A crowd of around 500 protest against House Bill 1523 outside the Governor's office in the state Capitol during a rally by the Human Rights Campaign on Monday, April 4, 2016 in Jackson, Miss.

A crowd of around 500 protest against House Bill 1523 outside the Governor's office in the state Capitol during a rally by the Human Rights Campaign on Monday, April 4, 2016 in Jackson, Miss. / AP Images for Human Rights Campaign

On today’s show, our panel of insiders will look at the storm of controversy that has erupted around new religious liberty laws in Mississippi and North Carolina. Both states passed the measures just days after Georgia governor Nathan Deal vetoed a religious liberty bill here.

Will those new laws energize religious liberty supporters in Georgia as they organize for a new fight to pass a bill next year? What does the split between social conservatives and business – two traditional supporters of Republican candidates and policies – say about the future direction of the party? Is there really a war on Christianity, as some supporters of religious liberty believe?

Then, the presidential campaign has entered the bare-knuckle political turf of New York, where media hordes and outspoken voters can make life tough for candidates. The Empire State can make or break the fortunes of candidates for both party’s’ nominations. If Donald Trump scores a victory statewide, he increases the chances he could win the nomination on a first ballot. If Hillary Clinton loses her adopted state to Bernie Sanders, it raises serious questions about her electability in the fall campaign and gives Sanders a bigger claim than ever on the Democratic nomination.

 

Panel:

Sen. Vincent Fort — Ga. State Senate District 39 (D)

Bradley Georgia — GPB News

Chip Lake — GOP consultant

Loretta Lepore — GOP Strategist

Tags: religious liberty  Atlanta  Georgia  Macon  Savannah