ATLANTA — The 2014 legislative session that ended Thursday night has now become campaign fodder.
The Republicans in charge began tapping that vein immediately.
House Speaker David Ralston laid out the script for his colleagues in talking to reporters moments after the final gavel fell.
“We are looking forward to building more jobs in Georgia. We are putting money back in our part of the port of Savannah, unlike the federal government, because we want to put Georgians to work. We put money into public education, the biggest investment we’ve made in years. We invested in higher education so that these kids will have outstanding universities and technical colleges to go to,” he said.
“I think (the average Georgian) would be very proud of that.”
Gov. Nathan Deal has been saying essentially the same thing all week.
The budget had more pork-barrel items this year because of the economy’s gradual improvement, providing many bragging points for lawmakers about money for a college here or a library there.
Interestingly, the chairman of the House budget-writing committee choose another issue as the highlight of the session.
“I think the Second Amendment bill we did is going to be one that allows Georgians to exercise their rights that are guaranteed under the Constitution of the U.S., and I think they’ll be glad we did it,” said Rep. Terry England, R-Auburn.
The legislation expanding the places holders of concealed-weapons permits can take firearms is sure to be discussed in campaigns across the state. Liberals and conservatives clashed over the proposal for two years until its passage on the final night.
Liberals argue that ready access to guns leads to more deaths. Conservatives, noting that the U.S. Constitution ensures a right to gun ownership, say people should be allowed to protect themselves if they feel threatened.
Deal will almost certainly sign the bill into law, but his Democratic challenger, Sen. Jason Carter of Atlanta, won’t be using it against him since he voted for it. That is fortunate for both men.
Polls show a majority of Georgians opposed the bill, or at least they did early in the session when it had slightly different provisions. Deal could have lost votes by signing it.
So why is Carter passing up this opportunity? Probably to protect himself against charges of being too liberal.
However, Carter voted against requiring drug tests of applicants for welfare and food stamps whom social workers suspect of being intoxicated, something else Deal will have to consider signing.
“What on earth equips me as a caseworker to know if someone is suspicious?” asked Sen. Nan Orrock, D-Atlanta, during the Senate debate. Besides, she notes, anyone poor enough to seek welfare won’t be able to afford the drug test in the first place, even if the state reimburses those coming back negative.
But Ralston has the rationale conservative candidates, including Deal, are likely to use in their speeches.
“The bottom line is we passed a bill that simply insists on some level of personal responsibility of people who receive public funds for their support and livelihood,” he said. “I don’t think it’s asking too much to insist that they don’t use those funds to buy and use drugs.”
Republicans will also trumpet their efforts to limit future tax increases with an amendment to the state constitution for voters to weigh, one that could bring more of their base to the polls. A companion amendment to cap the sales tax never got out of committee.
“We put the income-tax cap on the ballot for this fall. I think that’s a great initiative in moving our state forward and reducing our state income tax eventually,” said Sen. Tyler Harper, R-Ocilla.
Carter just didn’t vote on that one either way.
Perhaps the legislation Republicans think will be their most potent campaign tool was a pair of bills targeting Obamacare, the unpopular federal health reform law. One takes from the governor the ability to expand Medicaid to take advantage of Obamacare’s increased share of the costs, a concept Carter vocally opposed. The other was a symbolic prohibition on state involvement with helping to implement the federal law, and Carter voted against it.
Carrying the opposition from the legislative halls to the campaign are several tea-party groups, such as Americans for Prosperity Georgia.
“This was a full-court press to keep the pressure on, and our activists are committed to re-doubling our efforts to do even more moving forward,” said AFP Grassroots Coordinator Joel Aaron Foster.
Since Carter doesn’t have a primary opponent like Deal does, he has the luxury of running toward the middle as he did on the gun vote. But he handed Republicans ammunition to use against him with the Obamacare votes.
Carter could have easily resigned his seat in January in order to get out from under the fundraising prohibition on state officeholders. As it was, invitations to a New York fundraiser he is holding with his grandfather the ex-president were mailed before the session ended, opening him to GOP charges of an ethics violation.
Carter obviously figured he could raise money while Deal is spending his in the primary and that by remaining in the Senate he would have a forum for looking gubernatorial while offering a counterweight to Deal. He did that by delivering the Democratic response to Deal’s State of the State Address and special-order speeches in the Senate about the governor’s mishandling of Atlanta’s January snowstorm.
The consensus of political consultants questioned was that the session gave neither party a significant tactical edge. But that doesn’t mean candidates won’t be trying to mine the votes and speeches for all they can get.
Walter Jones is the Atlanta bureau chief of Morris News and has been covering Georgia politics since 1998. Follow him on Twitter @MorrisNews and Facebook or contact him at walter.jones@morris.com and (404) 589-8424.
