OKAY you folks just aren't trying at all

[sabrelady]

https://www.washingtonpost.com/powerpost/trumps-agenda-on-the-line-in-hard-fought-georgia-house-race/2017/06/20/0d0e7086-559b-11e7-b38e-35fd8e0c288f_story.html?pushid=5949d6f5f07ec1380000000e&tid=notifi_push_breaking-news&ubb&utm_term=.f5b395e60e54

[BroadwayRox3588]

We have learned nothing yet. 

[javero]

Ossoff and his team are amateurs.  They should have set his azz up in an apartment in the district, plopped a single chair in it, and mailed a letter or post card to it once of month.  He also didn't exactly shun the celebrity endorsements.  Some politicos in my inner circle have been chuckling about the blunder since the news of his defeat broke.  You never give someone a stick to beat you over the head with.  And then there's the matter of the 40,000 voter registrations facilitated by a local civil rights organization that mysteriously disappeared after they were turned in.  The GOP knows how to win elections by hook or crook even if the membership is clueless about governing and legislating afterwards.

#missedopportunity

[yankeefan7]

"Ossoff and his team are amateurs.  They should have set his azz up in an apartment in the district, plopped a single chair in it, and mailed a letter or post card to it once of month.  He also didn't exactly shun the celebrity endorsements.  Some politicos in my inner circle have been chuckling about the blunder since the news of his defeat broke.  You never give someone a stick to beat you over the head with.  And then there's the matter of the 40,000 voter registrations facilitated by a local civil rights organization that mysteriously disappeared after they were turned in.  The GOP knows how to win elections by hook or crook even if the membership is clueless about governing and legislating afterwards."

I guess his team thought him not living in the district did not matter when he basically got 48% against 15 different Republican opponents. It amazes me that people think Hollywood endorsements and money would really mean that much in Georgia. That may help on the east and west coast but not in the rest of the country IMO. The Democratic party also made a big mistake saying this vote was a referendum on Trump, now they are getting mocked by the Republicans who will say this proves the country wants the Trump agenda passed. The Democrats can't even spin it that he made it close because the Republicans will say Trump only won that district by 1.5%. Finally, the vote turnout was higher this time (believe close to 40,000) than the first election.

[Miss American]

OKAY lady you are just an idiot 

[kdogg36]

I agree with the OP. The Democrats aren't putting much of an effort into creating a real opposition to Donald Trump. 

My friend posted a list of lessons for Democrats to learn from this special election, none of which involved changes to the Democratic Party itself. Here was my response:

I know I may not have standing to comment, but I think there should be something here about the image of the party nationally. They have done very little in terms of offering a positive agenda that will excite people, and they've chosen establishment sticks in the mud like Schumer and Pelosi as their leaders. Trust me - outside of the bare democratic base, no one likes them, and there are better options. People like Warren who would excite non-Democrats like me because, even though I wouldn't like some of their ideas, they'd at least be talking about things like winding down the war machine and ending the war on drugs.

[LYLS3637]

Oh come on. Any politico worth their salt knew that Ossoff was going to lose a run-off. That's why everything was riding on breaking 50% in the special election back in April. 

 

 

[kdogg36]

Well, from what I've heard the Republican winner did better than Trump did in that district. The opposition party should be able to do better in off-year elections.

[Cat Guy]

Miss American said: "OKAY lady you are just an idiot 

Be polite.

[Miss American]

OKAY lady you are just an idiot thank you

[Kad]

Ossof is 30, has no prior elected experience, little political background, and was put up in a certifiably red district. He was never going to win; the fact he even got this far is surprising.

But this is the type of district that is very difficult for Democrats to crack. Handel said, unambiguously, that she was not for a livable wage and voters still turned out for her.

[madbrian]

For the midterms, I think the Dems' biggest obstacle may be Pelosi.  Okay, maybe not the biggest, but still, she gives the neocons a target that is just as energizing to their base as Trump is to the sane.

[javero]

"Oh come on. Any politico worth their salt knew that Ossoff was going to lose a run-off. That's why everything was riding on breaking 50% in the special election back in April."

I agree.  Deals should have been done to get the other contenders on the Dem side to drop out clearing a path for him to get over the wall on the first attempt.  Ossoff was never ideal for GA 6...too green, too easily painted as self-absorbed, and lacking perspective.  He made no gains whatsoever after surviving the first cut.  Being labeled a carpetbagger is still very much anathema to the political prospects of a candidate in the Old South.  Karen Handel is the first woman from the state of GA elected to the US Congress.  Ossoff was taking on history which the GOP was keen to exploit.

ETA: Yes, Pelosi is the elephant in the room.  You Dems will have to deal with her sooner or later.  It defies all logic that Congressman Tim Ryan of OH was not bumped up to the leadership position to make him a prime running mate for the Dem's nominee in 2020.

[UncleCharlie]

javero said: "ETA: Yes, Pelosi is the elephant in the room.  You Dems will have to deal with her sooner or later.  It defies all logic that Congressman Tim Ryan of OH was not bumped up to the leadership position to make him a prime running mate for the Dem's nominee in 2020."

As I said in a previous thread on Pelosi, after the 2016 generals, she should have acknowledged the defeat, owned it and stepped aside but she's too focused on maintaining power. She is clearly a liability at this point. They need to push her aside for the good of the party but no one has the guts.

[LYLS3637]

I would just like to point out the double standard. Pelosi is a liability, clinging to power, and will be a liability next year, meanwhile the Republicans can attach themselves to any dead hooker in their party and it doesn't matter.

[yankeefan7]

"As I said in a previous thread on Pelosi, after the 2016 generals, she should have acknowledged the defeat, owned it and stepped aside but she's too focused on maintaining power. "

Republicans basically forced John Boehner to resign from being Speaker Of The House. Pelosi should have taken one for the team and let a fresh face lead the Democrats in the House.

[javero]

Everything is riding on the midterms next year.  Pelosi can whip votes like nobody's business. But, from my vantage point, the party in general and the House Dems specifically need invigorating in ways that Pelosi arguably couldn't achieve at this point in her stellar legislative career.  No need to cry for Nancy; she knows the road rules.  Time is not always our friend.

[madbrian]

She needs to be taken from the GOP as a fundraising/energizing tool.  "Don't give the House back to Pelosi" would work well as a GOP slogan.

[LYLS3637]

madbrian said: "She needs to be taken from the GOP as a fundraising/energizing tool.  "Don't give the House back to Pelosi" would work well as a GOP slogan."

 

It would work well as a GOP slogan. In fact, it'd work better than "Take the House from Trump," which is why this country is screwed.

[sabrelady]

Miss American said: "OKAY lady you are just an idiot thank you"

Hey there MISS-y that's SABRElady to you  (& yes I can use one!)

Go stand in a corner and WORK on your repartee cos right now it's up there w President Caligula ( and to be clear- that ain't a compliment)

 

 

 

 

 

[adamgreer]

For the life of me, I will never, ever, understand why Nancy Pelosi inspires such hatred from people. 

[javero]

It's nothing personal regarding Nancy Pelosi.  Nonetheless, let me apply a few sports analogies.  A baseball team has relief pitchers; a football team has backup quarterbacks; and unfortunately, women's tennis now permits on-court coaching at the request of a player.  Sometimes you gotta move a player out either mid-game or mid-season to recalibrate the team's direction or to bolster morale.  Otherwise, the team suffers and the results speak for themselves.  The needs of the team outweigh the ego of any particular player.

ETA: Pelosi has been either House Speaker or Minority Leader since the commencement of the 108th US Congress way back on 1/3/2003.  That's over 14 years.  Since then, the Dems have only flipped one solidly red House seat in a special election.  Worse still, she was able to hold onto the House majority for only 2 terms (4 years) .  That timespan has allowed a huge target to grow on her back for the opposition.  The GOP default play now is to tie any House candidate to Pelosi, especially in special elections.  I don't dislike her.  But, her "leadership record" in the House has become tarnished.  It's time for a reboot if Dems are to become competitive again in House races across the nation.

Source

[South Florida]

Good points by all of you.  I like Pelosi, I like Hillary, but a lot of the voting public dosen't and they can't be the faces of the Democrats any longer.

[South Florida]

Debbie Wasserman Schultz is my rep, it's all bad for morale.

[javero]

My dream ticket in 2020 would be former Michigan governor Jennifer Granholm/Tim Ryan bu it's my understanding that she's ineligible due to some born in Canada rule that didn't apply to Ted Cruz.  I'd love to see them take the fight to the GOP in the Rust Belt.  Hopefully, the next Democratic potus will nominate Granholm to serve as her or his Secretary of State.  I cringe every time I hear Rex Tillerson utter some more nonsense.

[Miss American]

sabrelady said: "Miss American said: "OKAY lady you are just an idiot thank you"

Hey there MISS-y that's SABRElady to you  (& yes I can use one!)

Go stand in a corner and WORK on your repartee cos right now it's up there w President Caligula ( and to be clear- that ain't a compliment)

 

Hush now. You can't say a jump from 20 points to 4 points in a district that's been Republican for nearly half a century means "folks just aren't trying at all."  Well, I guess you CAN, but it's a scorchingly hot take from someme who doesn't seem to have the firmest grasp on how the American political system works.

 

And I don't understand what using a saber has to do with anything, unless you're making a threat?