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| Home Front: Politix |
| Democrats are incapable of learning from Georgia Special Election loss |
| 2017-06-21 |
| [LI] What are the implications of Republican Karen Handel’s solid win (53-47 as of this writing) over Democratic darling Jon Ossoff in the Georgia Sixth District Special Election? Democrats came into election day with high hopes, with Ossoff leading in almost every poll, tens of millions of dollars flowing in from around the country, and celebrities urging an anti-Trump vote. Yet the Republican won the District by a larger margin than Trump did in the presidential election. This loss comes after losses in special elections in Montana and Kansas, and another in South Carolina tonight. In all of these cases, Democrats tried to make the election a referendum about Trump. In all of these loses, the Democratic meme is that the Democrat lost, but not by as much as expected. I don’t think Democrats will learn any lessons from these losses. In fact, they probably will learn the wrong lessons. As I often do on election nights when Democratic disappointment is likely to be highest, I watched MSNBC. First I watched Rachel Maddow, then Lawrence O’Donnell. The MSNBC coverage was nothing short of delusional. The "a loss is really a win" approach was pervasive. Hope sprang eternal. Maddow in particular continued to spin Trump Russia conspiracy theories. O’Donnell went on and on about how the Republican healthcare bill would be the doom of Republicans. A phrase used frequently on O’Donnell’s show was that this was an "ominous win" for Republicans because the margin was lower than when Tom Price won -- ignoring that the Republican outperformed Trump’s win. Related: PJ Media - 5 Take-Aways From Karen Handel's Victory Over Jon Ossoff |
| Posted by:Besoeker |
| #21 Does that include the in-kind contributions form the labor unions and the like: manning phone banks, GOTV events, and good ole imtimidation, etc...? I'm guessing those aren't quantified. But Ossoff's 2 to 1 money advantage (vs his predecessors's 1 to 20 or more disadvantage), even without in-kind contributions, were probably key to his margin of defeat. What's interesting is how close the South Carolina race was. There, the GOP guy won by 3% and outspent his opponent by 40%. |
| Posted by: Zhang Fei 2017-06-21 21:02 |
| #20 Does that include the in-kind contributions form the labor unions and the like: manning phone banks, GOTV events, and good ole imtimidation, etc...? |
| Posted by: CrazyFool 2017-06-21 20:21 |
| #19 All of Handel's expenditures including PAC spending. |
| Posted by: Zhang Fei 2017-06-21 20:12 |
| #18 The totals are not listed anywhere, probably to obscure Ossoff's money advantage, but it appears Ossoff's direct and PAC spending beat Handel's 2 to 1. The news articles point to Handel's PAC spending, but not Ossoff's out-of-area direct fundraising that exceeds all of Handel's expenditures. |
| Posted by: Zhang Fei 2017-06-21 20:11 |
| #17 A phrase used frequently on O’Donnell’s show was that this was an "ominous win" for Republicans because the margin was lower than when Tom Price won Price used to win by 20+% margins. He also outspent his opponents by more than an order of magnitude (i.e. >10x). And as the incumbent, Price had superior name recognition. Once Handel takes office, she'll get the advantages of incumbency (e.g. better name recognition and fundraising). She should start seeing Price-like margins once she takes office. |
| Posted by: Zhang Fei 2017-06-21 20:08 |
| #16 Actual title of opinion piece at the Guardian: "That Ossoff got so many votes is damning for Trump." Alternative title: "That Trump's fist was bruised after he punched my lights out is damning for Trump." |
| Posted by: Matt 2017-06-21 15:53 |
| #15 Proven once again that you can't buy an election despite liberal rhetoric. |
| Posted by: rjschwarz 2017-06-21 15:35 |
| #14 He was crying today on NPR about the amount of money in politics. Really. |
| Posted by: Deacon Blues 2017-06-21 15:18 |
| #13 |
| Posted by: Beavis 2017-06-21 14:19 |
| #12 "Handel beats Ossoff" The headlines write themselves! |
| Posted by: Skidmark 2017-06-21 13:59 |
| #11 Sure they're capable of learning - expect substantial increase in incitement to violence against their enemies (i. e. you). |
| Posted by: g(r)omgoru 2017-06-21 13:37 |
| #10 Russians seeded the clouds. |
| Posted by: Abu Uluque 2017-06-21 12:27 |
| #9 Maddow claims rain only kept democrats away... Return of the Halliburton earthquake / weather machine? |
| Posted by: M. Murcek 2017-06-21 11:10 |
| #8 Related: HYSTERICAL! RACHEL MADDOW Claims Rain Kept Only Democrats From Voting In Georgia Election |
| Posted by: Vast Right Wing Conspiracy 2017-06-21 11:04 |
| #7 ...better get to work on some new housing projects for all those folks...they'll want a Starbucks on every corner too. |
| Posted by: Abu Uluque 2017-06-21 10:39 |
| #6 Well then, Spats, the lesson is clear: Your district needs more transplants from New York and Connecticut (maybe even a few Kaliphornians) and it needs a helluva lot more illegal aliens...yeah, and some Middle Eastern refugees too. |
| Posted by: Abu Uluque 2017-06-21 10:37 |
| #5 Lose LoseLose, and Lose. And what was it, 54 million down the toilet as well. I live here and Ossof got vote from suburban people who are outsiders down from Connecticut who have jobs here, not Georgians who were born here and have our Values. My family have lived in Georgia since 1745. Screw John Ossof. We held a fair election and Ossof LOST. Byeee. Want to do it again? |
| Posted by: Spats Gruger7850 2017-06-21 10:14 |
| #4 Feature - not a bug. |
| Posted by: Vast Right Wing Conspiracy 2017-06-21 08:33 |
| #3 Daily Caller: Ossoff Voters Impossible To Reach Because They Live With Their Parents, Democratic Organizer Says |
| Posted by: Besoeker 2017-06-21 07:46 |
| #2 Handel wins handily! Dems are stuck in Boss Tweed and Tammany Hall corruption, identity politics and hatred. No point to educating them no mo uro, no one can tell them anything; they know everything. |
| Posted by: JohnQC 2017-06-21 06:25 |
| #1 It seems that many have misjudged the zeitgeist of the times. I, for one, will spend no effort attempting to educate them. |
| Posted by: no mo uro 2017-06-21 04:49 |