The niche trade magazine that has showered Georgia with awards seems to have moved on.
In the heat of last year's re-election campaign, Gov. Nathan Deal trumpeted the news that Site Selection magazine had named Georgia the top place to do business and the most competitive state in the nation in 2013. But the Atlanta-based publication on Tuesday named North Carolina the nation's most competitive state for the year 2014.
North Carolina earned 409 points in the state's 10-part index, beating out Louisiana, Texas, South Carolina and Tennessee.
And Georgia's rank? Tenth. Dare we ask what Georgia did -- or didn't do -- to earn such a steep drop in a single year? Or should we simply say, "Wait til 2018"?
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Let's go presidential this morning. In Iowa, we've got a good sign that New Hampshire may have to serve as the spot where former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush will have to look for initial traction. From the press release:
Walker is at 21 percent of likely GOP caucus participants, compared to 25 percent in a February 25 poll by the independent Quinnipiac University.
In the scramble for second place are U.S. Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky and U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida with 13 percent each, U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas with 12 percent and former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee with 11 percent. Physician Ben Carson has 7 percent, with 5 percent for Bush. No other candidate is above 3 percent and 6 percent are undecided.
Bush tops the list at 25 percent, followed by New Jersey Gov. Christopher Christie with 20 percent, when likely Republican Caucus participants are asked if there is any candidate they would definitely not support." Paul is next on this negative list with 10 percent.
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On the Democratic side, Politico.com reports that U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren met privately late last month with supporters eager to see her jump into the presidential contest. And then we have Democrat Hillary Clinton making a break with her 2008 bid for the White House. From the Washington Post:
Republicans want to make sure immigrants can never be more than "second-class" Americans, the Democratic presidential candidate said in sharply partisan remarks that could shake up the presidential contest by pushing immigration to the fore.
"We can't wait any longer for a path to full and equal citizenship," Clinton said in her most direct overture yet to Hispanic voters, who helped form Obama's winning coalition.
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Closer to home, Attorney General Sam Olens, in a speech to the United Tea Party of Georgia, identified the U.S. Supreme Court as the issue that should rally Republicans in 2016. From the Forsyth County News:
"To those of you that tell me next September, 'I really wanted blank to win, but the Republican nominee is Y.' I don't want to hear it," he said. "Because the question's simply do you want Hillary to choose the next justices, which there will be several of, or do you want someone else choosing the next justices?"
In light of a looming decision on gay marriage now before the high court, Olens may have a point.
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Gov. Nathan Deal is set to sign a bill today that would regulate Uber and Lyft in Georgia and require drivers to maintain insurance coverage of up to $1 million.
Few issues generated as much debate – and feedback from voters – as House Bill 225 did. But both ride-sharing firms ultimately signed onto the plan after changes that allowed the firms to conduct their own background checks rather than require all drivers to be fingerprinted.
It could have turned out very differently.
Uber quit Kansas this week after lawmakers there approved legislation that requires state background checks for its drivers and mandates an increase in their insurance coverage. The company said in a blog post that the new bill "makes it impossible for Uber to operate in the state."
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House Speaker David Ralston's office is pushing back against accusations that the race for the House's No. 3 job has taken a harsh turn.
This comes after your Insiders reported that the arm-twisting was ratcheting up in the contest between state Reps. Jon Burns, Allen Peake and Chuck Martin for a vacant House Majority Leader gig. Burns is seen as Ralston's choice in the first major leadership shake-up since he became speaker.
Said Kaleb McMichen, Ralston's press secretary:
"Rumors and unsubstantiated allegations, although not helpful, are not uncommon in caucus elections. I am sure members are making calls to discuss their choice for this important position and that includes all members of House leadership. However, as the vote is taken by secret ballot, claims of 'arm twisting' lose credibility when you consider that every member's vote is private."
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Gov. Nathan Deal is protesting a new proposed U.S. Department of Energy efficiency regulation on residential furnaces. Deal wrote to Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz in a letter dated April 30:
"I am also troubled by the fact that an analysis of the standard shows that energy usage and emissions would increase under the proposal. A study by the American Gas Association and the Gas Technology Institute indicates consumers may see an increase by as much as $44.9 million in energy costs per year and carbon dioxide emissions may increase by nearly 350,000 tons as a result of the standard."
DOE has more background on the proposed rule here. We were alerted to Deal's letter by Washington lobby firm Bracewell and Giuliani, which has several energy clients working on the issue.
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At the tail end of an interview with U.S. Rep. Buddy Carter, R-Savannah, on Tuesday, we asked the new congressman how he was settling in. As it turns out, he is – like many of his colleagues, Democrat and Republican – living out of his office. Said Carter:
"You build up a lot of camaraderie, which at this point I need. I need to get to know these guys. In the morning, I'm sometimes working out beside Paul Ryan and Joe Kennedy, and I'm thinking – you know, this is pretty wild."
Paul Ryan? Yeah, in any dorm situation, he’d be the R.A.
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got some Facebook love Tuesday from presidential hopeful Rand Paul.
Collins introduced a resolution in the House to block the FCC's new "net neutrality" regulations, which require internet service providers to treat all content equally and not create "fast lanes." Critics call it a government takeover of the Internet. Paul, the Kentucky senator, introduced a companion measure in his chamber and gave Collins the accompanying social media shout-out.
It was on Paul's official page, so not part of his presidential campaign. Collins has not endorsed anyone for president. At the very least it gets his name out there: Paul's page has 684,000 likes.
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Toronto's about to get an infusion of Atlanta's top business and political leaders.
About 100 metro Atlanta powerbrokers are headed to Canada Wednesday for the Atlanta Regional Commission's annual LINK trip. The confab will soak in how Toronto handles issues like education, mass transit and planning.
The participants include House Minority Leader Stacey Abrams, Metro Atlanta Chamber CEO Hala Moddelmog, Cobb County Chairman Tim Lee, Atlanta City Council President Ceaser Mitchell and Roswell Mayor Jere Wood.
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Twelve-year-old C.J. Pearson, the Republican wunderkind from Augusta, has weighed in on the race for state GOP chairman. He's backing incumbent John Padgett. A portion:
Georgia's political landscape is quickly changing and it is imperative that the Georgia Republican Party react accordingly. In 2014, Governor Nathan Deal captured 10% of the African-American vote, largely due to the efforts of Chairman Padgett and his strong efforts to ensuring that minorities found a place in the party. Once again. where was Alex Johnson? We need a leader with experience, not just ideas. We need a leader with results. Chairman Padgett has results.
Young C.J. also appears to be willing to take on the likes of Erick Erickson, the WSB Radio provocateur who is backing Johnson. Says the youngster:
Unlike some conservative political commentators, I'm not so easily swayed by what one says but am more convinced by what one does.
This is where we mention to Erick that child abuse is always something best avoided.
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Other than a healthy run of presidential candidates and a chairmanship race, the one thing virtually guaranteed at next week's state GOP convention in Athens is a debate over religious liberty legislation and gay marriage.
Below is the text of a resolution passed by the 12th District GOP convention last month. You’ll see that it demands passage of S.B. 129, the Josh McKoon bill, without amendment – which pretty much requires Gov. Nathan Deal to address delegates on the issue. The governor has talked about adding anti-discrimination language.
But the amendment also runs afoul of Capitol politics. Ask any House Republican member whether that caucus should accept any Senate Republican legislation as perfect and incapable of improvement, and you’re likely to get an unprintable reply. The text in question:
WHEREAS, upon this great principle, the First Amendment to the United States Constitution states, "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free expression thereof;" and
WHEREAS, in Employment Division v. Smith (1990), the U. S. Supreme Court held that under the First Amendment, a government may burden the exercise of religion with a law of neutral application as long as the government can show a rational basis for its action; and
WHEREAS, under this "rational basis" test, a government has much more power to burden exercise of religion than it would if required to show a "compelling interest" for its action; and
WHEREAS, in 1993 Congress passed the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA) by a unanimous vote in the House of Representatives and a 97-3 vote in the Senate, replacing the "rational basis" test with the more protective "compelling interest" test; and
WHEREAS, RFRA has proven to be an effective buttress for religious liberty, ensuring that federal laws and federal policies, even those that appear to be neutral toward religion on their face, cannot substantially burden religious liberty without a compelling state interest and with the least restrictive means; and
WHEREAS, RFRA was the leading reason that religious liberty claims were upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court in Burwell v. Hobby Lobby, ensuring that the Affordable Care Act could not coerce business owners, holding sincere religious beliefs, to violate their consciences and force them to include abortion-inducing drugs in their insurance coverage for employees; and
WHEREAS, RFRA applies only to federal laws and federal policies and cannot protect religious freedom against State and local government action, thus necessitating that States pass their own RFRAs, as now 19 States have done, including all States that are contiguous to the State of Georgia; and
WHEREAS, at least 10 additional states have imposed RFRA protections by judicial action; and
WHEREAS, the Georgia State Senate has passed SB 129, a Religious Freedom Restoration Act that would provide the RFRA protections to people of faith in the State of Georgia;
THEREFORE, be it RESOLVED, that the delegates of the Republican Party of the 12th Congressional District urge the Georgia House of Representatives to pass SB 129 as voted on out of the Senate, the Religious Freedom Restoration Act, without amendments, and further urges the Governor of the State of Georgia to sign that bill so that people of faith will be protected from unwarranted governmental burdening of their exercise of their faith; and
And be it further resolved that a copy of this resolution be sent to the Governor, the Lieutenant Governor, the Speaker of the House, and the sitting state senators and representatives who represent the people of Georgia.
Respectfully Submitted:
Bob Finnegan
Secretary, 12th District Republican Party convention
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