Posted on 11/12/2018 1:34:53 PM PST by Kaslin
That is more of the sort of analysis we need to hear, even if it is not the intellectually and emotionally "easy" sort of explanation that accusations of fraud are. That doesn't mean we should tolerate fraud when it happens, but in this case, it looks like Sinema wins, fraud or no fraud. That's utterly repugnant to me, but, it has to be faced.
I’ve lived in AZ for over 20 years so I’d like to try to answer your question. I’m a woman and I think many busy (but brain dead) soccer mom types judged the candidates by their appearance and not by their rhetoric or history. Kyrsten is attractive and looks “fun,” while Sally appeared taciturn and prim. Her ads were also negative overall, until the last few weeks when she started running positive ads that touted her story and her conservative values.
In reality, Martha is from the GOP elite group and she was a never Trumper. I voted for her grudgingly because there really was no other choice, but I doubt that she’d be that good of a friend to Trump in the long run.
Keeping the Senate and HOR was my main concern, and if the stupid GOP doesn’t do a better job of getting our viewpoints out and finding attractive viable candidates, then 2020 is going to be a nightmare for the party, even in soon-to-be-purple Arizona!
“Was there some aspect or policy of Sinema that swayed numerous moderate voters to vote FOR her?”
She ran as a centrist. She boasted she was ranked #3 for most likely to cross the aisle and vote with the Republicans. She boasted she had voted more often with Trump than against him. She hammered McSally as trying to destroy Medicare & Social Security - a false claim, but a huge part of the Arizona vote comes from the over-65 crowd. My wife works in health care and met a number of 70+ Republicans who planned to vote for Sinema. Because McSally was trying to take away their Social Security!
Her media friends called McSally a Trump puppet, which is insane if you follow politics. But the newspapers and TV reporters made it sound like McSally was to the right of Trump! All day on Election Day, Fox News radio ran a report, EVERY HOUR, saying ‘Voters we’re talking to say Sinema is an independent voice, like Goldwater or McCain, while McSally votes lockstep with Trump’ - totally dishonest, but Fox News radio was pushing Sinema as hard as anyone!
There was only one debate. The moderators refused to ask Sinema about any of her wild comments. Didn’t ask her about voting against Luke AFB or the A-10. Didn’t ask her about national security. Sinema ads during the final days boasted of her endorsement by the Arizona Republic. A headline by the AZ Republic: “Arizona Senate race: McSally brings in Trump and other big names. Sinema stands on her own.”
And here was the endorsement, which got a lot of air play:
“The real Martha McSally and Kyrsten Sinema know that,” the board argued. “But Sinema is the only one willing to say it (repeatedly) from behind her mask.”
“In a Washington in which rancor and malice are disturbingly normal, Sinema is the antidote,” the board added. “Leaders like her can come from any party and they are needed more than ever...She has traveled a long ways from the street-marching activist she once was to the good-natured centrist she now is.”
In the last week, Sinema came out supporting troops on the border:
“I’ve long supported having additional support on the border because our men and women who are keeping our border safe and secure do need help and support to do that,” Sinema told KTAR News 92.3 FM’s Arizona’s Morning News on Tuesday.
But, Sinema added, she does not believe that is all that is needed to enhance border security.
“I also support increasing funding for border security in smart ways, like buying drones, cameras, night vision towers, so we have situational control,” Sinema said.
http://ktar.com/story/2284433/senate-candidate-kyrsten-sinema-supports-additional-troops-on-border/
But Sinema and McSally have been on the same page for some time now. As a caravan of migrants was snaking its way north fleeing violence in Central America, the two were saying the same thing: Mobilize the military.
In a statement to The Arizona Republic on Oct. 30, Sinema said troops “should be a part of our work to gain situational control over the border.” She added also that it is possible to “keep America safe while also protecting endangered families and children who come to America seeking safety.”
Anyone who believes her is an IDIOT! But those were the sort of stories flooding the news during the final days of the election. If you listened to the media, Sinema is a Trump-supporting immigration hawk! And a lot of mushy middle types get their news from the MSM.
That's a stupid question. Why did Gillum get fewer votes than Nelson? The totals are rarely identical, it's called ticket splitting. It's happening less and less but it happens. Abbot won easily in Texas, Cruz did not.
Thanks for the detailed info.
So... How to counter that?
I think in Missouri, Josh Hawley was able to somewhat successfully nail McCaskill as a lib, as well as coming across as a young, likeable fellow.
But she’s still better than a Marxist that has no problem insulting her fellow Arizonan’s. At the end of the day, McSally is better than 50/50 in her votes. Sinema is 100% Leftist, all day-every day. And she’ll do her level best to drag Arizona further and further in the direction.
And all the things they care about will go down the drain, as well. Then they’ll sit there, with open mouths, wondering what happened and what they could have done.
It DID matter. Sinema is already ass kissing Schumer and by caucusing with the D’s it DOES make a HUGE difference.
What makes you think McSally would be different:
July 26, 2017
“He’s a great man,” Schumer said of McCain. “We’ve been close friends. He even said to me when I called him this weekend, ‘Let’s get immigration reform done,’ so he’s thinking of the future. As you know, he and I worked on that [2013 comprehensive immigration reform] bill. And it was great to see him back, strong as he was.”
She would be caucusing with the Republicans not the Democrats. Regardless of the quote you have here, she is still one vote less the D’s are not guaranteed.
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