"Don't leave our children's future to chance."
That's the grab line from flyers dispensed by the Faith and Freedom Coalition - Ralph Reed's outfit - to conservative-leaning districts in Georgia.
of one of them targeting state Sen. Jeff Mullis' district, which you can find at right.
Reed has a history with casinos. His bid for lieutenant governor in 2006 turned disastrous when he was sideswiped by the scandal surrounding disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff. The uberlobbyist hired Reed's public relations and lobbying firm to fight the opening of casinos that would compete with Abramoff's clients who ran American Indian gambling sites.
As for who is funding Faith and Freedom Coalition's effort now, that can be harder to determine. Our AJC colleague Chris Joyner,
our resident lobbying expert, reports the following:
You can't peer into the donors at the Faith and Freedom Coalition because they are a "social welfare" org. However, last month the coalition hired former Public Service Commission Chairman David Baker to lobby on their behalf. It's an unusual choice since Baker's areas of expertise are in the regulation of utilities and high tech companies. In the past, Baker has lobbied for Comcast, Earthlink and the Georgia Technology Investment Coalition.
Check out his piece on the ramp-up of lobbyist forces here.
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At long last, there is a deal among congressional leaders on a yearlong spending package. It still has to pass, and it looks like Congress will have to do another short-term measure to keep the government open past tonight's deadline, before they can vote on the big one.
You can sift through the
, or read
:
Republicans, however, succeeded in including language to reform the so-called Visa Waiver Program, which allows many foreign citizens visa-free travel in the U.S. for three months. President Barack Obama has voiced support for that plan.
According to a document handed to members on Tuesday night, the omnibus bill "strengthens national defense and homeland security," includes "various pro-life provisions," "no new funding for Obamacare," while also paring back funding of the Environmental Protection Agency. And the GOP held back attempts to further regulate non-profit political activity, according to the document.
On the other side, Democrats did not win any restrictions on gun purchases, despite their efforts.
With no refugee pause or restrictions on Planned Parenthood, you will probably see Georgia Republicans line up against it.
***
Former House Majority Leader Larry Walker wrote an open letter to his son - newly-elected state Sen. Larry Walker III - that everyone involved in statehouse politics should read.
...
10. KNOW WHEN TO QUIT: You might say "this is strange advice to be giving when I am just starting." But, the time will come, and there will be life after politics. Knowing when to quit is more important than deciding to run.
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The New Republic has a lengthy read on Atlanta rapper Killer Mike's political awakening, his endorsement of Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders and his unique role as a "gangsta rap suburban father."
In Atlanta, the local government is black, the business owners are black, the students are black, the rich are black. It's jarring, because in my experience there's no place like it in the United States, this concentration of African American influence. Blackness permeates the city—which means that race does and doesn't matter, by which I mean to say I felt a sense of peace there. "There's an agreement to figure s--- out before you go to Defcon 4," Killer Mike said of the city's police.
On the same note, Sanders and Killer Mike sat in the SWAG Shop in Atlanta last month for a lengthy interview that was just published. Watch the first of the six part series below:
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