I’d love to believe they can do it, but with 2 horrendous Republican opponents with narrow leads, am hopeful but not optimistic. Georgia is just not that purple. They almost voted a rehire of Trump, and that tells you something. (15,000 more Biden votes). — F Shiels, editor

Democrats need to turn out a diverse base of voters to have a shot at winning.By Ella Nilsenella.nilsen@vox.com  Dec 7, 2020, 8:30am EST

To win two hotly contested Senate runoff races, Democrats in Georgia need a lot of things to go right.

Georgia voters haven’t sent a Democrat to the Senate in 20 years, and Democrats handily lost the Senate runoff in 2008. But ask Democratic candidates Jon Ossoff and Rev. Raphael Warnock, and they insist things are different now. For one thing, the two Georgia races will determine which party controls the Senate — and by extension — political power in Washington, DC. For another, their party’s presidential candidate just won the state for the first time in almost 30 years.

“Folks didn’t allow themselves to hope,” said Nsé Ufot, CEO of the New Georgia Project, an organization that registered an estimated 500,000 Georgian voters of color and young people ahead of November 3. “Ultimately, you have to conceive of it first before we can build it; folks have to believe that it’s possible. I think that’s why there’s a lot of energy and enthusiasm frankly on both sides as we head to the runoff.”

The two Senate runoffs — featuring Sen. David Perdue (R) versus Ossoff in one race and Sen. Kelly Loeffler (R) versus Warnock in the other — will still be very hard for Democrats to win. Not as many low-interest voters will participateas in the November presidential election, so these runoffs are more about motivating the respective party bases than attempting to persuade swing voters.

“Turnout is what matters,” Cook Political Report Senate editor Jessica Taylor said. Democrats and Republicans alike need to find their voters, and get them back out to the polls.

While the Republican Party’s base in Georgia is fairly homogeneous, Democrats must turn out a more diverse swath of voters to have a shot at winning the Senate. Black voters undoubtedly make up the majority of Georgia’s Democratic base, but the 2020 election showed a successful coalition is also built on Asian and Pacific Islander American (AAPI) voters, Latino voters, and white suburban women.

“It’s not just one group you’re trying to get out,” said Georgia state Sen. Jen Jordan, a Democrat. “If any of those components really fall off, you lose — and that’s why it’s hard. It’s a much more difficult task for Democrats, but that doesn’t mean it can’t or won’t happen.”

Another important factor to motivate the Democratic base could be that President Donald Trump himself is not going away quietly. Some Democrats feared their voters would fall into complacency after ousting Trump in November, but the president is continuing to refuse to concede to President-elect Joe Biden. Tensions between Trump and Republican state officials in Georgia are high, so much so that Republican Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger said he and his family have received death threats for certifying the state’s results for Biden.

With record-setting turnout in the 2020 election nationwide and in Georgia, Trump proved that he could motivate Republicans and Democrats alike to go to the polls. Butwill that carry over to January 5?

“Trump is not on the ballot, but are we in a post-Trump era where our people are motivated to show up?” a Democratic pollster told Vox. “That is the big question.”

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Why Georgia has runoff elections

The groups Democrats need to win, explained

Black voters make up the core of the Democratic Party’s base in Georgia. But the suburbs in Atlanta that are becoming a source of political strength for Democrats are even more diverse, with AAPI and Latino voters proving to be key parts of the Democratic coalition.

Data from Washington Post exit polls shows that voters of color and women were key to Biden winning the state in November. About 54 percent of women voted for Biden, compared to 55 percent of men who voted for Trump. The majority of white voters voted for Trump — 69 percent compared to 30 percent who voted for Biden. About 88 percent of Black voters cast their ballots for Biden, and about 81 percent of voters who identify as non-white also voted for the former vice president.

Still, a New York Times analysis of voting data suggested that white suburban voters in the metro Atlanta area were the ones who put Biden over the top in 2020. The analysis found that the relative share of Black turnout actually fell slightly in the 2020 presidential election compared to 2016. Raw Black voting numbers were up, but so were the numbers of white voters.

That’s no guarantee Ossoff and Warnock can replicate Biden’s success.

Even though Biden narrowly won Georgia in the presidential election, it won’t automatically translate to Democratic strength in the Senate races. Perdue ran slightly ahead of Trump by about 780 votes. Ossoff, on the other hand, ran close to 100,000 votes short of Biden. (It’s tough to make the same comparison with Loeffler and Warnock because they were running in a field of 20 candidates.)

These numbers mean that while Biden’s strength helped Democrats force a runoff, there were a number of voters who either just voted at the top of the ticket, or split their tickets between Biden for president and Republican candidates down the ballot.

“I don’t think voters appreciate the amount of ticket-splitting that went on,” Buzz Brockway, a Republican and former Georgia state House member, recently told Vox. “There was a section of voters who couldn’t bring themselves to vote for Trump but voted for Republicans the rest of the ticket.”

So for all the talk of

Trumpkin pastor calls for Democrats and journalists to be executed

Christian Dem in NCCommunity (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)Sunday December 06, 2020 · 8:06 PM EST Recommend 374  Share  Tweet338 Comments 338 New RSSPUBLISHED TO

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HAS IT REALLY COME TO THIS?

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With the religious right’s otherworldly loyalty to Trump and outright endorsement of his coup attempt, it was only a matter of time before a Trumpvangelical crossed the line into calling for outright violence. Well, last week Rick Wiles of TruNews did exactly that. On the day before Thanksgiving, he called for Trump to have Democrats and journalists lined up and shot.

The Christian pastor made the remarks during an episode of his TruNews program last Wednesday as he discussed Trump’s baseless claims of widespread voter fraud. Wiles also pointed out that the Justice Department has created a new rule allowing for firing squads to be used in federal executions.

(snip)

“I’m not trying to be funny but [it’s been fast-tracked] because they plan to shoot some people,” Wiles said. “They’re gonna have a bunch of traitors. They’re gonna line ’em up against the wall and start shooting them. Because that’s what they deserve.”

Right Wing Watch got a clip.https://platform.twitter.com/embed/index.html?creatorScreenName=DarrellLucus&dnt=false&embedId=twitter-widget-1&frame=false&hideCard=false&hideThread=false&id=1333422585116307457&lang=en&origin=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.dailykos.com%2Fstory%2F2020%2F12%2F6%2F2000337%2F-Trumpkin-pastor-calls-for-Democrats-and-journalists-to-be-executed&siteScreenName=dailykos&theme=light&widgetsVersion=ed20a2b%3A1601588405575&width=550px

Wiles went on to say that a bunch of Democrats, reporters and academics are secretly in bed with Beijing—and they deserve to be shot.

We already knew that Wiles is nothing more than a Nazi masquerading as a pastor. As we all know, he is virulently anti-Semitic—close your eyes, and he sounds like Richard Spencer at his worst.

This is domestic terrorism, straight up. And we cannot allow this to stand. It’s time for Wiles to get the Alex Jones treatment. Past time, actually. He has apps on the iTunes App Store (for both the iPhone and Apple TV), Google Play and Roku. Pester those platforms and get his channel nuked. Additionally, a whois revealed his domain is hosted by GoDaddy.

This is the sort of thing that resulted in Heather Heyer being murdered. We cannot chance some lone nut taking matters into his own hands and deciding to murder someone ostensibly in Trump’s name. TruNews must have its mic shut off—permanently.

White Fragility Quotes

Quotes tagged as “white-fragility” Showing 1-10 of 10“I was co-leading a workshop with an African American man. A white participant said to him, “I don’t see race; I don’t see you as black.” My co-trainer’s response was, “Then how will you see racism?” He then explained to her that he was black, he was confident that she could see this, and that his race meant that he had a very different experience in life than she did. If she were ever going to understand or challenge racism, she would need to acknowledge this difference. Pretending that she did not noticed that he was black was not helpful to him in any way, as it denied his reality – indeed, it refused his reality – and kept hers insular and unchallenged. This pretense that she did not notice his race assumed that he was “just like her,” and in so doing, she projected her reality onto him. For example, I feel welcome at work so you must too; I have never felt that my race mattered, so you must feel that yours doesn’t either. But of course, we do see the race of other people, and race holds deep social meaning for us.”
― Robin DiAngelo, White Fragility: Why It’s So Hard for White People to Talk About Racismtags: colorblind-racism, denial-of-racism, racism, white-fragility, whiteness59 likesLike
“For those of us who work to raise the racial consciousness of whites, simply getting whites to acknowledge that our race gives us advantages is a major effort. The defensiveness, denial, and resistance are deep.”
― Robin DiAngelo, White Fragility: Why It’s So Hard for White People to Talk About Racismtags: denial, power, racism, white-fragility, whiteness23 likesLike
“Politeness as filtered through fragility and supremacy isn’t about manners; it’s about a methodology of controlling the conversation.”
― Mikki Kendall, Hood Feminism: Notes from the Women That a Movement Forgottags: racism, white-fragility5 likesLike
“When you believe niceness disproves the presence of racism, it’s easy to start believing bigotry is rare, and that the label racist should be applied only to mean-spirited, intentional acts of discrimination.”
― Austin Channing Brown, I’m Still Here: Black Dignity in a World Made for Whitenesstags: white-fragility2 likesLike
“To continue reproducing racial inequality, the system only needs for white people to be really nice and carry on – to smile at people of color, to go to lunch with them on occasion. To be clear, being nice is generally a better policy than being mean. But niceness does not bring racism to the table and will not keep it on the table when so many of us who are white want it off. Niceness does not break with white solidarity and white silence. In fact, naming racism is often seen as not nice, triggering white fragility.”
― Robin DiAngelotags: anti-racism, racism, white-fragility2 likesLike
“How can I say that if you are white, your opinions on racism are most likely ignorant, when I don’t even know you? I can say so because nothing in mainstream US culture gives us the information we need to have the nuanced understanding of arguable the most complex and enduring social dynamic of the last several hundred years.”
― Robin DiAngelo, White Fragility: Why It’s So Hard for White People to Talk About Racismtags: white-fragility1 likesLike
“Habitus maintains our social comfort and helps us regain it when those around us do not act in familiar and acceptable ways. …. Thus, white fragility is a state in which even a minimum amount of racial stress in the habitus becomes intolerable, triggering a range of defensive moves. …. These behaviors, in turn, reinstate white racial equilibrium.”
― Robin DiAngelo, White Fragility: Why It’s So Hard for White People to Talk About Racismtags: habitus, white-fragility0 likesLike
“And still I urge you to struggle. Struggle for the memory of your ancestors. Struggle for wisdom. Struggle for the warmth of The Mecca. Struggle for your grandmother and grandfather, for your name. But do not struggle for the Dreamers. Hope for them. Pray for them, if you are so moved. But do not pin your struggle on their conversion. The Dreamers will have to learn to struggle themselves, to understand that the field for their Dream, the stage where they have painted themselves white, is the deathbed of us all.”
― Ta-Nehesi Coatestags: american-dream, people-of-color, race, race-relations, race-relations-in-america, white-fragility0 likesLike
“Highlighting my racial privilege invalidates the form of oppression that I experience (e.g., classism, sexism, heterosexism, ageism, ableism, transphobia.) We will then need to turn our attention to how you oppressed me.”
― Robin DiAngelo, White Fragility: Why It’s So Hard for White People to Talk About Racismtags: race-and-racism-in-america, racism, white-fragility, white-privilege0 likesLike
“It is said that for every “Aha moment” that a white person experiences in regard to racism, a person of color has paid a tremendous emotional price. Yes, the lessons that we teach come at an extraordinarily high cost to us.”

She’s doing the right thing.

First and foremost because Biden isn’t Clinton.

Let me be clear. Trump can beat Biden. It’s entirely possible. It’s just looking less and less likely as election day approaches.

This is Five Thirty Eight’s 2020 Election Forecast Snake Chart which I find to be a very easy way to look at what the election forecasts look like as far as what it takes to win and how competitive each state is.

The closer you get to the middle of the snake, the more competitive a state is. If it’s tinted red, it’s leaning Trump, if it’s tinted blue, it’s leaning Biden.

The line in the middle shows where the 270 electoral vote threshold is crossed. The length of the state in the snake is indicative of the number of electoral votes it represents.

In 2016, Trump won everything on this snake up to Minnesota with the exception of Nevada

There are 8 states right now that are leaning blue that all went for Trump in 2016. Biden needs three of them, two if one of those is Florida.

That said, the projections looked similar leading in to the final weeks of 2016. What happened was a few states, most notably Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin which were all projected to go to Clinton by a couple of percentage points all went instead to Trump by the thinnest of margins. Trump won the election by winning those three states by a combined margin of 77,744 votes.

The problem for Trump this time is twofold.

First, while he hasn’t lost much of his core following, he hasn’t added to it either. Meanwhile the fringes, the ones who held their noses and voted for him last time are melting away.

Trump Defectors Help Biden Build Leads in Wisconsin and Michigan

Defectors are a major problem in an election because a defector counts as 2, you lost a vote you had last time, and the other side picked it up. To understand how big of a problem that is, in Michigan, if nothing else changed and 5,353 of the 2,279,543 people who voted for Trump in that state defect, Michigan’s 16 Electoral votes slide away from Trump’s total and hop on top of Biden’s, a 32 vote swing. That’s 0.23% of the people who voted for Trump in Michigan in 2016.

New voters are also a problem for Trump. 52% of People who didn’t vote in 2016 say they’re voting for Biden, only 32% say they will vote for Trump. Biden also leads by 11 points among voters who voted third party in 2016 and do not intend to do so this year.

Poll: 52 percent of people who didn’t vote in 2016 say they’re voting for Biden

Second, as I said, Biden isn’t Hillary. And the point of that is that no matter what you think of Trump, Hillary or Biden, it is clear that Hillary inspired a LOT of irrational hate. I don’t just mean disapproval, I mean hate, on the same level that Trump does. Biden doesn’t inspire that kind of hate. Disapproval, sure. Dislike, sure. But not that same seething hatred people felt for Hillary.

Especially look at the difference among independents, more than half of whom strongly disliked Clinton:

Biden Doesn’t Repel Voters Like Clinton Did in 2016, and That’s a Problem for Trump – Morning Consult

Chris O’Leary·October 15Lifelong Political Nerd

Blogger’s Note: This is from three months ago but is extremely important NOW!

BLOGGER’S NOTE:

First and foremost because Biden isn’t Clinton.

Let me be clear. Trump can beat Biden. It’s entirely possible. It’s just looking less and less likely as election day approaches.

This is Five Thirty Eight’s 2020 Election Forecast Snake Chart which I find to be a very easy way to look at what the election forecasts look like as far as what it takes to win and how competitive each state is.

The closer you get to the middle of the snake, the more competitive a state is. If it’s tinted red, it’s leaning Trump, if it’s tinted blue, it’s leaning Biden.

The line in the middle shows where the 270 electoral vote threshold is crossed. The length of the state in the snake is indicative of the number of electoral votes it represents.

In 2016, Trump won everything on this snake up to Minnesota with the exception of Nevada

There are 8 states right now that are leaning blue that all went for Trump in 2016. Biden needs three of them, two if one of those is Florida.

That said, the projections looked similar leading in to the final weeks of 2016. What happened was a few states, most notably Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin which were all projected to go to Clinton by a couple of percentage points all went instead to Trump by the thinnest of margins. Trump won the election by winning those three states by a combined margin of 77,744 votes.

The problem for Trump this time is twofold.

First, while he hasn’t lost much of his core following, he hasn’t added to it either. Meanwhile the fringes, the ones who held their noses and voted for him last time are melting away.

Trump Defectors Help Biden Build Leads in Wisconsin and Michigan

Defectors are a major problem in an election because a defector counts as 2, you lost a vote you had last time, and the other side picked it up. To understand how big of a problem that is, in Michigan, if nothing else changed and 5,353 of the 2,279,543 people who voted for Trump in that state defect, Michigan’s 16 Electoral votes slide away from Trump’s total and hop on top of Biden’s, a 32 vote swing. That’s 0.23% of the people who voted for Trump in Michigan in 2016.

New voters are also a problem for Trump. 52% of People who didn’t vote in 2016 say they’re voting for Biden, only 32% say they will vote for Trump. Biden also leads by 11 points among voters who voted third party in 2016 and do not intend to do so this year.

Poll: 52 percent of people who didn’t vote in 2016 say they’re voting for Biden

Second, as I said, Biden isn’t Hillary. And the point of that is that no matter what you think of Trump, Hillary or Biden, it is clear that Hillary inspired a LOT of irrational hate. I don’t just mean disapproval, I mean hate, on the same level that Trump does. Biden doesn’t inspire that kind of hate. Disapproval, sure. Dislike, sure. But not that same seething hatred people felt for Hillary.

Especially look at the difference among independents, more than half of whom strongly disliked Clinton:

Election 2020

BIDEN DEFEATS TRUMP

Harris makes history as first woman of color elected vice president; Trump campaign pursues legal challenges

Biden279270

Trump21474,523,535 votes50.5%70,356,82147.7%President-elect Joe Biden is expected to deliver a victory speech at 8 p.m. Eastern time tonight. (Demetrius Freeman/The Post)

‘It’s time for America to unite,’ says president-elect 

Joe Biden’s victory came after a hotly contested election in which it took four days for a winner to be declared.  He won three swing states that Trump had claimed in 2016 — Michigan, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania — reconstituting the “blue wall.”By Toluse Olorunnipa, Annie Linskey and Philip Rucker

Kamala Harris, daughter of Indian and Jamaican immigrants, is set to become highest-ranking woman in U.S. history

By Chelsea JanesLIVE UPDATESAccess to these updates is free

Biden adds another state with projected win in Nevada

• 4:10PMRepublican-led lawsuit over Sharpie-marked ballots in Arizona to be dropped
• 3:55PMSen. Bernie Sanders congratulates Biden, says he faces ‘enormous challenges’
• 3:49PMCelebrations erupt in streets of NYC, D.C., Philadelphia
• 3:33PMHundreds gather outside Minneapolis police station destroyed in May protests to mark Biden victory
• 3:27PM‘I’ve never been there before’: What Trump said about golf and his fear of losing
• 3:27PMWhat we know about Biden’s transition plans

Impromptu celebrations pop up in Washington following Biden victory announcement

A parade broke out on the streets of the nation’s capital to celebrate Joe Biden’s victory. People spilled out of homes, shops and restaurants in downtown D.C. to join the march.By Rebecca Tan, Jessica Contrera, Marissa J. Lang and Joe Heim30 minutes ago