Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

Bark louder, little dog.

Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

Thanks for reminding me that Van Jones needs to be slapped.

“I never thought they’d lock HIM up,” sobbed a distraught member of the Lock Her Up Party.

Their freedom requires your slavery.

Take hopelessness and turn it into resilience.

Motto for the House: Flip 5 and lose none.

There are consequences to being an arrogant, sullen prick.

Chutkan laughs. Lauro sits back down.

Putin dreamed of ending NATO, and now it’s Finnish-ed.

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

A last alliance of elves and men. also pet photos.

Meanwhile over at truth Social, the former president is busy confessing to crimes.

I was promised a recession.

He really is that stupid.

Impressively dumb. Congratulations.

… riddled with inexplicable and elementary errors of law and fact

Sadly, there is no cure for stupid.

A thin legal pretext to veneer over their personal religious and political desires

The party of Reagan has become the party of Putin.

Hot air and ill-informed banter

It may be funny to you motherfucker, but it’s not funny to me.

Tick tock motherfuckers!

Whoever he was, that guy was nuts.

You are here: Home / Elections / 2022 Elections / Thursday Open Thread: Stacey Abrams Stomps All Over Kemp

Thursday Open Thread: Stacey Abrams Stomps All Over Kemp

by | 115 Comments

This post is in: , , , ,

I have a full-on kindness post for tonight, but a couple of things caught my eye this morning.

If you haven’t seen Stacey Abrams’ takedown of Kemp, watch now. From 2018 (Thanks zhena gogolia). And should have known that because I’m sure he’s too chicken shit to debate her again.

And a couple of strangers making a difference, one child at a time:

Let me tell you a story. This is Susan Lung. She taught me to read and write in a single year when I was 7 years old. I’ve been looking for Susan, hoping to thank her in person, for almost twenty years. And then she surprised me at my reading last night.

I came to the US at 1 and a half years old, but I grew up in a household that only spoke Pashto & Farsi, so when I started kindergarten, I didn’t know a word of English. I don’t think my teacher knew how to handle an ESL student. He used to punish me for not understanding his 
directions. We moved a lot in those days as my father searched for work and I went to three diffrent schools in 1 year. I continued to struggled with English. Then, after first grade ended, my family went back to Afghanistan for the summer. I fell in love with Logar, but… 
But I’d completely forgotten all the English I’d learned in school! I remember on the morning of my first day in 2nd grade, I could only recall 10 letters from the alaphabet. I was was way behind and on track to be left back. But then I had the fortune of meeting Ms. Lung  (rest of the story here)

 

 

And this one was the perfect way to start the day:

There is a lot more to the story. The entire thread will make you believe in people again.

 

This is a completely open thread.  Any other good takedowns of MAGA/GOP  you’ve seen this week?  Post them, and let us all savor.

Reader Interactions

115Comments

  6. 6.

    MattF

    Happy to say I’ve been a fan of hers from the start. And, at the start, southern white male politicians looked at her and smirked- they know better now. Less fun now, I suppose.

  7. 7.

    RedDirtGirl

    I mentioned this Abrams/Kemp clip in an earlier thread because I was surprised that this rematch race isn’t getting more national attention.  I haven’t heard anything about it, or even gotten fundraising emails from the Abrams campaign, which seems kind of odd…

  11. 11.

    Roger Moore

    @TaMara: ​
     
    One interesting Twitter idea I’ve encountered is tweeting weird dreams. A friend started doing it, and I copied. It’s interesting trying to condense a weird dream into a single tweet. I think it helps me get to the bottom of the dream and figure out what the real story was.

  14. 14.

    TaMara

    @RedDirtGirl: I get emails from her every day, sometimes several times a day. Unfortunately, Kemp has a 5 pt lead. I don’t know how that’s possible… ugh.

    But I am glad that clip is making the rounds today, maybe bring her some much-needed attention.

  15. 15.

    p.a.

    It must have taken serious self restraint (or maybe Abrams is just a much better person than I) for her not to finish by saying “… you smirking fucking liar.”

  16. 16.

    evap

    @zhena gogolia:  The primary was in May and Abrams didn’t have any serious opponents.   The governor’s race is getting plenty of attention here in Georgia, and in my blue part of Atlanta you see tons of Abrams signs.

  19. 19.

    Kropacetic

    @WaterGirl: By far, the most fundraising emails I get are for Katie Hobbs in AZ.  I live in MA.

    I also get a smattering of Congressional and state house races from around the country.  Never anything local, but I’m out there knocking on doors.

  20. 20.

    ALurkSupreme

    @TaMara:  IANA pollster, but I don’t believe any poll that says Kemp has a 5-point lead.  He only “beat” Abrams by 1.4 points the last time, and everyone knows why.  Nothing that’s happened here in Georgia for the past four years would explain a bounce like that for Kemp.

    YMMV.   Back to lurking!

  21. 21.

    frosty

    @Kropacetic: I’ve been knocking on doors for the past few elections. I blame the Democrat’s data recording app, MiniVAN, for all the emails. Log into it once and you’re doomed to get emails from all over the country. The good news is that “unsubscribe” appears to work.

  23. 23.

    Esme

    @Jackie: They’re not actually running mates, so there’s only so much hay she can make out of Burt Jones. Here in Georgia, the governor and lieutenant governor are elected on separate ballots (and occasionally engage in power struggles with each other).

  24. 24.

    Kropacetic

    @frosty: Oh, see, I was guessing ActBlue, but I hadn’t really thought about it too much.  Ignoring texts and emails is easy, I do it all the time.

  25. 25.

    Another Scott

    @p.a.: She’s got a history.  She’s an amazing person.

    As the valedictorian of Avondale high school in 1991, Stacey Abrams had earned an invitation to the Governor’s mansion — an opportunity to meet him and celebrate her accomplishments with other valedictorians from around her state. Because she was poor and her family could not afford a car, they took MARTA (public bus system) and got off at the bus stop outside the mansion. After walking up the long driveway to the gates of the property, and being passed by cars of students driving in with their families, they stood before the guard station.

    [Stacey Abrams (in purple) with her family.]

    As Stacy Abrams has told the story over the years, “the guard looked at my parents, then he looked at me, and he said, “This is a private event, you don’t belong here.”

    My parents pushed back, and I got in.”

    When Abrams looks back on that day she doesn’t remember meeting the Governor of Georgia or celebrating her accomplishments with valedictorians from 159 counties and 180 school districts. What she remembers is a man blocking the gates of the most powerful place in Georgia, telling her that she did not belong. “He looked at the MARTA bus driving away and told himself a story about who would be on that bus – and that they did not belong in the Governor’s mansion.” she said.

    Like Obama with that dust on his shoulders, she knows how to handle this stuff.

    Cheers,
    Scott.
    (“Who hasn’t seen such a hard to read webpage in a very long time…”)

  28. 28.

    Jager

    When we were in Hawaii a couple of weeks ago, the only unhappy people we saw were a guy in a MAGA hat and his pouting wife.

  29. 29.

    brendancalling

    Open thread? I have a DougJ/NYT Pitchbot altert. It’s Max Boot, of all people, stomping all over the NYT and their Dinerquest for “real Americans.”

     

    But you know what? Provincetown is the real America. So is Martha’s Vineyard. These communities are undoubtedly on the left and prone to excesses of political correctness that make for easy punch lines. But, in many ways, they might be more representative of 2022 America than the Rust Belt diners where reporters love to take the pulse of Trumplandia…

     

    The whole country might not be nearly as progressive as Provincetown or Martha’s Vineyard, but those blue havens are closer to an increasingly liberal mainstream than the MAGA redoubts where pickup trucks sport “Let’s Go, Brandon!” bumper stickers. There is a good reason so many MAGA Republicans are embracing “semi-fascism”: Their views are too unpopular to command majority support anymore. They certainly don’t speak for the “real” America — to the extent that such a thing even exists.

  32. 32.

    Sister Machine Gun of Quiet Harmony

    Given how I thought about him during the Bush years, I never, ever would have thought I’d be posting a (gift, so not paywalled) link to a Max Boot article. But here you go. He is absolutely right that MAGA-land is out of touch with America

    EDIT: I see brendancalling beat me to it.

  33. 33.

    The Moar You Know

    When we were in Hawaii a couple of weeks ago, the only unhappy people we saw were a guy in a MAGA hat and his pouting wife.

    @Jager: it is the most striking thing about those people.  They’re unhappy everywhere, all the time.  They were unhappy when Trump was president.  They’re unhappy now.  They will always be unhappy.  They’d be unhappy in a casino with free beer, money and blowjobs.  They’d be unhappy if they had 80 guns and a license to shoot anyone they don’t like (which would be everybody).  There is nothing anyone can do to make them happy and I’m glad that the Dem party seems to have finally figured that out.

    The politics of resentment is only possible with resentful people.

  34. 34.

    RaflW

    @frosty: The Action Network I find very spammy. I get signed onto candidates I have zero past interaction with.

    I do donate pretty widely, so I’m sure my NGPvan file looks juicy, too.

    What makes me insane are the unsolicited text messages. Yesterday being end-of-month was egregious. I text back “stop” to every single one. If I don’t get a confirmation text back that I’ve been removed, the number gets blocked.

    I’m irritated that one of the worst is AK’s newest House member. I’ve gone through three cycles of getting a text, saying stop, then getting a new text from a different phone number. I’ll still support her, but I will never give in response to a text (to any candidate!). I guess I’m an Old.

  37. 37.

    jonas

    Is Abrams really within striking distance of Kemp at this point? I haven’t been following the race much at all, but I read some stuff earlier this summer that showed Kemp with pretty high approval numbers and predicting he would coast easily to reelection. Has Dobbs changed that calculus in GA at all?

  38. 38.

    MisterDancer

    RE: Stacey Abrams — I want her to win, for a selfish reason (among, of course, many!)

    One of the biggest SciFi Cons is happening this weekend, in Atlanta. We know Mz. Abrams is a huge SciFi and Fantasy fan, to the point of showing up on STAR TREK: DISCOVERY.

    I’m certain that con would not wish to “be political” by inviting a candidate.

    A sitting Governor, on the other hand — a Governor who’s a fan and been on Trek — would be a different matter, I suspect.

    A very, very cool matter, in my opinion. :)

  39. 39.

    TaMara

    compare and contrast:

  40. 40.

    BC in Illinois

    @Jager:

    @The Moar You Know:

    It is the most striking thing about those people.  They’re unhappy everywhere, all the time.  They were unhappy when Trump was president.  They’re unhappy now.  They will always be unhappy.

    Many people have noted this, as part of a larger malady. In Robert Paxton’s The Anatomy of Fascism (published in 2004, far from our present troubles), his concluding definition of fascism begins this way:

    Fascism may be defined as a form of political behavior marked by obsessive preoccupation with community decline, humiliation, or victimhood . . .

    (p.218, emphasis added)

    He goes on to talk about violence, abandoning democracy and ethical restraints, etc.  But he starts with grievance of heart.

  41. 41.

    OzarkHillbilly

    This is pure genius:

    “That Bratt-I-Am, that Bratt-I-Am,
    I do not like that Bratt-I-Am.”

    “You must return those stolen docs.
    You must return them, yes, every box.”

    “I do not have a box of docs,
    and they are mine, you lying fox.”

    But then they came and then they found
    docs aplenty, all around . . .

    One doc, two docs
    red docs, blue docs
    Docs TOPSECRET/SCI
    Docs with pictures from on high
    Docs with covers, docs with stamps,
    Docs in files marked “terror camps”
    Docs from spies and docs from techs
    Docs ’bout planes on navy decks
    Docs on armies, docs on friends
    Docs on missiles, docs on end!

    “I do not like you, Bratt-I-Am!
    I do not like your little scam.
    You only fight ’cause I am so strong!
    You only fight ’cause Biden is wrong!
    Besides, I don’t have the docs that you seek
    or, if I do, they’re mine, free to keep!”

    A pause, then that voice so quietly speaks
    pricking his bubble; his vanity leaks.

    “There’s only one president, you see,
    and you are not it, quite obviously.
    You’ve filed lots of lawsuits and lost every one
    and Biden, not you, is the one who has won.

    Plenty more at the link.

  42. 42.

    Roger Moore

    @Sister Machine Gun of Quiet Harmony:

    I’ve been especially impressed with Boot’s change of heart. Unlike a lot of never-Trumpers, he doesn’t pretend Trump is some great break with the past.  He understands how the party got to where it is today, and he’s willing to admit his personal role in getting it there.  He also doesn’t seem to be as eager as a lot of never-Trumpers to take over the Democratic party and turn it into what he wanted the Republicans to be.

  46. 46.

    Kropacetic

    @The Moar You Know:They’d be unhappy if they had 80 guns and a license to shoot anyone they don’t like (which would be everybody).  There is nothing anyone can do to make them happy and I’m glad that the Dem party seems to have finally figured that out.

    It’s weird, though. I see the rage and paranoia addiction in basically every MAGA Republican, but I’ve seen polling that suggests they’re happier than liberals.  Lack of introspection may be an explanation.  Maybe rage makes them happy.

  47. 47.

    trollhattan

    @Jager: Ain’t that something? Trump was yelling what they’ve been thinking–“I’ve been treated so unfairly”–and they never thought through to the part where Trump in charge was going to make them not unhappy (double-negative alert). No, Trump was going to do something better: punish the people who have been making them unhappy.

    To go to Hawaii is to know why Hawaii has the longest life expectancy. Stress kills.

  50. 50.

    Kropacetic

    @TaMara: Is it really legal for Gov. Abbott to be forcibly busing immigrants around the country? Forced relocation is historically never a good thing.

    What about kidnapping laws? Maybe human trafficking? Goddamnit, IANAL, but I know this is wrong.

  54. 54.

    different-church-lady

    Cheryl Rofer
    @CherylRofer

    One of the virtues of Twitter is its speed. Or used to be.

    That was never a “virtue” of Twitter

  59. 59.

    Villago Delenda Est

    @Alison Rose 💙🌻💛: I’m glad TaMara was able to rescue it, because it’s good news!  Amazing how if someone puts their mind to it, like the wonderful folks at WCK, a difference can be made overnight.  Meanwhile, Tater is bitching about student loan forgiveness.

  60. 60.

    Another Scott

    @Alison Rose 💙🌻💛: The FB URL is really long and nasty looking.  Maybe it tripped a FYWP spam filter?

    xxxx and on and on ]

    I mean, I’d block that too, but I’m biased against FB. ;-)

    I wonder if this will make it…

    (If it happens again, maybe use a URL-shortener like Bitly? (It looks like Google killed their shortener about 3 years ago. RIP.))

    edit: the sort-of URL broke the margins so I removed it.
    Thanks for the link. :-)

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  64. 64.

    Layer8Problem

    @different-church-lady:

    How can you be unhappy in Hawaii? How?!?

    Well, you might decide you’re gonna get in your [electric] car and drive about twenty miles to get your head in order and have to stop at mile fourteen because you’ve reached the coast and there’s nothing but water and abyss beyond.

    But if you’re a MAGAt pissed off at diversity in a blue state you should be vacationing in Hungary.

  66. 66.

    Soprano2

    @Baud: It’s interesting that Republicans believe in the government micromanaging some businesses. Like in Texas, where they passed a law that no company that doesn’t invest in fossil fuels or firearms can do business with any local or state government entity. What if the company decides they don’t think they can make money from those companies, rather than not doing it for some ideological reason? Why does the government think they know the investing business better than Goldman Sachs? Plus, it’s costing taxpayers millions of dollars:

    DANIEL GARRETT: The result is it’s costing Texans.

    DAVIES: Daniel Garrett of the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania studied the impact of Texas’ anti-ESG laws on the state’s municipal bond borrowing. He says the top five lenders left the Texas municipal bond market because they wouldn’t support the manufacturing of AR-15-style weapons, the kind of gun used in the Uvalde school massacre.

    GARRETT: The banks definitely think they’re having an impact. They think these policies are worth leaving Texas over.

    DAVIES: Garrett estimates the Texas laws have reduced competition and cost Texas taxpayers an extra 300- to $500 million so far this year in extra interest. Still, those firms are sticking with their ESG policies.

  75. 75.

    Soprano2

    @different-church-lady: My stepson said he was always broke but lived in paradise, so it was a fair tradeoff. Of course, people there have the same problems people everywhere have, except that the weather is nicer.

  76. 76.

    Frankensteinbeck

    @Eolirin: ​
    For a very long time, the goals of racism and plutocracy intertwined and there was no need to care who was in the drivers’ seat. But when they have to, Republicans choose hate over plutocracy.

  77. 77.

    Jager

    @Villago Delenda Est:

    Gas was about the same as SoCal, wine was about a buck more a bottle, and beer was the same. My cousin lives there, he said, grocery prices are on a par with the west coast. Eating and drinking out was $$$, but it is everywhere.

  78. 78.

    Roger Moore

    @Kropacetic:

    It’s weird, though. I see the rage and paranoia addiction in basically every MAGA Republican, but I’ve seen polling that suggests they’re happier than liberals.

    I think they’re happy with they are personally but unhappy about the way the country is.  I suspect those two things are related.  Their political philosophy lets them blame all their personal problems on the world around them, so they can avoid introspection.

  80. 80.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    (CNN)Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina must appear before the Georgia special grand jury investigating efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election, a federal judge ruled Thursday, but the scope of his testimony will be limited.
    This story is breaking and will be updated.

    That’s the whole story so far, apparently. I’m curious about how this ruling will treat Graham’s claims about the speech and debate clause, which strikes me as utterly absurd

  81. 81.

    Soprano2

    @Layer8Problem: I imagine that any real MAGA person would be really, really uncomfortable in Hawaii. I mean, there is a small Buddhist temple in the small town where my stepson lived! I’m not sure we even have one of them in my city. Ah, Google tells me we have one for a city of over 250,000 people.

    I remember seeing a letter in “Church and State” a long time ago from a conservative Christian who had a change of heart about prayers at public school sporting events. His family moved to Hawaii, and at his son’s first football game they had a native religious display in the middle of the field before the game. Suddenly, for some reason, he understood why people were so uncomfortable with Christians praying before a game! They can never put themselves in other people’s shoes, it always has to be a first person experience for them to see the light.

  82. 82.

    Soprano2

    @Eolirin: I mean we get it already, the white people in state government hate the scary brown people from south of the border. They don’t have to make it even more explicit. I’ve read most of those people appreciate the ride to places they were already going to go anyway!

  83. 83.

    Eolirin

    @Frankensteinbeck: I’m not so sure they’re not still aligned in this case. Plutocracy for them has always been a form of crony capitalism, not a general predisposition to captial in a broad sense. They’ve got a narrower set of groups they’re willing to funnel money to now is all. And hate is a requirement to stay as part of the ingroup.

    But like, increasing the costs to the state of Texas increases the profits to *someone*.

  84. 84.

    Will

    @Kropacetic: I don’t think the people are being forced on the busses. My understanding is they signed a release. It makes sense, you just crossed the border and someone is offering you a free bus ride to NYC or Chicago, many will take it.

  85. 85.

    different-church-lady

    @Soprano2: ​
     

    They don’t have to make it even more explicit.

    Once you’ve got the taste of blood in your mouth, the only thing you want is more blood.

  86. 86.

    trollhattan

    @Jager: Spent a week on Maui last December. Everything more or less cost the same as at home in CA. Except California wine. Our condo rental was less than we’d pay on the Monterey coast.

  87. 87.

    MomSense

    @Baud:

    He is! He’s loving life so far. Swimming in the Aegean, going to class, and having fun with his roommates. This weekend he is going guitar shopping and I think his internship starts next week.

  89. 89.

    Kropacetic

    @Will: Oh, I see.  Well, at least he’s sending them to places that are welcoming at the official level.

    He’s still spending Texan taxpayer money to make a political point.  You’d think the great state of Texas would have better priorities, perhaps entailing work for our welcome new arrivals.

  90. 90.

    lollipopguild

    People can be unhappy anywhere. There’s an old joke from church about the old grouch who dies and go to heaven. When he gets there he finds a lot of people there who were never good enough for him in life so he leaves and goes to hell where he knows he will be happier.

  95. 95.

    Mike in NC

    Big photo of Ron DeSatan on the front page of USA Today, posing with conservative white women from “Moms for Liberty”. They started out with an anti-mask, anti-vaccine agenda and are quickly looking for other ways to disrupt public schools, like banning books they object to. They want parents to be notified when a student checks out a book from their school library. WTF? I could never imagine putting up with such bullshit when I was a kid. More semi-fascism from the GOP.

  96. 96.

    Geminid

    @jonas:

     

    @ALurkSupreme: Georgia has a good, growing economy and the state government is in good fiscal shape. Rightly or wrongly, these factors tend to rub off on an incumbent Governor and that may account for his good poll numbers.

  97. 97.

    Ken

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist: I found this tweet with part of the order.  Graham may refuse to answer questions about “investigatory fact-finding” related to his decision to betray Trump certify the election results, as those are part of his legislative duty.

    He may not refuse to answer other questions, including “any alleged efforts to encourage Secretary Raffensperger or others to throw out ballots or otherwise alter…”, which is where the picture cuts off.

  99. 99.

    lollipopguild

    @Mike in NC: Another group of people who HATE “Big Government” when it is run by Dems but cannot get enough of “Big Government” when run by repthugs.

  104. 104.

    MinuteMan

    Stacey Abrams Stomps All Over Kemp

    Sort of pointless, since that little bit was from 2018; I would have to say that in that case he who stomps last, stomps best. Maybe “past performance is no guarantee of future results” as the stock market folks are wont to say.

  106. 106.

    NutmegAgain

    Not politics, but. I’m getting over the loss of my dog. I still look for her, feel like I’ve heard her, worry about her day… When the UPS truck stopped today, I checked on her behalf, and actually missed the protective barking. When we got a little thunder, I was grateful that she wasn’t around to be scared by it. But life is really empty with my dog not here. (Late life divorce; grown kid.) So, I’m cleaning up and shifting things around so I’ll be ready when I get the call that there is somebody else to share my life with. Dogs are so essential.

  108. 108.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @NutmegAgain: sorry for you loss. After I lost my dog, I would find myself thinking I had to get home for feeding time, or looking for him in the back seat of the car six months later.

  109. 109.

    Ruckus

    @The Moar You Know:

    You know they deserve everything and no one will give them anything they want, which is for everyone to hate the same things they do. They want to go on vacation and have everyone wait on them hand and feet, to do everything but slobber all over them and that just doesn’t happen. They want to be able to openly hate the people they hate for some reason they don’t know and yet will tell you even if you don’t ask. But primarily they hate that they aren’t top of the charts, loved by everyone, especially those they hate. They can’t understand that everyone doesn’t hate the same people they do, or doesn’t give a damn about what they “do” or how much they earn. They think they are “special” and they don’t get treated as “special.” And it’s never, ever their fault because they are “special.” Sarah Palin, is a perfect example. No substance, just an absolute belief that she is perfect.

  110. 110.

    WereBear

    @Roger Moore:

    Their political philosophy lets them blame all their personal problems on the world around them, so they can avoid introspection.

     
    I’m hoping it’s the Scopes Trial all over again. Even though they “won” four years, it is bringing down their empire and they will withdraw in pique to their own bubble again.

    As long as they stay out of ours.

  112. 112.

    kalakal

    @NutmegAgain: Sorry for your loss, I do know what you mean. I still miss one of my cats, Burma, every time I wake up. She was 24lbs and would give me a head bump first thing every morning. Hope you find your new friend soon

  113. 113.

    J R in WV

    @Citizen Alan: ​

    To think that the capital city of a US state needs rescuing by Chef Andres, like we’re in a war zone.

    Mississippi has been a war zone since 1860 or so…

    We spent most of 1972 in Pascagoula, Mississippi while my USN ship was in a shipyard, and it was like time travel to a very bad time in the nation’s history. They were aware that much of the nation despised their racism, indeed, tried to make it illegal, and they did not really care – at all.

    Won’t go into any more detail, was a horrible place and time.

  114. 114.

    J R in WV

    @Omnes Omnibus: ​
    Johnathan Chait appear to be a right wing nut job, and also quite confused about the NYT pitch-bot!
    Does he have a pulpit to preach from, or is Twitter it for him?​
     

    ETA: Oh, I see, a writer for New York magazine, and totally unaware of the NY Times and its political philosophy…

  115. 115.

    Pappenheimer

    @different-church-lady: During my time on the Big Island I met a guy who was hitch hiking into Hilo to serve his court-mandated jail time for sale of the illicit weed. He was smiling then, but he was about to spend  a week in jail. In Hawaii.

Comments are closed.