See politically
correct glowing AJC article below:
Politics,
Campaigns, and Elections, by Georgia Pundit, 1/7/19. Governor Nathan Deal's
two terms in office are profiled by Greg Bluestein in the AJC.
He
steadied the state's finances and exponentially boosted its depleted reserve funds as he initiated
record spending on infrastructure
and new building projects but held the line on some sweeping tax breaks sought
by many in his party.
He warred occasionally
with both sides of the aisle, taking stances that drove some conservatives to
threaten sanctions and payback after controversial vetoes and infuriating
Democrats with hard line approaches on many debates, including his steadfast
opposition to Medicaid expansion.
And yet he pushed
through most of the key elements of his agenda with overwhelming bipartisan
support - sometimes even unanimous - as he rewrote criminal justice initiatives,
overhauled workforce training policies and vastly expanded the judicial branch.
At a time of peak
polarization, Deal stands out as an anomaly in his final days in office: an
understated politician who never lost an election and built a legacy as a
consensus-building pragmatist with a record that seems a throwback in the era
of Donald Trump.
A
Democrat-turned-Republican who ruled the state during eight years of increasing
partisanship - but who will leave the Governor's Mansion with polls that show
he's the state's most popular politician.
He steadied the state's
finances and exponentially boosted its depleted reserve funds as he initiated
record spending on infrastructure and new building projects but held the line
on some sweeping tax breaks sought by many in his party.
He warred occasionally
with both sides of the aisle, taking stances that drove some conservatives to
threaten sanctions and payback after controversial vetoes and infuriating
Democrats with hard line approaches on many debates, including his steadfast
opposition to Medicaid expansion.
And yet he pushed
through most of the key elements of his agenda with overwhelming bipartisan
support - sometimes even unanimous - as he rewrote criminal justice
initiatives, overhauled workforce training policies and vastly expanded the
judicial branch.
But he won two terms in
office, and steered the broad majority of his priorities through the
Legislature, by knitting together a coalition of rural conservatives and more
moderate suburbanites with a blend of pro-business policies and culturally
conservative legislation.
And he leaves office
with a raft of new policies embraced by both parties, including vastly expanded
tuition-free tech school programs and a redesigned approach to workforce
development. In all, his office said, more than 800,000 jobs were created since
he took office.
But even his fiercest
opponents applauded his consensus-building strategy in the Legislature that
started his first year in office with major changes to the HOPE scholarship program.
His more
inclusive approach was a contrast from that of his predecessor Sonny Perdue,
whose aggressive style earned him the disdain of some GOP leaders.
"We regarded the
Legislature as equal partners with the state. That makes all the difference in
terms of the relationship between the legislative and executive branch of
government," Deal said. "If they don't work together, not very much
comes out."
Bluestein also has an article
reviewing Deal's campaign promises and progress made on fulfilling them.
Norb Leahy, Dunwoody
GA Tea Party Leader
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