"Stacey Abrams's Win Is Just the Beginning"

[lapucelle]

From New York Magazine's The Cut:

The Lessons
1. People of color matter.

When Hillary Clinton lost, Democratic pundits and campaign strategists across the country insisted that “identity politics” lost the race. Not likely Russian collusion, not thinly veiled sexism, not “racial anxiety” (read: plain ol’ racism). No: They insisted the problem was that we’d ignored rural white voters for too long.

Abrams chose to buck popular thinking and insist on a simple principle: Everyone, including people of color, must be central to a winning strategy. The question of whether this would work was answered by her victory. It is now up to us, and every Georgia voter, to prove this point once and for all by sending her to victory in the general election.

2. Black women are leaders for all people.
3. We need more fully franchised voters.

The Homework
1. Donate, donate again, then donate more.
2. Go local.
3. SHOW UP. Yes, in ALL-CAPS. A primary is an important battle, but Nov. is the war.

https://www.thecut.com/2018/05/stacey-abrams-broke-the-rules-of-politics-to-win-in-georgia.html?utm_source=Sailthru&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Cut%2520-%2520May%252026%252C%25202018&utm_term=The%2520Cut%2520Saturday%2520Send

[Alethia Merritt]

1. Yaasssss.

She is the real deal. Thank you HRC for introducing her to us at the Convention.

[CaliforniaPeggy]

2. GREAT article and one that is definitely worth reading! n/t

[betsuni]

3. K&R

[Wounded Bear]

4. Yeah, all the BS about chasing "white voters" was at best a mis-direct...

Now, most states don't have the concentration of black voters that AL or GA have, but now is exactly the wrong time to ignore the basic facts of demographics. Repubs have been able to get away with it until now, but Dems simply cannot win elections using a Repub strategy.

States like CA need to mine votes from other POC like Hispanics, but all people matter, all people need to be reached out to, all people need to be motivated to GOTV this November.

[Demsrule86]

11. Those GOP areas we need votes from for the House do not have a high concentration

of POC thus we still need to chase 'white voters.' We need all sorts of voters. How can Abrahms win without enlarging her base to include white voters ET AL? I think the New York Mag article is a fantasy. I want a Democratic governor in Georgia.

[brer cat]

5. K&R

[aikoaiko]

6. "Everyone, including people of color, must be central to a winning strategy."

Last edited Mon May 28, 2018, 12:12 PM - Edit history (1)

I'm not sure this is her strategy.

She appears to be partnering with Steve Phillips who explicitly wants Democrats to blow off the concept of white swing voters and focus on GOTV of people of color and white progressives.
https://www.sfchronicle.com/politics/article/These-Bay-Area-activists-helped-Stacey-Abrams-win-12938715.php

This strategy is a good one for a Georgia Democratic primary, but it's going to be a close call in November.

I will admit that the centrist Democrat that won in GA in the 1980s and 1990s started to lose consistently in the 2000s and 2010s.

I'm voting for her, but I think the NY Mags take is way off base.

[ismnotwasm]

7. K&R

[oberliner]

8. On the national level, the only voters that matter live in certain states

The fact that HRC won the popular vote by a lot is a function of the problem with the system.

Hillary carried California by nearly 4 million voters - yet those millions of voters (many of whom were people of color) didn't matter electorally speaking.

Until we change the system, this problem will get worse. The large numbers of Democratic Party supporters living in LA, SF, and NYC literally don't count whereas a small number of "swing" voters in Wisconsin, Ohio, and Pennsylvania make all the difference.

Something is very wrong with that system.

[uppityperson]

10. "On the national level, the only voters that matter live in certain states"???

Last edited Mon May 28, 2018, 01:08 PM - Edit history (1)

Are you saying that the rest of us, our votes don't matter? Why vote if you are a Dem in LA, SF, NYC because your votes don't count?

[oberliner]

12. Yes, exactly

That is the problem with the Electoral College system.

A Democrat can win California by 500 or by 5,000,000 and they would still get the same number of electoral college votes.

There is something not right about that system.

[uppityperson]

14. You say yes, exactly, to why vote.

[oberliner]

15. Yes, I do

We have to change the system. It is not fair that my vote for president is literally irrelevant if I live in certain states but is critically important if I live in other states. Don't you think that is wrong?

[uppityperson]

16. I think discouraging people from voting by telling them their votes don't count is wrong

I live on the w coast. Often during my life the presidency winner was announced before I voted. Announcing it so discouraged people from voting. But here's a funny little thing. There are more things to vote on than just president, and even if the electoral college is slanted and needs too be changed, every vote does count.

Discouraging people from voting is wrong. Do you agree?

[oberliner]

17. Agreed

Everyone should vote.

I also think we all need to fight to abolish the Electoral College system and replace it with the Popular Vote.

What do you think about that?

[lapucelle]

19. The 2016 presidential election was the first one held

since the gutting of the Voting Rights Act.

In September and October of that year, I traveled out of state with other Democrats to re-register voters who might have been newly disenfranchised and to devise voting day plans for those who anticipated problems traveling to their new polling places. The stories I heard were heartbreaking.

A relative pocketful of people in three states would have made all the difference in 2016. Everyone everywhere has a basic civic duty to show up on election day.

[Demsrule86]

9. I hope that is true. And I like Abrams...my sis who still lives in GA voted for her as did my

brother. But can any Democrat win statewide in Georgia? I hope so...what do you think?

[Gothmog]

13. Abrams may turn Georgia blue

[lapucelle]

20. We flipped Nassau County blue this year,

and we did it with a blue wave of women. A Democrat hadn't won the Hempstead town supervisor position in over 100 years. We also elected a county executive who had to face a county comptroller (currently serving as Republican) who ran in the Democratic primary .

The town, by the way, has a population larger than that of the state of New Hampshire and the city of Seattle, so it's a major office.

[sheshe2]

18. K&R

[ehrnst]

21. K&R

[Cha]

22. Pundits Schmundits.. Tuesday's results proved what #TeamAbrams already knew:

Link to tweet

It's pathetic how so many did a bad take on Hillary's not winning after the election. the fucking vultures were out.


Mahalo for this on Stacy Abrams and Hillary, lapucelle!