Republicons are spinning like mad to try to make Ossoff’s jungle primary win into some kind of loss for the Blue Team.
The most hilarious of these claims rest on comments that the majority of people voted R—that the combined votes for the Republicon candidates were larger than Ossoff’s total.
Every time they say that, someone PLEASE point out that 3 million more people voted for Hillary in November, so if the majority of people voting for the other party invalidates your win, then DJT’s legitimacy is being questioned by his own pundits.
R spokesbots are crowing today that the red team kept Ossoff under 50.1%. I am cynical enough to be suspicious about whether they did it fairly, since he was well over that margin in the early vote. But to be fair, just the “not living in the district” argument was probably worth a two percentage points worth of votes, and that was an unforced error that should have been anticipated and fixed, since low information voters didn;t know living outside the district meant living just a few minutes outside the district. Also, living outside the district because of “waiting for my girlfriend to graduate” reinforced the “too young/not ready” message in an unfortunate way.
So yes a win would have been better, of course, but Ossoff still did incredibly well. It is pretty damned hard to win a majority with 18 candidates in the running.
DJT never did it in any of his primaries until people started dropping out.
So to reassure ourselves we have to focus on the amount of effort Rcons had to put into this race.
When they made their cabinet appointments they deliberately took people from the reddest seats to make sure there would be no danger of them being replaced by Ds in their special elections.
Don’t be fooled by their spin. They are freaking out. 20 point swings don't just happen in less than six months unless a serious erosion in support for the party is underway.
The idea that they had to fight this hard in Kansas and Georgia has them worried. I only counted 36 seats that are greater than R+20. A 20 point swing would be the wave election to end all wave elections. Let’s make Rs sweat now worrying about how they are going to defend more than a hundred seats at once.
Just as in Kansas, Rcons had to pull out the biggest gun in their arsenal, robocalls from DJT. But they won’t be able to use robocalls from DJT everywhere in 2018. He is so lazy he won’t make time to create messages for each individual district, and his appeal varies so widely they can’t create one boilerplate appeal to use everywhere.
In GA-06, DJT’s robocall and tweets just encouraged people to vote republican in a generic sense and did not mention any R candidate by name, because he was stuck between a rock and a hard place with no obvious candidate for him to support. He couldn’t even choose between the two candidates most likely to come in second, to try to pick Ossoff’s run-off opponent. He couldn’t urge people to vote for Handel because first of all she’s a “girl” and second of all she’s not a “10” and third of all she doesn’t have any big money behind her, so what’s in it for him? And he couldn’t urge people to vote for Bob Gray, who in last minute polls looked like he might edge out Handel for second place, because Gray was endorsed by Club for Growth, an organization full of NeverTrump folks, and Gray himself was accused of being part of NeverTrump. Club for Growth is at odds with 45 Committee, the pro-DJT superpac bankrolled by Sheldon Adelson, and 45 Committee even ran ads against Gray in the GA-06 race:
DJT couldn’t support any of the lesser candidates by name because all the internal polls showed either Handel or Gray would come in second, and he did not want to be seen as backing a “loser”.
Spicey was evasive when asked whether DJT would campaign with Handel, and Handel is already facing questions about whether she wants to campaign with DJT.
And who knows whether DJT will even be considered a positive draw by June?
Plus Handel has other baggage to deal with—her role in encouraging the Susan Komen Foundation to stop funding Planned Parenthood might encourage pro-choice Dem turnout. Handel also had the nerve to use the slogan “Don’t let Dems steal GA-06” when Rcons should be careful about using the word steal in *any* context after what they did to Merrick Garland.
In the meantime Dems are seeing downticket wins that build enthusiasm and build the bench.
Trump approval is underwater in Texas and he is dragging Ted Cruz down with him. Ironic, since Cruz waited so long to support him, that DJT is now such an albatross around his neck. I’m sure Cruz thought by holding out he could get the NeverTrump people on his side and run again in 2020 regardless of who won the 2016 election. But if Cruz gets bounced from his Senate seat next year he will just be another loser in a cycle where the Rs will be looking for fresh faces.
We can also hope that the bad polls are a broader rejection than just DJT. The best news for the Blue Team would be a general reaction to the Republicon brand as they show themselves incapable of or unwilling to control him. The R party is not demanding his tax returns. They are not trying to restrain his warmongering impulses. Every stupid thing he says or tweets reflects on ALL of them.
It is hard to think of anything short of instituting a single payer health care system that would make DJT’s job approval numbers go up. He may think he can fall back on the old standby of starting a new war, but since people are losing confidence in his ability to handle international relations, even that may not work.
I see a lot of doom and gloom in Left Blogistan as people process their disappointment over how close Ossoff came to winning last night. We are starting out in a deep hole and there is a long way to go and we are only in the early miles of this marathon. But this rebuilding period is going well so far. Really.
Just keep getting folks to the town halls. Every day more and more folks are following us to revolution. There is no more status quo. We are changing the game and Rs have no idea what to expect. Keeping them off balance is one of the best ways we prepare for 2018 one day at a time.
*
we keep on rising up / well we keep on rising up / every day we’re rising up
PREVIOUS TRUE BLUE REPORT diaries
Apr 17: The number of persuadables is growing as people lose confidence in DJT
Apr 16: TBR SUNDAY: He shook up the world—Easter fears can be overcome with Easter JOY
Apr 15: BLUE RIBBONS: David Fahrenthold, Amariyanna Copeny, Chasity Wells-Armstrong, the ASAN
Apr 14: Everyone talking, everyone reaching out—is it helping?
Apr 13: Three ways to respond to the stress overload of current political news
Apr 12: Republicons--the party of cruelty
Apr 11: Spicer’s comment was MUCH more than just an “insensitive reference to the holocaust”
Apr 10: If DJT changes policy based on televised images... let’s show him some
Apr 9: TBR SUNDAY: DJT supporters do not realize nuclear war could mean the end of the world
Apr 8: BLUE RIBBONS: Jeff Merkley, Gina Mathew & Connor Balthazor, 70 (!) advertisers dump Bill-O
Apr 7: Not taking our eyes off Heitkamp, Manchin and Donnelly—they should be primaried
Apr 6: Take Me to Your Leader
Apr 5: DJT ran for POTUS to get back at Obama but the person he is discrediting is himself
Apr 4: Obama’s is bigger—Twitter following, inauguration crowd size, and approval rating
Apr 3: Filibuster a SCt nominee? Ds are changing the rules! This never happened before !1!
Apr 2: TBR SUNDAY: Put Your Lights On
Apr 1: BLUE RIBBONS for 4/1/17—Dick Cheney, Richard Burr, Rick Wilson
MARCH
Mar 31: The possible reasons Flynn was refused immunity are all good for the Blue Team
Mar 30: Special Assistant Ivanka—every word she says from now on is a DJT advertising ploy
Mar 29: “It’s just that valuable” — do you know the MAIN reasons Ryan wants to pass the AHCA?
Mar 28: Nipping at their heels
Mar 27: In cheering Republicon failures, think like a surgeon
Mar 26: TBR SUNDAY: Dare we hope the tide is turning? Or is that unrealistically optimistic?
Mar 25: BLUE RIBBONS: Sheldon Whitehouse, Al Franken, Bobby Brooks, Betsy Anderson, ACA phone callers
Mar 24: HaHaHa-Ha-Ha You’re gonna need Congressional approval and you don’t have the votes
Mar 23: Rcons hate Obamacare for selfish, greedy, racist reasons, but not enough to fix it.
Mar 22: Neil Gorsuch’s attempt to seem wide-eyed and innocent makes him look even worse
Mar 21: Using Trump as a bad example—no Trump Sleep, Trump Food or other Trump habits
Mar 20: Is DJT a compulsive liar, or out of touch with reality? Five scenarios...
Mar 19: TBR SUNDAY: A budget is a moral document—a statement of public compassion
Mar 18: BLUE RIBBONS: CBO scorers, Senate Intelligence Committee, Judge Derrick Watson
Mar 17: They know DJT is lying. Here’s one sad reason they follow him anyway.
Mar 16: Mick Mulvaney's ignorant, callous, evil, Republicon definition of compassion
Mar 15: Message Discipline 101—Pushback against Rcon talking points re DJT 2005 tax return
Mar 14: Message Discipline 101—Pushback against Rcon talking points about Obamacare repeal
Mar 13: Culture, Civilization, Rural America, Working Families—the missing word is a “tell”
Mar 12: TBR SUNDAY: The Rcon definition of Christians is as wrong as the Rcon definition of Democrats.
Mar 11: BLUE RIBBONS: A Day Without a Woman, Native Nations Rise, Voting Rights Act still lives
Mar 10: How to talk to people who have trouble understanding actions have consequences
Mar 9: Where’s the fire? The real reason Rs are trying to rush TrumpCare through Congress
Mar 8: Message Discipline 101: TrumpCare, RyanCare, GOPCare, DonTCare—what’s in a name?
Mar 7: How very hard it is for a woman to go a day without paid (or unpaid) work
Mar 6: Can DJT really be stumbling into the exact investigation we want?
Mar 5: TBR SUNDAY: How is it even possible that deplorables see a man of faith when they look at DJT?
Mar 4: BLUE RIBBONS: Chris Hayes, Malcolm Nance, Cierra Fields
Mar 3: I’m glad Bannon, Conway, Carson, Sessions, Miller, et al. are in the DJT Administration
Mar 2: “In every major fire it always starts with smoke. And smoke is what kills you.”
Mar 1: Am I the only one whose skin crawled at the Carryn Owens BIRGing moment?
FEBRUARY
Feb 28: Spinspotting 101: Special Prosecutor for what? It’s so easy to answer that question
Feb 27: Spinspotting 101: I’ve seen no evidence because I haven’t looked for any evidence!
Feb 26: TBR SUNDAY: If Neil Gorsuch were a man of integrity, he would decline the S.Ct. appointment
Feb 25: BLUE RIBBONS: Russia Flag trolling, Dixie Swastika grabbing, District Days demonstrating
Feb 24: There is no such thing as a compassionate conservative
Feb 23: Chief of Staff, Nat’l Security Advisor, GOP Head, President Bannon—too many hats!
Feb 22: DJT has a few questions for you—SMURF THIS POLL!
Feb 21: The end of “access journalism” means it’s time to #sendtheinterns
Feb 20: KAC lying low for now… can we banish her (and all her ilk) from the airwaves completely?
Feb 19: TBR SUNDAY: DeVos cartoon, Ruby Bridges, unearned unhappiness and childlike faith
Feb 18: BLUE RIBBONS: Vice Adm. Harward, Melissa McCarthy, and intel whistleblowers
Feb 17: And Ain’t I an American?
Feb 16: Please tell your family and friends—If you regret your DJT vote, speak up NOW
Feb 15: R-supported forced childbirth laws deny the autonomy of women
Feb 14: What did the president know? Everything. When did he know it? From the beginning.
Feb 13: Coping with The Madness of King Donald by hoping political comedy will save us
Feb 12: TBR SUNDAY: The Poverty and Justice Bible
Feb 11: BLUE RIBBONS: Swastika removers, Ninth Circuit Panel, and the Persisterhood!
Feb 10: The first three words of the Constitution are “We, the People” not “I, the President”
Feb 9: Who first inspired your political activism? Who inspires you now?
Feb 8: We cannot and will not be silenced—Here’s what to do if they try to silence you
Feb 7: Plain Talk Tuesday: Tell people the Affordable Care Act is the same as OBAMACARE
Feb 6: Interview Skills 101—Internalized oppression and what Ryan Lizza did right. BRAVO!
Feb 5: TBR SUNDAY: These protest signs with Bible cites will confuse and befuddle RWNJs
Feb 4: BLUE RIBBONS: Temple B’Nai Israel, Judge Robart, CNN, Senate Phone Callers
Feb 3: Not rich, not smart, not a good businessman, not a winner—DJT is NOTHING he claims to be
Feb 2: Thursday action—Encouragement, thanks, and apologies (pick one or more)
Feb 1: July 7, 2009 to August 25, 2009 and September 25, 2009 to February 4, 2010
JANUARY
Jan 31: If you’re on overload that’s part of their plan—there’s more than one way to #resist
Jan 30: Interview Skills 101 for reporters attempting to interview KAC and other Rcons
Jan 29: TBR SUNDAY: Blessed are they who hunger and thirst after righteousness
Jan 28: BLUE RIBBONS: Women's March participants and #NoMuslimBan demonstrators and...
Jan 27: I wish Steve Bannon would tell me to keep my mouth shut
Jan 26: Thursday Action—Have you ever written a letter to the editor? Here’s how to start
Jan 25: The Asch Conformity Study, inauguration crowds, and the importance of speaking out
Jan 24: #ResistTrumpTuesday—good news day or another paying dues day?
Jan 23: Spy the Lie 101: How to enjoy watching Rcon spokesbot interviews, even KAC!
Jan 22: TBR SUNDAY: Why I prayed for the President* today
Jan 21: The only silver lining in the midst of these clouds
Inaugural (!) diary: Stop expecting Republicons to make sense