Georgia Senators

Georgia was the last of the original 13 colonies to form the basis of America, but it was also one of the states to secede from the Union during the Civil War and join the Confederacy. Georgia has a special history in the U.S., therefore, and its values are traditionally conservative. Its major city is Atlanta and aside from this major urban area, much of the state is rural. Atlanta is a major airport hub for several airlines, has professional sports teams in the MLB, NFL and NBA. There is much countryside in the state, however, and the old city of Savannah is one that attracts a lot of tourists because it still preserves many of its old time colonial qualities and characteristics. The unique make-up of Georgia, its past and its heritage does impact how the state influences legislation and policy positions. The state primarily leans Republican and has done so since the 1960s. Prior to the 1960s, the state leaned primarily Democrat (Taylor, 2017).

Georgia’s Senators are Johnny Isakson and David Perdue. Both are Republicans. Johnny Isakson has 40+ years experience in the real estate industry, and has the sole distinction of being the only Georgian to ever be elected to the state House, state Senate, U.S. House and the U.S. Senate. He is currently in his third term in the U.S. Senate. He chairs the Senate Ethics Committee and the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee. He also serves on the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, the Senate Finance Committee, and the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. Isakson drafted the bicameral Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act in 2014, which was signed into law so as to “modernize, streamline and improve existing federal workforce development programs and to provide increased flexibility for states and local workforce boards by reducing burdensome federal mandates and strengthening accountability” (Isakson Biography, 2017). Isakson is very much a states’ rights type of senator.

Perdue is a junior senator but the only Fortune 500 CEO in Congress. He has 40+ years of business experience as the CEO of Reebok and Dollar General. Perdue was elected to office for the first time in his life in 2014. He is an outsider who ran on the platform of “shaking up Washington and changing the direction of our country” (Perdue, 2017). Perdue supports term limits for politicians, reducing spending, growing the economy, and reducing the national debt. Perdue was an early supporter of President Trump and is considered a close ally of the president. Perdue is on the Armed Services Committee, the Banking Committee, the Agricultural Committee and the Budget Committee.

Both senators follow the trustee concept of a legislator as their constituents trust them to do the right thing based on their past history and campaign pledges. I would support both senators re-election to Congress as I feel they represent the state well and do a good job in pushing and promoting the ideals that the majority of Georgians want to see adopted at the federal level. All of what Perdue promotes is similar to what Trump’s Administration promotes, and so he is right in line with the developing nationalist approach to politics. He is a fiscal conservative and wants to reign in runaway spending that is only increasing the debt burden for future generations. Isakson is also committed to lessening the obstruction generated at the federal level and allowing states to better organize and oversee their own interests while promoting small business and better opportunities for economic development. Because so much of the state is devoted to agricultural, the two senators are also devoted to this field and do not back down from representing the interests of the people.

References

Isakson Biography. (2017). Retrieved from

https://www.isakson.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/about-johnny

Perdue. (2017). Retrieved from https://www.perdue.senate.gov/about/david

Taylor, S. (2017). A state divided. Retrieved from

http://www.ourgeorgiahistory.com/history101/gahistory10.html