696 Comments

Yippee! I will continue to write letters to Georgia voters to remind them about the runoff election through Vote Forward.

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Chris, thank you!! Given Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema, as we learned last 2 years, we only OCCASIONALLY have control of the Senate. Warnock would neuter Manchin and Sinema.

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What if, as my husband suggested tonight, Warnock wins Georgia and Manchin decides to officially switch parties?

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That is beyond unlikely. The Democrats give committe chairs based on seniority and status, the Repubs do not. So that would mean his chairmanship and ranks would go away. Also, he's the only Democrat that can be elected from that state but nowhere near the only Repub. His entire power derives from that positioning and no one with his level of slimy canniness would give that up.

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Very True Wil. Which is why I expect to see every single one of the re-elected Insurrectionists placed prominently on Committees.

I wonder which one will be the selected to erase the J6 investigation.

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Linda, it is my understanding that the Jan 6 committee is slated to be done on Dec 31; it was designed that way knowing that the House would most likely flip. This takes away Repubs ability to disband (read: gloat) the committee.

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Gym Jordan is my bet.

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Great post Will.

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The last half of your excellent comment also neatly describes why leaders like Cheney don't switch parties -- no matter how grateful you are for her service on the 9/11 commission, would you ever vote for her in a primary against a more provenly-loyal Democrat?

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Also, Cheney is a hard right conservative. She voted with Trump well over 90% of the time, including against voting rights. She applauded the Dobbs decision, and publicly accused Democrats of killing babies. We must remember that at the same time that we applaud her courage and her stand against mob rule.

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But, admit it, he's really not a Democrat, is he?

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In West Virginia* terms, yes. Just one beholden to the powers that be in KY. That's normal. One thing to keep in mind is that Manchin's position of power only rested on the fact that he emerged from the crowd when Senate was 50/50. With Warnock, Manchin goes back into the crowd and will not have the leverage he did for a while. And will not be able to pull off sweet deals for his wealthy, um, donars.

* Correction supplied by Cheryl Cardran, with my thanks- I had originally typed KY. I should not do things before eating breakfast!

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West Virginia

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Yes I guess that's a consolation, but to masquerade as a Democrat while kowtowing to the fossil fuel industry is beyond hypocritical. He demonstrates clearly why money should be removed from elections - they should be publicly funded and time-limited.

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The switch I'd like to see is Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R) declaring herself an independent. Thanks to Ranked-Choice Voting, it's likely that both she and Rep. Mary Peltola (D) will keep their seats. I'm not the only one who's guessing that in the second Senate round, it'll turn out that most of Democrat Pat Chesbro's supporters marked Murkowski as their second choice. If you're not up on RCV, this Alaska NPR story explains how it might play out here. https://alaskapublic.org/2022/11/10/why-peltola-and-murkowski-are-well-situated-to-win-reelection/

Much depends on how much of a bloodbath in-fighting Republicans create on Capitol Hill. It'll be especially wild if it turns out they've lost the House as well as the Senate. In the Senate, the gutless Susan Collins (R-ME) might even develop a backbone, and who knows what the quixotic Mitt Romney (R-UT) might do?

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Hope nobody depends on Collins or Romney for well, anything….

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Nov 13, 2022·edited Nov 13, 2022

Romney, yes, a more corrupt man one could not find anywhere.

Perfect match for the Republican Party indeed.

His Bain Capital work helped destroyed middle America by purchasing small manufacturing and destroying it.

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He was also largely responsible for instituting Commonwealth Care -- state-subsidized health insurance -- when he was governor of Massachusetts. Of course many of us called it RomneyCare. When it came in, ca. 2008, as a freelancer I'd been uninsured for 7 years and seriously underinsured (major medical only) for 15 years before that. It helped keep me afloat until ObamaCare came in.

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They express their concern well, at least

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Sinema is the one being wooed by Repubs

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Sinema would not make it out of a MAGA primary. Manchin controls his own destiny where he sits, no need to move. It almost looks weak to switch parties. Manchin is a principled guy, just an old school Blue Dog Democrat and the party left him a bit. Sinema is just an opportunist, unprincipled (big money butt kissing) self-promoting disaster and thus unpredictable. Hopefully she doesn't make it out of the Dem primary.

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I think Manchin also sucks up to big money. Principled, you say? Harrumph.

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Manchin votes for his personal pocket book😠

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No one I know in Arizona would ever vote for her again.

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Even the ppl who worked on her campaign apparently

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Anat Shenker-Osorio suggested on twitter that if Katie Hobbs does win AZ gov, Pres.Biden appoint Sinema as Ambassador to ModCloth.

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Should Sinema bolt the party enraged Arizona Democrats could launch a recall campaign that might very well work. I know I would kick in $100 to such a campaign.

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Sinema voted to convict Trump, voted to certify election of Biden. Compare that to Kelly's challenger. Sinema would not make it out of primary unless GOP starts taking anti-psychotic meds.

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Me too

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Me too!

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How's Tulsi Gabbard making out? She couldn't retain her job as a Democrat, so now she's casting lures in Republican waters. Why would a Republican voter in Hawaii ever vote for her over any other Republican? I think she's trying to find out.

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Right now I'd say Gabbard is in the political wilderness. She has certainly burned every bridge with the Democrats. Officially an Independent, as a stand-in for Tucker Carlsen on FNN she has thrown in with the MAGA wing of the Republicans whose influence, as indicated by the last election, is on the wane.

I predict a quiet fade to black, maybe shilling for the NRA or selling kitchenware on cable tv.

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Arizona rumor is she'll run for re-election as an Independent.

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“Arizona rumor is she'll run for re-election as an Independent.”

If she does run as an independent, in the extremely unlikely event she is elected, with which party would she caucus?

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Karen, when you say "wooed", do you mean paid off by the Repubs?

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Manchin is not going to switch parties and neither is Sinema.

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That would be a bitch. But he doesn’t have to go to all that trouble. He will just vote with McConnell’s henchmen.

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Would not be a surprise, he is no Dem, except on occasion, which is rare

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Yeah, he's a Democrat. There's no litmus test: If you say you're a Democrat and you caucus with the Democrats, you're a Democrat. If he'd been in the Senate in the 1990s, he wouldn't have stood out so much. As it is, I suspect he's giving cover to a few Dems who are also in hock to various unsavory corporate interests but whose seats aren't as secure as Manchin's. They can safely vote for legislation their funders oppose because they know Manchin will block it.

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You called it. Asking for only one or two more Senators will leave you short about a dozen to get some things through

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Oh, glory

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So glad you are writing letters through Vote Forward too. They make it easy and it’s apparently effective. I hope our community will join us and write a bunch more!

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I've been writing with Postcards to Voters since Doug Jones's Senate run in 2017. PTV is based in Georgia: their first campaign was Jon Ossoff's run for Congress early that year. (Jon lost that one but has gone on to bigger things!) There's time to sign up and become an approved writer -- and rest assured there will be more campaigns after Dec. 6, up and down ballot, all across the country. More info here: https://postcardstovoters.org/.

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I wanted to get started right away, so I went to the Post Office in my town and purchased the last of the postcards they had on hand. Hmm, seems like others have the same idea about postcarding! (Not to worry, I've already ordered more)

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I order postcard stamps by the roll from the USPS because my (small-town) PO sometimes runs out at the wrong time. :-) I keep a stash of postcards on hand, but mostly I like to make my own with Avery templates. Artistic I am not, but I'm an OK designer if I have an assist.

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As soon as I heard the possibility of runoff in Georgia, I went online and ordered postcards through Amazon. They arrived in 2 days. I actually ordered two styles that bulk ran about $7-8 for 100.

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Good going, Miselle. I ordered from Amazon, too, yesterday!

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Yes. Keep up the good work. Georgia is 31% black, so if turnout is proportionate, we need the standard 90% of the black vote plus 32% of the rest (white, Asian, Latino, etc). That’s a tall order in Georgia, even if all the black people who want to vote are allowed to vote. So, a win for Warnock is possible but requires a monumental effort.

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It is not really a tall order though. In any other state, Warnock would already be the victor. He needs to win over precisely 0 more voters to win next month. He already outperformed Biden's winning '20 numbers across the state.

I still plan to actively support him, of course. Can't let that slip.

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Not in Alaska. ;-) Hard to say what would happen if GA had RCV. Chase Oliver's 2.1% could put either Warnock or Walker over 50%. What would GA Libertarians be most likely to give as their 2nd choice? No idea, but I have a hunch . . .

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Not in Texas either.

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Not slip at all, please. I'm fairly sure that Trump won in '16 because too many Dems didn't vote, thinking that Clinton was a done deal.

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I think that many (Bernie Bros here) refused to vote for Clinton and some others (Clinton haters) either voted RepubliQan or stayed home.

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Based on my experience in a blue area of a blue state (MA), I agree. MA is no swing state, but I heard enough stories from PA, WI, MI, and other places to suspect it was a factor there too. In the years since, I've seen quite a few younger people buckle down, get involved in state and local politics, and basically figure out that staying home and pouting can have disastrous results. But I'm taking all the golly-gee-whizzery about Gen Z and younger voters in general with the usual peck of salt.

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Make sure there is good turnout in December, or it all goes down the drain.

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Monumental effort, yes, but IMO it's more than possible. Runoffs and other special elections require an especially motivated electorate, and it's now looking that control of the Senate will not be in play, since Cortez Masto seems to have pulled it off in NV. That may matter even more to the bankrollers than to the voters, and who knows? Enough voters may take a closer look at Herschel Walker and finally acknowledge what a flawed candidate he is.

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I don't share your optimism there. I got into it with my former sergeant who refers to Reverend Warnok as a wife beater. I pointed out one or two worse things that Walker has done, and it made not a speck of difference. These people have jumped the shark.

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The poor sergeant is confusing Warnock for Walker--who held a gun to his ex-wife's head. That's the only answer. The poor person is confusing the two....

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Wow. Does this sergeant (I hope it's a man) have any evidence? The pastor of the Congregational church in my town, a white woman, was in seminary with Warnock and they've been friends ever since. They preach regularly in each other's pulpits. I've only met him a couple of times, but I know the local minister well enough and I can't believe there's anything to this.

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He diid it last time. Biden won in Georgia.

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Yes. Can be done. Monumental effort.

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Last time I looked, pity the thought, Herschel W. is black also. Complexity, moderated by downright awfulness, falls upon the black community in Georgia. Say it ain't so, say it ain't so. It's absolutely so demented having Walker stand for office. Sly and twisted.

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"Sly and twisted" it is, and not all that uncommon -- but IMO they've gone over the top with Walker. Did they (the Trumpers in particular) think they would get away with it? Did they maybe think that pissing off Black and white liberals was going to be fun? (more "owning the libs"?).

Apart from the football hero factor, it's not all that unusual for white racists to elevate Black entertainers and sports figures to show that they're not racist. (Lindsey Graham has been making a fool of himself lately in this regard.) Raphael Warnock is the white racists' worst nightmare: an intelligent, dedicated, articulate, hardworking Black man who was not born with a silver spoon in his mouth.

I'd love to know more about how GA Republicans settled on and recruited Herschel Walker. There are times when I feel very sorry for the guy.

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This is my heart button to you, Susanna!

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After my home state (MA), DC is the place I lived the longest. When I first registered to vote, at 18, it was as a member of Julius Hobson's D.C. Statehood Party. ;-) I voted Dem for decades, but I didn't belong to another party till January 2017, when I registered as a Dem so I could accept the position of secretary of my local Dem group.

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Walker was t’s pick: they go back to the old USFL & Walker’s tenure w the NJ Generals.

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I'm writing as fast as I can for Postcards to Voters. Go Warnock!

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Meeee tooooo! Gonna need more stamps tomorrow. :-)

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I’m writing too!

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I’m doing the same.

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Maybe "reminding" them isn't the right word. Supporting and encouraging them is what I think. And letting them know we have their backs. Go Georgia! Right now you are us.

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Thank you, Chris. I will continue to write postcards to Georgia, as well, through Markers For Democracy!

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I am picking up my postcards this morning! Our county may not be big but it is very active. There were/are many opportunities to help elect Democrats around the country.

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Me, too, Chris!!

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Yes! The hero of the re-making of the Michigan legislature is a young woman named Katie Fahey (I hope I spelled that right) who, after the trump victory in 2016, organized Voters Not Politicians, got a redistricting proposal on the ballot and voted in, and defined a process for citizen selection of redistricting maps that was carried out with public input and transparency during the past year -and look at the effect, we now have a democratic legislature for the first time in 40 years!

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Got that right, KATIE FAHEY ... Director of The People.

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Thank you! She's pretty inspiring, Miriam and Bryan! Found Guardian article about her and now thepeople.org looks good. Gotta see the documentary Slay the Dragon...

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What happened in Michigan is astounding. It's a model for what we need to do around the country. And Whitmer 2024?

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so how do we all figure out how to do that the way they did it?

inquiring minds really wanna know!!

lots of other efforts in different states have failed at various stages.

Michiganders DID it for REALZ!!!!

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Nov 13, 2022·edited Nov 13, 2022

Suz-an - We did it in Colorado, also. First, in 2018, there were two ballot measures to amend the state constitution to insure that electoral district maps would be determined by two independent, NON-POLITICIAN, citizen commissions - one for the state legislative districts and one for Congressional districts. Every detail of how these commissions will be selected and function is spelled out in the state constitution.

Once the amendments passed, our state was ready to act to establish the commissions as soon as the 2020 census was completed. Each commission was made up of 4 Democrats, 4 Republicans and 4 unaffiliated members. Applicants had to have been affiliated with their political party or unaffiliated for at least 5 years.

If you want to change the process in your state, you might start by getting in touch with your local League of Women Voters chapter.

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Texas needs this yesterday

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Jeri,

Yes, but, I doubt Fahey would successful down in Texas. Mixing religion and politics down there has made being Republican essentially equivalent to believing in Jesus.

And, not "believing in Jesus", which is hard to figure out what that means anyway, will, as we both know, send us to hell independent of our support for his message. Now, since were are all raised to feel great fear when the mention of hell comes up, we know that being Republican is the only way to go.

The confusion in folks minds down there between "believing in Jesus" and "being Republican" is very, very real. Those preachers down there in those huge churches selling that prosperity gospel routinely link Jesus and being Republican as if they are the same thing.

People, not having read the New Testament themselves, where Jesus says that a rich man's likelihood of being admitted into Heaven is the same probability as a camel going through the eye of a needle?? They have not heard that in those prosperity gospel sermons.

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Thank you Mike S & Jeri. It has been a long, long time since I have been in any temple, but, as I recall, the Carpenter from Nazareth threw out not only the money changers but, also those who sold the dove.

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Bryan,

Yes, unfortunately for said Carpenter, not currying favor with the billionaires of his time?

Did not quite work out so well.

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And Florida! Look at what mega-authoritarian DeSanctimonius did gerrymandering the most Black North part of the state by himself, with the complete approval of the Republican legislature. No way to get your kind of state constitutional amendments here. Living here gets more terrifying by the day. He's living his dream and I don't know how we'll ever get out of this mess in this ruby-red state.

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The entire landscape of Florida was created by several million years of hurricanes, which are becoming more frequent and violent. After a few more 150mph-wind lawnmowers cross the state, perhaps more than one a summer, Floridians are going to need all the goodwill they can find. How that will shape their politics, I've no idea.

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The governor sure changed his tune after Ian did so much damage all over the state (not just Fort Myers) and we needed federal help...and help from the immigrants who come in to help clean up and rebuild after climate disasters. For many years, I've always said that I want a house on Casey Key and enough money to rebuild after a hurricane blows it away. Now it looks more likely that the Key might not be there to build on since storms are getting more destructive every year. Nature wins every time and rebuilding in these zones seems a more and more ridiculous idea. We have to learn to adapt, not make the same mistakes over and over in the face of what IS.

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That is very similar to what was done in Michigan. Very smart lawyers wrote the ballot initiative, which became part of the state constitution. We had 5 dems, 5 republicans and 5 independents on the committee, self-defined, and we got 10,000 applications to serve on the committee, I believe. Or perhaps that was the goal. They consulted with other states that had done similar things. unfortunately, not all states permit a ballot initiative...

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They had a non-partison council of citizens draw the legislature districts.

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Do it like we Did it in Michigan!

https://votersnotpoliticians.com/

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Nov 13, 2022·edited Nov 13, 2022

Miriam, wow, great post. I had no idea about Katie Fahey. She is now my new heroine.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Katie_Fahey

"On November 6, 2018, Michigan voters overwhelmingly approved Proposal 2.[8]

At the election night party in Detroit, Fahey said, "The thing we proved tonight is that we are our own saviors. We the people can save ourselves."[7]"

I had no idea. Your post, Mirium, is one reason I keep reading these comments.

Amazing story.

Thank you.

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Yes, she was amazing. I wonder what she is doing now.

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Katie Fahey (according to Wikipedia) is now with an organization called The People (thepeople.org) working towards more progressive changes.

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Do it like we Did it in Michigan!!

https://votersnotpoliticians.com/

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Lots of women in the upper echelons of power there too. That’s a mighty fine look. Now comes the harder part.

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Listen to Tim Miller’s interview with Mallory McMorrow (D-MI) this past week on The Bulwark for a deeper look at the MI trifecta and what it will mean, not to mention how to go about making your state government work for you.

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I am hoping sometime in the future Mallory can help us all with our national government, Mallory tomorrow.

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Mallory McMorrow is amazing. Would love to see her moving into National politics towards the Presidency

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Forgive me, I am dreaming here: Wittmer-Mallory or Mallory-Wittmer ticket.

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I suppose Wittmer-Mallory then Mallory-?

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Does this mean i can feel safe on my next trip back to my home state?

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Yup. Take the road through Yosemite then the 395, (take the long way home). Yahoo in Tahoe or Wahoe;

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Do it like we did in Michigan!!!

https://votersnotpoliticians.com/

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mps, good slogan: Do it like they Did it in Michigan!

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I went to law school with Adam Laxalt and we both summer clerked at the AF General Counsel’s office. Calling him as dumb as a box of rocks is an insult to boxes of rocks. He was totally the recipient of Affirmative Action for the duma$$ kids of the wealthy and connected.

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After attending Tulane for two years, Laxait transferred to Georgetown University, where he graduated magna cum laude in 2001 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in political science and government...There is enough disinformation from MAGAts out there...we don't need any on this site. This correction does not speak to his political or ethical views though..

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Mr. Hafner, I too graduated with a BA with cum laude honors, but I really did not earn that merit award and didn’t understand how it occurred until after graduation. I went to the registrar’s office and asked for an explanation. I had interrupted my undergraduate four year education to join the Navy in ‘67 finishing my enlistment in ‘71. I transferred my lackluster two and a half years with barely 2.0 GPA credits with a “neutral” value to U-Mass.

This arithmetic transfer magic trick allowed me to graduate with a GPA that was calculated with only the last year and a half of my academic performance being used to award me with cum laude honors. The U-Mass registrar explained this to me, and it amazed my wife and myself. The GI Bill paid for my college education and allowed me to purchase my first and second homes with a low interest rate mortgage and no money down payments plus clean-up my lackluster early undergraduate GPA making my college performance look a lot better than it actually had been. I wouldn’t be too impressed with the losing AG’s college resume. Things in resumes may not be what they appear to be without further and deeper investigation. I never tried to become a Senator. I had to earn a living.

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JP.

Thank you for your service is all I have to say about your GPA.

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I mean, book smarts can definitely coexist in one individual with every other category of dumbness.

I call them the stupid-smarts. Because I'm witty like that.

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I've commented on this previously. My blue collar husband calls them educated idiots.

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Nov 13, 2022·edited Nov 13, 2022

I know exactly what you mean. How long have I known that “smart” can be incredibly stupid??!

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I can only really speak for myself on this, but I noticed long ago, with gratitude, that to be considered smart I only have to be really smart some of the time. The rest of the time I can be just as dumb as everyone else. 😉

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witty indeed!

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🤣🤣🤣🤣

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Nov 13, 2022·edited Nov 13, 2022

Graduating magna cum laude, while studying Political Science, is embarrasing is it not? Why not summa? Because.....

Political Science, at one of my colleges is what all the athletes took so that they would get an A without even showing up to class. The entire political science curriculum was aimed at an A average.

Sort of like how George W. Bush bragged he got through Yale without ever going to class, their lowest grade is a C.

Then, he was admitted to Harvard Business school based on "legacy" admission, otherwise known as "White Man Affirmative Action".

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Attributed to Former Texas Governor Ann Richards said: "Some people are born on 3rd base, and go through life thinking they hit a triple"

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Umbridge taken.

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Did you make this mistake on purpose ? Those of us who are not confused continue to not be confused. These posts where everything is either incorrect or dismissive of higher education- are they an attempt to imply the Dr. Richardson, by extension, somehow does not have a grasp of her subject matter? You do not have to agree with her to benefit from these posts, but you do have to read them.

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I’m a law professor. Not exactly someone who is dismissive of higher education. And I am stating my PERSONAL experience and recollection of working with Adam Laxalt.

.

In addition to my two degrees from Georgetown, I also have two degrees from state universities and my impression is that generally, the harder it is to get into a school the easier it is to stay in. And Vice verse. For those of us without family connections, earning a degree required a lot of hard work.

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When I was in college (Medical Technology) one of my coworkers was engaged to a young medical student there. He apparently was pushed into medicine by his parents and he was struggling in school, much of the problem seemed to be his lack of interest in being a physician. I recall my friend saying that the school was all over him to assist him improving his grades. Understandably--they had a limited number of students, and the 2nd year student dropping out would leave that void. Apparently there was some resentment among his fellow students that he was getting such personalized attention, that if he "really wanted to be a doctor he'd take it more seriously".

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And this was not meant to be dismissive of those who had help of family connections but who also work very hard both in and out of school.

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I live in a university town … many of my neighbors are professors … perennially frustrated and handicapped by mis-guided administrative policies, corporate interference, and nasty departmental politics. If Dr. Richardson is somehow immune to all that noise, she is indeed fortunate. I suspect that she just gets on with her work in spite of it.

Dr. Richardson is a national treasure. Her YouTube series on The American Paradox is comparable to sitting in on a graduate level seminar, a well-informed perspective on the causes of the Civil War and it's aftermath.

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Michael,

Dr. Richardson is indeed of high value for those Americans reading her work.

No doubt.

However, although I am in favor of Ph.D. education, and have one myself, I might argue that whatever Dr. Richardson chose to do in her life, which, in this instance was higher ed, she would have shined.

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Meredith,

I spent 5 years in post graduate education obtaining a Ph.D. Now, that may not mean I am in favor of higher education, but, I am.

George Bush did not get a higher education. He purchased a ticket to ride.

That was my, perhaps too obscure point.

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Keep supporting Warnock in every way you can!!! This matters! And pray for the House majority it s very possible if these red numbers keep changing to blue as final ballots counted! The work is not done but let’s celebrate democracy is still here🥂🥁💙💙🇺🇸 Thanks Heather💐💐💐

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So pleased to hear that no election denier has won in one of the battleground states in Senate races!

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“After the Nevada race was called, Senate majority leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) told reporters that the victory was ‘a vindication for Democrats, our agenda, and…for the American people.’ He explained: ‘The American people rejected the antidemocratic extremist MAGA Republicans.’”

Thank goodness❣️❣️❣️❣️❣️

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Agreed, tho evil is still afoot.

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33% of the ballots cast in my small town were for the election-denying, T****-suckup candidate for governor in Massachusetts. I thought Mass was smarter; I was misinformed.

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Nov 13, 2022·edited Nov 13, 2022

You make me grin. I had a friend from Massachusetts, a little guy who talked funny. He wanted to count, to be useful. He begged us to teach him to be a door gunner, but we thought him a national treasure what with his special way of talking and all. He was too good for morale to lose. That’s how he counted. If you want to see dumber sojourn on out here to Idaho. We have real nice dumber people. In our local paper which comes out only on Thursday because it takes people all week to read both pages, there is a column dedicated to past times. This weeks thrilling edition included that 110 years ago the state had survived another glorious election continuing in the tradition of remaining safely all red. So you see things are somewhat better out your way what with so many non-reds. Is that discriminatory……am I…should I not have…

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Unreal, that the beautiful Western states are inhabited by those who still think cowboys and the “self-made” white man ARE America (Cliven Bundy arses). Also have a grand niece there, smart and educated. But republican thru and thru. Go figure…

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That's a pretty broad statement, Jeri. I know people in a lot of the states, and there are many people who do not fit that stereotype at all. I think it is dishonoring people who are working hard to change things to lump them in without even mentioning that they exist. Even Utah has a large, active group of people working hard for liberal values. And look at how far Alaska, Nevada, even Arizona have come because of work by people willing to stand up and speak up. Groups like that exist in all western states. To learn more about real westerners, I suggest reading High Country News, a highly regarded publication that tells the whole story about the west, not just MSM stereotypes. And they cover all of it, good and bad. I still subscribe because the west is in my blood and will always be home in my heart.

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GO EAT BREAKFAST!!!

I have friends here in Oregon who want to secede and join Idaho. They don't like my suggestion to move there, if that is what they want (several have done just that).

Thanks for the suggestion on High Country News. (Trundles off to go sign up...)

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Ranchers are plentiful out here but cowboys are very rare. To take a night mare out into the calving herds at sunset and circulate through the January and February birthing grounds has given way to modern conveyances with heaters and warmed sheds with wood stoves. When sunrise comes you and the night mare are not to be found warming your hands over a fire, maybe asleep on a cot with an alarm clock set every two hours now a days. That being reality, they still rope and brand and push the cows onto the public domain when grass comes, and they are todays cowboys. Evolution. Democrats are as rare as hens teeth. But as usual if you need a shirt they’ll give you theirs. Go figure.

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I gotta go eat breakfast before I collapse, but glad I took the time to read your post, Pat. Love how you pointed out that dumb doesn't mean useless, and they can make meaningful contributions. And laughed out loud at your description of small town Idaho. Sounds like the kind of jokes my elders used to make about the place.

Yeah, I am in New England now, and my state is so blue we overwhelmingly re-elected a respected Gov who happens to be an honorable Republican who worked for the people. I disagree with him on some things but respect him highly. He won handily, though I still voted Dem, I'm ok with that. Every other electee at the state level is blue, and blue is getting stronger at the local level.

Our Gov did not attend the Republican election party (they took a few local posts)- because he wasn't even notified of it. He learned about it next day from the media, who asked him why he wasn't there. Petty Republican retribution much? Tacky. He "failed" in their eyes because he openly broke with Trump years ago.

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You are essentially a western woman, easy to tell, as easterners talk really fast but I gotta say some of them are scary smart so watch yer step.

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Thanks for the compliment, Pat. You pinned it. I'm not sure that northern New England, especially Vermont, is really part of the east you are speaking of, though. It's way different. But yep, there are some smart ladies out here and I'm proud to call them friends. There are some others I'd just as soon avoid. Same as everywhere.

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Yup-I live in Florida where evil resides in Tallahassee and is planning a run for the Oval in a huge way. No conscience-no compassion. Pure lust for power.

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And the MSM keeps praising his accomplishments, what a crock. Cheating rules the fools

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He truly is a threat to democracy, from his book banning a, to absurd gerrymandering, to treating poc and lgbtq folks as less than, to rewriting history, to his war on woke-he is the worst product of trumpism and is rising up to consume his maker (tag) and set his sights on destroying America. I’m still afraid and sickened by the empowering of this monster among us.

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And to “evil is still afoot” might I add the cold water of Kris Kobach, apparently narrowly ahead for Kansas Attorney General. Kansas election offices close for weekends and holidays, so the definitive count should appear Monday but KK has already declared himself the winner (typical!). Vows to sue the Biden administration every day, for something, anything. He’s baaack…

https://kansasreflector.com/2022/11/09/kobach-claims-victory-in-kansas-ag-race-vows-to-fight-biden-administration/

https://kansasreflector.com/2022/11/11/mann-surrenders-quest-to-overtake-kobach-in-kansas-race-for-attorney-general/

With Laura Kelly (D) elected to a second term as Governor (yay!) and KK in the AG office (boo!), I guess this will make for some awkward collision moments in the capital cafeteria and elevators.

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That is definitely bad news.😡

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Folks- Vote Forward is asking that volunteers write letters for the GA Run Off.

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Tony the Democrat also.

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Barbara-LFAA Comunity: What is the most effective way to donate to Sen. Warnock's campaign?

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Use his Web site, but be prepared for an e-mail onslaught. Warnock sometimes sends upwards of a half-dozen e-mail fundraising requests per day. Been getting them since before the 2020 election. My log shows 2,381, and that's by no means all of them.

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The downside of donating. The emails are a big turnoff. Won’t respond to any. Finally around to tax-payer funded elections.

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Yes, I keep returning to election funding reform, and keep getting brushed off. We need to push this to the top when we can. At all levels. We can begin by building the infrastructure we need for the 2024 elections- that effort can be one way to raise the issue about reforming election funding (or radically changing it, since reform hasn't worked).

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Nov 13, 2022·edited Nov 13, 2022

That number at least! I last gave $100 to cover the runoff. And now he is regularly asking for another $100!

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The email solicitations are not personal. They have no clue how much we already donated and just do the maddening mass mailings, probably using the same hyperbolic vendor as Republicans do.

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I donated to Warnock's campaign as my budget allowed. I went through his website. I do get short requests but, no, they are not hyperbolic. They are simple requests. One thing to keep in mind is that sometimes late donations go to cover needed late campaign pushes as election nears- and the contracts are waiting to be funded. Many candidates, whether they win or lose, end up in the red. Another thing is that people who are elected are often expected to pay their aides and staff themselves, and sometimes their local offices. Some state parties provide office & telephone facilities, but not all. Legislators absolutely depend on their staff in order to maintain their ability to be effective. And staff need space, phones, computers, etc.

The elected candidate (especially many of the kind we want) may not have resources to do pay for that post-election, they may not have big donors, and depend on our small donations to help fill the gap. So voting and calling it done may not be enough.

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Send one donation to one fundraiser of any kind and you are marked with a target right between your eyes! EVERYONE wants you to give them money! It’s unavoidable! Sadly, it is counter-productive, creating a anti-donation backlash. I can’t possibly give to every request! It becomes like a bird’s nest full of hungry chicks! Whoever has the biggest mouth gets the most food. This momma bird killed herself trying to give to everyone. Now, nobody gets any!

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Off topic: I sent a donation to Lawrence O’Donnell’s KIND Fund once. I was inundated with grab-you-by-the-throat dunning emails from UNICEF for a year! I was so traumatized by those emails I stopped checking my email. BTW: Back then I was too damn dumb to figure out how to opt-out. Any whiff of an inundation by anyone - even if I can block them later - I’m outta there! Dem fundraising is ruthless!

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Both parties use the same totally obnoxious histrionic marketing vendor. Even when these emails are on behalf of candidates I love and respect, I just delete them without even reading.

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Histrionic is exactly the right descriptor.

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I donate by mail, sending a check. Much easier to the recycle the subsequent mailers than have my email box fill up.

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Follow on question about donations and Warnock’s runoff bid:

There are limits ($2,000?, 2,800?) to what an individual can donate to a candidate. How is the limit set in the case of a run-off? Does the limit get reset after the Nov 8 election, or will the limit continue through runoff. If the latter, it creates a ceiling, if a donor is maxed-out then the runoff contribution cannot be used?

And when donor limit is reached, what is the campaign committee supposed to do? Return the donation? Redirect it to a super-pac?

I wish campaigns were limited to just 3 months and a cap on $. The money in campaigning, and the whole system, is obscene.

I’m guessing some Georgia donors with “means” may already be maxed out if the limit is not reset for the runoff. But “national” level PAC money will be pouring into this runoff, regardless.

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How the money is handled is laid out in the law, and is repeated on every donation form I have seen. I'd look it up (it's easy to find), but frankly, my breakfast is still on the stove and I haven't had coffee yet, so somebody else is going to have to do it. If I know this group, several folks will get on it.

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While I have no desire to in any way dampen enthusiasm for Sen. Warnock, I can't help but wonder how far in advance advertising-time contracts have to be negotiated and paid for. How does extra money assist a campaign with barely two weeks to spend it? I mean, I'll be voting for him at my first opportunity, for sure, but I have a hard time believing that anybody's actually undecided at this point.

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Advertising is cheaper for the candidate than for the national organization or a PAC.

If you want to donate to a candidate, do so thru their website--and never, even give out a phone number or the texts will kill you.

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Dirk Addertongue,

From now to first week of December… Oh, I’m sure media ad brokers will find open spots and a chance to take money. :)

Radio ads are probably pretty ephemeral.

But campaigns also hold in-person events that cost, they pay staff, go door-to-door, and put up billboards and lawn signs. Also, I’m reading that turnout for runoff elections is notoriously low (single ballot choice vs a whole slate of offices), so campaigns want to make noise and keep attention focused so there is not an upset reversal.

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Understand but, one of many major issues now is voting

In a district that is not gerrymadered, safely voting. Also, others can "vote" by not voting at all meaning rejecting an out-of-state front man that has been put on the ballot by others,. Finally (forgive me) in this intense digital age, campaigns are on a 24/hours-a-day clock partuclarly SUNDAY for Sen. Warnock.

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Mailed 40 cards yesterday and it letters from Vote Forward is the afternoon plan!

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I sent 200 postcards to Arizona first time and previous voters. Those ballots are now being counted. It’s a long process and it’s working. The postcards, the voting and the counting.

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Zella,

Thank you. I just signed up.

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Just as important for the future of honest elections, American voters rejected Secretary of State candidates who peddled the election lie and promised, if elected, to make sure the next election was not a repeat of 2020. Thanks to savvy voters who understood the importance of SOSs, Election deniers will not be controlling election machinery in Arizona, Mich, Minn, New Mexico and Nevada.

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Glory, was

my fear, but Tx and Fl learned to cheat with finesse

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The voting machines in Texas need to be examined. But these results are largely a demonstration of what shameless gerrymandering can do to disenfranchise voters.

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As ecstatic as I am about this, I still can’t help but wonder how Manchin and Sinema will vote. Of course, outside interests will put billions into the Georgia run-off. What a circus that will be! Still, American voters, not the least of which were young voters, saved our Democracy, confounding the touted “Red Tsunami” forecasters. The battle is far from over, still, this gives me hope. God bless America.

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"Billions" have absolutely no place in fair and free elections. None. It's not like there is no role for money in the electoral process since that's how we get things done, but the excesses of what Fritz Hollings called "the cancer on the body politic" (Money, money, money") is patently antidemocratic. Resistance to the intrusion of ever expanding role of money in determining electoral and legislative results has met with far too meek resistance by the public.

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In emphatic agreement. While my household supports candidates and causes, the ask anymore is incessant. I canvass, call, write letters and vote. Is that not enough to prove my care and concern for democracy? I am going to need an Act Blue account for my retirement. Let us, indeed, insist on ending the expansive role of money in politics.

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I thought the pleas for money would end Tuesday or Wednesday. Was I wrong! I'm 81 and I gave 'til it hurt, but I felt it was necessary.

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Give ONLY to the candidates you want. Block the numbers and emails of cause-of-the-month-club hangers-on groups asking you to "split" a contribution between them and the candidate. Same for the Party unless you are donating to local party chapters that are not run by corporate elephants in donkey suits.

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Where I could, I deleted my cell phone number to avoid getting calls and texts. It worked well with only a few who reached out on my phone. I just blocked and "Stop to Quit" those few.

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When a candidate's director of fund raising shares your information that you contributed with every other candidate's director, it's easy enough to do the math on the calls you are going to get to show you really won't have a phone for your own use if you let their bots keep phoning and phoning you. We need public funding for elections for elections to stop the craziness of paying to play.

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They have had all the money, most anyway. Blocking all emails since I don’t respond to them anyway. I know who I think is worthy, not a Republican anywhere.

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Til it hurt, but the well is running dry. And the check from Soros is not here. Maybe Act Blue will disown me, so sick of the free and fair elections that bankrupt all but the “Rupert’s” of the world

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A bipartisan election reform act did that, till “Citizens United” with support from John Roberts and other Republican justices overturned it

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You've absolutely done more than enough, Sarah! I feel the same way but had to reckon with the automated fundraising techniques these campaigns are employing.

That said, I've been wondering if, indeed, we get rid of the dark money, PACs and Super PACs, there probably will need to be a replacement. I'm guessing that replacement is us donating (as we have been) to our favorite candidates. Bigger brains than mine will need to carve out a solution going forward. I have no idea how it would work.

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Tell that to the Republican majority Supreme Joke that ruled on Citizens United.

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I would love to talk to John Roberts about Citizens United. I wonder what he thought would happen?

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I wonder if Roberts is proud of his decision to sell US elections to the highest bidder--national and international.

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“Billions” make a sick joke out of fair and free, yes?

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Nov 13, 2022·edited Nov 13, 2022

The public hates it; it's the PARTIES that like it.

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I don’t think it’s the parties so much. After all, it’s their job to raise the money so the candidates even have a campaign. How much money do you think the assorted media outlets made on just these midterms? Eight BILLION dollars got spent with more yet to go. Think about it. Some entity or entities got very, very rich.

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The MSM followed Rupert down the rabbit hole, hence “news” is a money maker. Walter spinning in his grave.

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JL, I live in MN-2 congressional district. The race here, between Democrat Angie Craig and Republican Tyler Kistner, was the most EXPENSIVE congressional race in the country! The district includes the southern suburbs of the Twin Cities.

In 2020, this was the 5th closest race in the country. Repubs identified it as a possible swing district and poured in millions. The lies, the calls to violence, the appeals to MAGATs scared me - and I don’t scare easily. I did door knocking, registered new voters, and sent more money than I have ever given; even brought sample ballots to the dog park

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Haven't heard the name Fritz Hollings in eons! Thanks for the memories, J L.

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Apparently the young voters voted overwhelmingly for Democrats.

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Yes, huge for Maura Healey, first woman Governor of Massuchusetts , Marvelous

Masto & all boats were lifted

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" ... young voters, saved our democracy". Yup. Gen Z just made a stunning entrance into the Body Politic. Max Frost is nipping at your House.

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cute!

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We don't have too many giddy parties in the community. :)

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Fingers crossed that Warnock will win in Georgia… 🤞

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He must win. He is worthy.

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And the alternative is a fool.

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As Michelle Obama used to say, We go high... now that so many trumpian scales are falling from people's eyes, I'd like to think that the best way of emphasizing the truth of what you say is by shining a strong light on the difference between them.

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Go high had better not mean go soft. Enough of that

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I actually believe walker is deeply mentally ill and compromised. He needs help, not an election.

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Brain damaged from too many hits to the head. But his judgement was poor long before that cumulative effect took it’s toll.

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attempted like. Apparently his many wives/women who gave birth to his children, and even some of his children, agree with you.

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I do, too.

I tend to feel sorry for the underdog (not evil politicians, just in general) and something about this whole campaign with Walker smacks of racism to me. It seems like the not too bright black boy being "befriended" by the white boys for the chance to poke fun, to have him act and say things they find amusing. I am amazed that black voters in Georgia don't see that and be outraged about it.

None the less, writing letters and postcards for Warnock, and I pray someone that someone who loves Walker and whom Walker respects, takes him aside and explains that those people pushing him are not his friends.

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He doesn’t know it. His handlers do

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Well, so did I, and I'm a stranger on the other side of the world, so it seems fairly likely that a great many voters in Georgia know it too.

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My thoughts exactly. More Dem senate seats are better to keep these two in line.

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This could likely eclipse Manchin and Sinema, render them irrelevant and consign them to the dark corners of the Capitol building.

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Carol, you are correct if one or the other opposes the Dems, but not if both vote with the GOP. If both favor the GOP as they have in the past, that will diminish the Dems votes to 49 (assuming Warnock wins the runoff and there are 51 Dem plus

aligned independent voters) and will defeat a solid block of Dem voters--unless, of course, there are Republican senators with grit and no fear.

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The emerging slate of newly-elected Arizona Democrats (if Katie Hobbs succeeds), I think, will send a message to Sinema. She will have to live down the video clip of remarks in Kentucky. Like Amy Coney Barrett, Sinema flew to Louisville to pay homage to Mitch McConnell during a conference—fundraiser held in the McConnell Center on the U of K campus. “My values align with McConnell.” She went on to mock the Biden administration as operating like an indulgent parent upon the demands of a spoiled child. Couple le with her refusal to deliver federal dollars to Arizona for issues that clearly matter, I think her seat is very vulnerable. She’s bet on the wrong horse. If I were running against her in 2024 I’d hold up her anti-Biden voting record and the pledge to McConnell in KY. Gen Z won’t tolerate her.

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Adding: It isn’t just that Sinema flew to Louisville on the government dole, or that the McConnell Center was funded by U.S. tax dollars, it’s that her public remarks pledged fealty to McConnell and the GOP at a time when the infamous “Red Wave” was presumed to be a fait accompli. It is not unlikely that McConnell ( as well as the oil, drug and gun lobbyists) are actively pressuring her to flip parties, on several points and with lots of perks in status and payoffs. It not a closely held secret that the Arizona Democratic Party sees her as a turn-coat, as we all do. She will be met with hostilities in Arizona, as she’s made her bed with a crumbling party. If he can, McConnell will use her as Queen in the gambit.

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That is the question.

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My dream

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They will vote for their own interests, or for the people who pay them. No question.

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HCR followed my post on her Letter from yesterday with this Letter by like 5 minutes! So, I'll copy and paste what I said there on here:

Now, with Nevada AND Arizona sending Democrats to the Senate, that takes some of the urgency out of Georgia's Senate race. However, I think it does now create some questions. Essentially, how will this affect each candidates' chances? Who will it help? Who will it hurt? Make no mistake, the race is STILL vitally important to us here in Georgia. Will national Republicans now distance themselves from Walker, since our race doesn't matter so much now? Will Republican elites here in Georgia, who've never been totally comfortable with Walker anyway, decide to withdraw some support? There was a notable distance between Gov. Kemp and Walker during the campaign. Now that Kemp has won, will he decide he'll have nothing to lose by appearing to support Walker? Will T***p still come to Georgia, like he said he would, to campaign for Walker? T***p is NOT popular here and leaders wanted him to stay away. Safe to say, Walker is NOT the Senate candidate a lot of Georgia Republicans want representing them. When they thought he'd be part of a GOP majority, they could hold their noses and vote for him. Now, I wonder. As for Warnock, my fear is Democrats might sense the urgency is gone for them to vote and they won't turn up at the polls. Democrats are notorious here for not showing up for runoffs already--the last runoffs were a huge exception--so maybe we've learned? I think the rest of the country might not realize how "election weary" we are in Georgia. It's like the last 2 years have been one huge non-stop election. We're tired. Still, if we can hang on and send Warnock back to Washington, with a Senate majority of 51 we can maybe push Joe Manchin on to the ash-heap of irrelevancy. I'm hoping folks won't forget how important this race STILL is!!

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Georgia remains very important. And Warnock is a very good man, whose presence will make the Senate a better institution over and above pushing Manchin into irrelevancy (which is no small advantage).

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Warnock makes the country better.

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I think Walker is one of the most unqualified Senatorial candidates that I’ve seen in my lifetime. My guess is that Kemp & the RNC will recognize that Walker is radioactively stupid, a loose cannon, capable of doing or saying just about any idiotic thing at any time. This outweighs the benefit that Walker would make any vote that his handlers tell him to make. I would think the Nevada win put Walker’s candidacy in the ash heap of history where it belongs. December 6 here we come.

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Given that tfg’s other handpicked candidates went down, I believe Walker’s at a huge disadvantage, never mind his obvious lack of qualification.

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Bruce, don’t despair too much, reading tonight’s news right here, from HCR, I immediately went and donated $10 to Warnock.

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Not really "despairing", just concerned a wee bit. I know how disappointing the turnouts for runoffs has been in the past down here and I won't rest easy until this one is over. The mere thought of that cretin Walker representing my state REALLY irritates me no end!

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thanks for sharing your concerns, Bruce. very helpful, especially for those of us who write vote fwd letters. (it is also pretty awful to feel you have no representation in DC except for prez.) the whole country is about to start writing, texting, calling GA voters and i've been wondering if it might be overkill and backfire. what do you think?

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As I said, I really think Georgians probably have the worst cases of voter fatigue in the country. We're kinda tired of being "the epicenter of American politics" and will gladly relinquish that title for a while. I think if everybody here can maybe be allowed to chill for a couple of weeks, celebrate a holiday, eat themselves silly, watch a lot of football, and get their minds on other things, then possibly right before the runoff on Dec. 6th it will be easier for everybody to get amped up again for one more push before the day. I think folks here realize what's at stake. At least the volume of ads has diminished somewhat as it's only this one race, so turning on the TV is marginally less aggravating. And it's probably safe to say turnout may be light in general, but it's hard to say which side might be affected the most by that. Fingers crossed that it's Walker who'll suffer...

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Do your part to encourage every Georgian to vote—volunteering, writing postcards or letters, phone banking. Remind them this will be the last election until March or so 2024.

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My hope is McConnell, etal., will not want to put any more money into an election that will not garner him/them control (power). I have to say, I’ve put up a good front and totally had doubts about this country and our democracy as we know it! My faith has been restored in this country yet I still know the trek will need to be continued!! But for tonight—I rest and take a deep audible sigh!

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With little at stake, MM, I think, will not spend large sums for Walker. This is specifically appealing as it also smacks tfg in the rear.

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Who?

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Mitch McConnell.....the Grim Reaper, Moscow Mitch. That guy.

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Got it -- turtle face needs to go back in his shell.

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I sure am proud to be a Nevadan Democratic Woman tonight!

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Hallelujah!!! America chose DEMOCRACY!

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Exceeded my expectations and I’m happy!!!

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Oh Happy Day 🎶!

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"I am forever changed, yeah, yeah".

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Fix, codify and communicate the parts of the voting and certification processes that allowed the “deniers” to think their wacko plans and conspiracy theories would stand a chance

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