Two US Senate Run-offs in Georgia: Victory for both means a 50/50 Senate - Must Win

[jclay]

Help the two GA senatorial candidates win their January run-offs.

We must have a 50/50 split in the Senate or Mitch will expertly stonewall Biden; it's what he does.

https://www.georgiademocrat.org/contact-us/

This is my email message to the Georgia Democratic Party this morning; please consider doing something similar:

Energetic, fit, retired person in Tallahassee.
How can I help secure Democratic victory in the two senatorial run-offs in January, from Tallahassee?
Phone bank, transportation for others, boots on the ground in South GA, other?
Put me to work, now, please.
Thank you.

[Too Tall]

Thanks John. You are inspiring.

[rowdyhillrambler]

I don’t know a lot about how it works.. tied 50/50 in the Senate, the VP is the tie breaker?

[jclay]

^^Yup.

Without a 50/50 Senate we just won two of the keys for a lock that requires three to open.

While we've removed the guy who pours gasoline on ship's fires, without the third key the lock stays just as secure as if we had none.

We are not home; everybody needs to pitch in to get us there.

It's that simple.

[GrantM]

^^Yup.

Without a 50/50 Senate we just won two of the keys for a lock that requires three to open.
While we've removed the guy who pours gasoline on ship's fires, without the third key the lock stays just as secure as if we had none.
We are not home; everybody needs to pitch in to get us there.

A large slate of 'R' Senators are up next time, the Dems better make the most of the next two years,
and prepare to win those fights, regardless of what happens now.


United States Senate elections, 2022
Elections to the U.S. Senate will be held on November 8, 2022, and 34 of the 100 seats are up for regular election.
Special elections may be held to fill vacancies that occur in the 117th Congress.

Of the 34 regularly scheduled elections in 2022,
12 seats were held by Democrats and
22 were held by Republicans as of November 2020.

https://ballotpedia.org/United_State...lections,_2022

[jclay]

All of us need to lean into the effort to secure victory for the Dems in the two GA senatorial run-offs.

Achieving a 50/50 Senate is the whole ballgame at this point; and you can bet your life that the Rs know it.

Everyone needs to focus on this one, single task like a lazer beam.

Spread the word everywhere, to everybody; send money, volunteer your time, energy and intellect.

Make - It - Happen

https://www.politico.com/news/2020/1...-runoff-435243

https://www.facebook.com/stacey.abrams.77

https://www.georgiademocrat.org/

[echappist]

Don't forget the organization that Ms. Abrams founded (FairFight) to increase voter turnout. We'll be making donations to her organization. I hope the Democrat Party recognizes her expertise in increasing voter participation and let her try to repeat the effort on a national level.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/polit...a91_story.html

https://www.washingtonpost.com/polit...814_story.html

[cash05458]

The Dems...we actually...gets the Senate....well, bad idea...the very idea they could pass and do supreme court stacking...would be the worst thing for this country ever...I voted for Biden, but the adding members to the supreme court to get you way via elections and who controls would be really fucking dumb...really terrible...it would totally kill any independent thing about the court and separation of power...that is why this shouldn't go for a whole dem run thing via all avenues...and when payback comes, which it will at some point, the rethugs will do same thing...add another 3 or 4 to court....at some point you will have a huge court that will swing via every mood this country has...

[nmrt]

dunno.
all sins are forgotten...eventually. the unbearable lightness of being?
the sheer hypocrisy around ACB will eventually be forgotten. supreme court being independent is not a reality any more. if they were independents who voted for the dems because of their outrage due to ACB, they will soon forget this charade. they will eventually vote as they always have -- as independents.
if dems eventually get enough senate votes to pack the court, they may lose an election cycle or two. but as everything, it will be forgotten. and people will vote how they always vote.

The Dems...we actually...gets the Senate....well, bad idea...the very idea they could pass and do supreme court stacking...would be the worst thing for this country ever...I voted for Biden, but the adding members to the supreme court to get you way via elections and who controls would be really fucking dumb...really terrible...it would totally kill any independent thing about the court and separation of power...that is why this shouldn't go for a whole dem run thing via all avenues...and when payback comes, which it will at some point, the rethugs will do same thing...add another 3 or 4 to court....at some point you will have a huge court that will swing via every mood this country has...

[davids]

The Dems...we actually...gets the Senate....well, bad idea...the very idea they could pass and do supreme court stacking...would be the worst thing for this country ever...I voted for Biden, but the adding members to the supreme court to get you way via elections and who controls would be really fucking dumb...really terrible...it would totally kill any independent thing about the court and separation of power...that is why this shouldn't go for a whole dem run thing via all avenues...and when payback comes, which it will at some point, the rethugs will do same thing...add another 3 or 4 to court....at some point you will have a huge court that will swing via every mood this country has...

Yeah, you've got to be a lot more subtle in your court stacking. Deny a sitting president due process on his nominee because there's an election in 7 1/2 months, then rush another sitting president's nomination through less than a month before he's up for reelection.

Do you have another suggestion? Seriously, because while I see your point I really am tired of my side bringing a pamphlet to a knife fight.

[davids]

From an associate in Georgia:

Support Anchor Georgia Organizations. Stacey Abrams and allies have been building the infrastructure to turn Georgia blue for over a decade. It’s finally happening and we need to keep investing. Some key groups recommended by our advisors:

• The New Georgia Project: (501c3, 501c4) We have a short window to maximize voter registration before the December 7th Voter Registration deadline. The New Georgia Project is the lead partner on Georgia Voter Registration. Since Stacey Abrams founded the organization in 2013, they have already registered 400,000 Georgians. NGP is an ambitious effort working to transform GA’s political landscape.
• Fair Fight (501c4, PAC) / Fair Count (501c3): Fair Fight was founded by Stacey Abrams in the wake of her 2018 Governors race to fight for voting rights in Georgia and around the country. They have launched an emergency fund to ensure Georgians have the resources they need in the January 5, Senate Runoff Elections. The fund will invest in critical voter protection and GOTV efforts.
• Black Voters Matter Fund (501c3, 501c4): Black Voters Matter Fund is dedicated to expanding Black voter engagement and increasing progressive power. Increasing voter registration and turnout is an important aspect of building power, but this is just the beginning of their work.

Support Georgia’s Grassroots Organizations. BIPOC organizers working in the key swing states delivered democrats the presidential election -- we need to double down on our support to dozens of grassroots BIPOC-led orgs now to make sure they have the support needed to help us win the senate, including:

• Song Power (501c3, 501c4): SONG Power equips justice-loving Southerners to bring about liberation in our lifetime. SONG Power pushes policy demands; organizes thousands of LGBTQ Southerners to support progressive policies and candidates; and builds Southern movement infrastructure.
• Asian American Advocacy Fund Atlanta (501c3, 501c4): AAAF is the nation’s largest legal and civil rights organization dedicated to building a politically-conscious, engaged, and progressive Asian American base in Georgia.
• Georgia Shift (501c3, 501c4): Georgia Shift gives marginalized young people a seat at the table of democracy through civic media, hands-on education, and action. They envision a Georgia where marginalized young people are a fundamental driver of political impact and policy at every level of government.

Support Key National Organizations. Below are four national organizations that run highly effective programs in the Georgia general mobilizing key constituencies for the senate race.

• Alliance for Youth Action (501c4)- It is critical that we engage young people of color in Georgia whose votes were critical to the narrow margins of victory last week. AYA is building an expanded text, mail, and phone program for GOTV and ballot chase to ensure young Georgians can vote in the runoffs. The program will target nearly 800,000 non-white Gen Z and Millennial voters.
• Care in Action (501c4)- Care in Action works on behalf of women of color – especially domestic workers – to build the civic power of this critical segment of our electorate. They have been engaged in deep organizing in Georgia since the 2018 midterms and will scale their program for the senate race.
• Black Male Voter Project (501c4)- BMVP engages Black men in the political process, focusing on shifting the voting habits of Black men and increasing the number of super voters through intentional and authentic one-on-one conversations and relational organizing.
• Mijente (501c4)- A vibrant hub for Latinx and Chicanx organizing, Mijente combines cultural, electoral, and issue organizing to advance a broad agenda of social justice in solidarity with other oppressed communities.

[echappist]

The Dems...we actually...gets the Senate....well, bad idea...the very idea they could pass and do supreme court stacking...would be the worst thing for this country ever...I voted for Biden, but the adding members to the supreme court to get you way via elections and who controls would be really fucking dumb...really terrible...it would totally kill any independent thing about the court and separation of power...that is why this shouldn't go for a whole dem run thing via all avenues...and when payback comes, which it will at some point, the rethugs will do same thing...add another 3 or 4 to court....at some point you will have a huge court that will swing via every mood this country has...

The counterpoint is that were one of the current justices to pass (say Jus. Thomas, as he's the oldest of the bunch and seems to be overweight), would Sen. McConnell even bring a hearing to someone nominated by Pres.-elect Biden?

My inclination would be no, not even if the justice who were to pass were liberal-leaning. I don't think I need to remind anyone here how utterly immoral Sen. McConnell is (e.g. hypocrisy on nomination of justices, egging on the incumbent to file suit to challenge the vote despite there being no evidence of fraud).

Sen. McConnell was willing to tear up decorum for power; don't fall for his alligator tears when he clutches pearls over court-packing.

[caleb]

The Dems...we actually...gets the Senate....well, bad idea...the very idea they could pass and do supreme court stacking...would be the worst thing for this country ever...I voted for Biden, but the adding members to the supreme court to get you way via elections and who controls would be really fucking dumb...really terrible...it would totally kill any independent thing about the court and separation of power...that is why this shouldn't go for a whole dem run thing via all avenues...and when payback comes, which it will at some point, the rethugs will do same thing...add another 3 or 4 to court....at some point you will have a huge court that will swing via every mood this country has...

A constructive reform that would resist escalation would be to collapse the staffing of the Supreme Court into their home circuits, and draw a randomized panel from the circuits to serve on the Supreme Court for a set term. In order to decrease variability across terms, the panel size could be increased significantly, perhaps to 21. The previous term could determine the docket for the next term in order to limit strategically granting review.

Aside from the immediate benefits of altering the composition of the Court and deescalating the nomination process, randomized appellate panels undercut the ability of litigants to try to game the system in any number of ways since they don't know the composition of the panel at the time they file their suit.

There are more ways to do this than the blunt Rooseveltian threat to add justices, and they can be done with a simple statute.

[jclay]

The Dems...we actually...gets the Senate....well, bad idea...the very idea they could pass and do supreme court stacking...would be the worst thing for this country ever...I voted for Biden, but the adding members to the supreme court to get you way via elections and who controls would be really fucking dumb...really terrible...it would totally kill any independent thing about the court and separation of power...that is why this shouldn't go for a whole dem run thing via all avenues...and when payback comes, which it will at some point, the rethugs will do same thing...add another 3 or 4 to court....at some point you will have a huge court that will swing via every mood this country has...

I get your point but given the history and likely adverse action by the Rs, I could not disagree more.

Absolutely not.

The Dems need to totally dominate the Rs.

[jclay]

I ran out of edit time before I could get back to it.

Between decades of gerrymandering and naked voter suppression, installation of puppets who are are full partners in perverting and damaging our foundational democratic institutions, packing the SCOTUS and lower federal courts, perverting the course of justice, etc., any sin that the Democratic Party might commit with a 50/50 Senate majority would pale by comparison.

Aside from that, a 50/50 split pretty much guarantees that the DP would fail in attempts at the sort of dirty dealing that has become the lingua franca of the RP.

We are fighting a for-real proto-facist president, cronies and party; they should have been utterly repudiated in the election; as that has failed, the RP needs to be out muscled absolutely and the DP needs to be free to address vital issues unfettered and without sabotage by Mitch McConnell et al.

The DP needs to own all three keys and use them if there is to be any chance of vital progress wrt serious issues facing us. If the DP can’t deliver on at least some of those critical issues then society will increasingly suffer damage and confidence in DP competence will plummet; it won’t matter that the DP was torpedoed by Mitch; hell, it would probably cause his stock price to rise. Such a situation would make ripe ground for Trump’s replacement, of which there are several, Tom Cotton coming to mind immediately.

Balls to the wall my ass; slam the power levers through the fucking instrument panel.

[SpeedyChix]

From an associate in Georgia:

Support Anchor Georgia Organizations. Stacey Abrams and allies have been building the infrastructure to turn Georgia blue for over a decade. It’s finally happening and we need to keep investing. Some key groups recommended by our advisors:

...

Thank you for posting this and the details.

[ides1056]

ditto

[Clean39T]

We need a Democrat majority in the Senate to save our democracy. The only way we don't end up with tRump Redux is to fix voter suppression and that won't happen with Rs in control.

[KonaSS]

I have never in my made a campaign contribution until now. And considering contributing more.....so important.

[jclay]

"If Sen. David Perdue wins reelection in Georgia’s runoff in January, the Republican Party will almost certainly maintain its Senate majority. Perdue, an outspoken climate denier, urged President Donald Trump to withdraw from the Paris Climate Accords; voted against a Senate resolution that affirmed that climate change is real and that human activities contribute to it; and dismissed the Green New Deal as a “socialist wish list.” The one-term senator, who is a first cousin of Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue and golfing buddy of Trump, also vowed to protect the coal industry and was endorsed by the Koch-affiliated Super PAC, Americans for Prosperity. If Perdue wins, the potential for the Biden administration to respond to the global climate crisis will be greatly diminished.

But even while Perdue publicly rejects the scientific consensus about climate change, the Georgia senator and former CEO of Dollar General is part of a gated beachfront community that has taken the global phenomenon and its consequences extremely seriously. Perdue owns a more than 9,000 square-foot mansion with six bathrooms, arched doorways, and a pool on Sea Island, a gated community on St. Simons Island, the wealthiest ZIP code in the state. Over the past few years, as sea-level rise has accelerated, the Sea Island Company, which owns the island resort, has constructed an elaborate and expensive system of jetties and sea walls in an effort to protect the lavish homes there. According to his federal disclosure forms, Perdue’s net worth is somewhere between $13.7 million and $39.8 million."

https://theintercept.com/2020/11/12/...limate-change/

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