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You are here: Home / Economics / C.R.E.A.M. / Needles and pins

Needles and pins

by DougJ|  October 30, 20205:02 pm| 44 Comments

This post is in: C.R.E.A.M., Political Fundraising

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I”m getting a bit nervous. This Jon Ossoff smackdown of David Purdue is my happy place

We’ve already raised an insane amount of money for Ossoff, but a little more couldn’t hurt. This is probably headed for a run-of: this could be the extra push over the cliff that gives Ossoff the majority and ends it or it could be a little more in the kitty for the run-off.

Jon Ossoff, Georgia Senate (regular election)

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This is a great place to give as well:

Four Directions (ballot access for Native people)

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As always, you can see all of our candidates here.

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Reader Interactions

44Comments

  1. 1.

    craigie

    October 30, 2020 at 5:10 pm

    Inhale….
    Exhale…

  2. 2.

    Lord Fartdaddy (Formerly, Mumphrey, Smedley Darlington Mingobat, et al.)

    October 30, 2020 at 5:10 pm

    David Purdue looks like it’s taking everything he has not to burst into tears in that clip.

  3. 3.

    J R in WV

    October 30, 2020 at 5:10 pm

    As a part-time resident in Arizona, who has traveled in Navajo Nation and tried to learn about the culture and life up there (from our residence on the Mexican border) I’ve been contributing to Four Directions for several years now. So glad to see their cause being supported here on Balloon Juice.

  4. 4.

    J R in WV

    October 30, 2020 at 5:13 pm

    @Lord Fartdaddy (Formerly, Mumphrey, Smedley Darlington Mingobat, et al.):

    I was amazed at the stone face Perdue was able to maintain while Jon called him out as a plain old criminal, only worse. Harming his constituents as well as being a stock market crook!

    You go, Jon!!! Light that bastard up!!!

    What a good job on the part of Ossuf.

  5. 5.

    taumaturgo

    October 30, 2020 at 5:13 pm

    How refreshing, finally a democrat told the truth about a crooked republican. This should be a model for all democrats to tell the republicans to stop lying. See democrats, how popular this exchange has become so stop acting like wimps.

  6. 6.

    Just One More Canuck

    October 30, 2020 at 5:14 pm

    @Lord Fartdaddy (Formerly, Mumphrey, Smedley Darlington Mingobat, et al.): I  thought he has about to shit himself, but this being a family blog and all…

  7. 7.

    Barbara

    October 30, 2020 at 5:20 pm

    I just donated to Four Directions and Fair Fight (Stacy Abrams’ organization).  I figure my last minute donations are most effective for groups getting out the vote.

  8. 8.

    RaflW

    October 30, 2020 at 5:25 pm

    @Barbara: I just did both of those this week, and the ACLU in case things get weird. I’ve also been keen on Jolt Action in TX to reach Latino voters.

  9. 9.

    piratedan

    October 30, 2020 at 5:26 pm

    it’s a wonder that Ossoff didn’t just ask for a moment post that “observation” for a cigarette.  Unsure if I have seen so many GOP candidates get skewered like they have this year with Ernst screwing up Iowa commodities numbers, McSally calling out Kelly for gun control, while ignoring his wife survived a mass shooting event that cost her her job (that McSally eventually took).  Marshall ducking out of debates in Kansas, Cornym showing his “true colors” in Texas, Harrison eviscerating Graham for words and deeds in South Carolina and Sen. Collins stating that there is no systematic racism in Maine…

    and with the ability for us all to be plugged into these moments and see them for what they are…

    It really does seem that the R’s just trot anyone else out there with an R beside their name that are nothing more than cardboard cutouts of people and people are electing them because of the brand and not whether they are worthy to serve.

  10. 10.

    SiubhanDuinne

    October 30, 2020 at 5:27 pm

    @J R in WV:

    I was amazed at the stone face Perdue was able to maintain while Jon called him out as a plain old criminal, only worse.

    Yes, he kept a stony face but his body language — the side-to-side weight shifting, from one foot to the other — told the story. He was visibly anxious and upset.

    I’m so hopeful that Ossoff will be able to flip that seat. Would love to see Georgia and a few other Southern states send Democrats to the Senate this year.

  11. 11.

    scott (the other one)

    October 30, 2020 at 5:30 pm

    The thing that makes that Ossoff clip so devastating—aside from the fact that he’s bringing the truthhammer down so brutally—is how slowly and deliberately Ossoff is laying out the facts. He doesn’t stumble, he doesn’t um or uh, he calmly states the horrible truth so plainly, and with pauses in between each sentence to give time for the shrapnel to do major damage. Amazing.

  12. 12.

    Ivan X

    October 30, 2020 at 5:37 pm

    I have often thought, this cycle, about how R’s call even the most moderate of Democrats “extreme,” and how D’s rarely use that kind of language, even when it’s actually descriptive and accurate. What are we afraid of?

    I just gave some more money so I can achieve my self-serving ends of being able to post here about how proud I am of myself or something. Sometimes the right things get done for the wrong reasons.

  13. 13.

    James E Powell

    October 30, 2020 at 5:38 pm

    It amazes me and depresses me that a candidate can be so completely exposed as a fraud and a liar and still be favored to win election.

  14. 14.

    Catherine D.

    October 30, 2020 at 5:39 pm

    @scott (the other one):  Yes, his delivery was impeccable!

  15. 15.

    Mike G

    October 30, 2020 at 5:39 pm

    Purdue, in his head:  “If I don’t look at him, this isn’t happening.”

  16. 16.

    craigie

    October 30, 2020 at 5:40 pm

    @piratedan:

    It really does seem that the R’s just trot anyone else out there with an R beside their name that are nothing more than cardboard cutouts of people…

    I’ve been thinking about this a lot lately. Of course I admire Dems, but there are lots of them to admire. There is literally (and I don’t use that word lightly) nobody on the Republican side that I can think of who seems like an actual human or who knows what it’s like to be an actual human. It’s really pretty weird.

  17. 17.

    zhena gogolia

    October 30, 2020 at 5:44 pm

    @taumaturgo:

    Democrats are not wimps.

  18. 18.

    debbie

    October 30, 2020 at 5:45 pm

    @Ivan X:

    You left out the descriptor “radical.”

  19. 19.

    Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)

    October 30, 2020 at 5:46 pm

    Are you getting nervous about Ossoff specifically, Doug?

  20. 20.

    SiubhanDuinne

    October 30, 2020 at 5:49 pm

    @craigie:

    There is literally (and I don’t use that word lightly)

    Especially now that Steve in the ATL has returned.

  21. 21.

    James E Powell

    October 30, 2020 at 5:50 pm

    @craigie:

    Truth. It’s bizarre that we consider Mitt Fucking Romney as one of the better ones.

  22. 22.

    piratedan

    October 30, 2020 at 5:51 pm

    @Goku (aka Amerikan Baka): don’t think that’s implied at all Goku, he specifically stated that watching that clip left him in a happy place….. never has a corrupt politician been exposed so elegantly and eruditely in a debate format.

  23. 23.

    artem1soo

    October 30, 2020 at 6:05 pm

    I am so happy Ossof decided to run again.  He keeps plugging away because it’s the right thing to do, not because it will win him a Senate seat.  He will be in office someday and I have a feeling he may eventually lose a seat because of this forthright approach.  But if he teaches the next generation that there is life beyond losing an election, he will have done good work.  The worst mistake the Dems made was accepting the GOP standard that having experience is an automatic disqualifier and no one should try to run again if they are term limited or have lost a major election.

    In some ways, more than an appointment on SCOTUS,  I would love to see Obama take a House seat – maybe Elijah Cummings seat – and drive the GOP crazy for the next 30-40 years.  No way would he have to worry about fundraising or losing a house seat.  And having him around all the time fighting for the arc of justice would be wonderful.  It would be like John Quincy Adams hanging around the house for decades and fighting to abolish slavery.  Not as sexy as being the President, but damn useful as an example of how to spend your retirement.

  24. 24.

    Roger Moore

    October 30, 2020 at 6:08 pm

    @James E Powell: 

    It’s bizarre that we consider Mitt Fucking Romney as one of the better ones.

    It’s even weirder that Mitt Romney actually appears to be one of the better Republican senators. Of course this is somewhat like saying lethal injection is one of the better ways of being executed, but it’s still remarkable.

  25. 25.

    randal m sexton

    October 30, 2020 at 6:13 pm

    I have been doing last minute GOTV donations to the swing state Democratic Parties. Penn, Wis, Fl, MI, NC, and Texas.

    Cannot believe Texas. If Texas goes blue, or even better is THE state that boots the orange turd, I hereby pledge to drink Shiner Bock beer and wear cowboy boots for a WEEK !!!

  26. 26.

    evap

    October 30, 2020 at 6:18 pm

    @randal m sexton:   I’m with you, but I think Shiner Bock is a bridge too far for me.  On the other hand, if someone said that drinking Shiner Bock for the next four days would guarantee Biden wins Texas, I’d do it.

  27. 27.

    Ivan X

    October 30, 2020 at 6:30 pm

    @debbie: Yes. Also descriptive and accurate.

  28. 28.

    WaterGirl

    October 30, 2020 at 6:31 pm

    Doug, did you see this comment from gkoutnik this morning?  I intended to email it to you, but my day got out of hand.

    A few days ago, Doug put up a fundraising post for Four Directions, a GOTV organization “dedicated to getting Native Americans to the polls.” I thought it was a good idea (everybody votes!) and donated, and then the link appeared in comments the next day. I thought it was still a good idea and added a little more.

    Yesterday I got a phone call from Lewis Cohen, Finance Director for Four Directions, thanking me for the donation. Then he said, “Let me ask you what may seem to be a strange question, but… where did you hear about us?”

    Turns out they had a big spike in donations, mostly from some place called “Balloon Juice.” They had no idea who we were or how we found them. I described BJ as best I could (that was interesting) and he again expressed his gratitude.

    Their motto seems to be: “Advancing equality at the ballot box across Indian Country.” So – thanks, folks, from Indian Country.

  29. 29.

    Anonymous At Work

    October 30, 2020 at 6:34 pm

    Does anyone have a clip of Perdue’s response?  I’d be interested in whether he could mount a response that was more than “Lie AOC lie Socialism lie.”

  30. 30.

    TiredOfItAll

    October 30, 2020 at 6:34 pm

    Just donated but cannot bring myself to watch the clip — I trust you balloon juicers without seeing for myself.  Blood pressure issues.  Just cannot politics any more. I’m sure I’m not the only one who read somewhere on the twitterverse that right now “…it’s like the whole nation is awaiting the biopsy results”.  Listening to Gymnopediés and pretty much chanting “Serenity Now!’ non-stop.

  31. 31.

    WaterGirl

    October 30, 2020 at 6:35 pm

    @taumaturgo:

    How refreshing, finally a democrat told the truth about a crooked republican.

    Finally?  Have you not been paying attention this year?

  32. 32.

    WaterGirl

    October 30, 2020 at 6:36 pm

    @scott (the other one): Yep.  A+ for content, and for delivery.

  33. 33.

    WaterGirl

    October 30, 2020 at 6:38 pm

    @SiubhanDuinne: I am so glad to see him back!

  34. 34.

    WaterGirl

    October 30, 2020 at 6:40 pm

    @TiredOfItAll: I think this clip would likely lower your blood pressure.  Jon Ossoff is quite calm as he delivers a scathing and accurate description of his opponent, and you never see the Republican get to speak.  It’s glorious.

  35. 35.

    l3000

    October 30, 2020 at 6:51 pm

    In case anyone is interested, there’s a matching $500 up to Nov. 2 for a group of GOTV groups. They are only at $403 just now.  https://secure.actblue.com/donate/gotv_orgs   Don’t know anything about NaphiSoc, but a match is a match.

  36. 36.

    Fair Economist

    October 30, 2020 at 6:54 pm

    Did I read that right? Balloon Juice alone raised a quarter of a million for Ossoff?

  37. 37.

    piratedan

    October 30, 2020 at 6:58 pm

    @TiredOfItAll: if you watch it, it will make you smile, Ossoff didn’t just bring the lumber, in 1:12 seconds… he brought an entire forest.  Watching Perdue stand there and listen to it and just sway and blink, gives you the idea that he knows that Ossoff is talking but is unable to respond.

  38. 38.

    WaterGirl

    October 30, 2020 at 7:08 pm

    @Fair Economist: Yeppers!

  39. 39.

    Frank Wilhoit

    October 30, 2020 at 7:10 pm

    @piratedan: No one remembers 1980 — or, if they do, it is only for Reagan; but the Republicans put forward six Senate candidates in that year who were exactly as you describe — all perfect nonentities. They were, at the time, known as the Six Horsemen of the Apocalypse. (Chuck Grassley was one of them.)

    In the next cycle, 1982, in Nebraska, the Republican Senate candidate was chosen for the spelling of his name and for no other reason. There was a popular radio station whose call letters were KECK, so the Republicans got out the phone books and found someone named Jim Keck to run for Senate. At least he lost; but he was a perfect exemplar of the approach to candidate selection that has now persisted for forty years.

  40. 40.

    Ivan X

    October 30, 2020 at 7:12 pm

    @WaterGirl:  That is awesome!

    I’m also curious how you described Balloon Juice. I usually go with “Liberal politics, pets, recipes, gardening, travel photography, and culture blog.” It makes perfect sense!

  41. 41.

    TomatoQueen

    October 30, 2020 at 7:13 pm

    @WaterGirl:  For some reason this post made the room all dusty.

  42. 42.

    WaterGirl

    October 30, 2020 at 7:51 pm

    @Ivan X: @TomatoQueen:

    Someone, I think it was Betty Cracker, asked gkoutnik how he described Balloon Juice.  If I remembered which thread it was in I would go find it, but it sounded to me like he did a good job explaining what we are, and he did give the fellow a link to the site.

    edit: Good news is for sharing!

  43. 43.

    James E Powell

    October 30, 2020 at 7:53 pm

    @evap:

    Yeah, I wouldn’t go with Shiner Bock, but I’d do a six of Lone Star.

  44. 44.

    DougJ

    October 30, 2020 at 8:30 pm

    @Goku (aka Amerikan Baka):

     

    No I’m bullish on him

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