On Wednesday night, former President Jimmy Carter hosted his annual town hall meeting to allow Emory University freshmen to ask him anything. Which they did. According to our AJC colleague Jill Vejnoska, this question came about 20 minutes in:
And so he should be. Here's looking at you, looking at us, Mr. President.
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By all accounts, the latest U.S. House committee investigation into the attack on a diplomatic compound in Libya got off to a subdued start on Wednesday. Rep. Lynn Westmoreland, R-Coweta County, was among those who questioned Gregory Starr, assistant secretary of state for diplomatic security:
Toward the tail end of the above clip, there was this dry exchange:
As I said previously, normally it was a post activity. Now, once a tripwire is tripped, it's looked at both by the post and by the various sections in Washington.
Westmoreland: Would you consider a hole being blown in the perimeter wall of the temporary mission facility – would you consider that a tripwire?
Starr: I'd certainly say that's a good indicator, sir. Probably crossed a tripwire, that.
Westmoreland: That event would have – should have caused some action or discussion, correct?
Starr: Yes, sir.
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Politico.com reports that, should Republicans seize control of the U.S. Senate next year, seniority would dictate that Richard Burr, R-N.C., would be in line to head up the Veterans Affairs Committee. But the report includes this:
If Burr were to choose the Intelligence chairmanship instead, Johnny Isakson of Georgia would be next in line.
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Jason Carter is trying to parlay his new and more strident economic arguments with a TV ad claiming Gov. Nathan Deal's administration is giving tax breaks to giant corporations "while nobody's doing anything for the middle class in years." Watch here:
Here's the text:
In the last 10 years, middle class income has dropped $6,500. We have to change that. We've got giant corporations getting tax breaks while nobody's done anything for the middle class in years. The best way to have a strong economy is to have middle class people with money in their pockets.
What Carter does not mention is that he has voted for many of the tax breaks that he alludes to, such as incentives designed to help customers of firms such as luxury jetmaker Gulfstream and airlines such as Delta. He also voted for legislation Deal signed in April that became a catch-all for special-interest tax breaks.
We asked him about that breakdown at his event on Monday, and he isolated the Gulfstream break in particular. Said Carter:
..."I supported the Gulfstream tax credit, tax incentive, because Gulfstream has been a remarkable citizen, and they invest hugely in our people in this state. There's a branch of the technical college system of Georgia on the Gulfstream campus. That's the kind of return the taxpayers would expect for the kind of investment they're making in the company."
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More than a few Republicans pointed us to the Tweet below from the Democratic-leaning Better Georgia group yesterday about Democratic voter registration efforts. Kind of gives a new context to the "vote or die" campaign:
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Republicans tracked down a fundraiser that Democrat Michelle Nunn is attending in San Francisco tonight with U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif. GOP spokeswoman Leslie Shedd declared that the "hobnobbing with California liberals illuminates just how out-of-touch" the Democrat is.
