Georgia Politics, Campaigns, and Elections for July 16, 2015

On July 16, 1790, Congress declared Washington, DC the new capital city.

Georgia Congressman Carl Vinson set a new record for longevity in office on July 16, 1963, having served 48 years, 8 months, and 12 days since his election in 1914. Vinson’s record held until 1992 and his tenure is now sixth-longest.

On July 16, 1914, Asa Griggs Candler, retired President of Coca-Cola, wrote his brother Warren, who was a Bishop in the Methodist Episcopal Church, a letter offering one million dollars and 72 acres of land in Atlanta for the church to establish a new university in the East.

The United States performed the first test of an atomic bomb on July 16, 1945 at the Trinity site in New Mexico.

Dr. J. Robert Oppenheimer, director of the project, watched the mushroom cloud rise into the New Mexico sky. “Now I am become death, destroyer of worlds,” he uttered, reciting a passage from an ancient Hindu text.

Georgia Politics

Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker was in Atlanta twice yesterday. The first time when he and his family and entourage missed their connecting flight from Atlanta to Charleston. When that happened, they rented cars and drove to North Charleston, SC for an 8 AM event, and then spent the day traveling back toward Atlanta with stops in Lexington and Mauldin, SC.

The Walker itinerary shows how Georgia and the Southeast are gaining clout in the Republican Presidential campaign due to the SEC Primary.

Along with tour stops in the first four Primary and Caucus states of Iowa, New Hampshire, South Carolina, and Nevada came Georgia, the only stop that wasn’t in one of those traditional early states.

Of course the fact that he had to go through Atlanta to get to-and-from Charleston probably helped, but Walker discussed how Atlanta and the SEC Primary figure into his strategy. The quoted text begins at about 2:30 in the video.

I want to begin by stressing how important Georgia is.

You see, we didn’t just come here by accident. You know, the other states you hear about nationally, you hear about Iowa the first primary, you hear about New Hampshire, you hear about South Carolina and Nevada now.

But with March First, being not long after those first four states, we think that the March First primaries, the SEC Primaries, if you will, are going to be incredibly important, and we feel we can do well.

In fact, a few weeks back, beginning of last month, we were here on our way to an event we were doing for Governor Rick Scott in Florida, and we just at the last minute put together a stop here in Georgia, and we thought maybe having 25, 30 people, and we ended up having about four times that. The group that came at the last second, we had a wonderful group of lawmakers, we had folks from all over the state, and I think that’s a sign that there’s a real hunger here in Georgia, and Georgia’s going to make a difference.

And so, get used to seeing us, because we’re going to be back here, not just in Atlanta, but across the state.

The AJC’s Greg Bluestein keyed in on comments Walker made about Iran.

Wisconsin Scott Walker declared his opposition to the nuclear arms deal with Iran in a campaign stop in Atlanta Wednesday, days after he formally announced his bid for the presidency.

The Republican said he would “without hesitation seek to terminate the deal” if elected, and added that he would ask Congress to enact even more crippling economic sanctions.

“I remember tying ribbons in the front of our house for the hostages,” he said, invoking the 444-day hostage crisis that ended in 1981. “For all practical purposes, not a whole lot has changed in Iran. This is not a place we should be doing business with.”

The foreign policy section begins at about 16:30 into the speech. Notable is that line about tying yellow ribbons onto trees for the American hostages tied into Iran. If you’re my age, and I happen to be about four years younger than Walker, that brings back vivid memories of my childhood. He used that line in his Atlanta appearance last month, so it’s not a new addition. But it powerfully ties Walker to my generation of voters, which with Walker and Ted Cruz both in their 40s, is seeing people like ourselves on the podium as serious Presidential contenders for the first time in our lives.

Also attending last night’s event, which was first and foremost a fundraiser, was a gaggle of reporters. This is in marked contrast to other campaigns, like Hillary Clinton, where all reporters got to see of her Atlanta fundraiser was a beautiful Buckhead driveway and a well-manicured front lawn.

Speaking of Hillary Clinton’s Atlanta fundraising, the AJC Political Insider has a profile on her money bundlers here.

Hillary Clinton on Wednesday put out a list of her bundlers, donors who helped raise at least $100,000 for her campaign, three of whom are from Atlanta.

The list is headlined by Gordon Giffin, U.S. ambassador to Canada under Bill Clinton and a longtime fixture in Georgia Democratic politics. Giffin, a close ally of former Sen. Sam Nunn was co-chair of Michelle Nunn’s U.S. Senate candidacy last year.

Pinney Allen, a board member of the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, is a former head of the Atlanta Girls School and partner at Alston and Bird. She’s a longtime big donor to Democratic candidates and causes.

Daniel Halpern, CEO of Jackmont Hospitality, was a co-chair of Kasim Reed’s 2009 mayoral bid and an ally of Maynard Jackson before that. Reed appointed him chairman of the Atlanta Housing Authority board.

Jeb Bush and Scott Walker plan to disclose their bundlers, while Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio will not, CNN reported.

Events of Note

Next Wednesday, July 22, 2015 at 1 PM in the Georgia State Capitol, a ceremony will be held to commemorate the life of longtime Atlanta radio voice and Great Georgian Captain Herb Emory, and naming the new flyover ramp on I-285 at Georgia 400 the “Captain Herb Emory Flyover Ramp.”

Tonight, at Fado in Buckhead, United States Senators Johnny Isakson and David Perdue will be headlining a fundraiser for Meagan Hanson, the leading candidate for Chair of the Young Republicans National Federation. I personally guarantee you’ll have a good time there.