GA-6 Special election discussion thread

[Barnes]

What's funny is that Georgia was extremely innovative after the 2000 debacle and became one of the first states in the country to adopt uniform voting standards with electronic machines for every county.

However, we're still using those machines and much of the software some fifteen years later, so the system is...clunky, you could say.

[Virginiá]

What's funny is that Georgia was extremely innovative after the 2000 debacle and became one of the first states in the country to adopt uniform voting standards with electronic machines for every county.

However, we're still using those machines and much of the software some fifteen years later, so the system is...clunky, you could say.

It's a shame it even takes a debacle to get some movement on this issue. If GA had just kept up some sort of investment in elections on a constant basis, we wouldn't have this problem. Elections are really one of the few things we absolutely shouldn't cheap out on.

If this election wasn't so important, I'd say that I wish someone would screw with it, just to help push the legislature to to procure new machines and revamp the way they handle elections.

[Crumpets]

Some disgusting RW troll group is putting out a last minute ad tying Ossoff to the Scalise shooting https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sh7ZiddrkmI

Republicans know what they're doing.  They know how to win.  When will Democrats start being as mean and ruthless as they are?

"The unhinged right is endorsing crashing planes into NY liberals. When will it stop? It won't if George Bush wins reelection. These same terrorists all support George Bush, and if he wins, they win. Stop them. Stop them now. Stop George Bush. Stop Denny Hastert. Vote John Kerry."

[Co-Chair Bagel23]

What a disgusting ad. To any sane and moderate individuals in the GOP, you need to wrestle for control of the GOP again, it has been hijacked. This supersedes politics. Save your party, and in doing so, help save the country. Or if you're not up for it, I welcome you to come to us. We have moderate groups and groups that are to the right within the party. Unless you are a hardcore Republican, you should be able to find a proper fit in the party.

[kyc0705]

Another thing about the Georgia voting machines: they use touch screens.  In every election, there are a few reports of machines casting ballots for the wrong candidate.  This invariably turns out to be a calibration problem with the touch screen.  If you see similar reports on Tuesday, don't assume it's a conspiracy to alter the result.

Touch screen voting just seems risky.

[Beet]

Some disgusting RW troll group is putting out a last minute ad tying Ossoff to the Scalise shooting https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sh7ZiddrkmI

This will backfire.  Holy sht.

Also, let's stop trusting decimals in polls.

Not with their target audience. The shooter was a man but all the faces in the ad are women. It's a smartly targeted ad tapping into GOP misogyny. Those who normally might sit this out but will come to oppose the likes of Pelosi. Very smart.

[Crumpets]

Some disgusting RW troll group is putting out a last minute ad tying Ossoff to the Scalise shooting https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sh7ZiddrkmI

This will backfire.  Holy sht.

Also, let's stop trusting decimals in polls.

Not with their target audience. The shooter was a man but all the faces in the ad are women. It's a smartly targeted ad tapping into GOP misogyny. Those who normally might sit this out but will come to oppose the likes of Pelosi. Very smart.

That's a really good point.

[SATW]

This race needs to end already. I hope that Handel wins but both candidates are awful.

[DrScholl]

How is Ossoff an awful candidate? Whether you like his political positions or not, it's hard to claim that he's an awful candidate. This is the same sort of both sides garbage that needs to end in politics. Handel is the only horrible candidate in the race.

[BlueDogDemocrat]

Ossoff has ran a great campaign and was a very good candidate. Regardless of how this race turns out or your political views you have to admit that.

[Attorney General, Senator-Elect, & Former PPT Dwarven Dragon]

While I would prefer someone whose donations aren't 95% out of state and who lives in the district, Ossoff is hardly an "awful" candidate.

[Mr. Smith]

Ossoff has ran a great campaign and was a very good candidate. Regardless of how this race turns out or your political views you have to admit that.

No, he's a prop-up if he loses. A prop-up who ate money that could've gone to TWO districts that were competitive, one of which had a +20 edge against and moved left by 14!

A handsome looking one, but still a prop-up.

[DrScholl]

Ossoff has ran a great campaign and was a very good candidate. Regardless of how this race turns out or your political views you have to admit that.

No, he's a prop-up if he loses. A prop-up who ate money that could've gone to TWO districts that were competitive, one of which had a +20 edge against and moved left by 14!

A handsome looking one, but still a prop-up.

KS-4 and MT-AL probably weren't going to flip with extra money.

[GeorgiaModerate]

Ossoff has ran a great campaign and was a very good candidate. Regardless of how this race turns out or your political views you have to admit that.

No, he's a prop-up if he loses. A prop-up who ate money that could've gone to TWO districts that were competitive, one of which had a +20 edge against and moved left by 14!

A handsome looking one, but still a prop-up.

That assumes that the same amount of money would have been available to those other two candidates, which is not necessarily true.  The reasons that Ossoff has raised such an incredible amount include this being  a competitive district, at least based on the 2016 presidential race, and that Ossoff has been an effective and appealing candidate.

[Ronnie]

This new Washington Post article titled "Democratic win in Georgia would signal that the establishment is alive and kicking" almost makes me hope Ossoff loses.

[Xing]

I have a feeling that everyone will learn the *wrong* lessons, whatever the outcome is.

[Yank2133]

Ossoff has ran a great campaign and was a very good candidate. Regardless of how this race turns out or your political views you have to admit that.

No, he's a prop-up if he loses. A prop-up who ate money that could've gone to TWO districts that were competitive, one of which had a +20 edge against and moved left by 14!

A handsome looking one, but still a prop-up.

KS-4 and MT-AL probably weren't going to flip with extra money.

Yeah, I don't understand why some on the left have such a fetish for these districts. Having GA-06 as a higher priority then KS-4 and MT is just common sense politically. The majority of the districts Democrats are going to have to win in 2018 look more like GA-06 then KS-4 and MT

[Virginiá]

Yeah, I don't understand why some on the left have such a fetish for these districts. Having GA-06 as a higher priority then KS-4 and MT is just common sense politically. The majority of the districts Democrats are going to have to win in 2018 look more like GA-06 then KS-4 and MT

It's more about what they represent. They feel a sustained push for more upscale, wealthier suburban districts with more college educated whites will continue to skew the party's priorities towards the establishment-oriented cosmopolitan wing. Meanwhile, the working class districts would present more opportunities for progressive economic policy. In a way I guess you could look at it as whether the party pursues more socially liberal or economically liberal policies.

I think they are wrong in that assessment, though. We can't really just pick and choose who we want on a dime. Trends that have been ongoing for many years have created this political environment, and in the short-term it's all we have.

Lastly, people will adapt some of their views to fit their partisan choices. Making inroads in suburban districts does not necessarily hinder economically liberal ideas. An alliance with more wealthy voters in the long-run might be unstable, but that will take possibly decades to unravel. In the meantime, those districts will provide lawmakers that will vote for the same kinds of liberal legislation people on the left want.

[○∙◄☻¥tπ[╪AV┼cVê└]

This new Washington Post article titled "Democratic win in Georgia would signal that the establishment is alive and kicking" almost makes me hope Ossoff loses.

Clearly the lesson would be to spend $25 million to elect drab establishment candidates in each of the districts that Hillary lost by a point so that the Democrats have a bigger minority in the House.

[Mr. Smith]

Ossoff has ran a great campaign and was a very good candidate. Regardless of how this race turns out or your political views you have to admit that.

No, he's a prop-up if he loses. A prop-up who ate money that could've gone to TWO districts that were competitive, one of which had a +20 edge against and moved left by 14!

A handsome looking one, but still a prop-up.

KS-4 and MT-AL probably weren't going to flip with extra money.

Could've been closer. And made for a broader appeal. Better three  very close districts as a warning sign and then going all out the next year on making the point, then two Sestak'd and one still lost by a razor-thin margin and thereby giving the party an appearance of being seriously split.

[Hindsight was 2020]

I can't help but be annoyed at the hypocrisy of Jfern an other hard leftist on this topic. On the one hand they constantly rip on "the establishment" for "talking about Russia and not healthcare" yet Quist brought up Russia all the time in Montana while Ossoff is the one who doesn't bring up Russia and talks about healthcare

[DrScholl]

This new Washington Post article titled "Democratic win in Georgia would signal that the establishment is alive and kicking" almost makes me hope Ossoff loses.

Clearly the lesson would be to spend $25 million to elect drab establishment candidates in each of the districts that Hillary lost by a point so that the Democrats have a bigger minority in the House.

You are on the same list that krazen is.

[Yank2133]

You must be logged in to read this quote.

I find this thought process by them to be silly given how much the party has moved to the left in the last decade.

Also, I think the belief that economic left-wing populism will win in rural areas to be naive to say kindly.

[DrScholl]

Ossoff has ran a great campaign and was a very good candidate. Regardless of how this race turns out or your political views you have to admit that.

No, he's a prop-up if he loses. A prop-up who ate money that could've gone to TWO districts that were competitive, one of which had a +20 edge against and moved left by 14!

A handsome looking one, but still a prop-up.

KS-4 and MT-AL probably weren't going to flip with extra money.

Could've been closer. And made for a broader appeal. Better three  very close districts as a warning sign and then going all out the next year on making the point, then two Sestak'd and one still lost by a razor-thin margin and thereby giving the party an appearance of being seriously split.

Could have been closer is not the same thing as actually winning. Putting money into seats that actually trended further to the right just to prove a point is not a sound investment.

[○∙◄☻¥tπ[╪AV┼cVê└]

I can't help but be annoyed at the hypocrisy of Jfern an other hard leftist on this topic. On the one hand they constantly rip on "the establishment" for "talking about Russia and not healthcare" yet Quist brought up Russia all the time in Montana while Ossoff is the one who doesn't bring up Russia and talks about healthcare

Quist supports single payer while Ossoff does not. And I'm sure Ossoff would have attacked his opponent if she had invested in Russia.