The Ron Show

Also, why are Georgians pessimistic about the future? Could it be that the GOP's created a miserable 'current' for the middle class?Thank goodness there's still remnants of sanity in our legal system despite the flood of Trump-appointed ne'er do-wells. The latest Trump administration judicial loss being the rebuff of the Trump Department of Justice having access to sensitive voter data like your social security number, date of birth, drivers license number. Why would they need that, anyway?Also, why's the FBI taken longer than nine months to possess Fulton County 2020 ballots to still have nothing to show for it?As Jay Bookman writes, a Trump-coerced investigation into 'widespread voter fraud' found three cases in Georgia since 2008. Three. That's one-third as many times as a former Georgia Republican vice-chair voted illegally. =+=+=+=I've long said Democrats have gotten away from Kennedy-era aspirational projections, and with five decades of GOP-led scare tactics rattling their base over nefarious non-white folks of various types and the doom their presence in the U.S. will surely bring, Americans haven't had much to feel optimistic about from its elected leadership. In Georgia, a recent poll shows most Georgians are pessimistic about their kids having a better life than their own. Yikes. Most of those polled want life-improving programs like access to quality childcare - aka "socialism." Also, at some point, the party in charge of all branches of federal governance and, here in Georgia, have long had unfettered control ot state government, should bear at least SOME responsibility for this, right? Then there's the state ranking near the bottom in worker rights. The (ahem) "number one state to do business" is one of the worst states to be a worker.

PLUS: Where's Geoff, Mike and ... Stacey?Former Biden DOJ special prosecutor Jack Smith was made to testify under oath before a Senate Judiciary committee hearing, and Missouri Senator Eric Schmitt (R) "outed" Smith ... as a Caitlin Clark fan ... while trying to "gotcha" Jack into confessing he'd been to Atlanta - because he was at a Hawks/Warriors game on February 3, 2024, which surely meant he met with Fulton DA Fani Willis (and maybe Nathan Wade, too!) Right? RIGHT?!?In subpoenaed text messages, Smith's staffers discussed Jack being it a HAWKEYES game - as in Iowa - when they played at Maryland. Remember how big a deal it was to see Caitlin Clark and Iowa back then? Hell, it still is a big draw in the WNBA.That Jack Smith - a straight white male without a daughter on the court - might have attended THAT basketball game never entered Senator Schmitt's mind, nor did it occur to any of his staffers, because as much as they'd have you believe they're here to "protect" women's sports, women's sports isn't actually top-of-mind for them.Pretty telling in and of itself; except after Senator Amy Klobuchar exposed the gaffe, Schmitt fled the room to a safe space - The Charlie Kirk Show - where the host gave him a virtual high-five for that "gotcha" that wasn't. Schmitt didn't correct anyone then, nor did he come clean when cornered on the streets by TMZ/DC or on a remote appearance back to his home state of Missouri for a St. Louis FOX-TV affiliate. Nope. Confess no mistake. Make no apology for insisting Smith had perjured himself or calling the witness a 'dirtbag.' Just remain 'eyes forward' and if the questions get uncomfortable, pivot the conversation to whatever "whatabout" comes to mind first. If yesterday's snapshot into the mindset of the modern GOP in its "MAGA" era doesn't properly encapsulate their movement, it's on a long(er and growing) list of prime examples, at the very least.=+=+=+=Hey, so I've made it no secret I'm disappointed in the Georgia Democratic gubernatorial field (save for Rep. Ruwa Romman, running for state Senate and thus busy with her own race, and former state Senator Jason Esteves) not continuing to work for the party to win that office they themselves coveted. Seems their goals were more personal than ideological, then, no? As for Esteves, he'd be forgiven for wanting to mourn the loss of his mother or be home with his wife and kids after months on the road campaigning. Instead, he's doing more than Geoff Duncan, Mike Thurmond or ...... former Georgia Democratic gubernatorial nominee Stacey Abrams. She's spent more time in Alabama working for that state's Democratic gubernatorial nominee than for the one in her home state.Stacey, your home village needs you, because "it takes a village" - a coalition - for Democrats to win the governor's mansion back.

Georgia Humanities' President Mary McCartin Wearn wrote a salient op-ed for the Atlanta Journal Constitution that fills in a lot of gaps in Rick Jackson's made-for-TV (ads) autobiography. From Team Jackson, you'd believe, he singularly overcame his broken family, alcoholic mother, being a foster child and living in Techwood Homes, without much mention of (as the AJC detailed in a 2015 biography of Jackson) the disabled uncle (on public assistance) that aided the young Rick's pathway to safety or the foster parents (surely with state foster system funds to assist) there for him or that - yeah - he lived at Techwood Homes, but that it was public housing (pre-dating integration, so it was all-white). For Rick, "it took a village." You wouldn't come away with that impression from his splashy TV ads, though. Yet I have to wonder: if any of the young people featured as beneficiaries of his benevolence later ran for office and touted themselves in the same manner (and left him out of the TV ads), would he not take umbrage?=+=+=+=Meanwhile, Rick's opponent - former Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms - is having to find some media space with a big marketing deficit (and precious little air time to even buy up) so she sat for interviews with Major Garrett on CBS News' 'Takeout' and with WXIA-TV (11 Alive) and journalist Zack Merchant to provide context for her years as mayor.

If you're like many Americans who spend the weekend absorbing football games on Saturday and Sunday, it was awful hard to miss that spray-tanned, purse-lipped face that won't let us escape his orbit anytime soon. Between his appearing at half the Texas-Tennessee college game Saturday (wreaking havoc on the coaches' communication equipment) to the Air Force One flyover at halftime (seriously?) to - get this - taxpayer funded TV commercials touting Donald Trump's perceived accomplishments and aspirations, the man was everywhere. Which begs the question: why are we allowing our taxpayer dollars to be used to recycle (literally!) Trump campaign ads? For a party that's beat the drum ginning up fear of fascism and state-run media, the silence from Republicans is deafening on this and the rollout of "Trump TV" from the White House, no?=+=+=+=Then there's the "narrative-to-nothing" trajectory of the Trump administration's assertion that non-citizen voting is worthy of tens of millions of taxpayer dollars in investigation - and maybe even armed ICE agents at polling places - that's become much ado about nothing in swing states like Nevada and yes, in Georgia, where they found three. Not three thousand or three hundred; just three. All that after salivating over the prospect of eliminating non-English ballots in the state. They're telegraphing to us all what their strategy is: it's just falling flat. But wait - there's more (waste): we already knew of ICE/DHS splurging on detention facilities because they over-spent in nearby Social Circle, but a GAO study found taxpayer dollars wasted throughout the country by ICE, and it leaves me wondering "where's 'Big Balls' and his DOGE cronies?"=+=+=+=As an aside, how hilarious is it to have Fox News, MAGA and Trump fearmonger us about cOmMuNiSm and sOcIaLiSm while they skip work to go to a White House gala for China's President?

Upon review of my upbringing - between my Mom's almost all-black female staff of co-workers (who'd often babysit my sister and I) and some of my earliest educators in elementary school, to my college (and still) bestie Sonya - I've been influenced by African-American in ways that I have to conclude shaped my civil rights, political and sociological views over time.I'm not saying that makes me better than the white male conservative counterparts I grew up alongside, but I'm not one for bedwetting over my beloved home state being led by black women, either.The historic opportunity this election year presents Georgians isn't lost on Dr. Karri Bryant, either. The author, entrepreneur and pastor at New Birth Missionary Baptist Church in Stonecrest opines that Georgians need to recognize the leadership women have been providing all along and to embrace the space for it to thrive. Feels worthy of a deep dive, so I climbed up the diving board and jumped right in.Then, I shared some Georgia Democratic Party convention speeches from many of the slate of black women running for statewide office here in Georgia.

It's a plan that worked for Donald Trump in 2024: when faced with the prospect of getting his debate clock cleaned by a more veteran politician (who I suppose just happens to be a black woman), Rick Jackson is making history in ditching debate after debate. Jackson said 'no' to WXIA-TV/Tegna, was a no-show at a Macon debate, and has now stiff-armed the Atlanta Press Club's debate series - a 32-year first for Georgia's gubernatorial race.=+=+=+=Meanwhile, it's somewhat flown under the radar that the GOP nominee for governor and the state's GOP chairman, Josh McKoon, hadn't so much as shared a lunch since Jackson became the nominee. Is McKoon tight with Burt Jones, the outgoing lieutenant governor Rick ambushed with attacks during the primary? Maybe now that they're - I guess - working together to win in November, Josh could help 'slick Rick' sharpen up his housing affordability policy position and square it with his past where - as the affluent owner of a sprawling estate with the 82-room mansion - he fought affordable housing being built anywhere near his estate.

Cathy Woolard is someone I've long admired - as a trailblazing out politician in Atlanta, one of the early believers in the Atlanta Beltline project and for just being a grounded and outspoken liberal in a sea of right wing nonsense (often appearing on FOX-5's "The Georgia Gang" having to smack down silliness from the likes of Phil Kent). That she's leaving a city she's poured so much energy and passion into wouldn't be a big deal if she were any other retiring, coupled up person; that it's Cathy Woolard, though, to me, is notable. What does it say about the state of the city - or the state that surrounds it? What does it say about where transit and affordability within the city, currently? A lot.Whose fault is that? Not just local elected officials (of which she was one); not just elected state-level Republicans.The answer's complicated, but I gave it a go.

With less than 45 days to the midterm election, it was great catching up with metro Atlanta-based political consultant (Sagamore Hill Consulting) Andrew Heaton to talk Bottoms-Jackson, Collins-Ossoff, and down-ballot opportunities for Georgia Democrats, too.

I'm a diehard 'Bernie Sanders' progressive and yet I often find myself at odds with 'litmus test-driven' progressives who - in my opinion - poison their movement (whichever one it might be) by being unforgiving or intransigent purists. I happen to think that's playing out now with the whole Ed Sheeran / Macklemore flap and there's evidence of it when Sheeran can't go on stage and 'fess up to making a mistake or not being what he's obviously uncomfortable being: outspoken about political issues that matter to him quietly and internally. What does it solve, I ask, to try and ruin (or "cancel") Ed Sheeran for "the cause?" Nothing; but I do happen to think it repels people from wanting to be as involved in said movement altogether which - if we have self-awareness - we'd realize is why there are a lot of Ed Sheerans out there in the first place. =+=+=+=Rick Jackson, he of the 'deported or departed' messaging aimed at Muslims and Mongolians (among others, of course) was confronted by a Muslim Georgian, Palestinian-American state Representative Ruwa Romman (D) last weekend. So much to unwrap here. The 'deported or departed' TV ad from the heated GOP primary season leads with Jackson telling people "you don't have the right for force your culture on our country." That's something of a dog whistle in that conservatives have been hand-wringing about 'Sharia law' being what governs us (zero evidence of that occurring all the while radical wight Christian nationalism has crept into power), but what I found ironic about that statement (then) and Jackson's campaign strategy (now) is that he was confronted by a burka-wearing Romman at a Korean festival where Jackson and his team were there for a photo opp with Korean-American voters either in Korean "hanboks" or campaign t-shirts with his logo in Korean and American-English. Isn't that interesting?To me it is, anyway; the pivot Jackson has taken from blowing into that dog whistle to pander to the white nationalist base of the Georgia GOP to now seeking to connect with voters of color with deep ties to foreign countries while blanketing the airwaves with black and brown former foster youth feting his support for foster children is noteworthy if nothing else. Now with THAT in mind ... =+=+=+=Meanwhile FOIA requests show the Trump Department of Homeland Security was working feverishly to scrutinize counties in Georgia that offered non-English ballots in hopes of finding election fraud.

Being a former pop music radio exec, I know a lot about both Macklemore and Ed Sheeran; enough to know their character and a good bit about the business side of what they do.I mention that because I've seen a lot of vilification of both: Macklemore by pro-Israeli people who think that nation's military actions in Gaza are/were fully justified and can see no wrong done by anyone involved, and for Sheeran, those who see those actions by Israel in Gaza as a genocide. Leading up to billionaire Robert Kraft orchestrating a near-boycott of Ed Sheeran's "Loop" tour, it was no secret that Macklemore is an artist and activist. It's not even as if his position on the plight of the Palestinians was a secret; but it was his speaking on it in MetLife Stadium days ago that drew the ire of Gillette Stadium owner Robert Kraft, who gave the tour's promoter an ultimatum: either Macklemore's dropped or the venue's no longer available. Kraft also sought out the support of other venues' management (like those managing the publicly funded Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia and Mercedes Benz Stadium here in Atlanta) to join in his ultimatum. In my mind, that put Ed Sheeran in a pickle. One, he'd never been public facing with his political views and for good reason: people of all stripes come to his shows and enjoy the music unaware someone they're beside, behind or in front of may disagree with them on divisive issues - which is sort of nice, no? Two, Ed was being made to decide between his friend (Macklemore) and his fans and those employed by his tour - and with little time to pivot. Understanding the 'business' side of this sort of helps (I believe) fair-minded people understand why Sheeran was being played, and not so much a villain in this matter.That's why I believe it unfair the criticism Sheeran's faced from the pro-Palestinian activists (I am, I believe among them) is unfair and sort of emblematic of the larger wedge that cannot be bridged between Palestinians and Israelis. Even Pink, a pop star (and Jewish American pop star at that) recalibrated what she initially said through a social media repost, not that she's been immune from the backlash, either. Then there's this: why is there this "all-or-nothing" response if someone speaks up for the plight of the innocent Gazan? You do so and risk being labeled an 'antisemite,' and if you don't say a word you're permitting a 'genocide?' The Nexus Project's president Jonathan Jacoby - a Jewish American himself, obviously - joined Germany's DW News to dispel the notion that Macklemore (or anyone) can say the things he did and should be viewed as an antisemite. Lastly, where is local media when someone should be asking AMB Sports & Entertainment (the company managing the mostly taxpayer-funded Mercedes Benz Stadium) what their role was in this near-blackballing of a tour at the expense of an artist's free speech?

The latest Rasmussen poll on the Georgia gubernatorial race seems a bit of a Jackson-leaning outlier, but its there are some unmistakable truths: 1) the early lead Keisha Lance Bottoms seemed to enjoy in most polls has shrunk and 2) Rick Jackson's campaign, its allies and party have WAY more to spend than Bottoms' campaign, allies and the Democratic Party of Georgia. The Georgia Senate poll by Rasmussen also shows some disparities in the support Senator Jon Ossoff gets that Bottoms isn't.

The Supreme Court, this week, pulled the reins on the Trump administration's intent to use the United States Postal Service - to curb mail-in voting this cycle. Good!Does this mean we're at the precipice of swinging momentum away from the dark Trump chapter in American history? Leave nothing to chance, I say, and underestimate that man and his minions at your own peril, but time is - and tools are - running in short supply for effort to stem what's likely to come at the polls in November.Lest we forget MAGA's ballot seizure antics here in Atlanta/Fulton County and how it may have tipped their hand at what they'll attempt on and after election day.=+=+=+=Meanwhile as prices on everything soar in the throes of the Trump war of choice against Iran, Republicans keep trying to compare today's inflationary numbers to those in 2021-2022, but Democratic pundits remain - STILL - flat-footed with an inability to offer the clapback I've been offering since 2023: that even the Biden-era hyper-inflation and soaring gas price conundrum is easily traced back to a Trump/OPEC agreement made in April of 2020 that didn't expire until May 1, 2022. Inflation and gas prices began cooling a month later. =+=+=+=Meanwhile with Democratic gubernatorial candidate Keisha Lance Bottoms and other down-ballot Georgia Democrats not faring as well as Senator Jon Ossoff has in fundraising, we learned earlier this week he's funneled $3.6 million into the state party's coordinated campaign coffers to assist. Good; in this current political climate where he and only a handful of prominent Democrats enjoy popularity while the party doesn't, that's going to be necessary.

Adam Cleveland, husband, father, UGA alum, handyman-turned-lawyer is now also a politician - the Democratic nominee for state House District 48. He joined me Tuesday to explain why he felt he had to upend his ideal life to step into the fray to defend democracy in trying to help flip the Georgia House for the Democratic Party. His district (R+9 in 2024) is one of a handful in the state and among the dozens throughout the country that pro-democracy advocates and Democrats near and far will be watching on election night. =+=+=+=Rick Jackson's latest TV attack ad aimed at former Atlanta mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms isn't quite as it appears to be - at least that's after some noteworthy sleuthing by Marcus Terrell, Isaac Hayes and Seth Taylor. In the ad, "everyday Georgians" turn out to be Jackson campaign operatives and/or Republican former candidates and/or operatives.

Ariel Hart, writing for the Georgia Recorder and States' Newsrooms, covered the rollout of GOP gubernatorial candidate Rick Jackson's healthcare coverage initiative in a piece Ron reviewed. Details are lacking while bluster and proclamations were offered in abundance. He did say he'd be 'Trump with a southern accent,' though, so that shouldn't be a surprise. On Trump, it's the 'One Big Beautiful Bill' he signed that makes the "Jackson Action Plan" really difficult a needle to thread. Whereas forty other states - many of them GOP-led - took Affordable Care Act Medicaid subsidies to expand Medicaid to its poorest residents without stringent work requirements, Brian Kemp's "Pathways" program has spent more money on administrative costs than actual coverage. Is Jackson's "Action" plan more of the same?That said, is there evidence of some areas even the "Jackson Plan" might improve the burden applicants go through just to apply? Again, details are murky, but the vow was made it would be. We'll see.Or Keisha Lance Bottoms will win in November, and we'll know that Georgia will take the easier path forty other U.S. states have.=+=+=+=Senator Jon Ossoff's latest rally in Athens over the weekend gave attendees more of that sharpened rhetoric he's become known for; the kind of rhetoric that's made him an early 2028 darling for another race not on his radar.

On the 25th anniversary of the horrific three-pronged terror attack on American soil, Ron assesses where the United States is, societally, diplomatically and politically. Are we any less Islamophobic a society? Ehh. As the mayor of New York City, ⁠Zohran Mamdani gave remarks at Ground Zero⁠ - which drew (Islamophobic) outrage. Okay, but are we less-prone to involving our military in a Middle East theater lacking necessity to be there? Ehh.Maybe the next 25 years we'll do better. =+=+=+=Rep. Buddy Carter on CNN got cornered by anchor Boris Sanchez over Trump's $5000 bribe that he supports while continuing to insist Joe Biden's stimulus triggered record inflation. Never mind that what Biden doled out was roughly half what Trump parsed out first and is vastly less than the $5000 bribe. ((Watch))

Years and decades from now historians and psychoanalysts will dissect the Trump era and Donald's chronic need to lie about his accomplishments and whereabouts - never mind the narcissism and predatory behavior in so many facets of his life. That said, his predilection for perpetrating himself as a military hero (despite avoiding service in the Vietnam era) and now with his post-9/11 behavior baffles us today because that sort of behavior used to be the death knell for anyone in public service and yet Americans just shrug as if it's just another senseless chapter in this senseless era.What's most dismaying, however, is that Islamophobia is so permissive in our discourse still. New York City's infamous, newly minted mayor, Zohran Mamdani, did as every past NYC mayor have - he gave remarks at Ground Zero on the commemoration of the terror attacks on September 11, 2001. Except because he's a Muslim man, That to the dismay of bigots like even those on that city's council. Have we not evolved one bit since that fateful day?

PLUS: Rick Jackson's effective ads vs Keisha Lance Bottoms' retail style - which will win?The Rick Jackson campaign has taken a two-pronged approach in the race to be Georgia's next governor: portray him in a softer, more human role with his past foster advocacy while also running those nefarious-toned attack ads against his opponent. My take? It seems to be working, and polls show he's closed the gap his opponent - Keisha Lance Bottoms - once had between them.Bottoms won't be able to outspend Jackson; we knew that from day one of the general election cycle. Will she be able to out-retail him? To energize the base? To shore up the "off the couch and to the polls" contingent that's let down liberals in 2024 and 2022 (for Stacey Abrams)? Yet to be seen.Bottoms also sat down with the 'Politically Georgia' team for a prolonged Q&A to respond to some of Jackson's attacks relitigating her time as mayor of Atlanta.

Shawn Harris, vying to unseat Republican Clay Fuller in Georgia's 14th Congressional district, is also a cattle farmer, and like many in the trade, is suffering mightily under Trump's looming beef import plan. Hear how it's literally impacting his and other farmers' wallets, and how Harris' dogged pursuit to represent the rural northwest Georgia district once held by Marjorie Taylor Green actually gets boosts from her social media tirades even if that's not her intent.The former brigadier general has a few thoughts on the Iran war debacle, too.

At Cobb County's 'Back to School' faculty rally, superintendent (and Trump fan-boy) went off on a 12-plus minutes long political bender that sent dozens of Cobb educators heading for the aisles and exits, prompting scrutiny from the school system. On with me to discuss the event, the tone, the aftermath and the intimidatory effect of the grilling teachers are taking (will there be disciplinary action?) and how one school board race in that county could change everything (eventually) is freelance journalist, Cobb County Courier contributor Rebecca Gaunt.

Donald Trump's March executive order aiming to curb mail-in voting (except for when he uses it, of course) drew swift legal action from dozens of states and voter rights organizations, and to hear the Supreme Court's conservative majority rationalize it, it's the swiftness to act that drew their rebuke.At issue, though, is a little-known precedent -the Purcell principle. From CNN:"If federal courts attempt to shut down Trump's executive order closer to November, they are likely to run headlong into a wonky judicial doctrine known as the “Purcell principle.” Rooted in a 2006 Supreme Court decision, the principle warns federal courts at all levels against making last-minute changes to voting rules. If the litigation drags out, the Justice Department is almost certain to argue that it's too late for courts to intervene to stop the administration before this year's midterm."In other words, 'damned if you do, damned if you wait.'Well, here's a "not so fast," for ya ... there's lots more to happen back in lower court action to potentially / likely derail Donald's dastardly voter suppression deed - and that's chiefly due to a pesky little document known as the "US Constitution," but time (maybe not much of it, really) will tell.That said, Georgia GOP gubernatorial nominee Rick Jackson seems comfortable in some previously unspoken knowledge that his buddy Governor Brian Kemp will utilize the National Guard to lord over voting precincts. He literally told a supporter that near a live mic (or recording mobile device). All this to say: "stay woke," y'all.

Marilyn Marks, executive director at the Coalition for Good Governance, has long warned that Georgia's physical set-up for voting at precincts - using illuminated touch screens - violates Georgia Constitutional law by denying one's right to privacy when voting. It turns out, that's not the only way "ne'er do wells" can find out how you voted: she tipped off a Princeton University researcher that she could use Chat GPT to find out how a handful of Heard County voters voted, and he experimented with the process and took it a step further. There's just one Georgia Election Board member - MAGA-rific Salleigh Grubbs - who's even remotely concerned about this, and Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger nor his director of special projects for the secretary's office, aren't at all. Are you?Marilyn joined me today to discuss the very real dangers for many voters fearful their employer, their spouse, their pastor, their students' parents (for example) can know (and potentially weaponize) how they voted, and offers some solutions to secure a voter's privacy in time for November's midterm elections.

PLUS: Alpharetta's aversion to icky renters & why would a Billy Linville crossover endorsement matter when Rick cant' get Burt on board?Earlier this week, the Democratic Party announced its finalists for the 2028 DNC convention and Atlanta didn't make the shortlist (Denver, Philadelphia and Boston all did); a decision that - on its face - is sort of inexplicable given Georgia's teetering on the brink of flipping blue with a good solid nudge or two and that the aforementioned finalists have all hosted the convention in recent years. Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens released a letter of exasperation - not wrong to disagree with the decision to snub Atlanta i n2028 - but he included enough ammunition for the GOP to use in a 2026 midterm cycle that's beyond-necessary for the party he's a member of to claw back some power in Congress and in his own state. Hear why I likened his letter to a post-grounding tantrum from a teenager.A plan to develop Alpharetta's North Point Mall is getting pushback because the developer wants to include - ick! - apartments instead of buyable condominiums and townhomes. That north Fulton County enclave already has some NIMBY-istic laws on the books limiting the number of leasable homes in its city limits, but I can't help but wonder where they think a new sports arena's concessions, ticket booth and usher employees are going to live since jobs like those don't pay well enough for anyone to live IN Alpharetta? Who TF is Billy Linville - aside from a guy who dresses a lot like Rick Jcakson? Well, he's some moderate Democrat mover-n-shaker in Georgia politics (I guess?) who's endorsing 'slick Rick.' Meanwhile, prominent Georgia Republican (and current lieutenant governor) Burt Jones still hasn't warmed to supporting - let alone voting for - Rick Jackson.

Medicaid expansion, predatory lending (to hospitals from the likes of Rick Jackson's Jackson Healthcare), vaccine confusion, gun (and school) safety, and a post-primary vibe check ... all that in Thursday's conversation with Georgia House Rep. Dr. Michelle Au (HD 50).

State Senator Josh McLaurin joined The Ron Show Wednesday to discuss the issues of importance in the 2026 midterm election cycle. He and Ron also pontificate on why winning the Lieutenant Governor's race is of vital importance with or without control of the House and/or Senate and why he's best suited to deliver results.

Freelance journalist Alex Jobin joined me today to discuss his piece chronicling a struggling Montgomery, Alabama hospital and its biggest creditor - Jackson Healthcare - ready to profit off its bankruptcy at the expense of local and state taxpayers. Like Georgia, Alabama refuses to expand Medicaid through the Affordable Care Act and hospitals throughout that state or scaling back services or shuttering altogether. Fear not, though, Rick Jackson's company profits through it all, meaning - he and his company can prey on the healthcare industry when healthcare access to the poor and working poor is limited.

Georgia's elected Democratic Socialist, Georgia House Rep. Gabiel Sanchez (GA 42) is up for re-election and seems to be able to work well with the Democratic Party - as a Democrat and Democratic Socialist - winning over African American voters in his district and door-knocking for fellow Democratic House candidates hoping to flip the chamber this November. What gives? We've been told DSA candidates were "disruptive" to the party? Hmm. Maybe that's all BS?PLUS: fundraising lags for prominent Georgia Democrats, Trump tries brokering a peace deal - between Rick Jackson & Burt Jones, who can't even say he'd vote for the GOP nominee. Also, Mexican factory workers brought to the US for high-paying, high-skills jobs got shafted by their employers.

Whether Donald Trump uses his Thursday night address to relitigate Georgia's 2020 election was yet to be seen as of the Tuesday prior, but what's apparent aside from that is this: Democrats seem to know how to snatch "defeat" from the jaws of "victory" all too often the last decade-plus. Between the hand-wringing by centrists like James Carville and the "vote is in play" tease Bill Maher to "sour grapes" supporters of Rep. Jasmine Crockett in Texas, there are factions forgetting their own mantra: "vote blue, no matter who" when a progressive wins a primary. Well James Talarico isn't apologizing for defeating Crockett (nor should he), but he Is "doing the work" to show black voters in Texas his message should appeal to them.

That and was Atlanta the big winner in the FIFA World Cup aftermath? Those topics and more with Donnell Suggs, from The Atlanta Voice.

Mike Collins' son-in-law is a devout white supremacist, but also ... well, Mike Collins' son-in-law ... who until recently appeared all over Mike's campaign site. On to discuss that, the GOP's complex relationship with Israel, the evidence of antisemitism in our political discourse, and her insights into key 2026 Georgia races is former State House candidate and co-host of Georgia NOW's 'At The Kitchen Table' show and podcast, Debra Shigley.

Prior to Donald Trump's latest public hissy fit over election security, I (and the AJC's Patricia Murphy) had a pretty solid idea what would be covered - and that would a) not amount to much and/or b) actually benefit Democrats.

A recent spate of deaths at the hands of Immigration & Customs Enforcement (ICE) warrants further scrutiny of all the carnage caused by them in the second Trump presidency.Speaking od "the Donald," TV networks were positioning themselves to decide if (or not to) carry the President's Thursday night election blather. Campaign largesse for Senator Jon Ossoff not only bodes well for his re-election bid, but it may aid the gubernatorial bid of Democratic nominee Keisha Lance Bottoms.Lastly, will all the private and public sector investment in Atlanta's hosting the FIFA 2026 World Cup pay off, economically?

PLUS: the Graham "pleasure-givers" start speaking up & the subtleties of KLB's 'black' sales pitchSocial media was abuzz last night and into the morning that a planned address to the nation Thursday by the President was going to include salacious allegations that the elections of both Senators Jon Ossoff and Rev. Raphael Warnock were illegitimate.' The White House (somewhat) walked back those rumors, but it still drew rebukes from both Ossoff and Warnock. Meanwhile, after we (and many others) discussed the potential for a Warnock Presidential run in 2028, it's notable that not only has Rev. Senator Warnock gotten two "affordability" bills passed and made into law (the $35 insulin cap being a big one), his bill capping home ownership by private equity firms not only became law, it did so without the signature of President Donald Trump. That's right - Senator Warnock got his bill through Congress while Trump keeps flailing on his voter suppression bill. Who's got more sway in the Beltway these days, then, hmm?- - - Progressive podcaster Keith Edwards brought the world's attention to the first voices of those hired to bring "pleasure" to former Senator Lindsey Graham on his podcast, but he also stated - more eloquently than I could, frankly - why he, too, being a gay man, took issue with Graham's hypocrisies. - - - Lastly, a (gift link) good piece by Greg Bluestein at the AJC noting the differences between the campaigns of Stacey Abrams and Keisha Lance Bottoms despite both having glass ceilings to shatter in being Georgia's first female and black (plus female AND black) governor. Bottoms' more subtle tone vs Abrams' more vocal tenor is - if nothing else - noteworthy.

As the world wondered where Mitch McConnell was, the grim reaper threw us all a curveball and came for South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham instead. The "decent" thing to do is to pay your respects to someone when they pass even if you disagreed with them ideologically, right? Sorry, but the "open secret" part of who Lindsey Graham was, blended with his rock-solid anti-LGBTQIA+ voting record for a party filled with acolytes who knew of his "open secret" but didn't mind so long as he towed the party line on issues that he smugly believed weren't aimed at the likes of him means this out gay white southern man owes him no respects, alive or dead.Georgia leaders (Republicans and Democrats) took the high road. None of them are gay, though, so ... Bitter? No. Steadfastly disappointed? Absolutely. Disgusted that he spent decades piling, legislatively, on to people he knew had no choice in who they loved because he, himself, had no choice sa to what he was drawn to sexually. Then again, there was the 2016 Lindsey Graham who warned us all (correctly) how disastrous a President Donald Trump would be and the Lindsey Graham of January 6, 2021 who had 'had enough' of the Trumpist antics. Unfortunately, there's the years between those eras and the last five years where he enabled the man he exclaimed was going to be so dangerous to his party, the nation and the world.

Notes to come ...

Hear me (and Greg Bluestein at the AJC) out ...

Notes to come ...

Notes to come...

Notes to come ...

Notes forthcoming.

Friend of the show, columnist Jay Bookman reminds us (and Rick Jackson) of the "Rick Jackson" Rick recalls himself being as a child: impoverished and in need. As Bookman opines, it's as if Jackson forgot that child version of himself on route to crafting the sort of policies he'd put in place if he were to become Georgia's next governor.- - - Revisiting a conversation I had with Mary Rose Wood, a brave "bad ass" (her brother's term) who's a high school teacher in Chapin, SC. There she was smeared on school board candidates' campaign mailer as "communist." All because she had her AP language arts students read a Ta-Nehisi Coates book. The south gonna "south," right?Anyhow, we discussed her story, brush with fame (and fear) in that small SC town.

Some folks on social media have taken the bait, arguing the pros and cons of mandated "Pride Night" gear for pro athletes. Of all teams, the SAN FRANCISCO Giants manages to have anti-gay bigots on its roster, but they also (my opinion) made the mistake of concocting "Pride Night" gear for players to wear (it was an option, and note mandated). A minor league baseball team wound up having to forfeit its game when too many rostered players refused to wear their "Pride Night" gear. I'm as gay as they get, but I'm not dumb enough to think it's wise to put "Pride night" literally on the shoulders of pro athletes. Why give any bigot the platform to gripe about it? Or write Bible verses (eye roll) on their caps in response? Meanwhile, I'm re-sharing a conversation I had back in 2023 with a Hartwell, Georgia independent Baptist preacher who bucked the bigoted Baptist trend and swung open his smalltown church's doors - as the Washington Post reported it tnen - filling pews by "leaving no one out."

...plus the Georgia GOP no-show rodeo & a Wynter-y cold endorsement leaves Mike Collins frozen out.The special session Governor Brian Kemp commanded out of the state legislature didn't yield much for his party (no redrawn maps, no property tax cuts passed onto consumers' sales taxes) but it did yield a mess of an election bill he'll have to sign (we're guessing) to address the looming QR code deadline: according to Marilyn Marks with the Coalition for Good Governance, the bill accidentally mandates razor-thin election margins, the way it's written. Oof. She joined me to explain. - - - Meanwhile, it's officially "general election season" for the 2026 calendar so focus will turn to Rick Jackson v Keisha Lance Bottoms, with statements made by Jackson at an event with a radical anti-abortion voter raising eyebrows. In the comments, he seems to co-sign on eliminating exclusions for incest and rape. - or at least creating new barriers to those exceptions being available to women who learn they're pregnant on or after the six-week ban in Georgia would occur. His being poor at thinking on his feet (there and in a prior televised debate) is likely one reason why Democratic nominee Keisha Lance Bottoms is challenging Jackson to no less than three one-on-one forums. ---The alleged killer who stabbed a MARTA passenger weeks ago may receive the death penalty, according to a federal grand jury, writes Rosie Manins at the Atlanta Journal Constitution. That's the story anti-transit, anti-urban folks want you to focus on, and not the fact that MARTA has adequately absorbed twice the usual ridership during the World Cup while running on-time and without incident. All that just proving that a little influx of state and federal support makes MARTA run "smarta."- - - As if there isn't enough to embarrass any Republican with self-awareness, a Georgia GOP rodeo drew "tens" of people (my guess-estimate when you don't count candidates and their surrogates). HA!- - - One more, though! Atlanta-based conservative talk radio host Shelley Wynter (WSB A/FM) had Senator Jon Ossoff on recently - and endorsed the incumbent Senator! Hear the exchange:

A Tuesday update on Georgia's special legislative session takes us to one ring of a three-ring circus of GOP clown activity. As the AJC's Caleb Groves & David Wickert reported - Republicans under the Gold Dome struggled to tackle a self-mandated deadline to eliminate QR codes from ballots while also trying to saddle local elections officials with an absurd burden to hand recount top-tier races. Stone Mountain Senator Kim Jackson took to the floor to rip the silliness. Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger (REPUBLICAN) succinctly pointed out that Georgia Republicans in the assembly had 18 months, ten meetings with his office and multiple budget requests for funding to allow his office to do exactly what they mandated his office do - to no avail.- - - Technically in the same "ring" of the current GOP circus, Democrats successfully blocked Georgia Republican efforts to create new taxes (they'd saddle county & city politicians with doing that to avoid shouldering any blame themselves) by passing property taxes only roughly 65% of the state's residents would benefit from while 100% shoulder the additional taxes sure to come to cover for 'em. - - - The lead clown in this three-ring circus is, of course, the clown with all the orange spray tan makeup. As James Tate on Twitter/X astutely lays out - point by point- Donald Trump has again successfully created a problem he now wants to fix while blaming "Antifa" for causing. Ron Filipowski: " So an Antifa scuba diver with a box cutter snuck into the Reflecting Pond to cut a 300 foot section out while evading all cameras and law enforcement in order to sabotage Trump. Do I have that right?"- - - Meanwhile, Tucker Carlson and Marjorie Taylor Greene are both now washing their hands of the Republican Party. I mean, their complicity in crafting what the GOP is now under MAGA & Trump is missing from their proclamations. They're unhappy (among other things) that we a) went to war with Iran then b) negotiated a deal that's a near-complete capitulation to Iran (from the "The Art of the Deal" leader they helped to return to the White House). British comedian Jonathan Pie, in his caricaturish role of TV reporter Tom Walker, truly captured all that makes ZERO sense with Donalt Trump leading on negotiating with Iran and his treatment of allies.

During the entire special session of the Georgia General Assembly, Democrats managed - time and time again - to withstand GOP efforts to offer property tax cuts while putting the burden on local electeds to find ways to make up the funding gap such cuts would put on county and municipal budgts. One such locally elected official - Jimmy Furst, Chamblee city councilman - provided his thoughts in an op/ed for the Atlanta Journal Constitution - and of course, so did I.Meanwhile the chief (we're told) reason for the special session was a looming July 1st deadline to eliminate QR codes from Georgia ballots. A half-measure with no Democratic party input sought to put the task off until 2028 but also mandating hand recounts for the top two races on any ballot. Oy!- - - My hometown (Grovetown, Georgia) has changed a lot since I was a kid in the 1980s. When I was a kid, we had a former Klansman as our fire department chief. Today, Grovetown's a racially diverse thriving bedroom community of 10,000-plus with Black city council members. A former city councilperson and mayoral candidate - Ceretta Smith - is now the Democratic party nominee for Georgia's 12th Congressional district. I got to know more about the former US Army medic and national union leader about what drives her to continue to want to serve her country.

PLUS: We get a post-primary checkup on the Democrats' slate in Georgia from Atlanta-based strategist & Mike Collins will have a hard time beating Ossoff when he's unliked within GOP ranksNow that we're clear of the primary calendar (checks to make sure it's impossible there's any. more. run-offs) it's time to get to know some of the Democratic candidates throughout the state running for state and federal offices.Numerically, why not start in Georgia's 1st Congressional? Amanda Hollowell is the party's nominee; a well-known political strategist and the Chief of Campaigns at Color Of Change, the country's largest online racial justice organization. I got to spend a lot of time learning about her, what's shaped her mindset and how her professional background and her raising a son who chimes in with his and his friends' views makes her a sharpened candidate to flip GA 1.- - - Atlanta-based political strategist/consultant Andrew Heaton popped on a call for a post-primary check-up of the Georgia Democratic Party's November slate, and to look at what the GOP counter candidacy looks like, too. One issue that may hobble Mike Collins is that he's unlikable even among prominent conservatives in the state, and the improprieties within his campaign and Congressional office may dog him throughout the general election cycle.

PLUS: Kemp's 11th hour endorsement may test his political prowess for now and later.When Nabilah Parkes stepped away from use Georgia Senate seat to run for lieutenant governor, I believe she put personal aspiration ahead of party and constituents, which is why I can't vote for her today. That said, she couldn't have predicted the Supreme Court gutting the remnants of the Voting Rights Act to unleash another round of racial gerrymandering, but that's where we are, starting tomorrow.There's a run-off for that seat where two Democrats hope tobe on the general election ballot in November to take the office next January, but Republicans could win it today with a surge in turnout up-ballot aiding them.It's a three-alarm fire, and stepping up to try and save that Senate seat for Democrats is an unconventional candidate in Adrienne White-Carden. She's a career woman, mother and wife who's worked behind the scenes on several campaigns and causes, and is now the face and name on campaign material.She joined me to discuss the moment, why it works for her and her family "just this once" and the uphill battle she and her campaign staff, volunteers and army of endorsers have had to wage in the lats week.- - - Elsewhere on the ballot, Republicans have to choose between "Daddy's (money) boy Burt" and Rick "the ick" Jackson - who now has backing from (ick!) Ted Cruz and the social media praise from Donald Trump Jr. (ick!). Meanwhile Burt netting an 11th hour endorsement from Governor Brian Kemp feels like a backhanded compliment of sorts but it and Kemp's backing of Derek Dooley in the US Senate primary seem to be early tests of Brian's political clout in the state he's governed for two terms.

Joining me to discuss - HD 62 candidate KaVon Arnold, seeking to overcome not only a primary runoff opponent, but half a million in gaming PAC money, too.Also problematic is that her opponent, Ken Collier, doesn't have the kind of voting record that speaks to being a staunch (or even just present) Democrat.Anyhow, it was good to connect with KaVon; she's a great story of a hometown East Point / Tri-Cities grad who continues to re-invest in her community and school through good works. - - - The looming Iran / US / Israel "memorandum" doesn't pass the smell test, nor does warhawk Pete Hegseth's assertion that this deal is going to be so wonderul because we attacked them - preferable, I sppose, to not attacking them and just sticking to the JCPOA signed into existence by President Obama about twelve years ago before Trump withdrew us from it. But also, how significant will this deal even be? And while we're coming up with $300 billion to repair damage done in Iran, where's the money for Americans' having to endure spikes in fuel prices and the cost of goods?

World Cup hype is being met with hoteliers being less-than-impressed with bookings. Last summer, Beyonce' and baseball's All-Star game seemed to outpace FIFA's marquee event, in Atlanta bookings. This isn't just an Atlanta malaise, either. Who's to blame? A global economy stunted by war? ICE presence dampening spirits in the Latino community? Maybe it's some combination of events, but it's hard to escape the ambivalence, writes the AJC's Ken Seguira. - - - With all the gaudiness of the UFC / Motorcross events at the White House, it's also kind of humorous that investigators are literally combing Washington Mall grass to figure out who's responsible for the appearance of the numbers 8,6, 4 and 7 in the grass. - - - High-profile GOP run-offs are giving an alarming edge to Republicans in Senate district 7 where the former Senator - Nabilah Parkes - exited early to make an 11th hour run for the nomination to be her party's lieutenant governor nominee. With Democrats needing every vote in a looming special session where new legislative maps will drawn and voted on. While the pivot may pay off for Parkes, it may have cost her party a Senate seat until next January, and through this pivotal special session.

Watching from afar as the Graham Platner situation continues to unfold, I'm both amused (by Kellyanne Conway and Trump's utter lack of self-awareness) and concerned that his being the Democratic nominee in Maine to unseat Susan Collins could make retaking the Senate a nailbiter. ---Meanwhile, Georgia Recorder scribe Jay Bookman joined me fresh from posting his latest op/ed: "Where is the state's commitment to helping Atlanta's public transit system succeed?"Valid question, indeed.

PLUS: Donald pisses off Knicks' fans; where's the proof from the FBI / Fulton seizure & MARTA's naysayers seem unaware of the authority's efforts to address homelessnessThe Atlanta Journal Constitution's Patricia Murphy - perhaps as a response to national media fawning over Jon Ossoff as a potential 2028 contender - brought the wet blanket to that notion. Okay fine; but it's hard to argue that his being on a potential 2028 ticket wouldn't make it a better ticket.- - - - Donald Trump showing up for the New York Knicks' NBA Finals game earlier this week was clearly another "Make a Wish" presidency stop: more about him and less about the tens of thousands there or the hundreds of thousands who hoped to attend watch parties around the venue. Fans there let him know they were pissed, but the nationally syndicated morning show "The Breakfast Club" also weighed in on Stephen A. Smith's disdain for Trump's presence. - - - - The AJC reports on the FBI seizure of Fulton County 2020 boxes of ballots: that it's "investigation fails to deliver, so far." Ya don't say.- - - - The thing about "big city" issues is (I've said this many times) that Republicans never offer actionable solutions, but like "Statler & Waldorf," the old snipes in "The Muppet Show" balcony, have snide comments and no contribution. Most right wing MARTA grousers are likely unaware MARTA's actually long teamed up with an Atlanta homeless advocacy organization (gift link) to assist the unhoused who show up in their stations and on their trains.

PLUS: "everyone" wants Senator Jon Ossoff to run for President.I pulled up a recent video done by the Atlanta Journal Constitution's Ernie Suggs, doing a small tour of MARTA train usage weaving in MARTA's troubled (from the start) history for some context.What frustrates me most about MARTA's issues - and the issues flowing into its stations and trains from the major city it serves - is that Republicans who have almost no footing in the metro area, and particularly not the city itself, show no interest in addressing systemic issues by offering long term solutions. Instead, they lean on "dog whistle" tropes knowing their suburban, exurban and rural voters have backed-in preconceptions about "inner city" violence and "urban" decay.There's nothing new under the sun with this sort of pandering to a mostly white voting block but what doesn't get said enough - in my opinion - is that a) "white flight" led to a lot of usb) at the state level, Republicans take a "hands off" approach to a region of the state they can't gain footing in because they don't see the electoral benefit (gee, wonder why?) whichc) makes them just as (if not more) responsible, in absentia, as any local authorities or elected leaders actually *trying* to effect positive change.Atlanta police chief Darin Schierbaum opines "you can't arrest your way to a safe city" in an op/ed in the Atlanta Journal Constitution. He's right; but that's all Republicans ever offer as "solutions" to crime: bigger police presence as a (temporary) deterrent but never solution(s) to the longer term and system issues that are at the root of crime: a lack of opportunity. - - - -The New York Times' Michelle Goldberg opines that "everyone" wants Georgia's US Senator Jon Ossoff to run for President. Hey, I"m a fan, myself; I've whispered about him being a 2028 dark horse in episodes past, too, but I'm skimming over her op/ed to chew on the notion a bit. The AJC's Patricia Murphy, meanwhile, has a different take: "sorry liberals; Jon Ossoff isn't running for President."- - - - Whew, that 'Meet The Press' sit down was a headscratcher, no? Why's the President holed up in a metal sided building in rural Wisconsin in the midst of severe weather to do a network TV interview, anyway? Oh, and also he's a petulant man-baby who his base entrusts to negotiate with the likes of Iran, China's Xi and Russia's Putin, but is too easily rattled by Kirsten Welker pressing him on unfounded election conspiracies. But the story that caught my attention over the weekend? That the Pentagon has ratcheted up its concerns that Israel is spying on us. The Hegseth-led "Department of War" raised its threat assessment level to the highest level on our ally - Israel - spying on us. - - - -Back to Trump on 'Meet The Press,' and my calling out political media for their two-toned portrayal of monthly jobs numbers from one presidency to the next. Trump is taking victory laps over jobs numbers from May that - under Biden - would've been less feted by national media. Meanwhile, farm bankruptcies are up, affordability is nearing crisis mode for many Americans (Trumps loves inflation, he said) and USDA Secretary Brooke Rollins - quizzed by Rep. Eric Sorensen - couldn't be bothered.