Althouse: Ossoff has lost.

June 20, 2017

Ossoff has lost.

The anti-Trump excitement has fizzled.

252 comments:

«Oldest ‹Older 201 – 252 of 252

Achilles said...: "I will predict that Trump will fire the independent counsel who has not been on the job even a month yet."

And the 70% of the voters who think your Stalinist shit needs to stop will cheer.

7.5 more years of trump and 60 republican senators for a generation. Looks like 6-7 constitutionalists on the Supreme Court for a generation as well.; 6/21/17, 12:57 AM
Clyde said...: We need more elections like this so that Democrats with too much money can piss it away.

Silver lining: At least the girlfriend of twelve years finally got a proposal. But twelve years of free milk before buying the cow was a pretty good run. (Yes, I know there's no such thing as free milk; you're paying one way or another.); 6/21/17, 12:59 AM
Darrell said...: This just in--Hillary Clinton will never be President of the United States. News at 11.; 6/21/17, 1:08 AM
Darrell said...: The Left thought they had Soviet Georgia sewn up.; 6/21/17, 1:17 AM
Kirk Parker said...: Drago,

It's an even easier mistake to make when half of the relaxed, joking celebrants have massive, yuuuge schadenboners.

Oh and it's vodka smoothies for me.; 6/21/17, 1:18 AM
Clyde said...: exhelodrvr1 said...
I can see why the left is frustrated - it's clear to anyone with half a brain that Ossoff was the superior candidate!!

Fortunately there were more voters with a full brain than voters with half a brain.; 6/21/17, 1:20 AM
gadfly said...: Bad Lieutenant said...
Oh and, Trump wins again.

Correction, President Donald J Trump wins again!

Are you tired of all this winning? I'm not tired of all this winning! More winning please, President Trump!

Correcting the correction, DJT doesn't get credit for good old-fashioned politicking. The winning began long before Donald took office. From 2009, when Obama became president, and continuing through all elections before 2016, the Dems lost 70 members from the U.S Congress and 908 state legislators.; 6/21/17, 1:35 AM
Bruce Hayden said...: "Damn, the Democrats have a weak bench. Time for them to bring in the big gun, Chelsea. Snort."

That was my first takeaway. I think that the race was winnable by the right Democrat, as it was here in MT. Here, Gianforte wasn't that strong of candidate, but Quist was that weak. In GA last night, you had a decently good Republican candidate running against a very weak Democrat. A guy without much actual experience, and not bothering to move into the district.

Second was that a some point, the vast quantities of out of state money spent on him started to backfire. Enough of the voters just got fed up with it, and decided not to be bought. And the tie to Trump is that it brought out the FU to the Establisment vote.

Third, the Dems made it about Trump (though it shouldn't have been). And that, indirectly made it partially about how they are so egregiously trying to discredit, delegitimize, and hobble Trump and his Administration. I think that after five months of them fighting him, with fair means, but mostly foul, a lot of the Never Trumper in the middle and in the GOP are coming around. It isn't that they like him any better, but, rather, they are just tired of the blatant cheating designed to take him down.

Finally, and somewhat related, was the assassination attempt against the GOP Congressional baseball team. Sure, some Dem politicians and prominent backers came out strongly against it (Sanders was notable there). Too many though came across as almost justifying it. Being willing to justify political murder is just beyond the pale for a lot of Americans. And, esp, I think in the south and in Red/Trump America. That assassination attempt, combined with so many Dems not condemning it, and even some condoning it, probably lost them votes. I don't think that this factor was decisive though, just contributing.; 6/21/17, 2:48 AM
Darrell said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 6/21/17, 2:56 AM
Darrell said...: If each of you will send me just $13.56, we can mount a recount to overturn what is clearly a mistake by the hillbilly trash people of Georgia.
----Dr. Jill Stein

The internet has the Democrats' number. Re-Tweet; 6/21/17, 2:57 AM
Bruce Hayden said...: "Second was that a some point, the vast quantities of out of state money spent on him started to backfire. Enough of the voters just got fed up with it, and decided not to be bought. And the tie to Trump is that it brought out the FU to the Establisment vote."

This brought to mind the word "fratricide", which was used in relation to nuclear exchanges for the situation where throwing too many nuclear warheads at a target becomes problematic, as the nuclear blast from one blew up others as they arrived shortly thereafter. I was reminded he'd of the four years that I spent within almost continuous daily sight of one of the top couple nuclear targets in the US. I remember looking over the gulf between me and Cheyenne Mountain, maybe ten miles distant, envisioning the nuclear Armageddon in that area, as the Soviets tried to dig NORAD out of their lives underground bunker. I saw, in my mind, an inferno, as warheads started arriving so quickly that the bulk of them were destroyed by fratricide.; 6/21/17, 3:02 AM
Hammond X. Gritzkofe said...: Heartening to see a massive run at voter fraud fail. Disheartening to realize it was attempted.; 6/21/17, 3:55 AM
Rusty said...: Well. That was fun.; 6/21/17, 4:19 AM
Rick said...: Upthread someone suggested today's NYT headline would be "Republican Handel Finishes Nearly Last".

Actual Politico headline:

"Trump Spikes the Ball after Georgia Win"

There's a cloud in every silver lining.; 6/21/17, 5:17 AM
tim in vermont said...: "I will predict that Trump will fire the independent counsel who has not been on the job even a month yet."

Hasn't been on the job a month, and already there are daily leaks to CNN that contain nothing but insinuation intended to damage the administration! Productivity like that should be rewarded, not punished!

I guess the severed head ad, coming right before the attempted ballpark massacre, didn't help Badinoff (Hey, don't we get to insinuate Russia into under every bed?); 6/21/17, 5:27 AM
tim in vermont said...: I wonder what precautions officials took to guard against Russian interference?

You know what is really funny? If you read this guy's comment history, he is not even joking!; 6/21/17, 5:41 AM
brylun said...: Hey Chuck, I think Ronna McDaniel is much better than you rated her. I give her much credit here.; 6/21/17, 5:43 AM
tim in vermont said...: Fen, why are Republicans in Congress and in the Justice Department continuing to investigate it then?

Reasons! Don't you understand yet? Reasons!; 6/21/17, 5:45 AM
exiledonmainstreet, green-eyed devil said...: PB wrote of Taco Bell: "And, I know of one that feels like torture in the drive thru (because of the slowness) and they once gave me the so-called premium tacos w/ nothing but lettuce in a shell."

Well, you have my sympathy there. That's pretty sucky.; 6/21/17, 5:46 AM
Swede said...: FUCKING RUSSIANS!!!; 6/21/17, 5:50 AM
tim in vermont said...: Nothing upsets PB&J like insolent service from the lower orders.; 6/21/17, 5:55 AM
Unknown said...: This was not an out-of-the-ballpark win by Handel or Trump.

GA-06 has been a Republican district for 40 years.

It was a close race when it should have been a walkover for the GOP.

Get over yourselves Trumpski's.; 6/21/17, 6:12 AM
tim in vermont said...: “Horrible. Unbelievable. Devastating,” Michelle Litton, an Ossoff supporter, told BuzzFeed News. “It just goes on and on, ever since Trump won it just feels like, you gotta be kidding me. Who could support Trump? I mean what are these people listening to? I mean Jon Ossoff is gonna work for both parties. What happened? Who are these people voting for the Republicans that support Trump? It’s disgusting. I gotta move out of the state, I can’t live in a red state.

Crush the enemies; see them driven before you. Hear the lamentations of their women. That is good!

Aren't these the same people bitching about "wasted votes"? LOL.; 6/21/17, 6:12 AM
David Begley said...: Why would anyone believe Nate Silver going forward?
.; 6/21/17, 6:14 AM
tim in vermont said...: It was a close race when it should have been a walkover for the GOP.

How much money did you guys waste, what was the margin of spending? Who would have thought your side had any money left after blowing so much trying to drag Hillary's political corpse across the line. It just goes to show that the wealthy want the government back in the hands of people their copious money can buy. The Democrats!

7-0 in special elections. I guess Republicans should have been something like 11 for 7 if they were not in so much political trouble.; 6/21/17, 6:17 AM
traditionalguy said...: Final factoid of the night: Trump won Ga6 by 2 points. After 5 months of Ciminally Obstructing Democrats, Trump's surrogate, Handel, wins it by 5 points.

Hopefully California will take its millions of non-citizen voters and secede. Then we can send Mattis in to Save the Union. The Bear Flag days re-Dux.; 6/21/17, 6:30 AM
tim in vermont said...: Ossoff raised $23.6 million to make a symbolic run against President Trump, most of it from Marin County, California and Martha’s Vineyard in Massachusetts.; 6/21/17, 6:30 AM
Clyde said...: Unknown said...
This was not an out-of-the-ballpark win by Handel or Trump.

GA-06 has been a Republican district for 40 years.

It was a close race when it should have been a walkover for the GOP.

This is what "Peak Democrat" looks like in GA-06, when every possible Democrat voter shows up to make a statement, and they still lost. Turnout was higher than the 2014 midterm, and I'm sure that close to 100% of registered Democrats showed up. It wasn't enough.

All they managed to do was piss away an ocean of money in a way that made the Golden State Warriors' championship locker room celebration seem absolutely frugal (According to Darren Rovell of ESPN, the Warriors celebrated with 150 bottles of champagne. Specifically, they were "luminous" magnum bottles of limited edition Moët Impérial Golden, valued at $1,200 each.); 6/21/17, 6:37 AM
Darrell said...: Unknown should take Jack Ossoff as his new handle. Or should I say one of his sockpuppet names.; 6/21/17, 6:41 AM
Darrell said...: Unknown should tell us this is another win for misogyny.; 6/21/17, 6:57 AM
tim in vermont said...: According to Darren Rovell of ESPN, the Warriors celebrated with 150 bottles of champagne. Specifically, they were "luminous" magnum bottles of limited edition Moët Impérial Golden, valued at $1,200 each.)

Yeah, this is the kind of stuff that occupies the attention of ESPN. This and Hank Williams Jr's politics, and never letting you forget that you are a racist because there were once "negro leagues" in America, the concept of which actually was deplorable. Don't go there if you care about sports happening today though.; 6/21/17, 7:01 AM
campy said...: As I said, Blunder Woman would be more accurate. (for Hillary)

I like to call Hillary Plunder Woman, able to line her pockets no matter how badly she fucks up whatever job she holds.; 6/21/17, 7:03 AM
Bruce Hayden said...: "As I said, Blunder Woman would be more accurate. (for Hillary)

I like to call Hillary Plunder Woman..."

And her daughter then "Plumper Woman" for calling out Steve Bannon yesterday for fat shaming Sean Spicer. Finally a cause that Chelsea can believe in - eliminating fat shaming. That and money,; 6/21/17, 7:22 AM
exiledonmainstreet, green-eyed devil said...: Unknown said...
This was not an out-of-the-ballpark win by Handel or Trump."

I suppose you have to try to make yourself feel better.

How much money did the Dems blow there? People who live in that district were subjected to continual Ossoff commercials and robocalls for months. Money poured in from Hollywood.

Not as much fun as Nov. 8, because nothing could be that much fun. It was still a sweet, sweet win for us.

Your tears are delicious.; 6/21/17, 7:28 AM
exiledonmainstreet, green-eyed devil said...: Plunder Woman is great.; 6/21/17, 7:29 AM
tim in vermont said...: On the Democratic side, the combined efforts of the Ossoff campaign, the DNC, and the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee help build a monster operation unprecedented in Georgia Democratic politics. By the end of the race, they had knocked on more than 500,000 doors, hired 100 staffers, recruited 12,000 active volunteers and spent more than $11 million on ads on everything from the Today Show to Korean newspapers and gospel stations.

But, and this is the part that will sting Democrats for a long time: It still wasn’t enough.

In his concession speech, Ossoff told his supporters they had done much more than work on a campaign. “You have provided a beacon of hope, not just for people in Georgia, but for people around the world,”

I knew he was from outside the district, but really?; 6/21/17, 7:36 AM
Dave from Minnesota said...: Wow, if only an additional $1M could have been spent.; 6/21/17, 7:37 AM
alan markus said...: Unknown said...
This was not an out-of-the-ballpark win by Handel or Trump."

Must suck to be you - an "Unknown" guy on the internet not taken seriously by the Democratic fools who could have saved a bundle of $$ if they had only listened to you.; 6/21/17, 7:41 AM
sparrow said...: Once,
The left controls the bureaucracy, media, education system and the culture at large. The right controls only a few government offices and have been fighting a rearguard action against the steady degredation of Western Civilization for over 50 years. So yes the Dems no longer control the Congress of the WH but they still have vast power.

As for Europe, Brexit was real leadership. Rather than suicide along with the Continent the UK demonstrated it's still breathing, although just barely.; 6/21/17, 7:44 AM
WWIII Joe Biden, Husk-Puppet + America's Putin said...: lol

https://twitter.com/Pamela_Moore13/status/877343178537353217/photo/1?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw&ref_url=http%3A%2F%2Face.mu.nu%2F; 6/21/17, 8:01 AM
WWIII Joe Biden, Husk-Puppet + America's Putin said...: The democrat media (the media) are noticeably unhappy; 6/21/17, 8:02 AM
Known Unknown said...: "That, plus I'm sure the baseball field shooting (which the media has sure moved on from in a hurry"

You mean there haven't been hours-long examinations of where the shooter came from, his upbringing, his lifestyle, his political habits, etc, etc, etc. ???

I am shocked.; 6/21/17, 8:04 AM
Tim said...: Handel won the district by more than Trump did in November.; 6/21/17, 8:07 AM
MAJMike said...: DemCong tears sweeten my iced tea.; 6/21/17, 8:07 AM
harrogate said...: A Republican wins a congressional seat in Georgia. This is earth shattering news!

In truth it was one of those where if the Dem won, it would have been noteworthy. When you're a Dem running in that district, a loss is the default expectations, no matter how much money is spent and no matter how ridiculous the GOP candidate is.; 6/21/17, 8:09 AM
Matt Sablan said...: So I guess this is no longer the most important election since Trump won, eh?; 6/21/17, 8:13 AM
Beloved Commenter AReasonableMan said...: harrogate said...
A Republican wins a congressional seat in Georgia. This is earth shattering news!

This may be bad news for Nancy Pelosi. It is well past time for her to go, maybe they finally get some momentum to remove her.; 6/21/17, 8:15 AM
WWIII Joe Biden, Husk-Puppet + America's Putin said...: Democrat terrorism = media silence.

How long will it take the far left and radical Islam/ISIS to join forces?; 6/21/17, 8:19 AM
WWIII Joe Biden, Husk-Puppet + America's Putin said...: When conservative females win = media(D) silence.

Conserve Freedom
Conserve liberty
Conserve the constitution

*media and the left want Illinois and Venezuela*; 6/21/17, 8:23 AM
Bay Area Guy said...: 1962: You won't have Nixon to kick around anymore.

2017: Don't try to Jack Ossoff; 6/21/17, 8:42 AM
James K said...: In GA last night, you had a decently good Republican candidate running against a very weak Democrat

Actually, people I know in GA say she was a fairly weak candidate herself. In fact some of them thought her losing might be a blessing in disguise, so that a better candidate could be put up in '18.

GA-06 has been a Republican district for 40 years.

It was a close race when it should have been a walkover for the GOP.

Districts change. Trump only won it by 2 points. If this was such a sure thing for the Republicans, why did the Dems pour $50M into it? Why did Nate Silver predict victory for Ossoff.

Face it, this was an epic fail for the Democrats.; 6/21/17, 8:53 AM
Big Mike said...: I located a web site that has more details about the spending in the Georgia special election. Some of them were surprising to me.

The total amount raised by Ossoff was $23.9 million versus $4.8 million for Handel. This is a 5:1 ratio, vice the 7:1 ratio reported elsewhere.

45% of the money spent was from outside groups, "including super PACs, politically active nonprofits and party committees such as the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) and National Republican Campaign Committee (NRCC)." This money is not counted in the $23.9 million and $4.8 million that the candidates raised themselves.

Roughly 63% of that 45% was spent on Handel's behalf, 37% on Ossoff's*. This was surprising to me, because the information published by both conservative-oriented and mainstream media sources suggested that there was a lot of outside super PAC spending on Ossoff's behalf. The DNCC spent $5 million, nearly matched by the RNCC at $4.8 million. Ossoff benefited from Planned Parenthood ($810,000) while Handel benefited from the Congressional Leadership Fund ($3.8 million) and US Chamber of Commerce ($1.2 million).

The website complains that 51% of the ads were negative against Ossoff and another 31% negative against Handel. OTOH, it's not necessarily Ossoff's fault that his party sought to nationalize the election as a referendum on Donald Trump, and then Kathy Griffin did her less-than-funny bit with a bloody Trump head. Fair game to show her gaffe, couple it with the antifa rioters, and couple both to the Democrat who is running against Trump, or so it seems to me. Also, the Democrats' nationalization of the election, coupled with money flowing into Ossoff's campaign from California in general and the San Francisco area in particular, allowed Handel and the outside groups supporting her to tie Ossoff to Nancy Pelosi, which is perfectly natural and perfectly reasonable. And devastating to Ossoff.

The Republicans have often been called the dumb party, and not without reason, but having Chuck Schumer and Nancy Pelosi and your two most visible politicians in the era of Trump is not a particularly bright move for a party to make, either.
_____________
* Elsewhere on the same website they assert a 5:2 ratio of outside money in favor of Handel. Without seeing the raw data I cannot resolve the discrepancy.; 6/21/17, 9:14 AM