History of Georgia (U.S. State) - Sun Belt Growth and The New Right

Sun Belt Growth and The New Right

In 1980, construction was completed on an ambitious expansion of William B. Hartsfield International Airport. The busiest in the world, it was designed to accommodate up to 55 million passengers a year. The airport became a major engine for economic growth. With the advantages of cheap real estate, low taxes, Right-to-work laws and a regulatory environment limiting government interference, the Atlanta metropolitan area became a national center of finance, insurance, and real estate companies, as well as the convention and trade show business. As a testament to the city's growing international profile, in 1990 the International Olympic Committee selected Atlanta as the site of the 1996 Summer Olympics. Taking advantage of Atlanta's status as a transportation hub, in 1991 UPS established its headquarters in a suburb. In 1992, construction finished on Bank of America Plaza, the tallest building in the U.S. outside New York or Chicago.

Georgia, along with the rest of the formerly Democratic Solid South, gradually shifted to support Republicans, first in presidential elections. Realignment was hastened by the turbulent one-term Presidency of native-son Jimmy Carter, the popularity of Ronald Reagan, organizational efforts of the Republican Party, and the perception of a growing liberalism within the Democratic Party.

As the era of old south Democratic control, symbolized by iconic personalities Herman Talmadge and Georgia Speaker of the House Tom Murphy drew to an end, new Republican leaders took their place. Republican Congressman Newt Gingrich, the acknowledged leader of the Republican Revolution, was elected Speaker of the House. His seat represented the northern suburbs of Atlanta. Bob Barr, another Georgia Republican Congressman, led the campaign to impeach President Bill Clinton. Barr later switched his party affiliation to Libertarian and announced his intention to run for the U.S. presidency on May 12, 2008. On May 25, he was nominated at the Libertarian convention.

During this time, Georgia was not untouched by elements of fanaticism. During the 1996 Olympics, Eric Robert Rudolph, detonated a bomb that killed one person and wounded 11. Rudolph was also linked to the bombing of an abortion clinic.

In a shifting political climate, leading Georgia Democrats, most notably Governor Zell Miller (1990–99), drifted to the right. After being appointed to the Senate, following the death of Paul Coverdell in 2000, Miller emerged as a prominent ally of George W. Bush on the war in Iraq, Social Security privatization, tax cuts, and other conservative-backed issues. He delivered a controversial keynote speech at the 2004 Republican convention where he endorsed Bush for reelection and denounced the liberalism of his Democratic Party colleagues. In 2002, Georgia elected Sonny Perdue, the first Republican governor since Reconstruction. Shortly after that, Republicans gained control of both chambers of the State Legislature and all state-wide elected offices. CNN reported that in 2008 presidential election exit polls, 39% of the voters reported they were conservatives; 48% moderates and 13% liberals. 37% identified themselves as "White Evangelical/Born-Again" and they voted 89% for Republican John McCain. The other 63% voted two-to-one for Barack Obama.