Political Rewind

Tuesday on Political Rewind: The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change released its latest reporting last week. It is the most definitive report yet on the consequences of an unchecked global carbon economy on our global climate. Scientists are crystal clear that human activity is to blame for widespread and rapid changes. The findings are grim, but not surprising to anyone who has been follow...

Monday on Political Rewind: Georgians awoke this morning to news of the swift collapse of the government of Afghanistan. After 20 years, trillions of dollars spent and hundreds of thousands of dead, the country is now in control of Taliban forces. The dismay is compounded by the chaos surrounding efforts to evacuate thousands of Afghans who served American forces during the occupation. The end of...

Friday on Political Rewind: Newly released data from the U.S. Census Bureau reveals Georgia grew in ethnic and racial diversity over the past decade, while the share of the population living in rural areas of the state shrank compared to urban counties.  The state's demographic shifts mirror broad changes happening across the country. Nationwide, data revealed more Americans are moving into cities...

Thursday on Political Rewind: Polling shows Americans want lawmakers to take action to curb a shocking rate of gun violence in our country. But efforts to address the crisis have been ineffective. Decades ago, scientists at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention began promoting a public health approach, making the case that violence is something we can understand and prevent if we base our...

Wednesday on Political Rewind: As cases of COVID-19 surge dramatically across Georgia, candidates on both sides of the aisle are making public health policy and spread of the virus a key issue ahead of the 2022 election. Republicans blame President Joe Biden for the recent spike in cases, while Democrats say it is GOP resistance to mask mandates and vaccinations that are at issue. Meanwhile, Gov....

Tuesday on Political Rewind: New polling shows Herschel Walker is the best liked of the potential field among both Republicans and Democrats. The recent survey suggests the former college football star would be the strongest Republican against incumbent Sen. Raphael Warnock. But how does that dynamic change if Walker declares his candidacy? The special redistricting session of the Georgia legislat...

Monday on Political Rewind: Officials continue to resist the establishment of statewide procedures for mitigating the possible spread of COVID-19 in schools. Cases are rising as students head back to classrooms for their first weeks of classes. In Atlanta, public schools will begin offering vaccines to middle and high school students age 12 and older next week. Elsewhere, a weekend gathering of Re...

Friday on Political Rewind: The distressing surge of COVID-19 cases hogged many of the news headlines this week. Many Georgia schools are back in session, and with the reopening of classrooms, debates rage over whether to require masks for students and staff. Gov. Brian Kemp faces pressure from state legislative leaders to ban mask mandates in school systems across the Peach State. Meanwhile, busi...

Thursday on Political Rewind: Even as Georgia struggles with a new surge of coronavirus cases, Republican legislative leaders are urging Gov. Brian Kemp to issue an order forbidding schools from imposing mask mandates for students and staff. Kemp previously said he will leave it to individual school systems to decide on policy. Our panel looked at how politics is clashing with public health as COV...

Wednesday on Political Rewind: The spread of the delta variant combined with a low rate of vaccinations in Georgia are leading to a spike in cases of COVID-19 and hospitalizations here. Many residents expected a sense of normalcy to return, but now Georgia and the rest of the country is confronted with a new surge, with public health guidance that feels like yesterday’s news. Dean of Georgia State...

Tuesday on Political Rewind: Data from hospitals in key regions of Georgia reveal a fourth wave of COVID-19 has begun. Health care centers in Savannah, Southeast Georgia, Gainesville and Augusta are seeing sharp spikes in hospitalizations.  Frontline caregivers say they are once again feeling overwhelmed. What measures are being taken to slow the spiraling spread of the virus? Meanwhile, U.S. Sena...

Monday on Political Rewind: Concern about the resurgence of COVID-19 in Georgia is growing as the summer break draws to a close.  Schools begin to open this week and businesses are contemplating bringing their workers back to offices, but is the outbreak of the delta variant threatening the return to pre-pandemic ways of life? How is Gov. Brian Kemp responding to the new threat of COVID? Meanwhile...

Friday on Political Rewind: How do we come to terms with the battle over a national understanding of our country's history? In author Clint Smith’s new book, How the Word Is Passed: A Reckoning With the History of Slavery Across America, he travels to locations across the country and talks to people on sites that memorialize or distort their link to the legacy of slavery. Throughout his tour of mo...

Thursday on Political Rewind: Georgia Republicans have begun taking steps to a possible takeover of Fulton County elections. A letter signed by two dozen state senators supports a performance review of the county’s election chief. Fulton Commission Chairman Robb Pitts criticized the effort, telling reporters it is an attempt to sway future consequential elections. "They are trying to set the stage...

Wednesday on Political Rewind: Congressional hearings in Washington, D.C., continue as a U.S. House panel investigates the Jan. 6 insurrection.  Data show that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s new guidance on wearing masks to fight the spread of the highly contagious delta coronavirus variant should apply to people in all but a small handful of counties in Georgia. How will local a...

Tuesday on Political Rewind: Cases of COVID-19 are again rising across the state, propelled by the dangerous Delta variant. In response, Savannah Mayor Van Johnson again issued a mask mandate for his city. Addressing the public yesterday, he warned rates of transmission are rising around Savannah and in neighboring counties. "Chatham County is now considered high and highly likely to increase duri...

Monday on Political Rewind: We were joined by New York Times and internationally bestselling author Karin Slaughter. Her newest novel, False Witness, incorporates many timely issues into its narrative. Set in Atlanta during the pandemic, Slaughter tells the story of an up-and-coming attorney in Atlanta balancing single parenting with the responsibilities of a demanding job. Meanwhile, an important...

Friday on Political Rewind: Vaccination rates in Georgia remain stubbornly low, even as the coronavirus is establishing a foothold again across the country. Hospitalizations are up in the state too, with the vast majority of patients being among the unvaccinated. What role are misinformation and partisan politics playing in the continuing spread of the virus? And how is this affecting other nation...

Thursday on Political Rewind: Speaker of the House David Ralston has unveiled a sweeping $75 million proposal to confront escalating crime, especially in metro Atlanta. The plan includes bonuses for local law enforcement officers and an increase in funding for law enforcement agencies — as well as for an expansion of mental health services. Democratic House members said they’ll work with Ralston o...

Wednesday on Political Rewind: We all know that the pandemic has had a profound impact on our buying habits — from how we shop for groceries to the services we use to stream new movies at home; from the sticker shock that awaits us as we shop for a new (or even used) car to the soaring price of houses. The travel industry is only now coming back to life. But can you feel safe booking a cruise? Fli...

Tuesday on Political Rewind: Gov. Brian Kemp says he’ll ask the General Assembly to pass laws to fight crime during a special session of the legislature later this year. The session’s primary mission will be to redraw political maps based on new census data. But Kemp has the power to add measures to combat violent crime, especially in Atlanta, to the agenda. Plus, we look at the outcome of the U.S...

Monday on Political Rewind: Sen. Amy Klobuchar is in Atlanta today to hold a field hearing on the impact of Georgia’s new election law on voters of color. As chair of the Senate Rules Committee, Klobuchar is convening the first field hearing of her group outside of Washington in decades. It’s unlikely that any Republicans on the committee will attend the hearing, which Klobuchar hopes will shine a...

Friday on Political Rewind: Access to health care is one of the more dominant theme in politics here in recent history. Medicaid expansion, private insurance and the value of Obamacare have been debated through many election cycles. Now writer Dr. Elinor Cleghorn presents us with a new and deeply troubling look at health care and medical treatment. In her new book, “Unwell Women: Misdiagnosis and...

Thursday on Political Rewind: Gov. Brian Kemp and Georgia legislators find themselves determining how to spend unexpected state revenues over the next year. Despite the pandemic, Georgia tax collections reached a record $3.2 billion in the recently ended fiscal year. How to best appropriate that surprising windfall will likely become a hot political issue in 2022's election campaigns. Cases of COV...

Wednesday on Political Rewind: In a fiery speech in Philadelphia, President Joe Biden reasserted his contention that Republican-backed election bills passed in Georgia and other states amounted to "Jim Crow 2.0." He described the fight against the laws as the most significant test of American democracy since the civil war. But some Democrats are frustrated that Biden continues to oppose ending the...