Greetings from Georgia's Blue Wall
Last edited Wed Jan 6, 2021, 11:08 AM - Edit history (1)
I live in DeKalb County, Georgia, where the highest percentage of voters went for Warnock and Ossoff in this runoff election (83+ % at this point in the count). My wife and I went to bed being very cautiously optimistic, half-resigned to ultimate defeat. We're so used to losing here that even after 2018 and 2020, we're reluctant to allow ourselves hope.
I was hoping to be awakened by fireworks at 3 a.m. when both races were called for the Democrats, but no such luck. Then I awoke this morning to news of Warnock's victory.
You already know this, but it's stunning, I have to tell you.
Senator Warnock. The first Black U.S. senator in this state's history. Wow.
Recent Democratic candidates for U.S. Senate include Michele Nunn (Sen. Sam Nunn's daughter), who would have been fine but didn't sufficiently inspire the Dem electorate, and that idiot Vernon Jones who was recently seen crowd surfing at a Trump rally. Somewhere in the past decade or two we had a white centrist candidate who admitted having used crack. Winning combination! But I digress.
And now Ossoff is on the cusp of victory it seems. Most of the uncounted votes should only enlarge his current 16,000-vote lead. I'm not ready to put the champagne on ice yet, but it's not looking bad. There will be recounts and demonstrations, of course, and all kinds of bullshit from the Republicans. But it's looking like we just might pull this off.
From being "represented" in the Senate a sleazeball dollar-store magnate and a trophy-wife whose "career" is based entirely on her husband's wealth, we're now going to have one of the nation's greatest voices from the modern Black church and a young progressive Jew.
This is Georgia, 2021. We still have Republicans in control at the state level, and it will take continued hard fighting to hold on to these Senate seats and the Congressional seats we've flipped in the last two election cycles. But we have a fight we can win. And we have a lot of new, excited young, Black, Brown, Asian, and progressive voters of all shapes, sizes, colors, and ages who are fired up to keep on fighting.
This is Georgia, 2021. From DeKalb County: Thank you, and you're welcome.
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Hope you scored some good carpet deals in Dalton. 
You're right, Warnock is a deeply decent and principled man. He projects a conviction and commitment to kindness and the public good that are instantly inspiring. He's a breath of fresh air, while Loeffler just projects country club smarm.
The Perdue ads against Ossoff were particularly noxious. As you may know, at one point they actually included an image of him where his nose had been Photoshopped to look more long and "Jewish." 
I loved it in the debate when Ossoff called Perdue a crook to his face, and Perdue just kept his man-of-granite fake stalwart look. Then he was too chicken to even show up for another debate. I guess he thought there were enough backward rednecks and scared white evangelicals to save his candidacy. Heh.
No coffee yet when I posted that. Arggh.
I am operating on 1 1/2 hours of sleep and am getting by on fumes. 
(ETA - I'll self-delete 
)
I've often been baffled that there could be so many backward voters in Ohio, which seems like it should be more left-leaning than Georgia for sure. There is a lot good happening there, too, though, and a lot to build on.
What we're seeing in Georgia can be replicated in many other states. There is a lot of untapped potential. You have, like we do, concentrations of Democratic support in major metropolitan areas and then a vast sea of hate radio listeners and frightened Bible thumpers in the rural areas.
What I've learned from the projects of Stacey Abrams, Nse Ufot, and others is that to win the state you need to have not only a massive voter registration and turnout campaign in the urban areas and suburbs, but also a statewide effort to erode Republican majorities. Sometimes losing by less in a county can be part of a successful statewide campaign. And Georgia even flipped some of the smaller counties from Red to Blue this cycle.
Of course, it doesn't hurt to have a complete buffoon as leader of the opposition party and the resulting internecine warfare that resulted this time around, plus a very popular and well-known Black candidate who can motivate unlikely voters in small towns and urban areas alike.
Oh yeah, you have LeBron James, too -- even though he's in L.A. now. So score another point for Ohio!
I think she can be a regional and national leader — already is. I know there is huge potential in Florida. If it can happen here, anything is possible.
from Up North
Most people probably prefer peaches, though.
Just a word of caution that since your state gov't is Republican they may now try even harder to suppress the vote. Sterling is on TV right now talking about making changes to the system.
Otherwise...
and they will keep trying to boot voters off the rolls. So we know there is a lot of crap to come.
Sec. of State Raffensperger is getting a lot of kudos for "standing up" to Trump, but he continues Brian Kemp's racist voter suppression tactics. We're in a long-term dogfight for sure.
But for today, we take a deep breath and enjoy this win.
Love my cool old neighbors - thanks.
This looks a lot like the crowd the day I voted early, minus the dancing! That day there was an elderly Black lady in a wheelchair sitting outside the polling place wearing an Obama 2012 cap. I told her "Nice hat!" and she just smiled and thanked me.
But a massive effort to register new voters, restore the registrations of voters who've been booted off the voter rolls for stupid-ass reasons like moving or not voting every time, and relentlessly get out the vote -- over and over. This is what it's going to take.
Texas seems close. If the Lone Star State can replicate what happened here, we'll have a force that will send the Republicans reeling for years to come.
But too many governorships and state legislatures remain in the hands of Republicans. We've got to win more at the state level to overturn their dirty tricks. So we all need to stock up on elbow grease.
Welcome to DU, GentleAlien!
Hopefully we can use a combination of community organization and legal challenges to nefarious voter purges to ensure GA and TX turn and stay blue 
Thanks for the welcome..
I requested an absentee ballot weeks ago, and never received it. According to the poll workers, I was not alone. There was quite a stack of papers signed by people promising they didn't receive their ballot and were not trying to vote twice. I got to sign mine and add it to the pile. I didn't want or plan to go to the polls in person, but by golly I masked up and went. It felt so good casting those votes. I knew GA had a chance to elect both Warnock and Ossoff but, like you, I was worried. There have been so many disappointments in the past. Not this time! It's so wonderful, such a lovely relief to know that Mitch is finally going to have to sit down and let those who are serious about governing our country and helping people get some work done. Both of our new Senators are going to do a great job.
I am so proud of my state right now. It is well past time for change, and finally here we are. Woohoo!!
He voted early in person, as did my wife and I. Our polling place did a good job of keeping people separated, everybody wore masks, and we used a cute little cardboard stylus they gave us to mark our ballots on the touchscreen.
It's remarkable how much BS the Democrats in this state had to overcome to make this happen. Fortunately, elections are run at the county level, so they can be a backstop against some of the voter suppression tactics.
I still have a hard time believing the outcome, and of course Republicans are still going to try to steal it from us up until it's no longer possible. But we can pause and look at the bright blue sky today!
Well done! You guys rock!
