Deal Delivers State Of The State Speech; Trump Attacks Media

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Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal delivers the State of the State address on the House floor in Atlanta, Wednesday, Jan. 11, 2017. / AP Photo

Today on “Political Rewind,” we're just a week away from the inauguration of Donald Trump as President of the United States--and if the last few days are any indication, we’re in for a wild ride.  

Late-breaking news today as veteran Georgia Congressman and civil rights activist John Lewis stated Trump is not a "legitimate" president. Lewis says he will not attend the inauguration for the first time in many years. Speaking to Chuck Todd for "MTP Daily" on MSNBC, Lewis said he believes a "conspiracy" of Russians and unnamed others was responsible for Trump winning the election over Hillary Clinton. Our panel sees a wing of the Democratic Party teeing up to act in opposition to President Trump, much as some members of the Republican Party worked to delegitimize the presidency of Barack Obama. It sets the stage for more gridlock in Washington.

Meanwhile, the Georgia General Assembly has wrapped its first few days of the 2017 session. The panel discussed items from the governor's State of the State speech, including the future of public school funding and how to handle the state's failing schools. Sixty percent of the electorate rejected Gov. Deal's proposed amendment which would have allowed the state to take over those troubled schools, so the way forward is unclear. Our panel also discussed the "hospital bed tax," the proposed cybersecurity training center in Augusta, and Rep. Allen Peake’s continued push for medical marijuana expansion in Georgia.

Revisiting the imminent inauguration of Donald Trump, the panel discussed the fact that many of his Cabinet picks are voicing opinions counter to those expressed by candidate Trump as they sit for confirmation hearings.

Finally, we discussed the very public showdown between President-elect Trump and CNN reporter Jim Acosta at Wednesday’s news conference. The ground is definitely shifting for journalists. The New York Times’ Jim Rutenberg offers this take.

Panelists:

Jim Galloway - Political Insider blog, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Greg Bluestein - AJC political reporter

Maggie Lee - Freelance print reporter covering state and metro Atlanta government and politics