Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

You cannot shame the shameless.

Hi god, it’s us. Thanks a heap, you’re having a great week and it’s only Thursday!

Fight them, without becoming them!

I’ve spoken to my cat about this, but it doesn’t seem to do any good.

Is it irresponsible to speculate? It is irresponsible not to.

Someone should tell Republicans that violence is the last refuge of the incompetent, or possibly the first.

Trump’s cabinet: like a magic 8 ball that only gives wrong answers.

Tide comes in. Tide goes out. You can’t explain that.

Imperialist aggressors must be defeated, or the whole world loses.

Books are my comfort food!

I see no possible difficulties whatsoever with this fool-proof plan.

If you voted for Trump, you don’t get to speak about ethics, morals, or rule of law.

I am pretty sure these ‘journalists’ were not always such a bootlicking sycophants.

“When somebody takes the time to draw up a playbook, they’re gonna use it.”

In after Baud. Damn.

Consistently wrong since 2002

Weird. Rome has an American Pope and America has a Russian President.

America is going up in flames. The NYTimes fawns over MAGA celebrities. No longer a real newspaper.

Stop using mental illness to avoid talking about armed white supremacy.

“Everybody’s entitled to be an idiot.”

People are weird.

Teach a man to fish, and he’ll sit in a boat all day drinking beer.

The rest of the comments were smacking Boebert like she was a piñata.

And now I have baud making fun of me. this day can’t get worse.

You are here: Home / Open Threads / Open Thread: Celebrating Stacey and Georgia

Open Thread: Celebrating Stacey and Georgia

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McConnell losing the majority was as important as dumping the orange disease. And I hope he’s miserable the remainder of his days in the Senate.

I’m a Ludacris fan, so this works for me.

Open thread

 

 

Reader Interactions

189Comments

  1. 1.

    Elizabelle

    L. O’Donnell just now:  Where does Stacey Abrams belong in the organizing hall of fame?

  2. 2.

    HumboldtBlue

    I’m aboard. Then again I’m a sucker for a smart effective woman.

    Georgia governor next.

  3. 3.

    C. Isaac

    Serious consideration should be given to making Stacey Abrams head of the DNC.

    That is, if she’d be willing to instead of kicking Kemp to the curb in 2022.

  5. 5.

    Alison Rose

    Okay, I’d been planning to call his office and just yell BYE FELICIA and hang up, but that song is better.

    And yes, I realize he won’t actually be gone if all goes the way it looks like it will. But he’ll be out of the Speaker’s role, and that’s enough for me, for now.

    Every time Harris breaks a tie, she should wink at him

    ETA this cracked me up

  6. 6.

    Felanius Kootea

    @C. Isaac: No, I want her to curb-stomp Kemp in 2022.  Just demolish that guy at the polls and destroy his legal-voter-purging strategy. The DNC should definitely learn from her though.

  7. 7.

    HumboldtBlue

    @C. Isaac:

    Serious consideration should be given to making Stacey Abrams head of the DNC.

    Stop this.

    Stacey Abrams is Governor/Senator/President quality, not some wool-gatherer.

  8. 8.

    patrick II

    The democrats should pass a serious voting rights act and create a commission to enforce it and put Stacey in charge.

  10. 10.

    JWR

    Go, Stacy! Watched her on Colbert last night, and thought that if current predictions hold, I’m gonna send her at least a virtual Red Rose.

  11. 11.

    Chetan Murthy

    @C. Isaac: I don’t mean this as any but the gentlest chiding, but no man who had pulled off this kind of win, would be talked-about in terms of where they should go next to fix a mess; they’d be talked about in terms of their next big election, their career, etc. And (AFAIK) DNC Chair isn’t a step to higher elective office.  That she’s a woman shouldn’t change this.

  12. 12.

    Elizabelle

    John Lewis is smiling somewhere tonight.

    Yes.  Absolutely.  A Voting Rights Act with teeth.

  13. 13.

    sanjeevs

    I see Comey has a new book out

    https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/jan/05/james-comey-donald-trump-prosecuted-saving-justice-new-book

    Donald Trump should not be prosecuted once he leaves the White House no matter how much evidence has been amassed against him, the former FBI director James Comey writes in a new book.

    The next US attorney general, under Joe Biden, should not “pursue a criminal investigation of Donald Trump”, Comey writes, “no matter how compelling the roadmap left” by the special counsel Robert Mueller, or “how powerful the evidence strewn across his history of porn stars and financial fraud”.
    “Although those cases might be righteous in a vacuum,” Comey writes, “the mission of the next attorney general must be fostering the trust of the American people.”

    Once again, Fuck Comey.

  17. 17.

    Alison Rose

    Quoth some Buzzfeed dude:

    Good argument to be made that Stacey Abrams is one of the most consequential women in US history.

    I second that emotion.

  18. 18.

    patrick II

    @Chetan Murthy:

    She just filled (I hope, still worried about Osserman) the two Georgia Senate seats, so elections to national office are out for a while.   What is left as a move up is Georgia governor.  Which I would love to see.  But I would also like to see her do something nationally with voting and voting rights. Much like I enjoy Willie Nelson both singing and playing the guitar.

  19. 19.

    Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)

    @sanjeevs:

    WTF? Um no, the AG will foster the trust of the American people by prosecuting criminals like Trump, Comey

  21. 21.

    Balconesfault

    If the Senate does fall into dem hands, the one of the initial things they should do is launch an investigation in the Judiciary Committee into the election results in Kentucky

  22. 22.

    Felanius Kootea

    @sanjeevs: Who is buying Comey’s book? I know Joe Biden will allow his DOJ to do their job and if that includes investigating Trump, so be it.

  25. 25.

    Bruce K in ATH-GR

    It is not for us to decide where Stacy Abrams is needed next, but to support her to the utmost in whatever endeavor she chooses to undertake after this one. She’s proved she knows what she’s doing.

  27. 27.

    Chetan Murthy

    @Bruce K in ATH-GR:

    It is not for us to decide where Stacy Abrams is needed next

    And I feel it necessary to repeat, that no man who’d pulled off such an upset would be discussed in any terms other than what higher office they could and should aspire to. If Ms. Abrams were a man, we’d be talking about whether they were Presidential Timber already.  To treat her differently than we would treat a man in this circumstance is sexist, and we should avoid it.

  32. 32.

    Felanius Kootea

    Ossoff now ahead by almost 4000 votes with new votes reported from DeKalb County!

  33. 33.

    Ajabu

    Next to my beautiful wife, Stacey Abrams is my other Black Queen!

    We’re taking back the senate.

  34. 34.

    Ruckus

    @sanjeevs:

    I agree.

    Fuck Comey. With a freaking telephone pole and a pile driver. What the fuck is the matter with him? Besides he’s full of shit.

    Don’t republicans always say this about their guys when they are caught being the shitty humans they always are? Fuck him.

  40. 40.

    Arclite

    Jeez, that’s a tight race.  When Ossoff was down by 100K earlier in the day, I was pretty worried, but it looks like he might have a chance.  Warnock looks in better shape, but I kind of expected that since Loeffler is a loon.  Here’s to hoping all those mail-in ballots break for the Dems!!

  41. 41.

    Steeplejack

    Damn, MSNBC is going with all-night coverage. Velshi about to tag in for O’Donnell. Apparently they’re still actively counting ballots in Georgia?

  42. 42.

    Arclite

    @HumboldtBlue:

    Stacey Abrams is Governor/Senator/President quality, not some wool-gatherer.

    Is she really though?  When was the last time a community organizer was elected president? =D

  44. 44.

    Freemark

    Just posted this in the old thread. Ossoff now officially ahead. Has a good chance to stay that way. I’m crossing every body part I can. I may be even more excited to ditch Mitch than even Trump…..nahhh, but it is close.

  45. 45.

    Edmund Dantes

    Love that a Jim Crow era law is giving us another crack at winning the senate, and the Dems are pulling it off.

  46. 46.

    David ??Merry Christmas?? Koch

    Ossoff youngest Senator (age 33) to be elected since Joe Biden was elected 48 years ago at age 30

  47. 47.

    Chetan Murthy

    @Arclite:

    When was the last time a community organizer was elected president?

    InDEED, inDEED.  Also, she was apparently very, very successful as GA lege minority leader.  Which means that she’s got a thicker resume than a certain other organizer who went on to higher things.

  53. 53.

    Steeplejack

    Trump taking it pretty well.

    If Vice President @Mike_Pence comes through for us, we will win the Presidency. Many States want to decertify the mistake they made in certifying incorrect & even fraudulent numbers in a process NOT approved by their State Legislatures (which it must be). Mike can send it back!

    — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 6, 2021

  57. 57.

    hilts

    Congrats to Warnock and hopefully Ossoff as well and a special congrats to Stacey Abrams!

    Nothing could be as sweet as a twin defeat for that scumbag Mitch McConnell.

    I cordially invite James Comey to go fuck himself.

    I hope the White House has a big supply of diapers on hand for the next 2 weeks because I suspect Trump’s bowels will be in a continuous uproar right up until Inauguration Day and Trumpy won’t be able to maintain control over them.

  58. 58.

    Chris T.

    @Freemark: Just posted this in the old thread. Ossoff now officially ahead. Has a good chance to stay that way. I’m crossing every body part I can. I may be even more excited to ditch Mitch than even Trump…..nahhh, but it is close.

    Trump was the painful poison killing America every day. McConnell is the ulcer that won’t heal. Both are urgent, but Trump was urgent-er.

  61. 61.

    janesays

    @C. Isaac: She could do both, I think. A lot of party chairs have been elected officials who are in office while also running the party.

  62. 62.

    ?BillinGlendaleCA

    @Steeplejack: Trump seems to be misinformed(shocking, I know), all the state legislatures did approve a method of appointing electors, they all passed laws stating that the winner of the popular vote would get the electors(except in NE and ME).

  63. 63.

    SWMBO

    @janesays: We tried that with Debbie Wasserman Schultz.  Imma thumbs down this one.  DNC needs to start asap to organize for 2022 and 2024.  One big important job at a time.  If she has her sights set on Governor, then I’m all for her running and being Governor.  She also has to help Warnock win re-election in 2 years since this was a special election.   She is a brilliant, dynamic player who knows what she wants and how to get there.  Kemp may yet regret cheating in 2018.

  64. 64.

    trnc

    @Chetan Murthy: 

    And I feel it necessary to repeat, that no man who’d pulled off such an upset would be discussed in any terms other than what higher office they could and should aspire to.

    Oh, FFS. DNC chair is not a punishment or a political dead end job. It’s a perfectly reasonable role to consider for a highly organized person who wants to further the progressive agenda, regardless of that person’s gender. Howard Dean was a governor and went on to chair the DNC, and he was widely credited with upping Dems ground game nationally like Abrams has in Ga. Terry McAuliffe was DNC Chair and then was elected governor. Tim Kaine was DNC chair and then was elected to the senate and became the VP nominee in 2016. Maybe it’s the next best step for her, maybe it’s not, but suggesting it doesn’t make anyone a sexist.

  65. 65.

    Mai Naem mobile

    @sanjeevs: nobody gives a fuck about what Comey thinks about anything. He’s a good part of the reason Orange Dbag was seated in 2016 and brought all this tide of garbage onto this country.

  66. 66.

    cthulhu

    Obviously Abrams has so much talent that there are a lot of positions that she would kill at BUT GA Gov will go a long way to locking the state down into the D column like VA. And probably impacts SC and NC too if they follow her model. (I am just going to write off FL as a mess for eternity – we may win it here and there but I have never had a sense that anyone understands that political landscape well enough to “organize” it).

  67. 67.

    Ruckus

    @Goku (aka Amerikan Baka):

    He’s trying to protect shitforbrains, what do you think might just be hiding if a trial comes out? Hey, I wasn’t there but he’s supporting one of if not the biggest crook ever to sit in the WH, and you want me to believe that he’s doing it out of the kindness of his left nut?

  69. 69.

    Chetan Murthy

    @Ruckus: I dunno if Comey’s tryin’ to protect shitforbrains, but I for sure know he’s tryin’ to protect his Party.  B/c Comey is, was, and always will be a GrOPer.

  70. 70.

    cain

    Deeply happy today about the results. We have certainly pulled out a squeaker for Democracy. Time to do what we are charged by the people.

    That said, I hope they are looking at all ways to expand their power and that means a new civil and voting rights act – new ways to get people to the polls.

    I don’t know what to do about the senate rules and all the shit that has happened in the past that Republicans have taken advantage of  – but we need to do something and absolutely from a national security point of view – we need to do something about companies like Facebook.

  71. 71.

    Mai Naem mobile

    I am wondering if Brian Kemp would run again 2022 if Stacey Abrams decided to run. Also I believe Warnock gets to run again in 2022 because this was a special election like  Mark Kelly’s.

  72. 72.

    cain

    @cthulhu:

    I’m behind whatever she wants to do – but if a rematch with Kemp is in her plans then absolutely I would love to see her be GA Gov – she’s young she can wait awhile before going after the presidency.

    That would be something though if she comes after Kamala Harris.

  73. 73.

    Felanius Kootea

    @cain: The margin of victory may yet increase.  I have my fingers crossed. Oh the thought of Mitch McConnell’s indigestion tonight gives me life.  I have become so petty over the last four years.

  74. 74.

    Redshift

    Woo-hoo, this is a good night! I didn’t get my hopes up, even though I tend to be an optimist, but I’m glad I was up late enough to see them both ahead beyond any likely recount changes.

  79. 79.

    aliasofwestgate

    This is such good news.

    I’m covid negative. so YAY on that front. But i am dealing with a bout of minor bronchitis, but definitely not bacterial. Been resting the last two days, and the prednisone course is doing its job so i feel human again. Unfortunately, i’m one of those people who get insomnia from even smaller courses (which the doc wisely gave me, because anything higher than 30mg gives me the shakes outright). Just glad the wheezing is over, and i can do a happy dance when Mcconnel is shuttled out of the majority leader seat.

  80. 80.

    West of the Rockies

    @Felanius Kootea:

    My EXACT thought!  McConnell must be having intestinal distress on a cosmic order as his power and importance vanish like  farts in a hurricane.

  81. 81.

    rikyrah

    Rev. Warnock was Congressman John Lewis's pastor. Ossoff was Lewis's intern. And somewhere, somehow both near and far, I have to think that Rep. Lewis is saying, "Well done."— Fred Smith (@fredosmithjr) January 6, 2021

  82. 82.

    lamh36

    Ossoff at 10K over Perdue and counting! Will likely for to recount but bigger number means recount won’t change much!!!

     

    we did it folks!

     

    Dems have flipped the Senate!  We got two years to build up for 2022 all the while let’s get as much shit done as we can!!

  83. 83.

    Just Some Fuckhead

    @lamh36: Still have the cloture vote hurdle of 60. If I recall correctly, Joe Manchin said he doesn’t support ending the filibuster (and there may have been others) which means we don’t have enough Democratic votes to kill it. With the filibuster rule still in place, McConnell holding the Republican caucus in place will effectively allow him to run the Senate from the minority leader position. Summary: very little will be possible in the Senate.

  85. 85.

    Kent

    Congressional Review Act folks.   Poison pill passed by Newt Gingrich.   But it suddenly becomes ENORMOUSLY consequential:  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Congressional_Review_Act

    It was a poison pill law passed by Newt Gingrich that allows Congress to review and vote down any regulations passed in the past 60 legislative days (days that Congress was in session) and prohibits any new regulations that are substantially equivalent.  Back when it was a GOP Congress and a Dem president.

    This means as soon as Warnock and Osssoff are seated, Congress can repeal every damn last minute bit of poisonous regulations that the Trump Administration is trying to ram through

    They don’t even have to wait until January 20.  They can do it as soon as they are seated.  I don’t know how many legislative days have passed but Congress has been out of session a whole bunch this past fall so the calendar probably goes back to Sept 2020 or earlier.

  87. 87.

    Chetan Murthy

    @Kent:

    They don’t even have to wait until January 20.

    Still needs a majority vote in each house of Congress, right?  That will wait until 20 Jan when VP Harris takes the gavel in the Senate to break ties.

  89. 89.

    Fair Economist

    One particularly sweet aspect of Ossoff’s likely win is that it happened only because of the runoff system Georgia racists adopted to suppress black voters. If they’d done it like almost any other state Perdue would be in for 6 more years. Suck on that, conservatives.

  91. 91.

    Kent

    @Chetan Murthy: OK, you are right about that.  But I expect there are serious Dem aids in Congress who are looking at the calendar and Congressional record and back-casting which Trump regulations they can wipe out with a vote in Congress.

    In 2016 the GOP wiped out 14 or 15 different last minute Obama administration regulations using this same law. Fair is fair.

  92. 92.

    lamh36

    @Just Some Fuckhead: hmm do we think McConnell will be able to hold his caucus solidly for the next two years?  IDK of the MAGA jackals call themselves torturing the GOP side, maybe enough of them will say fuq it I’ve had enough damned if I do, damned if I don’t and cite for some of the Dems out up to vote?  After his death,  IDK maybe an easier layup for some to cross like and vote for??‍♀️

     

    Can only hope plus at the very least Dems should try since McConnell refused to even put it up for a vote even tho he had the No’s

  94. 94.

    hitless

    @Just Some Fuckhead: 

    And I thought I was a pessimist. It’s true that without ending the filibuster, big legislation will not be possible. But McConnell isn’t going to run the Senate from the minority. Judges, appointees and the budget are all possible without Mitch’s consent. That’s tremendously better than the alternative.

  96. 96.

    Ian

    @sanjeevs:

    “how powerful the evidence strewn across his history of porn stars and financial fraud”.

    How about rape, coercion, bribery, and money laundering?

  98. 98.

    cthulhu

    @Just Some Fuckhead: 

    Still have the cloture vote hurdle of 60. If I recall correctly, Joe Manchin said he doesn’t support ending the filibuster (and there may have been others) which means we don’t have enough Democratic votes to kill it. With the filibuster rule still in place, McConnell holding the Republican caucus in place will effectively allow him to run the Senate from the minority leader position. Summary: very little will be possible in the Senate.

    This is a very cynical read of the situation. The Dems need to deliver and if the GOP is intent on stopping everything I think all Dem Senators who are inclined not to eliminate the filibuster have said they will rethink that position. So the GOP has less leverage than you imply. Manchin, for example, has said he doesn’t intend to run again anyway so he may be short on f*cks to give.

  99. 99.

    Ian

    @Mary G:

    The LP?  They paid more to Steve Schmidt than they contributed to the Georgia Runoffs.  Those guys can claim all the credit they want, but as we have seen they do not move votes.

  101. 101.

    Just Some Fuckhead

    @lamh36: Right? The question is can we get 10 Republicans to go along with something/anything Democrats want to do. I doubt it. Republicans are so thoroughly radicalized now they are trying to tear down democracy to keep Trump in office. And one can say oh, that’s only 13 Senators and 100 Congresspeople but the truth is that it’s all of them offering their affirmation with silence save for a very few.

  102. 102.

    Chris T.

    @aliasofwestgate: As an aside, with corticosteroids, you should always use the smallest dose that will get the job done. That’s true even with the topical stuff, where it’s not a huge deal: it’s still a good idea to keep the dose as minimal as will work. When taking cortisone as a shot or pill, it’s very important.

  103. 103.

    Mary G

    @Ian: They make fun of Trump and get under his skin, making him act crazier and crazier. Also, that clip is funny. I don’t give them money or rely on them for votes.

  104. 104.

    Luciamia

    Just roused up and tuned in. Wow! Never thought this would happen. So how many months will it  be before Perdue and what’s her face concedes?

    Maybe 2021 will be better.

  106. 106.

    Balconesfault

    Some Fuckhead: this is why the Dems need to lead with a bold Voting Rights Act and dare Repubs to filibuster.

    If they do … will Manchin want to go down as the guy who was too weak kneed to play hardball when it came to tearing down systemic racism?

    Also … if the filibuster goes … Manchin instantly becomes VERY powerful.   If it remains he’s just another Senator.

  108. 108.

    Dan B

    @rikyrah: I’m certain there are other parts of Senator elect Warnock’s speech that areas profound this brought many tears.  How difficult it is for many people to not know the burden on our hearts of being shunned in many small and large ways.

    We’ve elected a man with a big heart to a body that has elected too many with hard stones in their chests.  He will not be likely to waste too much energy on calculating some “win” based upon 11th dimensional chess.  The senate needs this moral clarity and suasion more than it needs backroom deal makers.

  109. 109.

    Kent

    @Just Some Fuckhead:@lamh36: Right? The question is can we get 10 Republicans to go along with something/anything Democrats want to do. I doubt it. Republicans are so thoroughly radicalized now they are trying to tear down democracy to keep Trump in office. And one can say oh, that’s only 13 Senators and 100 Congresspeople but the truth is that it’s all of them offering their affirmation with silence save for a very few.

    If the Dem Senators want to keep their majority, they will pass the John Lewis Voting Rights Act and break the filibuster to do it.  Being in the majority is a hell of a lot better than being in the minority and a hell of a motivator.  If the GOP wants to maintain the filibuster they will find the votes to avoid this end.

  110. 110.

    Platonicspoof

    @Fair Economist:

    Yes. I ran across this AJC article about it this a.m.:

    ” Represented by the American Civil Liberties Union, the plaintiffs detailed dozens of examples of Black candidates losing in runoffs and cited comments made by Denmark Groover, the state legislator who authored the state’s election’s law in 1964. The former leader of the Georgia House and a segregationist at the time, Groover, D-Macon, testified that he originally sought to blunt the power of Black voting blocs.”

  111. 111.

    Kent

    @Balconesfault:

    Some Fuckhead: this is why the Dems need to lead with a bold Voting Rights Act and dare Repubs to filibuster.

    If they do … will Manchin want to go down as the guy who was too weak kneed to play hardball when it came to tearing down systemic racism?

    Also … if the filibuster goes … Manchin instantly becomes VERY powerful.   If it remains he’s just another Senator.

    Exactly.  In a 50/50 Senate, Manchin is the most powerful legislator on the planet without the filibuster. With the filibuster the 60th vote goes to…..who the hell knows…Probably Rand Paul.  Does Manchin really want to give all his power and pork he can get for his state over to Rand fucking Paul?

  112. 112.

    aliasofwestgate

    @Chris T.: I’m well aware of that as a former Pharm Tech, yeah. But the doc’s that proscribe it tend to dose higher than my personal metabolism likes very much sometimes. This ER Doc was good, and gave me minimal dosage. So aside from insomnia, and energy when i don’t need it, no sign whatsoever of shakes. Still means i’m gonna crash when the course ends in 3 days, but that’s also fairly normal.  This one won’t be a severe one, and that’s the best thing. Just a bit extra sleep to make up for the hyped-up metabolism for 5 days.  I think my worst course was 80 mg tapering to 20mg over 7 days.  I think i could have slept for a week when that one was done, ugh.  5 days at 20? That works just fine without making me feel all weirded out and jumpy.

    I’m asthmatic and yeah, i end up on prednisone courses a few times a year if i end up having severe attacks or something else broadsides me.

  113. 113.

    Just Some Fuckhead

    @Balconesfault: lol, you mean dare the folks who are currently trying to thwart the voters and overthrow democracy into filibustering a voting rights bill?  Hello. Anyone in there?

  114. 114.

    Immanentize

    @Sister Golden Bear:

    Minority Leader Mitch McConnell.

    What makes people so certain that the Republicans in the Senate will support McConnell as minority leader after this loss? I’m not even certain he will run for the position.

  115. 115.

    Jinchi

    @rikyrah: Rev. Warnock was Congressman John Lewis’s pastor. Ossoff was Lewis’s intern. And somewhere, somehow both near and far, I have to think that Rep. Lewis is saying, “Well done.”— Fred Smith (@fredosmithjr) January 6, 2021

    Wow, that’s the first time I’ve heard that! Quite the tribute to his legacy. This bodes really well for the future.

    And, while I know she wasn’t alone, Stacey Abrams certainly deserves a great deal of credit for her tireless efforts getting out the vote in the general election and sustaining it through the runoffs. Winning the presidency and two Senate seats is quite the accomplishment.

  116. 116.

    Kent

    @Immanentize:What makes people so certain that the Republicans in the Senate will support McConnell as minority leader after this loss? I’m not even certain he will run for the position.

    Minority leader Ted Cruz!!!

  117. 117.

    Jinchi

    @Ian: How about rape, coercion, bribery, and money laundering?

    My thoughts as well. For all the focus spent on it, I couldn’t care less that Trump paid off Stormy Daniels. It was by far the least of his crimes. The fact that Comey stresses it shows he still doesn’t get what truly made Trump evil.

  118. 118.

    Jinchi

    @Kent: @Immanentize:

    It seems to me that, even with his power ebbing, Trump is still probably powerful enough in Republican circles to put the dagger in Mitch’s Senate leadership career.

  120. 120.

    GregMulka

    I was pissed to be woken up at 0230 because a co-worker is afraid of Hyper-V but Ossoff is up almost 10k and I’m much less angry.

  121. 121.

    StringOnAStick

    Couldn’t sleep so I fired up my kindle, read this then woke up my husband to tell him.  Thank FSM!

  124. 124.

    Martin

    I said back in 2012 that Georgia would soon be winnable by Dems, but if you had told me they’d vote D for president and put 2 D senators in, I’d have said you were fucking crazy.

    Shows you what hard work and a billion dollars can do.

  126. 126.

    Baud

    Woke up to this excellent news.  Congrats to all!  The seditionists will look especially pathetic today.

    This just came across my feed.

    Republicans turn on Trump after Georgia loss.

  127. 127.

    Baud

    @Kent:

    If the Dem Senators want to keep their majority, they will pass the John Lewis Voting Rights Act

     

    We’ll found out. Dems have already reintroduced HR1, which is there comprehensive voting bill they passed last year.

  128. 128.

    Martin

    Additionally, one thing you could bet your life savings on is that Dems would lose a runoff set up in the general. Frankly, we’re historically terrible at turning out for midterms and specials. Astonishing that there are counties that got a higher turnout for the runoff than the general. I mean, that seemed impossible.

    If Dems could turn out nationally like Georgian Dems did, we’d have dominant majorities almost everywhere. Maybe Trump was the wake-up call we needed.

  129. 129.

    mrmoshpotato

    @Geoduck:

    My predictions are usually wrong, but I can’t see Moscow Mitch giving up his office voluntarily under any circumstances. 

    No way is he walking away from another 6 years of Rethuglican fuckery and obstruction.  No way, no how.

  130. 130.

    Cermet

    All really great news comming out of GA. But this is going to be the acid test for Biden and the Senate – if they allow the thugs to dominate then all was/is for nought. We have a narrow window to get real laws done to make national elections fair. We really, really need to make DC and Puerto Rico States to increase the Senate so we have a chance in two years. Return the two Inferior court (aka the incorrectly named, for now, Supreme court) judge seats that were stolen. The media will side with thugs as they fight tooth and nail to stop us – this we can’t allow. Miss this window of oppurtunity and like it was said in LoTR – the quest is balanced upon an knife edge; to faulter is to fail.

  132. 132.

    Baud

    You people just can’t celebrate. Already worrying how Dem will fail.  I’ll be back for the morning thread.

  134. 134.

    Betty Cracker

    Fairly early yesterday evening, my husband and I decided to tune out election coverage because we just couldn’t stand the torture! Well, this is a helluva good morning!

    I said yesterday I’d be overjoyed if Dems won both seats, pleasantly surprised if they won one and unsurprised if the Rep crooks held both. Overjoyed it is! :)

  135. 135.

    Martin

    @Geoduck: Mitch isn’t about to throw the electoral college out the window. Dems can add DC and PR as states with simple majorities, which they’ll have – both of which have already had their referendums to join. That adds 4 senate seats for Democrats, and likely a pickup of 5 house seats if they reapportion the existing house seats rather than add any. That’s 7 net EC votes, which basically negates Oklahoma.

  136. 136.

    Frankensteinbeck

    @Jinchi:

    Mitch did this himself, and sunk Trump as well.  He was willing to gamble his Majority Leader status to fuck over the 99%.  He could have saved both easily with COVID relief packages.  He is a sadistic fuck.

    @Geoduck:

    My predictions are usually right, and I can’t see Mitch leaving any time soon, except in a body bag.  He is very sick and covering it up, but who knows if he’s sick enough?  And while he has to be unpopular with his caucus right now, I suspect no one is popular enough to replace him.

  137. 137.

    sab

    Wow. I am pleasantly amazed.

    Our Kay has, of course, been right all along. We need to organize long term and long haul, and pay people to do it.

    Democrats have been relying on out of state volunteers to helicopter in before every election to tell the locals what to do. While sending all our money to grifting campaign advertising people.

    We need local people in the field between  the two or four years we have elections.

    Stacey Abrams and her fellow campaigners did this. We need to learn from them.

  139. 139.

    Betty Cracker

    @sab: Agreed. Ben Wikler in Wisconsin also provided a proof point for this strategy. I wish to hell one or both could be cloned and sent to Florida.

  140. 140.

    Jinchi

    @Martin: Dems can add DC and PR as states with simple majorities

    Are you sure about that? It seems like adding states would take a few more hurdles. Otherwise, why wouldn’t Republicans have recast every rural county in Alabama as a state?

  142. 142.

    Betty Cracker

    Please FSM, let this fucking piss ant loose on the Republican Party:

    This day is shaping up to be schadenfreudelicious!

  143. 143.

    Kristine

    @Baud: Dems gonna Dem.

    Taking both GA seats is a helluva lot better than losing one or both.

    Whatever can be done wrt voting rights. Also, judges and SC.

  144. 144.

    Jinchi

    With a 50/50 Senate, Kamala Harris is set to be the most pivotal VP in history.

    I’m looking forward to seeing her be the deciding vote in ending Mitch’s reign.

  145. 145.

    mrmoshpotato

    @Betty Cracker: Yes!  The stupidest of the stupid Trump large children destroying the Republican party would be too hilarious to laugh at – you might suffocate from not being able to stop.

  146. 146.

    Betty Cracker

    @mrmoshpotato: Imagine the panic in the Sedition Caucus right now, with chumps like Hawley and Cruz all set to wave their dicks around in the Senate today for a stone-cold loser who not only cost the party the presidency but control of the Senate too. Ha, and I cannot emphasize this enough, HA!

  147. 147.

    mrmoshpotato

    @Betty Cracker: Ha, and I cannot emphasize this enough, HA!

    Ha HA HA!  Today is going to be…interesting – and probably traitorous.  Interesting and traitorous.

  148. 148.

    Le Comte de Monte Cristo, fka Edmund Dantes

    Morning Joe opened with “Tbe Devil Came Down to Georgia” – I’m ded.  I like to think that shithead is hatewatching and grinding his teeth….

  153. 153.

    evap

    @Jinchi:  What I read is that adding Puerto Rico as a state is just a simple vote in Congress since they are a territory, but making DC a state requires a constitutional amendment. So PR is easy, DC is nearly impossible.

  154. 154.

    Gvg

    @Chetan Murthy: um, I am a woman, and I don’t agree.

    First of all I view us as in a crisis, and I look at all capable democrats and think where would they be the most use getting all of us together out of this mess, not which higher office should they run for next. I put all of their career interests below surviving this horror time. They all make their own choices of course, but that isn’t MY first concern.

    Second, when Stacy chose to run a political get out the vote organization instead of running for Senate or some office, a lot of people felt let down by her and second guessed her a lot. Her choice turned out to be rather consequential though for the whole country and I would say she proved right. She might decide something  like DNC is a good move. I don’t know enough to say, but I am sure she does. I would be so grateful if she could help fix what’s wrong with say the Florida Democratic Party and other states too, but I don’t know if she can.

    i think I would be wondering the same things if some man had done what she did too.

  155. 155.

    evodevo

    @Felanius Kootea: Yes. This.  She had success in GA because she organized the ground game.  In the DNC she would have to not only organize at the national level, but fight all the “in crowd” inertia that blocked a successful organizing effort for years…the DNC needs a complete makeover…too many cooks etc.

  156. 156.

    Le Comte de Monte Cristo, fka Edmund Dantes

    Al Sharpton thanking Trump for being himself and fucking everything up for the GOP….   ???

  162. 162.

    Le Comte de Monte Cristo, fka Edmund Dantes

    Detroit is chasing down the  law licenses of every signer of the Kraken pleadings.

    This quote from the sanction motion…..

    “While the 1st Amendment may protect the right of political fanatics to spew their lies and unhinged conspiracy theories, it does not grant anyone a license to abuse our courts for purposes which are antithetical to our democracy and to our judicial system.”

  163. 163.

    p.a

    @Martin: Fingers ?.  He’s so lazy and incompetent if this required any actual skill and organizational effort he couldn’t do it, but he can blow up the party just by sitting back and tweeting his pig-people.

  164. 164.

    Geminid

    @evodevo: I have heard that Jaime Harrison is in the mix  for DNC Chairman. He would be a good one.

    Stacey Abrams seems to be a methodical person, and she has unfinished business. Abrams did what she could do for Georgians as state House Minority Leader. To do more, she ran for Governor in 2018, and was essentially cheated out of a win. She will almost certainly have a rematch with cheatn’ Brian Kemp in 2022.                                          Georgians need and deserve a good governor. Stacey Abrams could be a great one.

  165. 165.

    evodevo

    @Gvg: Why not both?  I don’t see why she couldn’t consult on Dem organizing in other states AND run for GA gov….

  167. 167.

    Geminid

    @cthulhu: Regarding the filibuster, besides Manchin, Krysten Sinema said last year that she would not vote to eliminate the filibuster. I expect other Senate moderates, among them Angus King of Maine and Mark Warner of Virginia, are inclined similarly. For one thing, they know how much damage the Republicans would have done 2017-2018 had there not been a filibuster.                             So the Democrats probably will not begin the next Congress by eliminating the filibuster, but will rather try to pass what legislation qualifies through the reconciliation process. But if the Republicans obstruct other legislation vital to the American people, what is obstructed in February and March by the filibuster can be passed in April with the filibuster eliminated. And the Republicans will have made the case.

  169. 169.

    Le Comte de Monte Cristo, fka Edmund Dantes

    @Matt McIrvin:

    “Kids, Donald will be getting in the car with me and riding away to a farm upstate where he can run and play and be free to be him….”

  170. 170.

    SiubhanDuinne

    LOL, Joe and Mika just made me laugh out loud. Mika announced that George and Laura Bush would be attending the Biden inauguration. Joe said (paraphrasing), “Oh, that’s great. Nobody gives better inauguration reviews than George W. Bush!”

    LOL.

  171. 171.

    Step2

    The devil went down to Georgia
    He was looking for an election to steal
    He was in a bind ‘cause he was way behind
    And he was willin’ to make a deal

    When he came across this woman
    Workin’ on a political message and playin’ it hot
    And the Devil jumped upon a hickory stump
    And said, “Girl, let me tell you what”

    “I guess you didn’t know it, but I’m an advocate, too
    And if you’d care to take a dare, I’ll make a bet with you
    Now you play pretty good ads, girl, but give the Devil his due
    I’ll bet a fiddle of gold against your soul
    ‘Cause I think I’m better than you”

    The woman said, “My name’s Stacey, and it might be a sin
    But I’ll take your bet, you’re gonna regret
    ‘Cause I am the best that’s ever has been

    Stacey, ratchet up your show and play your turnout card
    ‘Cause Hell’s broke loose in Georgia and the Devil is a dotard
    And if you win, you get this shiny fiddle made of gold
    But if you lose, the devil gets your soul

  172. 172.

    Patricia Kayden

    I am thinking of Fannie Lou Hamer tonight. 20th child of Miss. sharecroppers, kicked out her home for attempting to vote, founder of the the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party that challenged all-white Democratic voting, beaten, shot at,dead at 59, mother of American democracy.— Ida Bae Wells (@nhannahjones) January 6, 2021

  175. 175.

    PST

    Has anyone been talking about Stacey Abrams as attorney general? She’s a graduate of Yale Law. AG is a policy making and administrative position, not active lawyering, so it wouldn’t matter that she’s out of practice. The AG needs the knowledge and judgment to lead lawyers.

  178. 178.

    KayInMD (formerly Kay (not the front-pager))

    This is almost certainly a long-dead thread, but I couldn’t resist:

    McConnell losing the majority was as important as dumping the orange disease. And I hope he’s miserable the remainder of his days in the Senate.

    Fixed it for ya.

  179. 179.

    randy khan

    @Kent:

    A fair number of those regulations may not be final enough that you even need the Congressional Review Act – many agencies have periods when they can reconsider actions they took previously, even if nobody has asked for reconsideration (and if someone has, then they can reconsider at any time).

    And the way they count legislative days under the CRA is kind of crazy, so the period for Congress to act is much longer than it appears.

  180. 180.

    SFAW

    @Betty Cracker:

    Ha, and I cannot emphasize this enough, HA!

    Typical Demon-rat. Want everyone to respect your “feelings,” but when the Party of Traitors REAL America  snowflakes suffer a grievous loss via cheating (i.e., “those people” being allowed to vote), you’re pretty quick to say mean things.

  181. 181.

    H.E.Wolf

    @evodevo: Why not both? I don’t see why she couldn’t consult on Dem organizing in other states AND run for GA gov….

     Requesting that a Black woman do the work of two people, one of them (DNC) the equivalent of cleaning lady, is not a good look.

  183. 183.

    Malovich

    @Chetan Murthy: …how would that hypothetically interface with the senators and reps who refuse to acknowledge the validity of the election and not seating them for sedition?

     

    Just curious about how valid that could be as a course of action.

  186. 186.

    J R in WV

    @Chetan Murthy:

    If Ms. Abrams were a man, we’d be talking about whether they were Presidential Timber already.

    Chetan, we know she is Presidential Timber already, but she has to wait her turn. Kamala Harris comes first!

    We also know that being Governor in GA is one of many paths to the Presidency, taken by one Jimmy carter. And I’m sure that personally, Stacy Abrams would take great pleasure in personally putting Kemp out of office in GA.

  188. 188.

    J R in WV

    @Geminid:

    Regarding the filibuster…

    I want to consider this complex Senate rule. I think minor adjustments to the filibuster rule could fix things. Right now a Senator merely has to state that the Senator intends to filibuster a proposed bill. But in times past a filibuster was a little more difficult, not just a statement of intent.

    What if a Senator who wanted to filibuster had to actually take the floor of the Senate and speak for however long his filibuster lasted? Just a pitcher of water, which they would be a fool to drink unless they were wearing a really good diaper. Because if they leave the floor to use the bathroom, they lose the floor to another Senator.

    And the filibuster rule could even disallow a second Senator from taking the floor from the first filibustering Senator. It could become less of a death penalty rule for proposed bills and more of a negotiating position rule. Of course, the rule making session would have to study these issues long and hard, thinking through the various paths the new rule would allow.

    But it can be done, with care.

  189. 189.

    J R in WV

    @H.E.Wolf:

    Requesting that a Black woman do the work of two people, one of them (DNC) the equivalent of cleaning lady, is not a good look.

    Dude, now you’re calling Tom Perez a “cleaning lady”??? Along with many other well regarded politicians?

    I think you’re stepping in something you didn’t investigate closely! You may have trouble getting that shit off your shoes!!

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