Caption

The State House is expected to pass a state budget for 2024.

The panel

Alan Abramowitz, @AlanIAbramowitz, professor emeritus of political science, Emory University

Kevin Riley, @ajceditor, editor-in-chief, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Rick Dent, vice president, Matrix Communications    

Tanya Washington, @AskProfW, professor of law, Georgia State University

 

The breakdown

1. The State House is set to approve a budget with increased funding for law enforcement.

  • The 2024 budget would add $4,000 to law enforcement officers' salaries and allow for a Georgia State Patrol office in Buckhead, a reaction to concerns over public safety.
  • The salary bump for law enforcement comes as a political win for Gov. Brian Kemp, who has vocally supported conservative positions on policing.

LISTEN: Rick Dent on the proposed 2024 budget.

2. Opponents of the planned Atlanta police training center are accusing police of heavy-handed tactics.

  • Over the weekend, 23 activists were charged with domestic terrorism in an alleged connection with arson of construction equipment on the site.
  • The conflict has been an inflection point for Atlanta political institutions. The King Center is hosting events for protesters, but Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens and Kemp have vehemently supported building the training center.
    • The New Georgia Project, Stacey Abrams' organization, also supports The King Center's efforts.

LISTEN: Rick Dent on developments from the planned Atlanta police training center.

3. Fox News' Tucker Carlson leads the narrative that January 6th was a peaceful protest.

  • Prominent Republicans negatively responded to Carlson's claim. 
    • Mitch McConnell said, “It was a mistake, in my view, for Fox News to depict this in a way that’s completely at variance with what our chief law enforcement official here at the Capitol thinks.”
  • This comes as Fox News' credibility has come under fire after findings in a defamation suit brought by Dominion Voting Systems.

 

Friday on Political Rewind: A special interview with the University of Georgia's Dr. Charles Bullock.