Posted on 08/15/2013 2:54:56 PM PDT by NotYourAverageDhimmi
Democrats are in danger of getting disappointed in Kentucky, where early poll numbers belie McConnell's big advantages. If people are really buying Wendy Davis and a "blue Texas," Democrats might be doubly disappointed. Where Democrats could end up pleasantly surprised is Georgia. The conditions for an upset might be brewing in the Peach State, where Saxby Chambliss is retiring and Democrats have stealthily become close to competing on a more regular basis. It might even be a better bet for Democrats in 2014 than Kentucky.
I was initially skeptical of whether Democrats could compete in Georgia in 2014. So skeptical that I was initially unsure about whether I even agreed with Harry Enten’s assertion that Georgia was a better pick-up opportunity for Democrats than Kentucky, where I’m unabashedly pessimistic about Grimes. The main source of my pessimism? 2014 is a midterm election, when black turnout would be expected to drop. Consider the difference between the general and run-off Senate elections in 2008, when Chambliss went from a 3 point edge to 15 point rout. Since Georgia’s white vote is pretty “inelastic,” it’s hard to see how a Democratic candidate was going to overcome a 15 point deficit statewide.
But Georgia's black turnout wasn’t so bad in 2010, despite a bad national climate and without a competitive federal election. According to the Georgia Secretary of State, the black share of the electorate only declined slightly, from 30 percent in 2008 to 28.3 percent in 2010. The white share of the electorate increased from 64.1 to 66.3 percent. That drop-off might hurt a Democratic candidate by net-3 points, but that’s not the massive gap suggested by 2008 run-offs. Part of the explanation: turnout was 20 percent higher in 2010 than the 2008 run-offs.
Demographic change helps counter some of the drop-off.
(Excerpt) Read more at newrepublic.com ...
And, yes, McConnell has to go, too (and Boehner). They've already morphed into the one-party big gubmint cabal. They hate Conservatives more than they do their Democrat buddies. It's time we had a SECOND party in Washington for a change. It's been missing for almost 20 years.
Everything you said was so true. The DC GOP establishment fights the Tea Party harder than they’ve ever fought the Dems. Then you go to RealClearPolitics, & see that congressional approval is around 15%, & what’s more GOP approval is lower than Dem approval. It should be so easy to vote these reach-across-the-aislers out. Yet it so seldom happens.
What we need is a deep-pocketed person or cabal willing & able to start a national GOP movement to get rid of the RINO deadwood. The Tea Party does what it can, but we cd sure use a person like Trump [not Trump, but somebody like him] to spearhead a major push to primary the RINOs. Even if only a few were toppled, the fear wd finally knock a little sense into the rest.
Kingston is the DC Establishment favorite. Gingrey has the name id in the Metro Atlanta area. One big king maker in the GA Senate would be Newt. He still has goodwill among the GA GOP insiders. Newt won GA despite bombing out in the South last year. Also Jack Kingston stood by him during the 2012 primaries when Newt’s advisers quit on him. Thus don’t be surprised if Newt returns the favor by backing Kingston.
That would almost make him a lame duck at the start and questionable whether he'd be up to serving 2 terms that most consider a necessity to being effective. Then again, he could make the pledge to just serve 1 term so he won't have to worry about fundraisers or kissing establishment tuchus and commit fully to the job and the Conservative agenda.
The poll showing Broun trailing the rat big is terrifying. I doubt any of the others would lose.
I gotta go with Karen Handel over these flawed Congressman.
Karen Handel did win statewide, so thats a plus. But she is having trouble raising money. When Handel ran for Governor in 2010, she touted herself as the next Nikki Haley. She was the favorite against Nathan Deal. But lost the runoff by less than 1%, because Deal, with the help of religious conservatives, accused her of being too lenient on abortion and gays rights. Will religious right still be suspicious of Handel?
I support Handel and Gingrey, in that order (at least today; tomorrow I may prefer Gingrey). I hope those are the two that make the runoff and that the best candidate wins. Interestingly, either one would be a groundbreaking U.S. Senator from GA: Handel would become the first woman ever elected to the U.S. Senate from GA (and the first female Republican elected to either house of Congress from GA), while Gingrey would become (unless I’m gravely mistaken) the first Catholic U.S. Senator from GA.
And I will support *anyone* over Broun in the runoff (if, God forbid, he makes it), since I think that Broun will lose to the Spawn of Nunn. Democrats will keep running that video of him saying “You see, there are a lot of scientific data that I’ve found out as a scientist that actually show that this is really a young Earth. I don’t believe that the earth’s but about 9,000 years old. I believe it was created in six days as we know them,” and suburban Atlantans will flock to Nunn. Oh, and the fact that Broun is the favorite of the Paulistinian crowd does not sweeten the deal any for me, either.
I just discovered something else. Gingrey is even older than Broun (he’s older than Gingrich, even Fred Thompson and a year older than Saxby Chambliss !). He would turn 73 (!) in his first year in the Senate. Does he seriously think he can commit to two terms ? We need to be running people 30 or even 40 years younger, not all these old guys (at least Handel will be just short of 53). Sam Nunn was all of 34 when he won Richard Russell’s old Senate seat. Gingrey could’ve run that year (1972), as he was 30.
You’re voicing some of the concerns I’ve had over Broun, but he seems the favorite among Freepers.
Handel needs to be grilled on social issues. Can’t have another Portman slipping through.
By all means hold Handel’s feet to the fire and find out where she stands, but I’d be very surprised if she wasn’t an across-the-board social conservative. The fact that a primary opponent accused her of not being a true social conservative has to be taken with almost as many frains of salt as when a Democrat opponent calls the Republican an extremist; remember when Vernon Robinson accused Virginia Foxx of being a social liberal?
GA ping. They’re talking about us!
As I said before your chances of getting killed in a drone strike are better than this GA senate seat going Democrat. Its not going to happen. We are hopefully going to elect Dr. Paul Broun, a hair on fire conservative.
Yes. I remember. Is there a primary debate scheduled at all?
No idea if they’ve published a debate calendar.
BTW, I supported and contributed to Vernon Robinson in that primary and in the runoff against Foxx, and became disappointed with Robinson’s hyperbolic ads as Foxx compiled a nearly perfect social-conservative voting record.
“He’ll be just months short of 69 at the start of the 2015 session”
Wow! I’ve never thought to look and just assumed he was in his 50’s with the enthusiasm he projects. I love listening to him speak.
My head tells me that Karen Handel is the candidate if we want to win. Her crusade against Planned Parenthood while working for the Komen Foundation was brave and almost successful.
I didn’t back Vernon Robinson in subsequent primaries because of that. He called Fox Hillary Clinton, fail.
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