Political Breakfast from WABE

We all expected 2020 to be crazy busy in politics from the start, and it’s certainly fulfilled that promise. So, let’s do the sensible thing, and jump right in with a new Political Breakfast! This edition is the first on our new weekly schedule--twice the heaping helpings from now on! We’ve got big stuff going on from the nation’s capital, to the State Capitol, to Atlanta’s City Hall and beyo...

WABE reporters Emil Moffatt and Emma Hurt join host Lisa Rayam for a look ahead to the week in the Georgia General Assembly.  They discuss the expected fight over a shrinking state budget and possible changes to Georgia’s lucrative film and television production tax credit.   See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

As the 2020 legislative session gets underway in Georgia, WABE has a new podcast to keep you in the know. “Gold Dome Scramble” is a pop-up podcast from "Political Breakfast." Every Monday morning, host Lisa Rayam talks with WABE reporters about the big issues that may become state law – from casino gambling to expanded gun rights. It’s your chance to learn about what’s happening in the Georgia leg...

2020 will be a huge political year in Georgia, of course. Many of the upcoming big stories are obvious: impeachment; elections; and--at the state Capitol--a push to legalize gambling (in some form, at least) in Georgia. But there's a lot more ahead in 2020, and we get your ready for it with some inside information from our regulars on the Political Breakfast. Tharon Johnson is a Democratic strateg...

What a way to end 2019!  An historic impeachment vote in the U.S. House; Georgia’s Senator-to-be continues meeting her new colleagues--and new questions about what kind of Senator she’ll be. And what could be a major turning point in the decades-long legal war over how all of us in Georgia use water. It's a holiday party edition of the Political Breakfast. WABE political contributor Denis O'H...

Governor Brian Kemp has chosen Georgia's next U.S. Senator. But is this just the start, instead of the end, of the sharp elbows among Republicans? After all, some of them got into a Twitter war with each other over who wears jean shorts. Meanwhile, both major parties get their ballots together for the upcoming presidential primary, and the numbers keep flying in the debate over health care in the...

In the political world, there used to be something called the Thanksgiving break. But there’s little evidence of that this year. Georgia Democrats push the national party for more resources in 2020; Georgia Republicans throw a few elbows in the maneuvering to succeed Senator Johnny Isakson. Meanwhile, Atlanta’s transit makeover continues to take shape. It’s another overstuffed buffet for the Polit...

Political analysts say the big message from this week's elections in Kentucky and Virginia is that Republicans are losing support in the suburbs. How might that play out in Georgia during the 2020 Senate and Presidential races? See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It’s still more than a year before the presidential election, but we’re less than three months away from the first caucuses in Iowa. And Georgia takes center stage in a month, with the next Democratic debate, and the rapidly-changing events in Washington and overseas could have a big effect on the plans for both major parties here. Meanwhile, a new look at what our region will look like in the nex...

It’s football season now, but the real head-knocking is happening in politics--where some of the players are going after each other without helmets. Meanwhile, the state’s strict new abortion law ran into a block in Federal court, and it’s a blitz of candidates who want to succeed Johnny Isakson in the U.S. Senate. We’ve got great seats for you in this edition of the Political Breakfast. Brian Rob...

Got your resume up to date? Then you, too, can apply for the soon-to-be open job of U.S. Senator from Georgia! But President Trump might be reading that resume, and pass on his thoughts to the Governor who’ll make the decision. Meanwhile, the race for the other Georgia Senate seat got a high-profile new contestant. And the Atlanta school system has to figure out what next, after the superinte...

2020 was already forecast to be a very windy political year in Georgia. Then Senator Johnny Isakson’s resignation announcement guaranteed it’ll be a category 5! There’s also a continuing storm over hazardous emissions at a Cobb County chemical plant. And it hasn’t exactly been calm at Atlanta’s City Hall, either. So much to dive into on this edition of the Political Breakfast. And we finally have...

Georgia's senior U.S. Senator, Republican Johnny Isakson, is speaking about his resignation, and what he wants to do before he leaves the Senate at the end of the year.   Isakson made the announcement on Wednesday, August 28.   The three-term Senator, who began his political career in 1974, cited increasing health problems as the reason for his resignation. Isakson suffers from Park...

There’s something in the late summer air--and it’s got a lot of Georgia folks concerned, along with the people who ask for their votes. Speaking of voting, the timer is running on the state’s new elections system, even as a legal fight continues. Meanwhile, the legal battle lines are more clearly drawn in the showdown over the state’s new abortion laws. There's all that and more in this helping of...

It’s August, but the folks who run things in Georgia are not getting much of a vacation. They face some very serious questions: Does this state needs tougher gun laws? What to do about hazardous chemicals in the air near some Atlanta area neighborhoods? Should Governor Kemp finally expand the state’s Medicaid program for low-income Georgians? And how can lawmakers do all of this when the Governor...

Now that Robert Mueller has spoken to Congress about Russian interference in the last presidential election, what’s being done here in Georgia to ensure the security of the next one? And it’s not just the 2020 presidential contest that’s stirring things up around here; there are quite a few would-be members of Congress in both parties. And a former Georgia governor has been busy lately in his new...

While Georgia Republican Senator David Perdue builds his re-election war chest, another Georgia Democrat jumps into the race to challenge him. But is the party waiting and hoping for someone else? Meanwhile, the new child sex trafficking charges against Jeffrey Epstein in New York have brought new focus to Georgia’s efforts to fight sex trafficking. And, if Georgia and some other states win their...

While the Democratic presidential candidates debated in Miami, we’ll see if local Democrats need to focus on a different battle here, Meanwhile, Atlanta’s mayor unveiled an affordable housing plan, which critics argue isn’t very specific. And the Supreme Court blocked a census citizenship question, while Atlanta’s immigrant community waits to see if President Trump’s threatened raids will actually...

Could it be the presidential campaigns will actually treat Georgia as more than just a cash machine? Democratic candidates made all the right noises during their recent visits. But do they have the keys to winning the state? Meanwhile, the state’s Republican governor makes some key appointments by selecting African-American and Hispanic candidates--and Stacey Abrams goes to Hollywood. It...

Georgia’s new abortion law is signed into law, but the fight may only be starting. Meanwhile, Georgia political types in both parties try to navigate the ongoing turbulence from the Russia probe and Robert Mueller’s invitation to Congress. And while Stacey Abrams ponders her next move, state ethics regulators move in on her, starting another battle. So let’s dig in to a Political Breakfast! Brian...

There are some political storms on Georgia’s summer radar: an indictment for the state’s insurance commissioner; a potential landmark fight over the new abortion law; and Democrats and Republicans are trying to figure out how to navigate all the 2020 turbulence and uncertainty. But you can fortify yourself with a nourishing Political Breakfast. Our regulars are back for this one. Brian Robinson is...

We’re just over a quarter of the way through 2019, but the mad scramble for 2020 is already on. With a single "no, thanks" from Stacey Abrams, Democrats are lining up to run for a Georgia seat in the U.S. Senate, while would-be members of the House are piling up in both parties. A retiring state Supreme Court justice opens the way for another high-profile battle, and a sitting state attorney gener...

Governor Kemp gets out his pen to sign or veto bills the Legislature sent him in the past few months. But some of those new laws mean he’s got some major future homework. Meanwhile some other Republicans and quite a few Democrats are already thinking about their political futures. And…oh, yes...there was that Tiger guy and his win for the ages in Augusta. It's tee time for another Political Breakf...

Georgia’s legislature lurched to its close for the year. So, as the old saying goes, it’s all over but the shouting. But there’s plenty of shouting--about everything from abortion, to the new election machines, to medical marijuana. And the Gold Dome isn’t even the only place where voices are raised, so we bring some calmer ones to serve up this edition of the Political Breakfast. Brian Robin...

Gwinnett County voters opted not to get on board the MARTA train. So what’s next for the traffic-smothered county? Meanwhile, at the State Capitol, big fights over abortion and an airport takeover headed into their final rounds. And on a visit home from the U.S. Capitol, Georgia Senator Johnny Isakson went after President Trump for his continued attacks on the late Senator John McCain. Those...