Political Breakfast from WABE

Did someone say, “summer vacation?” Around here, politics will not take a summer vacation. From a governor who faced loud booing from a faction of his own party, to a former Atlanta mayor who wants the job again, to state hearings on Atlanta’s violent crime problem—it’s already a hot summer, with no vacation from politics. WABE political contributor Denis O’Hayer talks it over with...

The fight in Congress over a national voting rights bill intensifies in Washington, with Georgia as one of the main exhibits. Meanwhile, right here, lawsuits are flying on both sides. Looking to the elections this year and next, one familiar name could end up in a new contest, while another talks about why she passed up a bid for another term. And Georgia’s COVID-19 restrictions con...

It has now been one year since the killing of George Floyd at the hands of police in Minneapolis. And the often-heated debates about race continue, around the nation and here in Georgia: from a decision on changes to the Stone Mountain memorial, to arguments about critical race theory, to votes on how to respond to the killings of Asian-Americans here in Atlanta, to the increasing furor over a Geo...

We’ve now got two election years rolled into just one. Republican governor Brian Kemp launched his re-election campaign; so did GOP secretary of state Brad Raffensperger. Meanwhile, Republican lieutenant governor Geoff Duncan opened a scramble for his job, when he said he won’t run again; he’ll be working to build a GOP not tied to Donald Trump. And more candidates jumped into this...

While some Georgians rushed to the gas pumps, folks in Atlanta politics were scrambling to figure out what happens, now that Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms has decided not to run again this fall. Among those mulling it over: a name familiar to Political Breakfast listeners. Meanwhile, Governor Kemp signs a bunch of bills that will probably be part of next year’s elections. And one...

A white Atlanta police officer who killed an African-American man nearly a year ago is reinstated to his job. And another weekend of deadly violence in the city takes the life of yet another young girl. Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms tries to find answers amid mounting criticisms of her administration. Meanwhile, Georgia Republicans are still heading in different directions when Donald...

Of all the places he could have gone, President Joe Biden chose Georgia to visit as he marked his 100th day in office. But it wasn’t because of our lovely spring weather. Meanwhile, Georgia Republicans continue to wonder about possible challengers to new Democratic Senator Raphael Warnock. And there are now Federal hate crime charges against the three suspects in the murder of...

The guilty verdicts for Derek Chauvin in the murder of George Floyd produced a lot of relief in Georgia, but they re-opened the debate about police reform in the state. Meanwhile, after postponing for a while, faith leaders re-opened their call for a boycott of The Home Depot over Georgia’s new voting law—and the Governor fired back in a hurry. And the state’s effort to track Coronavirus...

The top U.S. Senate Republican told the corporate community to stay out of politics—something in which it’s been involved for eons—but some of Georgia’s big corporations are still walking a tightrope over Georgia’s new voting law, even as a big movie star pulls his new production out of here. The state’s GOP governor thunders at the law’s opponents, and gets a standing ovation from one county...

In most years, the final gavel in the Georgia Legislature means at least a brief period of calm, and a chance to figure out how all those bills will affect everyone. But this year, things just got noisier—with the loss of baseball’s All-Star Game over the new voting law, and even fierce disagreements about what that law says. This special edition, which was broadcast live on 90.1 WABE an...

On the final day of this year’s legislative session in Georgia, major companies like Delta Air Lines, Coca-Cola, and others blasted the state’s new voting law, after it had already been passed and signed. Republican strategist Brian Robinson and Democratic strategist Tharon Johnson join WABE political contributor Denis O’Hayer to sift through the debris of “Sine Die”&...

The 2021 General Assembly finished, but not before passing a controversial voting law, a state budget and a lot of other bills. In this virtual live event Host Lisa Rayam is joined by politics reporters Emma Hurt and Emil Moffatt as well as education reporter Martha Dalton, environment reporter Molly Samuel and health reporter Sam Whitehead. They also take audience questions. See omnystudio.com/li...

A controversial voting bill sparks at least one lawsuit in the final days of the 2021 Georgia legislative session. Host Lisa Rayam talks with WABE politics reporters Emma Hurt and Emil Moffatt about the fallout and about other bills that are still awaiting action this week including the state budget and police funding. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It was the announcement many Georgians had been anticipating for months: every adult in the state can now get a COVID-19 vaccine. Now, if only Georgia can do as well as other states in getting the available shots into people’s arms. Meanwhile, the pre-adjournment frenzy is on under the Gold Dome as lawmakers battle over several key issues—including sports betting, citizens’ arrest, and a response...

Georgia Lawmakers will consider yet another voting bill this week and as the legislative session winds down a lucrative federal Medicaid expansion proposal is too large to ignore. Host Lisa Rayam talks with WABE politics reporter Emil Moffatt and politics editor Susanna Capelouto about these proposals and other important bills still in play in the 2021 session. See omnystudio.com/listener for priv...

Georgia political leaders, already engaged in fights with each other over voting—and sometimes together against a deadly virus—are confronted with another foe that has often gone unseen: the rise in harassment and violence against Asian-Americans, here in Georgia and around the nation. While investigators work to determine the individual motive that drove a man who killed eight people, the wi...

As controversial voting bills await more action in the legislature, Georgia's business community is expressing concern. Host Lisa Rayam talks with WABE politics reporter Emma Hurt and education reporter Martha Dalton. They're also discussing the fate of controversial school voucher proposals that would use state funds to help pay tuition at private schools. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy...

A year after the COVID-19 pandemic was declared a pandemic, Georgia is finally seeing signs of spring in more ways than one. The pool of Georgians eligible for a coronavirus vaccine is expanding, case numbers are dropping and so are the numbers of deaths. But the all-out war at the State Capitol over voting bills is only intensifying. And the voice of the man who pushed those efforts—former presid...

Crossover Day in the Georgia legislature is when bills must pass in either the House or the Senate to stay alive. Several controversial voting bills "crossed over". Host Lisa Rayam talks with WABE politics reporters Emma Hurt and Emil Moffatt about which bills survived and which got cut. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

While Governor Kemp highlights the opening of new mass COVID-19 vaccination centers and his plans to expand vaccine eligibility, some data analyses put the state at or near the bottom for distributing the vaccines it has on hand. In the legislature, the voting overhaul fight has only gotten more intense, as the state mourns the loss of a native son who became a civil rights giant. And At...

Georgia Democrats have very little power to stop Republican voting bills in the legislature, but they're leveraging their recent statewide success to try to limit efforts to restrict ballot box access. Host Lisa Rayam talks with WABE politics reporters Emma Hurt and Emil Moffatt about the voting bill fight as well as efforts to legalize sports betting in Georgia. See omnystudio.com/listener for pr...

While the state scrambles to address weather-related supply problems with the COVID-19 vaccine rollout, the pool of people eligible to receive shots is set to expand. Meanwhile, the field of possible Republican Senate candidates for next year is likely to expand a lot after one very significant withdrawal. And, how much will your voting options change? Republican strategist Brian Robinson and Demo...

More voting bills are popping up and Governor Brian Kemp tries to get more teachers with incentives. Host Lisa Rayam talks with WABE reporters Martha Dalton, Christopher Alston and Emil Moffatt about these and other bills before the state legislature, including sports betting and allowing home school students to join public school sports teams. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

And you thought the 2020 election battles were brutal. So far, months before the next elections, the 2021 fights are just as ugly—and even more confusing. From Fulton County, to the State Capitol, to inside the state Republican party, the long knives are out. This at a time when the state and the nation struggle to put together a unified battle plan against the COVID-19 pandemic. Republi...

Changes to Georgia's citizen's arrest law are underway nearly a year after the killing of Ahmaud Arbery in Brunswick. WABE Senior Editor Susanna Capelouto is guest hosting and talks with politics reporters Emma Hurt and Emil Moffatt. They also tackle voting and street racing bills. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.