State GOP hopefuls: Dems, ‘RINOs’ passed infrastructure bill

When 19 Republicans joined Democrats this past week in pushing a $1.2 trillion infrastructure package through the U.S. Senate, it was called a bipartisan effort.

But it was met by a partisan response among GOP candidates running for statewide office in Georgia, even though it could bring tens of billions of dollars to the state for new roads, bridges, broadband and other infrastructure projects.

“How in the world did that $1.2 trillion bill pass in the Senate 69 to 30?” U.S. Rep. Jody Hice, now running for secretary of state, wrote on Twitter. “Two words. RINO Republicans!!!”

It might be a surprise to some that U.S. Sen. Mitch McConnell of Kentucky is a RINO — a Republican in name only — since, according to his congressional bio, he is “the longest-serving Senate Republican Leader in American history.”

But McConnell voted for the infrastructure bill, something all three of the Republicans currently running for the U.S. Senate in Georgia found inconceivable.

“I have no earthly idea,” Agriculture Commissioner Gary Black said when asked about the Republicans who backed the package. “They’ll have to answer to their voters. This senator would have voted no.”

The fate of the infrastructure package is tied, in a sense, to a separate $3.5 trillion budget blueprint pushed by Democrats that would amount to the largest expansion of the nation’s social safety net since the 1960s, addressing issues such as health care, child care and education. That bill is being drafted in a way that it can pass into law without a single GOP vote.

U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has said her chamber will only take up the two pieces of legislation together.

That prompted Black to say, “No and no.”

The two other Republicans currently in the Senate race, Kelvin King and Latham Saddler, feel the same way.

Saddler, a former Navy SEAL and White House official during the Trump administration, said the spending only “adds to our out-of-control mounting debt.”

And King, a construction executive, labeled the price tag of the proposals “absurd.”

“Our elected officials have to stop talking about trillions like we used to talk about millions,” King said. “We are spending away our children’s future with no plan to pay for it.”

For Black, King and Saddler, the infrastructure package and the budget framework set up a clear division between themselves and the man they hope to replace, Democratic U.S. Sen. Raphael Warnock.

Warnock has backed both measures and points out they only have a chance of becoming law because of the Georgia voters who elected him and Jon Ossoff in the state’s runoffs in January.

“Thank you, Georgia, for showing up to make this historical investment possible,” he said.

Georgia vote cast by Walker’s wife from Texas home raises questions

University of Georgia football legend Herschel Walker has remained somewhat mysterious about whether he will run as a Republican for the U.S. Senate in Georgia.

He’s appeared more clear about his feelings on voter fraud, writing in a tweet in November: “Play by the rules.....the American people demand ONLY LEGAL BALLOTS be counted. Anyone manipulating this election should be prosecuted.”

But did his wife, Julie Blanchard, get the message?

Blanchard voted in Georgia’s presidential election last year, even though she and Walker live in Texas.

In most circumstances it’s illegal for nonresidents to vote in Georgia.

Election records show Blanchard used her Atlanta address to return an absentee ballot, which she mailed in October from the couple’s residence in Westlake, Texas. Blanchard also owns a home near Buckhead.

State law determines residency based on where a voter’s “habitation is fixed,” and those who move to another state with the intention of making it their residence lose their eligibility to vote in Georgia.

Blanchard and Walker purchased their Texas property in 2011 and receive a homestead exemption on their property taxes, according to public records. Homestead exemptions are granted to homeowners for their legal residence. Blanchard didn’t claim a homestead exemption on her Fulton County property last year.

When The Atlanta Journal-Constitution contacted Blanchard to ask her about the vote, she responded: “If we’re residents in both places, is that legally wrong? If you have multiple homes, you can’t vote where you have a home?”

Blanchard then hung up when asked follow-up questions.

The next day, Blanchard said she considers herself a resident of Georgia, where she has a driver’s license, owns a car and does business. She didn’t answer a question about whether she spends more time at her Georgia or Texas property.

Blanchard’s vote last year was the first one she had cast in Georgia since 2008. The state canceled her registration in 2017 because of inactivity, and she re-registered in 2019. It’s unclear whether she was automatically registered when she renewed her Georgia’s driver’s license. She’s not registered to vote in Texas.

Walker has hinted for months that he might move to Georgia to run for the U.S. Senate, and former President Donald Trump — who has encouraged him to enter the race — has said the former football star would be “unstoppable.”

But there are increasing signs within the state GOP that some think this play is taking too long to unfold. A growing number of Republicans have also raised concerns, despite Trump’s support, about running an untested candidate with a violent, erratic past.

Still, Walker’s name recognition gives him advantages that allow him to take his time. A recent survey by the left-leaning Public Policy Polling showed he’s neck-and-neck with Warnock in a hypothetical matchup.

60 sheriffs endorse Black’s Senate run

Gary Black’s U.S. Senate campaign got a big boost when he picked up the backing of 60 of the state’s sheriffs.

Black announced the endorsements days after he told the Georgia Sheriffs Association he would fight “anti-cop rhetoric” in Washington.

“I may not wear a gun or badge,” he said, “but it’s going to be my job to make sure you can use both when necessary.”

The endorsements help Black, a three-term agriculture commissioner, fall in line with a position Republicans have established for the 2022 campaign: a call for law and order and increased police funding.

The 60 sheriffs largely come from Georgia’s rural counties, although a few represent more populous jurisdictions, such as Sheriff Barry Babb of Fayette County.

Black even picked up the support of at least six Democrats: Sheriffs Mike Dewey of Brooks County, Doug Hanks of Cook County, Wiley Griffin of Decatur County, Robert Oglesby of Jenkins County, Nick Norton of Lanier County and Craig Nobles of Long County.

Credit: HYOSUB SHIN / AJC

Credit: HYOSUB SHIN / AJC

Twitter suspends Greene over misinformation about vaccines

U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene is now one false step away from a lifetime ban on Twitter, after the social media platform suspended her for a week for spreading misinformation about COVID-19 vaccines.

This past week, the Republican from Rome described the vaccines in a post as “failing” and not reducing the spread of the coronavirus.

Twitter has now apparently punished Greene four times for spreading misinformation on its platform. According to its COVID-19 policy, five or more violations can lead to permanent suspension.

CNN reported the latest bit of sparring between Greene and Twitter, quoting a company spokesperson as saying the congresswoman’s post “was labeled in line with our COVID-19 misleading information policy. The account will be in read-only mode for a week due to repeated violations of the Twitter Rules.”

After her suspension, Greene turned to other platforms such as Telegram and Facebook to say she is being mistreated.

“To be clear, I’m not opposed to vaccines, people should be free to choose,” she said in a statement. “However, in my opinion, (the Food and Drug Administration) should not approve these vaccines until more research is done. But Twitter suspended me for speaking the truth, and tweeting what so many people are saying.”

The Atlanta-based U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says the COVID-19 vaccines are safe and help prevent serious illness and the spread of the virus, including the highly transmissible delta variant. Fully vaccinated people who get infections appear to be infectious for a shorter period of time than unvaccinated people.

The FDA gave emergency authorization to the coronavirus vaccinations after rigorous testing. Final approval is pending.

While under suspension, Greene is not allowed to post new content to Twitter. Her older tweets, however, are still available to be read.

Credit: Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Credit: Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Raffensperger wants noncitizen voting to be really, really illegal

It’s illegal for foreign nationals to vote in Georgia elections.

Republican Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger wants it to be more illegal.

He has called for amending the Georgia Constitution to ban noncitizens from voting, something that’s already state law.

“Voting is a sacred responsibility for American citizens,” Raffensperger said during a press conference. “Our main goal should be to increase confidence in our election integrity, and also our security of our elections. Noncitizen voting would accomplish the exact opposite.”

Allegations of noncitizens voting in Georgia elections are rare, although Raffensperger said he’s seen “isolated cases” come before the State Election Board. In February, the board imposed a $500 fine on a woman who was not a U.S. citizen when she voted in Gwinnett County in 2012 and 2016.

Raffensperger said he’s concerned that efforts in other states to allow noncitizen voting could spread. The Vermont Legislature recently allowed noncitizen voting in local elections in two municipalities, and similar legislation has been introduced in Illinois and New York City.

Amending the Georgia Constitution is no small task. First, the state House and Senate each have to approve a proposed amendment by a two-thirds majority. Then that proposal needs a majority of voters to approve it in a referendum.

It’s common for politicians to push proposed constitutional amendments on hot-button issues in election years, and Raffensperger is facing a tough reelection campaign.

He has drawn the ire of many in the state’s GOP base for rejecting then-President Donald Trump’s false claims that voter fraud cost him victory in Georgia.

Senate Minority Leader Gloria Butler, a Democrat from Stone Mountain, said she didn’t see the need to amend the constitution when state law already prevents noncitizens from voting.

“I guess he’s looking for anything he can to improve his chances of being reelected,” Butler said. “It may sound good to Republicans, but it’s not necessary.”

Credit: TNS

Credit: TNS

Kemp wants businesses to join anti-crime efforts

Gov. Brian Kemp is telling the state’s business leaders that they need to take a role in fighting rising crime rates.

Speaking at the Georgia Chamber’s annual congressional luncheon in Columbus, Kemp made a link between crime and declining economic development.

“If crime is rampant on the streets of your local community,” the governor said, “businesses will look elsewhere, workforces will leave, visitors won’t show up and investment will stop.”

He urged corporate leaders to promote new job training and mental health programs on the local level, and he asked them to demand better funding for law enforcement.

Kemp and his fellow Republicans have worked hard to make the rising crime rate in metro Atlanta a political issue, proposing plans to boost law enforcement funding, toughen penalties for violent crimes and devote more resources to state crime-fighting initiatives.

The work follows up on the Republican-controlled Legislature’s passage of a measure earlier this year that prevents local governments from making steep cuts to law enforcement funding, even though no local government in the state made much headway on any such plan.

Kemp has also asked lawmakers to take up new tough-on-crime proposals in a special legislative session later this year.

Democrats, meanwhile, largely agree on the need to address metro Atlanta’s crime, but they prefer a holistic approach that also factors in gun violence and the ongoing effects of the global health crisis. They’ve also urged the public not to single out Atlanta, pointing to problems in other parts of the state, including Republican-dominated rural areas.

The Metro Atlanta Chamber, one of the state’s leading business groups, is already involved in efforts to tackle crime. The Atlanta-Journal Constitution reported last month that the group’s leaders were working with corporate executives, law enforcement officials and community advocates to develop a united approach to combat crime in the region.

Candidates, endorsements, etc.:

— State Sen. Burt Jones of Jackson formally launched his campaign for lieutenant governor. He’s the third Republican to join the race. The others are state Senate President Pro Tem Butch Miller of Gainesville and activist Jeanne Seaver of Savannah. Four Democrats are also vying to replace Republican Lt. Gov. Geoff Duncan, who chose not to seek reelection. They are state Reps. Reps. Erick Allen of Smyrna and Derrick Jackson of Tyrone; political consultant Kolbey Gardner; and Bryan Miller, the grandson of Zell Miller, the former governor and U.S. senator.

— Jake Evans, a Republican running to unseat Democratic U.S. Rep. Lucy McBath of Marietta in the 6th Congressional District, has picked up endorsements from former U.S. Rep. Bob Barr and former U.S. House Speaker Newt Gingrich.