facebook page from his official website.
His campaign made clear it won’t change the practice, saying through a spokesman that it’s “common for elected officials to use their social media accounts for official, political and personal content.”
His campaign had a similar message during the GOP primary when some conservatives questioned whether the social media link violated ethics laws.
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Britt Grant's big day is here. The U.S. Senate is scheduled to vote on the Georgia Supreme Court justice's nomination to serve on the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals at 2:15 p.m. The confirmation vote will likely be a narrow one. All but three Democrats voted against the former Georgia solicitor general in a procedural vote on Monday evening, but Grant should make it through the chamber unscathed.
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Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue last week announced a $12 billion aid package designed to help farmers harmed by recent trade spats, but the U.S. Chamber of Commerce says far more will be needed to recoup the losses suffered across all industries. The pro-business group estimated the true cost of the new tariffs to be closer to $39 billion as it argued for Trump to remove trade barriers.
Our colleague Alex Soderstrom reports that it's still unclear how much Georgia farmers can expect in subsidies in the months ahead.
Perdue has been on the road in recent days. He was in Buenos Aires over the weekend to participate in an international meeting of agriculture ministers. He’ll be in Puerto Rico today to tour local farms and survey the damage caused by recent hurricanes before hosting a town hall with local farmers.
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A reminder: A wake for the late Tom Crawford, dean of journalism at the Georgia State Capitol College of Politics, will be held at 6 p.m. today at Manuel's Tavern. Come hoist a pint in his honor.
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There is petulance, and then there is brainlessness. Our AJC colleague Scott Trubey has this item in today's print edition:
A metro Atlanta law firm, hired to look into a $40,000 payment for luxury airfare for former Mayor Kasim Reed and staff members, reported its findings to the city's current administration verbally instead of in writing, a maneuver government watchdogs say is an attempt to circumvent the state's mandates on open records.
Invest Atlanta CEO Eloisa Klementich was reprimanded by the agency's board earlier this month, based on findings by the law firm. But, when The Atlanta Journal-Constitution and Channel 2 Action News requested a copy of the report, Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms' office said the board was briefed "orally," and "no responsive documents" were available.
The city's acceptance of a verbal report over a written one prevents the public from vetting whether the probe was thorough, fair and impartial, said Gerry Weber, an Atlanta attorney specializing in constitutional and media law. It's a questionable maneuver as the GBI conducts a criminal investigation into City Hall's open records practices, experts say.
What we have above is an act of passive aggression on the part of a city administration that feels unfairly targeted by a pair of news organizations. In previous years, the fight would remain a parochial one, insulated in part by the alliance between Mayor Kasim Reed and Gov. Nathan Deal.
But Reed is gone now. Deal has fewer than six months left. Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle will soon exit the Capitol – but he will leave behind an active state Senate committee that is exploring the idea of a state takeover of Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport.
The point is that, despite the fact that Stacey Abrams may be improving Democratic chances in November, Republican Brian Kemp remains the odds-on favorite in the race for governor.
Before walking further down this road, it might be worthwhile for City Hall powers to research Kemp’s position on municipalities and their custodial rights, particularly when it comes to airports.
