Is Georgia on your mind?

[southernhybrid]

I know that polls haven't been accurate lately, but I was surprised to see that the latest ones have Warnock pulling away from Loeffler, while Ossoff and Purdue seem to be locked in a dead heat. I could be wrong, but right now it seems as if Democrats are more energized to vote in this election, which is extremely rare in Georgia. I wonder how many recounts will be requested.

I read that some polling places are being closed down, probably in heavily Democratic districts, although I don't know that for sure. I'm just assuming it based on what Republicans typically try to do to suppress turnout. It's so easy to obtain an absentee ballot since there doesn't have to be a reason during this pandemic. I really don't understand why most Democrats don't vote by mail/drop off box. They have until December 31st to request the ballot, assuming they are registered to vote.

 

[Elixir]

I really don't understand why most Democrats don't vote by mail/drop off box.

Don't they?
I'd think that would be a major thrust.
It would definitely help mitigate the effect of closing polling places.

 

[southernhybrid]

I received a notice that my ballot was accepted and counted.

According to an article in the AJC, a lot of early voting sites are being closed down. While Democrats are having a fit over it, the reason being given is that poll workers are resigning in large numbers. I think that may be true after all the hours they were forced to spend doing recounts. And, early voting will be going on during the Xmas holidays. Voting hours will also be shortened. This could be an attempt to suppress votes, but to be honest, anyone can ask for an absentee ballot and send it in or put in a drop off box. So, there really isn't any reason why anyone should feel they can't vote. The thing is that some people still don't trust the mail in ballots, especially after the Republicans in other states have been giving Georgia such a hard time about our rather well run presidential election.

Here's a link to the article. It's usually easy to read at least a few articles in the AJC without subscribing. AT least it used to be.

https://www.ajc.com/politics/early-voting-in-senate-runoffs-brings-high-scrutiny-fewer-locations/3VPBSX2BQBFFBM453UIUKIMZLI/

The high-profile U.S. Senate races on the ballot are expected to drive up turnout, though not as much as the presidential race with its record 5 million voters. For the runoffs between Republican U.S. Sens. David Perdue and Kelly Loeffler and Democrats Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock, over 1.1 million voters have requested absentee ballots so far, almost as many as the 1.3 million absentee ballots cast in the general election.

Any registered voter can request an absentee ballot through December 31st.

Cobb County, the third-largest county in the state, drew criticism from voting rights groups for reducing its number of early voting locations to five after 11 had been available before the general election. In response to those concerns, the county added two more voting sites for the last week of early voting.

Elections Director Janine Eveler said the county didn’t have enough poll managers to staff as many early voting sites. The multiple recounts after the general election forced long hours on workers, 15 of whom resigned.

I can believe that, but I can also understand the skepticism as Cobb is a large formally red country that has recently turned blue.

 

[crazyfingers]

Elections Director Janine Eveler said the county didn’t have enough poll managers to staff as many early voting sites. The multiple recounts after the general election forced long hours on workers, 15 of whom resigned.

I can believe that, but I can also understand the skepticism as Cobb is a large formally red country that has recently turned blue.

They knew that the election was coming for 4 years. If they had 11 before then they had the time to make sure that they had 11 for the election.

 

[southernhybrid]

Elections Director Janine Eveler said the county didn’t have enough poll managers to staff as many early voting sites. The multiple recounts after the general election forced long hours on workers, 15 of whom resigned.

I can believe that, but I can also understand the skepticism as Cobb is a large formally red country that has recently turned blue.

They knew that the election was coming for 4 years. If they had 11 before then they had the time to make sure that they had 11 for the election.

They had the 11 sites for the presidential election. The problem this time is finding enough workers willing to work during a pandemic that is growing out of control. Plus, some workers don't want to be tied down during the holiday season, and while some younger poll workers have been recruited, the majority are still older adults who are at high risk for COVID complications.

So, I'm not convinced that this is an attempt to make it harder to vote, especially when, as I've said multiple times, it's extremely easy to obtain a mail in ballot. Some people just don't feel comfortable voting that way, either because of Trump's claims or because people simply don't like change. I guess they don't realize that it's easy to check when your ballot is received, accepted and counted. I believe anyone who really wants to vote in the runoff will. Those who are apathetic about this election will use any excuse not to vote.

Meanwhile, my mail box continues to be full of junk mail regarding the election.

 

[southernhybrid]

This seems like a tremendous waste of money, which could certainly be put to better usage. Didn't we already learn that elections can't be bought. If they could, a lot more Democrats would have won in November, as quite a few of them raised more money than their opponents. But, that's just my opinion and I could be wrong.

https://www.ajc.com/politics/election/senate-leaders-wage-proxy-war-in-georgia-with-millions-from-rich-donors/44ZISZRVXBF6NIR5SM2NM27PZA/

Hedge fund billionaires and trade unions are funneling millions into Georgia’s Senate races through two powerful super PACs, which in turn are blanketing the state with negative ads in an attempt to motivate core voters to return to the polls Jan. 5.

Total ad spending on the runoff is already at $400 million, according to AdImpact, a Virginia-based data firm that tracks political spending. And two dueling super PACs, the Republican-backed Senate Leadership Fund and the Democratic Senate Majority PAC, are locked in a breakneck race to raise and spend as much as they can to turn out their voters.

According to reports filed earlier this month, the Republican-led PAC, with ties to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, reported $104 million in donations between Oct. 15 and Nov. 23, most of that coming in after the November general election. The Democratic PAC, associated with Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, raised just a hair under $90 million.

“I’m seeing two ads per candidate every commercial break, and most of them are attack ads that don’t talk about their positions,” she said. “The goal should be that voters understand what their positions are.”

I agree with the last quote. We are constantly being bombarded by stupid ads. Sad that this money couldn't be put to better usage, like helping people who have lost their jobs during the pandemic. *sigh* And, I do wonder if the ads actually motivate that many people to vote.

 

[ZiprHead]

Robots live among us

[YOUTUBE]https://youtu.be/XtnZSRB4mas?t=135[/YOUTUBE]

Start at 2:25.

 

[ZiprHead]

 

[T.G.G. Moogly]

I watched an interview today with Stacey Abrams. It's not hard to understand why the GOP is terrified of her. She's smart, articulate, unfazed by their attacks and stupidity. She's focused, informed, attractive, relaxed, well spoken, just really knows her shit. She's at home in front of a crowd or a camera, lots of leadership karma. She's just a very likeable person. Quite the contrast with GOP sycophants.

 

[lpetrich]

AOC: Dems Get Liberal Wishlist With Wins in Georgia

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D., N.Y.) on Thursday pushed Democratic voters to turn out in Georgia to boost long-sought liberal objectives like the $15 minimum wage and universal health care.

"If we win in Georgia, we can help transition this country to a $15 minimum wage; we can make sure that we expand people's access to health care," she said, adding that Americans deserved a steady flow of stimulus checks as a response to the coronavirus pandemic.

David Perdue on Twitter: ".@AOC, our offer still stands - come on down to Georgia, we'll buy your ticket! https://t.co/tH3cxGlqGw" / Twitter

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez on Twitter: "And what money are you going to buy that ticket with, Perdue?

The curiously “well-timed” stocks you’ve cashed in on while in office?" / Twitter

Stock Trades by Senator Perdue Said to Have Prompted Justice Dept. Inquiry - The New York Times - "Investigators focused on a sale of at least $1 million of stock in Cardlytics, a financial firm whose board the senator once sat on. They closed the case this summer without charges."

 

[blastula]

Perdue may they regret asking for that. While AOC may be unpopular, higher minimum wage and stimulus checks are popular.

 

[southernhybrid]

https://www.ajc.com/news/man-beaten-while-campaigning-for-democrats-in-henry-county-cops-say/3YO2U7YPEFB2LGDUUW4RIRQECE/

Tempers flared at a “Get Out the Vote” rally in Stockbridge on Saturday morning when a passerby attacked a man holding campaign signs supporting U.S. Senate candidates Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock, police said.


The incident occurred about 10:40 a.m. as a group supporting the Democratic candidates stood along Hudson Bridge Road near I-75 with political signs encouraging voters to take part in next month’s runoff elections, authorities said.

“A passerby stopped and confronted a supporter with physical aggression,” Henry County police Capt. Randy Lee said in an emailed statement. “The supporter suffered wounds to his face and head.”

The police were called and the attacker was arrested for assault. Even Perdue had strong words, condemning the man for the attack. The victim's injuries weren't serious. This is where the madness begins. Hopefully, there won't be any more of these attacks as early voting begins today.

I watched a little coverage on tv this morning. The lines are long again. I really don't get why more people aren't voting by mail, when it's so easy. Plus, I would never vote on the first day of early voting. That's when the lines are usually long. The good thing is that the places that had long lines were in heavily Democratic districts. Not sure if that means anything at this point, but it good be that Democrats are a lot more energized in this runoff election than ever before.

Again, I will give credit to Stacey Abrams and her organization for helping get out the vote. The woman is an inspiration to a lot of us, a rare politician who is both brilliant and honest.

 

[southernhybrid]

I really don't understand why most Democrats don't vote by mail/drop off box.

Don't they?
I'd think that would be a major thrust.
It would definitely help mitigate the effect of closing polling places.

I'm not sure, but quite a few of my Democratic friends vote in person. Even Jobar votes in person. It's likely that more Dems vote by mail compared to Republicans, but I don't know why anyone is voting in person during this pandemic when it's so easy to vote by mail or drop off box. I guess there are still some who don't trust the absentee ballot system, which is ignorant. It's really easy to check if your ballot has been accepted and counted.

 

[TomC]

I'm not sure, but quite a few of my Democratic friends vote in person.

I'm like that. There's something about the ritual that I prefer over other voting methods. Maybe it's because I was raised conservative Catholic. Voting by mail would be like having Communion delivered by Amazon. It "simply isn't done!"
Tom

 

[lpetrich]

Where Are Georgia’s Senate Candidates Getting All That Cash From? | FiveThirtyEight

In less than three weeks (from Nov. 4 through Nov. 23), grassroots fundraising platforms ActBlue and WinRed funneled a combined $167.6 million directly to the four candidates’ campaigns.1 And this doesn’t even include the money candidates have raised through more traditional means (e.g., large donors writing checks), which we won’t have data for until Dec. 24 (when the next Federal Election Commission reports are due), or money being raised and spent by outside groups like super PACs. Eventually, that will probably add millions of dollars to these totals (especially for Republican Sens. Kelly Loeffler and David Perdue, for whom online donations were a minority of total donations in the first round of voting).

Both Democratic and Republican fundraising spiked very strongly around the Nov 3 election.

Most of the donations in this race are coming from out of state - donations for both sides.

Warnock And Ossoff Are Testing A New Strategy For Democrats In The South | FiveThirtyEight

Warnock and Ossoff are somewhat unusual candidates to run for statewide office in the South and get strong backing from the Democratic Party — Warnock is Black, Ossoff is a fairly liberal Jewish 33-year-old. For much of the past four decades, as the Republican Party has increasingly gained strength in the South, the Democratic Party has employed a two-pronged strategy to try to limit its losses: take more conservative stands than the national Democratic Party on some policies and embrace white candidates, usually men, in key statewide races. That strategy didn’t really work overall, but it’s not clear it was wrong either — there was probably not any way to prevent the South from shifting Republican over the past several decades.

And in some specific cases that strategy has worked. Currently, the three Democratic governors in Southern states that are red or purple politically are all white men: Kentucky’s Andy Beshear, North Carolina’s Roy Cooper and Louisiana’s Jon Bel Edwards. As are the only two senators, Alabama’s Doug Jones3 and West Virginia’s Joe Manchin. Edwards and Manchin in particular are fairly conservative Democrats. In Georgia, Biden outperformed Warnock and Ossoff, and that might have been because Biden is an older white man who is often cast in the media as more conservative than other Democrats.

About Stacey Abrams, "Her strong showing suggested Democrats in statewide races could be competitive in the South without going the conservative-ish-white-guy route."

However, "Neither Ossoff nor Warnock is saying anything particularly bold on racial issues to appeal to Black voters." - like reparations for slavery, something that would alienate a lot of white voters. "Instead, Ossoff and Warnock’s approach is similar to Abrams’s campaign in 2018, when she ran for governor: a lot of focus on showing connectedness to Georgia’s Black community, but not a ton of policy, particularly on more controversial issues specifically aimed at Black people."

Ossoff, as the white candidate who needs a lot of Black support, regularly pays homage to Georgia’s Black Democrats. (“Black voters are the heart and soul of the Democratic electorate here in Georgia,” he told Yahoo News in a recent interview.) Warnock emphasizes parts of his upbringing likely to resonate with Black people in particular: his mother picking tobacco and cotton when she was young; his family living in public housing when he was a kid; his college days at Morehouse, which he paid for in part with Pell Grants. The pastor also has a commercial in which he talks about being dragged out of a store as a 12-year-old because the workers there thought he had stolen something — they were suspicious because Warnock is Black and had his hands in his pockets.

"And even as they take rather safe positions on racial issues, Ossoff and Warnock aren’t likely to join leading Democratic Party figures like Obama who are criticizing activists adopting more controversial stands like defunding the police." - so neither of them will do any hippie punching. Like what Bill Clinton did to Sister Souljah.

 

[southernhybrid]

Where Are Georgia’s Senate Candidates Getting All That Cash From? | FiveThirtyEight

Both Democratic and Republican fundraising spiked very strongly around the Nov 3 election.

Most of the donations in this race are coming from out of state - donations for both sides.

Warnock And Ossoff Are Testing A New Strategy For Democrats In The South | FiveThirtyEight

About Stacey Abrams, "Her strong showing suggested Democrats in statewide races could be competitive in the South without going the conservative-ish-white-guy route."

However, "Neither Ossoff nor Warnock is saying anything particularly bold on racial issues to appeal to Black voters." - like reparations for slavery, something that would alienate a lot of white voters. "Instead, Ossoff and Warnock’s approach is similar to Abrams’s campaign in 2018, when she ran for governor: a lot of focus on showing connectedness to Georgia’s Black community, but not a ton of policy, particularly on more controversial issues specifically aimed at Black people."

Ossoff, as the white candidate who needs a lot of Black support, regularly pays homage to Georgia’s Black Democrats. (“Black voters are the heart and soul of the Democratic electorate here in Georgia,” he told Yahoo News in a recent interview.) Warnock emphasizes parts of his upbringing likely to resonate with Black people in particular: his mother picking tobacco and cotton when she was young; his family living in public housing when he was a kid; his college days at Morehouse, which he paid for in part with Pell Grants. The pastor also has a commercial in which he talks about being dragged out of a store as a 12-year-old because the workers there thought he had stolen something — they were suspicious because Warnock is Black and had his hands in his pockets.

"And even as they take rather safe positions on racial issues, Ossoff and Warnock aren’t likely to join leading Democratic Party figures like Obama who are criticizing activists adopting more controversial stands like defunding the police." - so neither of them will do any hippie punching. Like what Bill Clinton did to Sister Souljah.

I've mentioned before that I don't think the money is going to matter other than the money that is going to Stacey Abrams organization. She raised something like 34 million for her efforts to get out the vote. Nobody has been as effective as Abrams for getting out the vote. And, it's not just Black voters who support her. She is extremely popular here. The Republicans in Georgia used to have a lot of respect for her when she was the minority leader in the Georgia Congress, as she was very good at reaching out to them and finding ways to compromise in order to pass bills. Now that she is becoming so powerful, they are very critical of her. tsk tsk tsk I think they fear her, as she is an amazing person. If the rumors are true, she's getting ready to run for governor again in 2022. Hopefully, she will succeed the next time.

I think the Republicans are using their funds to try and scare people into voting. Warnock and Ossoff are not far left, but the Republican ads are calling them socialists because that's such a scary word to so many people. We will see if that works. My hope is that the hard core Trump supporters won't even bother to vote after all the claims by Trump that Georgia's voting system was rigged.

 

[scombrid]

First time I ever heard Abrams in any detail was her interview on the Marc Maron podcast. She made this cynic want to get out and do something positive. Her candor, positivity, and framing of the issues without evoking what would have been deserved bitterness toward the GOP shenanigans flat lifted me up.

 

[southernhybrid]

This is a good one. Warnock accuses Loeffler of defunding the police.

https://www.ajc.com/politics/senate-watch/campaign-check-warnock-alleges-loeffler-voted-to-defund-police/UMMSUPEAIZET5E3WNXW4XVXEFM/

Kelly Loeffler voted against government funding legislation that extended millions in federal funding to law enforcement.” -Warnock for Georgia website, Dec. 7

What we found:


One of the claims often made by Georgia’s Republican Sens. Kelly Loeffler and David Perdue is that their Democratic opponents in the Jan. 5 runoff election want to defund the police.



Democrats Jon Ossoff and the Rev. Raphael Warnock say this is false, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution has reported. They’re calling for criminal justice reform, not defunding the police.

“I want to point out that Kelly Loeffler actually voted to defund the police,” Warnock said during a recent debate at The Atlanta Press Club. “She voted against the COPS program. She was one of only 10 United States senators who did.”

“I’ve never voted to defund the police,” she said. “In fact, I’ve voted to support more funding that the Democrats, of course, blocked.”


It’s unclear which bill Loeffler was referencing. The Loeffler campaign has not responded to an AJC request for clarification.

Below is a brief description of the bill that Loeffler voted against. Her reasoning was that we need to do something about the deficit. Oh the irony that comes from the party that vastly increases the deficit whenever they are in power and then blame the Dems when they pass bills that actually help the American people.

The budget measure includes the Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2020, which funds the U.S. Department of Justice’s Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS). The COPS office provides federal funding to local law enforcement organizations in the form of grants.

COPS is set to receive $174 million in funding from the DOJ for the 2021 fiscal year, according to the office’s proposed budget. The amount is about 0.6% of the DOJ’s nearly $30 billion annual budget.

 

[blastula]

Crap, now I don't know who to vote for.

 

[T.G.G. Moogly]

First time I ever heard Abrams in any detail was her interview on the Marc Maron podcast. She made this cynic want to get out and do something positive. Her candor, positivity, and framing of the issues without evoking what would have been deserved bitterness toward the GOP shenanigans flat lifted me up.

That's what I liked about her, that she doesn't descend into that emotionally blinding and satisfying, tit-for-tat hate that characterizes all of her detractors. She just oozes calm and confidence, an unflappable person. And Biden is doing the same thing, taking the high road.