{"id":383,"date":"2018-02-02T22:47:48","date_gmt":"2018-02-03T03:47:48","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.gopplaybook.com\/?p=383"},"modified":"2018-03-02T22:57:27","modified_gmt":"2018-03-03T03:57:27","slug":"a-georgia-republicans-threat-to-delta-restore-nra-benefits-or-you-wont-get-your-tax-break","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.gopplaybook.com\/?p=383","title":{"rendered":"A Georgia Republican\u2019s threat to Delta: Restore NRA benefits, or you won\u2019t get your tax break"},"content":{"rendered":"

By\u00a0Marwa Eltagouri<\/a><\/p>\n

February 27, 2018 at 7:04 PM<\/p>\n

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Georgia Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle (David Goldman\/Associated Press)<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

Days after Delta Air Lines\u00a0announced it\u00a0would stop offering discounted fares to National Rifle Association members<\/a>, a top Georgia Republican retaliated\u00a0by vowing to kill state legislation that would hand the airline a\u00a0lucrative tax break.<\/p>\n

Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle, who leads the Georgia State Senate, demanded Monday that Atlanta-based Delta, one of the state\u2019s largest employers, make a choice: Reverse its NRA decision, or watch Republican lawmakers strike down a $50 million sales tax exemption on jet fuel, of which Delta would be the primary beneficiary.<\/p>\n

\u201cI will kill any tax legislation that benefits @Delta unless the company changes its position and fully reinstates its relationship with @NRA,\u201d\u00a0Cagle tweeted<\/a>.\u00a0\u201cCorporations cannot attack conservatives and expect us not to fight back.\u201d<\/p>\n

Cagle, who has served as Georgia\u2019s lieutenant governor since 2007, could weave the issue into his campaign in Georgia\u2019s\u00a0upcoming gubernatorial<\/a>race, in which he is considered the leading GOP contender to replace Gov. Nathan Deal (R).<\/p>\n

Delta has not commented on the threat from Cagle, who\u00a0says<\/a>\u00a0he is\u00a0\u201ca lifelong member of the NRA\u201d and\u00a0boasts\u00a0that he has earned an A+ rating from the\u00a0organization every year he has served in elected office. The\u00a0gun-rights group has also endorsed Cagle in the past.<\/p>\n

Delta recently joined\u00a0United Airlines, Best Western, MetLife and at least a dozen other\u00a0 companies\u00a0in\u00a0cutting discounts and perks for NRA members amid\u00a0the national gun-control debate\u00a0after the deadly Valentine\u2019s Day shooting at\u00a0Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School<\/a>\u00a0in Parkland, Fla.\u00a0Advocates of the\u00a0#BoycottNRA movement<\/a>\u00a0are now determined to convince tech giants such as Apple, Google, Roku and Amazon to stop streaming NRA-produced videos, though none have announced plans to do so.\u00a0(Amazon\u2019s founder, Jeffrey P. Bezos, owns The Washington Post.)<\/p>\n

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