The Ron Show

The Georgia Secretary of State's "timely" rollout of a "voter cancellation portal" isn't garnering ⁠many headlines⁠ (yet) but it should send alarm bells to anyone concerned about voter disenfranchisement and hackery. Hell, it feels like a "dinner bell" to people and organizations constantly challenging voters' rights. My guest - Marilyn Marks with the ⁠Coalition for Good Governance ⁠- explains wha...

What Donald Trump and JD Vance are saying on the campaign trail or in TV interviews doesn't match what Vance, at least, is telling donors about the state of the race now that Kamala Harris is atop the Democratic Party ticket. The Washington Post obtained audio of JD telling donors they got sucker punched. Trump's ⁠complained on Truth Social ⁠the Republican Party should get reimbursed - get this -...

What's trending suddenly is the theme Democrats are hammering - that Donald Trump and JD Vance are, in a word ⁠"weird."⁠ Goodness knows they cough up all the examples to bolster the argument - and you know I've a few to share just from the weekend. ⁠New polling and favorability data⁠ is out and, to be sure, Vice President Kamala Harris has momentum - startlingly so given her prior disapproval numb...

President Joe Biden⁠ addressed the nation⁠ from the Oval Office last night, with his family literally alongside him out of camera shot, to explain why he chose to exit the 2024 Presidential race. The speech? Flawless. The execution? Nearly so, minus one thing I'd have personally enjoyed seeing from POTUS. Meanwhile, Vice President Kamala Harris has hit the ground running with pitch-perfect campaig...

Atlanta-based Delta Airlines is having a harder time than most overcoming the 'Crowdstrike' update glitch, and now the Department of Transportation wants answers after some ⁠intense passenger struggles ⁠this past week. All this has me exasperated as to why we (you and I) let ourselves get to this point. Folks are sleeping on Atlanta's airport floors - in a travel "hub" with no real meaningful rail...

What must it have been like for a Democratic Party delegate to keep a brave face outwardly while stressing the "known unknowns" internally? I spoke with Seth Taylor, a Georgia DNC delegate - proudly, he'll tell you, a delegate on the spectrum - who took the rollercoaster ride of uncertainty the past month. Hear how he weathered the debate debacle, its aftermath and the inevitable transition from "...

With Sunday afternoon's jaw-dropping announcement by President Joe Biden that he'd be bowing out of the presidential race, reporters, cable news shows and pundits (along with us podcast hosts) were scrambling for details and folks to discuss the ramifications. I had two of the best today - Melita Easters with the Georgia WIN List and Andrew Heaton of Sagamore Hill Political Consulting. Hear Melita...

When the fact-checkers use the words "remarkably long and remarkably dishonest" to describe a speech, it's not hard to figure out who gave the speech these days. We spent a week bemoaning "inflammatory rhetoric" - despite mounting evidence the 20-year would-be assassin ⁠wasn't motivated by the term "existential threat to democracy"⁠ (or anything like it) ... only to continue hearing the word "inva...

The GOP has its vice presidential nominee in JD Vance, he of the "Hillbilly Elegy" memoir and Netflix movie. It is really quizzical to note his grievances borne out in that book and film when coupled with the political party he chose to align with. I'll dive in on that, but there's a LOT of ⁠fact-checking⁠ to do, too. Chris Hayes and Lawrence O'Donnell ⁠did their part⁠, too. Meanwhile, the ⁠number...

Tuesday's RNC highlights included a small (I mean SMALL) ⁠gathering of a handful of black GOP mayors⁠ comprising the near-entirety of the Black Republican Mayors Association and an ultra-⁠cringey hip-hop video⁠ to a mostly-white arena of convention-goers. On to discuss his covering of both - and the ⁠GOP's convention in general⁠ is Atlanta Voice editor-in-chief Donnell Suggs. Then - hear me out -...

In the aftermath of the attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump, there's a push to ⁠"dial down" the rhetoric,⁠ with many on the right (falsely) pointing to the labeling of Trump as an ⁠"existential threat to democracy"⁠ as inflamed rhetoric. I call BS on that. It's a stated, verified (by action and history) fact, and any attempt to dislodge that statement from the conversation is...

So if Joe Biden's going to stay in the race, everything he does and says is going to be huper-scrutinized (not unusual, I suppose) on a level no President or presidential candidate has. The unfair part is that his opponent routinely gets away with saying the most jarring, often stupid or flat-out incoherent nonsense and we shrug because we're used to it. That's on our journalists, frankly; and if...

Rep. Alexandria Ocasi-Cortez ⁠submitted articles to impeach Supreme Court justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito⁠ - and instead of coming in with word salad in lieu of evidence, AOC brought a strong, cogent, and fact-laden missive. Take a listen. Jay Bookman joined me to discuss⁠ his latest column where he throws his full support behind Kamala Harris⁠ascending to the top of the Democratic Party...

Here's the thing about hiatuses in the modern American political era we're in ... if you're a "daily show" that centers its discussion around politics and you take a week off here or there, you're going to potentially miss some big story. Jon Stewart & 'The Daily Show' crew took last week off, and all they missed was the building anti-Joe-mentum right, center and left, so when Stewart & company re...

The Sunday talk circuit seemed to indicate not many skeptical Democrats were convinced not to be by ⁠President Biden's Friday sit-down with George Stephanopoulos⁠, but Senator ⁠Bernie Sanders seemed to have the right tone⁠ - focusing on (get this!) issues. Also, how does Bernie sound two decades younger than Joe? Yeesh. As for Joe's sit down with George, I happen to believe he missed an opportunit...

If I were a betting man (I'm not; I'm too poor), I'd wager that President Joe Biden won't be the Democratic party's nominee for President come November. Now how that happens is beyond me, but my gut tells me there's too much noise and momentum working against his steadfast resolve to stay in the race. His latest rationale - ⁠extensive early June travel and that he nearly fell asleep on the dais⁠ -...

Monday's jarring Supreme Court decision granting former President Donald Trump (and going forward, any U.S. President) was met with condemnation far and wide, and left me wondering how Republicans will sell voters on a second Trump presidency that'll see him more restrained when A. they didn't restrain him the first time and B. now he can do as he wishes with almost no repercussions to worry about...

Last week, GOP operatives set up shop in a Buckhead barber shop whose owner now insists he was unaware was for a Donald Trump photo-op (though Trump could only manage a call in to). ⁠Donnell Suggs⁠, editor in chief at the Atlanta Voice, was there and says ⁠the owner's lying. ⁠ He joins me to discuss that astroturfed event and the many and varied ways the Trump campaign is insulting black voters in...

The anticipated Presidential debate became - unfortunately - what everyone expected. President Joe Biden looked and acted his age and Donald Trump lied his ass off, and CNN's moderators were useless for fact-checking. Democratic operatives are panicked. Hell, I am, too. Alright, we'll review ⁠voter reaction⁠, a ⁠combative Kamala Harris on CNN⁠, a ⁠frank Claire McCaskill⁠, the breathless reviews an...

I said the day after he claimed the Libertarian Party's Presidential nomination that ⁠Chase Oliver⁠ is going to create a problem (another problem) for Biden/Harris in Georgia. He's from Georgia, he's pro-choice, vocal "Stop Cop City" ally, opposes the Israel war in Gaza, is for marijuana legalization ... need I say more? Don't get it twisted, though; he's very much "limited government" - something...

From the department of "we completely expected that" comes medical data that shows T⁠exas' draconian abortion ban is caused a spike in infant deaths⁠. Not exactly "pro-life" a result, is it? Even worse, it's ⁠endangering the physical and mental health of pregnant women⁠, but then that's no shock, either. New ⁠AJC/UGA presidential election polling⁠ shows a tightening of the gap between Trump and Pr...

Josh Levs, host of the 'They Stand Corrected' podcast, penned an ⁠op/ed for the AJC⁠ bemoaning what presidential debates have become as well as their worthlessness anymore to the American voter. Thought I'd take a spin through his piece and offer some thoughts. On the second anniversary of the Trump-packed Supreme Court overturning 'Roe v Wade' with the 'Dobbs' decision, ⁠Georgia WIN List ⁠executi...

Nathan Wade's still ⁠percolating his image⁠, despite being dropped from the Fulton County v Trump election interference case, and in two particular ⁠appearances⁠, including a ⁠stunningly stupid segment⁠ on 'The Daily Show,' the results were cringe-worthy. Why? Why is he doing this? ⁠Experts weigh in⁠; I did, too. There does appear, after all, to be ⁠a conviction effect on presidential polling⁠. Sa...

Coming off my little 2 1/2 day camping trip, I jumped back into the studio chair to remind myself I ought to stay off social media while I'm on vacation. Why? As a realtor, I'm always eyeing stories that impact that industry, and a ⁠WSB-TV piece by financial guru Clark Howard⁠ kinda rankled me. In it, he's sour on the latest crop of "no/low down payment" mortgage options, citing the 2008 housing c...

Today's Georgia's primary runoff date, with ⁠a smattering of races dotting metro Atlanta and the state⁠; but one Congressional runoff caught my attention - the one to determine who'll take on Marjorie Taylor Greene in GA-14. Having already ⁠spoken with Shawn Harris months ago⁠, I caught up just recently with his runoff opponent, ⁠Clarence Blalock.⁠ Blalock, to the surprise of many, finished 128 vo...