Democracy in Color with Steve Phillips · How Georgia Flipped: Journalist Greg Bluestein on GAPolitics

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IN THIS EPISODE:

Greg Bluestein, Atlanta-Journal Constitution’s political reporter, joins us to break down Georgia’s political landscape from the Shakespearean-style drama that is GA’s Republican Party right now to Stacey Abrams’ gubernatorial campaign centered around expanding Medicaid.

Greg also shares his view as a longtime reporter of Stacey’s trajectory from her start in the state legislature to 2018 and current campaign to her legacy as “President of United Earth” on Star Trek. We discuss how exactly Democrats won Georgia in 2020, and the hidden figures of Georgia state politics.

REFERENCES:

Greg Bluestein - @bluestein

Greg Bluestein – Flipped: How Georgia Turned Purple and Broke the Monopoly on Republican Power

“Politically Georgia” - podcast

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Listen: Apple Podcasts | Google Podcasts | Spotify | Stitcher

In this Episode:

The Washington Post recently wrote that Stacey Abrams is the most impressive Democrat in the country. Abrams, the first Black woman gubernatorial nominee in U.S. history, spoke for all Democrats in America when she delivered the Response to the State of the Union Address in February 2019, and she could be our nation’s next V.P.

Stacey and Steve were introduced to one another eight years ago and have been working together ever since to make this country more equitable. They discuss how to talk openly and directly about race in today’s politics, and this administration’s—and this nation’s—racism and history of white supremacy this election cycle without losing white voters. Other topics: impeachment, the plethora of talented people of color in politics, and favorite soap opera characters from the 80s. Co-host Sharline Chiang joins them in the conversation. 

Stacey is a lawyer, nonprofit CEO and author. She is the former minority leader of the Georgia House of Representatives. She was also the Democratic nominee in the 2018 Georgia gubernatorial election. As the Democratic nominee for governor of Georgia, Stacey won more votes than any other Democrat in the state’s history.

“What we proved [during 2018 campaign] was that by paying attention to communities, by centering their needs, and by talking about core issues that cut across all of these communities, including the white community, that you can get votes. Because not only did I triple Latino and Asian Pacific Islander turnout, increased these participation rates by 139%, increased Black participation by 40%, I actually received the highest percentage of white votes in a generation. It disproves the myth that by acknowledging race, by acknowledging harm, that you somehow disadvantage yourself in the larger community.”

— Stacey Abrams

Check out Stacey’s organizations to learn more about her work for voters rights:

Fairfight2020.org

Faircount.org

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