Politically Georgia

On today's episode of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution's Politically Georgia podcast, hosts Greg Bluestein, Patricia Murphy, Tia Mitchell, and Bill Nigut take the show to the Capitol Theatre in Macon where they talk to University System of Georgia Chancellor Sonny Perdue about recent protests at the University of Georgia. But first, the hosts welcomed Macon Mayor Lester Miller and Mayor Pro Tem Se...

The state’s Republican Party begins its two-day annual convention in Columbus on Friday. With Donald Trump’s allies now in control of the state Republican party, Governor Kemp and other mainstream leaders will once again steer clear of the gathering. On today’s episode of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution’s Politically Georgia podcast, hosts Patricia Murphy, Greg Bluestein and Bill Nigut welcome Co...

On today’s episode of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution’s Politically Georgia podcast, hosts Bill Nigut and Tia Mitchell are joined by Paige Alexander, CEO of the Carter Center, who says former President Jimmy Carter is “at home, enjoying peanut butter ice cream and getting the food he wants any time he wants it.”   Alexander also reveals that the Carter Center continues to have quiet conversations...

On today’s episode of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution’s Politically Georgia podcast, Georgia GOP Chairman Josh McKoon tells hosts Greg Bluestein, Patricia Murphy and Bill Nigut abortion won’t play a significant role in the 2024 presidential race. He also commented on his hopes for the Republican party to move forward at the upcoming state party convention in Columbus.     MSNBC commentator and Mo...

A federal court will decide whether State Supreme Court candidate John Barrow can build his campaign around his pledge to preserve the right to abortion for women in Georgia. On today’s episode of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution’s Politically Georgia podcast, hosts Bill Nigut and Tia Mitchell are joined by former Georgia Attorney General Sam Olens and DeKalb CEO Michael Thurmond dive deeper into...

Coastal Congressman Buddy Carter joined the show to talk about the latest chaos in Congress. Rep. Carter, R-St. Simons Island, said he thought Marjorie Taylor Greene’s motion to oust Speaker Johnson was a bad idea. The Congressman also talked about his efforts to get Georgia’s first national park.   Then, Semafor reporter Kadia Goba talks to us about a series of controversial tweets from Mike Coll...

Tia Mitchell reports from Washington on the stinging defeat for U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, when her own GOP colleagues and substantial numbers of Democrats voted down her effort to remove Mike Johnson as speaker of the House.  But first, Democratic state Sen. Harold Jones talks about the Republican-led Senate committee empaneled to investigate Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis’ co...

First up, the view from both sides of the political aisle: Democratic National Convention delegate Wendy Davis of Rome and Republican consultant and CNN analyst Alice Stewart look at U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene’s off and on again efforts to remove the speaker of the U.S. House from office. Has she lost relevance on Capitol Hill?     Then, they discuss the impact President Joe Biden’s staunch...

Former Georgia Lt. Gov. Geoff Duncan was once a rising star in Republican politics. Now, he’s one of the most prominent critics of former President Donald Trump within his own party. Duncan joined "Politically Georgia" today to discuss why he’s urging other conservatives to vote for President Joe Biden.      Then the hosts welcome Democrat and Mableton Mayor Michael Owens and Cobb County Republica...

The podcast welcomes the Georgia ACLU's executive director, Andrea Young, who shares her thoughts about the protests playing out on college campuses in Georgia and beyond. Young believes police should only be called in as a last resort.     She goes on to discuss the ACLU’s concerns about a major piece of legislation Gov. Brian Kemp has now signed: the expansion of crimes now requiring cash bail,...

As pro-Palestinian demonstrations roil several Georgia college campuses, including confrontations with police at two and a number of arrests, the podcast today welcomes four Atlanta-area students to get their perspective on what’s happening at schools in the state and beyond. The students are: • Braxton Broady, who attends Morehouse College, where tension already exists over the school's invitatio...

State Rep. Ruwa Romman, the Georgia Legislature’s only Palestinian American lawmaker, weighs in on recent protests on college campuses over the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza. Romman has spoken out about the arrests of several demonstrators on Emory University’s campus. Speaking to the hosts of “Politically Georgia,” she said, “We owe it to students to teach them, not repress them.”     But first up, fo...

The podcast welcomes Dov Wilker, Southern regional director of the American Jewish Committee, who responds to student demonstrations taking place on campuses in Georgia and across the country.     Wilker says the protests are not “pro-Palestinian” but rather “anti-Israel,” and he says Israel’s response to the barbaric attacks by Hamas militants on Oct. 7 is appropriate to assure the country is saf...

First up, the hosts welcome Republican consultant Brian Robinson to discuss how the widespread pro-Palestinian protests on campuses in Georgia and across the country may be making an impact on voters in this election year.     Then, AJC Athens bureau chief Fletcher Page gives the panel a close-up look at the anti-Israel protests that have taken place at the University of Georgia over the past two...

On today's edition of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution's Politically Georgia podcast, hosts Tia Mitchell and Bill Nigut are joined by Morehouse College Provost Dr. Kendrick Brown to discuss how the school plans to handle possible protests over the Israel-Hamas war and prepare students for President Joe Biden’s visit to the campus when he gives the commencement speech in mid-May.      Then, Carlos...

Former U.S. Rep. Carolyn Bourdeaux told the Politically Georgia podcast that the Israel-Hamas war poses a dire threat to President Joe Biden’s reelection bid.  The Democrat, who represented a Gwinnett-based district for a term in Congress, said Democrats shouldn’t underestimate the deep divide in the party over the White House’s handling of the conflict.  She called it a potential “dagger at the h...

Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis has more company in her pursuit of election interference charges against former President Donald Trump’s allies. Prosecutors in Arizona brought charges Wednesday against GOP electors deployed by the Trump campaign after Joe Biden’s victory in the 2020 presidential election.  But first, a number of Georgia incumbents have apparently rejected invitations t...

Veteran political consultant Rick Dent weighs in on President Joe Biden’s upcoming graduation speech at Morehouse College. Biden’s visit is aimed at bolstering Black voters, but could it be overshadowed by protesters opposed to his support for Israel? The hosts look at potential disruptions that could cause trouble on campus.     But first, AJC columnist Maureen Downey joins us after Gov. Brian Ke...

Democratic state Rep. Scott Holcomb joins the podcast first to offer an emotional perspective on the Legislature’s failure to pass his Wrongful Conviction Compensation Act, which would provide those whose convictions are overturned with state financial aid to build a new life.  And Holcomb responds to Gov. Brian Kemp’s declaration on our show that he will never support a full expansion of Medicaid...

It will be a big week for news about former President Donald Trump. As his hush money trial begins in earnest today in a Manhattan courtroom, the podcast welcomes Anthony Michael Kreis to discuss what to expect from both prosecutors and defense attorneys. Who will be the first witnesses for the prosecution? How will Trump's lawyers counter testimony from his former lawyer Michael Cohen. Kreis also...

On today’s edition of “Politically Georgia,” the hosts travel to Athens, where they tape a live show on the University of Georgia’s campus.   First, the crew sits down with Gov. Brian Kemp for a wide-ranging interview about what bills he’ll sign following the legislative session that ended last month, the Okefenokee Swamp and who he’ll vote for come November.    Then, the hosts answer questions fr...

The podcast welcomes state Rep. Michelle Au, a physician and advocate for women’s health issues. Au is in the forefront of advocating for reproductive freedom for women and access to IVF in the aftermath of the Alabama Supreme Court decision declaring that in vitro frozen embryos are living beings.  Then, Cole Muzio, president of the conservative Frontline Policy Alliance , discusses the issues hi...

The hosts discuss growing anger among Georgia members of Congress over the U.S. Postal Service’s inability to solve serious delays in mail delivery in metro Atlanta. It’s part of a larger national problem.     But first, the podcast welcomes former Georgia Republican Congressman Tom Graves, who served in the U.S. House for a decade before retiring in 2020. The hosts ask him for his observations ab...

The podcast welcomes Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr. The hosts ask Carr why he joined other Republican attorneys general in signing on to a multistate lawsuit challenging President Joe Biden’s new student loan forgiveness plan. He said the matter should be up to Congress to decide.     Carr also told the hosts that the state has looked into whether charges should be brought against any indivi...

The podcast welcomes Michael Thurmond, Eric Tanenblatt and Kerwin Swint to discuss the first-ever criminal trial of a former U.S. president as Donald Trump's New York City hush money trial gets underway with jury selection today. They look at whether that trial could have an impact on the Georgia election conspiracy case, in which Trump and 14 other defendants are charged with illegal efforts to o...