Political Rewind: Former Rep. Buddy Darden on panel; Kemp ties Abrams to Biden; Back-to-school time

Caption

Former U.S. Rep. Buddy Darden joins today's panel.

Credit: U.S. House of Representatives

The panel: 

Adrienne Jones, @adriennemjns, professor of political science and director of pre-law, Morehouse College

Buddy Darden, former U.S. representative, 7th District

Edward Lindsey, @edlindsey14, former GOP state representative, Atlanta

Karen Owen, @ProfKarenOwen, professor of political science, University of West Georgia

The Breakdown: 

1. Gov. Brian Kemp highlights nationwide inflation and other economic woes as he links Stacey Abrams to President Biden. 

• Reports from last week show the nation’s economy shrunk for a second consecutive quarter.
• Admist concerns about the economy, President Biden's approval rating plummeted to 36%. 

2. Sen. Raphael Warnock takes a more critical approach to President Biden. 

• Warnock has pushed for Biden to cancel student loan debt. 
  • Hear our full conversation on what that would mean for Georgians with The Georgia Budget and Policy Institute.
• The freshman senator is also working on lowering insulin prices. 

3. The State Ethics Commission will investigate a complaint about Stacey Abrams' 2018 campaign. 

• The commission takes up a major case looking at whether the New Georgia Project violated campaign spending laws in 2018 by not registering as a PAC.
  • The New Goergia Project also did not disclose its expenditures even as it raised and spent several millions of dollars in support of Abrams.
    • Democrats call it “a fishing expedition” and say the timing is suspicious three months before the election.

4. In Michigan Democrats are aiding a far-right candidate. 

• The New York Times reports a new ad for John Gibbs in his primary against U.S. Rep. Peter Meijer is the latest Democratic effort to highlight candidates they think will be easier to beat this fall.
  • The midwestern primary will be held tomorrow. 

5.  It's back-to-school time for students in metro Atlanta. 

• On Friday, Kemp made the announcement that he'll give teachers another $125 to buy school supplies.

  • The grants come from federal COVID-19 relief money.

• Students in Atlanta Public Schools, Cherokee County Schools, and Cobb County Schools host their first day of school today. 
• Students in Bibb County and the Savannah-Chattam County Schools will return later this week. 
• GPB's Donna Lowry and longtime education reporter Maureen Downey had an in-depth conversation about the state of Georgia's public schools. 

Tuesday on Political Rewind: The Atlanta Journal-Constitution's Tamar Hallerman joins the panel.