Political Rewind: Push to get voting rights measure to Senate floor; Kemp heads to Vegas

The U.S. Capitol dome is seen in Washington, Friday, Jan. 14, 2022. Credit: Carolyn Kaster, AP

The Panel:

Dr. Adrienne Jones — Political science professor, Morehouse College

Greg Bluestein — Politics reporter, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Dr. Heather Farley — Chair, Department of criminal justice, public policy and management, College of Coastal Georgia

Dr. Karen Owen — Political science professor, University of West Georgia

The Breakdown:

1. Senate Democrats are pushing to get federal voting rights bills to the floor for debate.

• The Senate has skipped a planned recess to pass the measures this week. But it is unlikely Democrats will be able to muster support from Republicans to overcome a filibuster.
  • Democrats also lack the support of Sens. Krysten Sinema, of Arizona, and Joe Manchin, of West Virginia, to change Senate rules regarding the filibuster and bring legislation to a vote. 
• The John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act would require states to get preclearance from the Department of Justice for any changes to voting laws. 
• The other piece of legislation, The Freedom to Vote Act, is a more sweeping measure. Most notably, the bill would make Election Day a holiday.

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2. Gov. Brian Kemp and former U.S. Sen. David Perdue fight over fundraising. 

• Earlier this month, gubernatorial challenger Perdue filed a lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of a state law passed in 2021 that gives Kemp's reelection campaign a financial leg up as an incumbent.
• Now, Kemp's filed an ethics complaint against Perdue's campaign, accusing it of collaborating illegally with a fundraising committee.
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3. Kemp will travel to Las Vegas to headline national gun convention.

• In this fierce Republican primary, Kemp has also promised to push permitless carry through the legislature this session.

• Meanwhile, the TSA reports a record number of confiscated guns from at Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport in 2021.

4. Rivian revs up in Georgia, but is a big bet on the electronic carmaker's future.

• The Wall Street Journal reported the company as the third largest manufacturer in the world, behind Tesla and Toyota.
• Rivian announced it would build its second manufacturing site in the Peach State last month. The deal could bring 7,500 jobs to the state, and makes it the largest financial undertaking of its kind.
• But with no cars yet on the road, will Rivian be the success story that state officials hope?

5. The family of Ahmaud Arbery rejects plea deal in federal hate crime trial.

• Ahmaud Arbery’s mother, Wanda Cooper-Jones, rejected a Justice Department proposed plea deal over the federal hate crimes charges her son’s killers are facing. She told CBS News that the federal trial is as important as the state murder trial.
• Gregory and Travis McMichael have been sentenced to 30 years in prison with no chance for parole, while William "Roddy" Bryan will have the chance to be paroled at the end of his 30-year sentence.
• Unlike the upcoming federal trial, none of the charges in the state case formally accused the three white men of targeting Arbery because of his race.

Tomorrow on Political Rewind: 

GPB's Riley Bunch and Margaret Coker of The Current join our panel.

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