While Sonny Perdue’s bid to be the next chancellor of Georgia’s higher education system is on hold, the former GOP governor isn’t taking a break from partisan politics.
A few weeks ago, he gave Gov. Brian Kemp a boost of support at a rally near his backyard in Perry. And he’s a part of an invite we’ve obtained touting a “unique and exclusive” reception with Perdue ahead of Donald Trump’s visit to Perry this weekend.
“President Donald J. Trump has graciously allowed the party to sell VIP tickets in order to raise funds to secure and win the election in 2022,” read the invite from GOP chair David Shafer.
Donors who shell out $1,500 for individual tickets and $2,500 for couples receive reserved parking, expedited entry, food and beverage in an air-conditioned tent and private restrooms, along with a pre-rally reception with Perdue.
Perdue has jockeyed to lead the state’s higher education system, presenting himself as an experienced public leader who could bring stability and counter what he’s called a “culture revolution” at Georgia’s public colleges and universities.
The Board of Regents in June named Teresa MacCartney to lead the system, stalling Perdue’s chances to land the powerful post.
But his supporters say he still has a chance to win the job, and point to Perdue’s eight years as the state’s top executive and his leadership of the USDA, which has roughly a $140 billion-a-year budget.
The former governor’s critics worry that his appointment would politicize the post, and argue that a veteran administrator with university experience — and not an influential former politician — is needed to shepherd the system.
In August, the accrediting commission that evaluates universities sent a letter to the state Board of Regents warning the entire system could be found “out of compliance” if the process of picking the next leader is politicized.
***
Republican big wigs in Atlanta have also received an invitation for a fundraiser for Sarah Huckabee Sanders, Donald Trump’s former press secretary who is now running for the GOP nomination for governor in Arkansas.
We obtained a copy, too. Among the sponsors of the “Reception and Conversation” with Sanders are Ginny and Guy Millner, the former GOP nominee for governor, and Bill White.
White is leading the Buckhead City Committee working to split the Buckhead neighborhood away from Atlanta, but he was once a major Trump fundraiser in New York.
White was the subject of a New York Times profile in 2018 as he prepared to throw a $5 million fundraiser for then-President Donald Trump’s campaign. Before his foray in Trumpland, the Times notes White once hosted a high-dollar fundraiser for Barack Obama and supported Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign.
For $5,600, donors Tuesday night will get a seat at the “Host Roundtable” and access to a “VIP photo opportunity” and a reception with Sanders.
UPDATE: White told the AJC he worked with Huckabee on veterans issues when she was White House press secretary.
“The work we did on choice of outside doctors care to reduce the deadly backlog at the VA was groundbreaking and without her it would have never happened,” he said in a text.
***
Sec. of State Brad Raffensperger appeared on CNN Wednesday morning. He talked about his book, “Integrity Counts,” and responded to questions about a letter former President Donald Trump sent him last week.
In the letter, Trump demanded that Raff decertify the results of the Georgia election that Joe Biden won, and “announce the true winner.”
Said Raff Wednesday morning, “I look at his letter as a plea for attention...The fact is that President Trump did not carry the state of Georgia.”
***
National Republicans have been hammering U.S. Rep. Carolyn Bourdeaux with ads, billboards, and a gag gift sent to her office to call her “Nancy Pelosi’s doormat.”
The attacks are timed to pressure Bourdeaux on the $1.2 trillion infrastructure package and $3.5 trillion reconciliation bill that some Democrats are trying to tie together for passage.
Bordeaux joined a small band of centrists who publicly called on Pelosi to separate the two measures and demanded a date-certain for a vote on the road-and-bridges bills alone. The bills could bring billions of dollars of federal spending to Georgia, but internal wrangling among Democrats threatens to derail them both.
The National Republican Congressional Committee launched a major ad buy last week, including one against Bourdeaux that was picked up by national media. It asked, “What’s the difference between Nancy Pelosi’s doormat and Carolyn Bourdeaux? Nothing.”
But progressives aren’t leaving the Suwannee Democrat alone, either.
Two billboards in her district from the left-leaning Economic Security Project Action are calling on the congresswoman to vote for the child tax credit built into the Democrats’ larger package.
Above and beyond the individual votes, the money and effort the GOP is spending against Bourdeaux isn’t matched by what they’re spending against her Democratic neighbor, Lucy McBath, next door in the 6th Congressional District.
Although McBath has at least five GOP challengers for 2022 and Bourdeaux has just one, the resources national Republicans are throwing toward the 7th Congressional District, while largely ignoring the 6th, may tell us where Republicans think their best chances to flip a seat really lie, especially once lines are redrawn by state Republicans in redistricting.
***
Georgia Congressman Hank Johnson is siding with progressive Democrats who have pledged to tank the $1.2 billion bipartisan infrastructure bill if it comes up for a vote in the House before the Senate signs off on the $3.5 trillion social services and climate change package.
“We don’t have time for strategic pause on women & families or on climate & equity. That’s why the Senate should send the Build Back Better with Women budget bill to the House before the House votes to pass the Senate’s hard infrastructure bill,” the Lithonia Democrat said in a pair of Tuesday night tweets.
“If that does not happen I will vote NO on the Senate bill. It is the only leverage we have to force the Senate to deliver the Biden Build Back Better agenda.”
If that does not happen I will vote NO on the Senate bill. It is the only leverage we have to force the Senate to deliver the Biden Build Back Better agenda.
— Rep. Hank Johnson (@RepHankJohnson) September 21, 2021
That puts Johnson in opposition to House moderates, including Georgia’s Carolyn Bourdeaux, who threatened to hold up progress on the larger package unless there was an immediate vote on the infrastructure deal.
And it creates a huge hurdle for House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. She cut a deal with the Bourdeaux group last month promising to bring the infrastructure bill to the floor for a vote by next Monday, Sept. 27, no matter what.
The $3.5 trillion package is still being drafted, and a final Senate vote is nearly impossible by that deadline. Pelosi will have to call someone’s bluff, but that is a risk all by itself.
House Democrats hold a slim majority, so defections from either wing of the party line could derail both packages-- unless Republicans step in to help.
***
Days after Gov. Brian Kemp wrongly referred to a nonexistent “AIDS vaccine,” during remarks about COVID vaccinations, top state Democrats held a virtual press conference pummeling him for the false statement.
“We need a governor who understands the critical importance of public health and accurate information,” said state Rep. Matthew Wilson, a candidate for insurance commissioner, who joined others calling for Medicaid expansion.
The governor’s office said Kemp, who incorrectly referred to the vaccine at least three times in public remarks, intended to say “HPV vaccine” while talking about opposition to vaccine mandates. Some public health experts say an effort to require some young girls receive the vaccine backfired in the mid 2010s.
A vaccine for HIV/ AIDS has never been developed.
We asked state Rep. Jasmine Clark, a microbiologist, why she said Kemp’s false statement could lead to “dangerous” outcomes.
“You don’t have a slip of the tongue in three separate interviews on three separate occasions. This was deliberate,” she said.
“When you flippantly make up things and use them to justify why we can’t take steps to contain the pandemic, you undermine public health efforts.”
***
When Republican Senate candidate Herschel Walker’s wife was cleared of violations involving her voting history, his campaign said that he’s been “traveling across the state connecting with Georgians.”
Which surprised us, since his first major campaign event is set to be this weekend at the rally with former President Donald Trump.
But apparently Walker has been on a low-key listening tour across the state. His aides said the former football player was in Forsyth and Macon on Monday for a law enforcement briefing and a visit to a technical college.
On Tuesday, Walker was in Savannah for a meeting with local business owners and a visit to a nonprofit.
***
By a party-line vote of 220-211, the U.S. House signed off on a bill that keeps the government funded through December and avoids a shutdown at the end of the month. That same bill, H.R. 5305, also includes a suspension of the national debt ceiling through late 2022, $6.3 billion for Afghan resettlements and $28.6 billion in disaster relief aid for states.
“The ag disaster assistance contained in the continuing resolution is absolutely critical to helping producers impacted by the devastating weather we’ve seen this year and last,” Agriculture Committee Chairman David Scott, an Atlanta Democrat, said after the vote.
Every Republican voted against the measure, and one of the main criticisms last night pointed to Democrats’ 11th-hour decision to remove funding for Israel’s Iron Dome defense system from the bill. Conservatives were likely to vote against the legislation either way, of course. And House Democrats said they will bring the Iron Dome funding back in a standalone bill later this week.
The Senate is likely to take up the funding extension later this week, but GOP Leader Mitch McConnell has proposed competing legislation that funds the government through early December. The GOP offer would include the Iron Dome money, along with much smaller allocations for disaster relief ($10.6 billion) and Afghan evacuees ($2.2 billion).
***
Wade Herring, a Democrat running against U.S. Rep. Buddy Carter in the 1st Congressional District, announced a slew of local endorsements Tuesday in his bid to knock off the Pooler Republican, including former Savannah mayor Otis Johnson.
Also among those backing Herring’s bid are state Rep. Al Williams, state Rep. Derek Mallow, former Hinesville mayor Jim Thomas, and former Savannah city manager Pat Monahan.
***
POSTED: A complaint from an attorney representing reality TV stars led to an investigation that uncovered financial improprieties at the state Department of Revenue, the AJC’s Bill Rankin and Chris Joyner report. That investigation also built on earlier findings from reporting in the AJC and on Channel 2 Action News.
The AJC and Channel 2 investigations led Revenue to end its practice of keeping seized cash and assets and return $2.1 million of that money to the state treasury, where it should have gone in the first place. The Inspector General's investigation began after it received complaints from a lawyer representing reality show personalities Todd and Julie Chrisley, the report noted.
The spending by Revenue's investigation division was “clearly wasteful" and “gave the appearance of extravagance," the report found. It noted that some of the substantiated allegations against Josh Waites, who once headed the division, have been forwarded to the State Attorney General for possible criminal prosecution.
***
In more endorsement news, the entire five-member Public Service Commission is backing Gov. Brian Kemp’s bid for a second term.
Commissioners Tim Echols, Fitz Johnson, Bubba McDonald, Tricia Pridemore and Jason Shaw each touted Kemp’s conservative record. The show of support is no surprise: All are Republicans and Johnson was recently appointed by Kemp to a vacant post on the energy regulating panel.
***
As always, Jolt readers are some of our favorite tipsters. Send your best scoop, gossip and insider info to patricia.murphy@ajc.com, tia.mitchell@ajc.com and greg.bluestein@ajc.com.
