I can’t say that I am sorry that Rep. John Barrow of Georgia’s 12th District won’t be running for Saxby Chambliss’s senate seat next year. He voted against ObamaCare and Cap and Trade, and he recently co-sponsored the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA). His only real virtue is that he managed to win a seat in a redrawn district that Romney carried by 12 points. He’s the only white Democrat from the Deep South currently serving in the House of Representatives. He was supposed to be a formidable senate candidate, but I am certain that the Democrats can scrounge up someone better. It’s hard for Democrats to get excited about a guy who didn’t even support the president on health care. It’s true that a successful Democratic candidate in a state-wide race in Georgia is going to need some crossover appeal, but that will be supplied this time around by the nutcase Republican candidate who will drive women and moderates away in droves.
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BooMan
Martin Longman a contributing editor at the Washington Monthly. He is also the founder of Booman Tribune and Progress Pond. He has a degree in philosophy from Western Michigan University.
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Speaking of “doing better,” I had the most annoying facebook conversation a second ago. “Friend” posts link (more of a leftist acquaintance):
Now They Want to Take Away the 8-Hour Day and 40-Hour Week
Leads in with, “Republican should read, “Republicans and Democrats.”
So I asked, “Are there any Democratic cosponsors?” She replies, “I don’t know, but who cares because it’s not like Democrats are pro-worker anyway and they go FARTHER than Republicans do (blah blah blah, goes on to list JOBS Bill, sequester, payroll tax holiday, chained-CPI).”
So I’m like, “Links to sponsor’s page So no Democratic cosponsors, yet you attribute this to Republicans and Democrats?”
Then we argued whether the payroll tax cut was pro-worker or not. Ok, so I get the political reasons for opposing the payroll tax cut, but if you’re going to go the route of saying the payroll tax cut amounts to jack shit per month for workers and simultaneously state that Chained-CPI is like the bubonic plague, I have a real hard time taking you fucking seriously.
Ugh, sorry for the off-topic rant, but the “doing better” title reminded me of this. It’s one thing to be like, “I’m so above politics that I hate both”. Quite another to be so dishonest.
I don’t like losing and I feel bad for the Colbert family, but overall it’s better that Sanford won.
Good to know the people of South Carolina still appear to be as stupid as ever. I really have no idea how we’re supposed to win races in that part of the country if we run an exemplary candidate with really good credentials, and we’re going to lose by double digits to a national punchline.
I don’t think we are supposed to win races there, just as Republicans aren’t/can’t win in Los Angeles or New York City. Any GOP’er who could win there would basically be useless to the national party. And vice-versa. Colbert Busch would’ve been the bluest (or maybe reddest?) Blue Doggie around had she won.
Sanford won’t tip the scales in the House at all, and he’ll be an ongoing national embarrassment to the White House, so it’s not all bad. May even be a net plus for us, frankly.
Yeah .. she would be as bad as Barrow .. she even ran as a Blue Dog/New Dem(stuff like saying she’s proud to live in a “Right-to-work-for-less” state) .. and it looks like she’ll only do marginally better than Obama did .. so campaigning as GOP-life didn’t do anything for her
Some folks were under the illusion that Stephen Colbert, who grew up in South Carolina, is well-known there and that that fame would rub off on his sister.
When it was the Busch connections as much as the Colberts that the local Dems seemed to be depending on.
IMO, another off-season GOTV disaster. No enthusiasm.
You surprise majority parties with off-year GOTV power. Check out 2010 for a master class.
Supposedly, according to Karen Tumulty, Colbert Busch ran a really crappy campaign. Few appearances. Little to no availability to the media. It didn’t help that Colbert Busch ran as GOP-lite.
Slightly over 50,000 votes. Abominable GOTV.
Over-reliance on media. Media does not turn out the votes; it gives credibility to your GOTV efforts to turn out the votes.
Did no one try to figure out where to come up with a stunning 100,000 votes on short order? I doubt that 50,000 votes would win Mayor of Charleston.
Sheesh.
Here is the Karen Tumulty tweet I mentioned earlier:
https://twitter.com/ktumulty/status/331933383699619840
Betraying my ignorance of Georgia politics here, but is it wishful thinking to hope that John Lewis might make a run at the seat? I realize the man is 73 years old and might be getting ready to retire after his, er, eventful life. I also understand that a white Dem might still be required to win a statewide race in GA, as shameful as that is.
Still, while we’re talking possibilities…
I think that it is wishful thinking, at least from what John Lewis is likely to do.
A white dem is required to win in statewide races in 49 states as shameful as that is. The exceptions are notable. Cory Booker has a tough one coming up.
It’s fairly easy to see that it is going to take a realigning change in our political culture to put together a winning coalition in Georgia. And what has to be put behind us are the wedge-issue culture war. The issues have to be framed more like those of the FDR era–prosperity, good government, progress….all the stuff that Paul Weyrich hated.
Have we made sure recently that Cleland doesn’t want his seat back? I vaguely remember reading he wasn’t interested. But why not ask again.
Chambliss almost lost to a nobody in 2008. Not sure that kind of Dem turnout can be replicated in a non-presidential year, but the GOP nominee is probably going to be a total fucking maniac (I mean, Kingston is a lunatic and he looks like fucking Abe Lincoln compared to Broun…yeesh). There has to be some middle-of-the-road candidate somewhere in that state who can run as the not-insane guy and at least make things close, right? Maybe the fact that I can’t think of anyone beyond Cleland and the guy who almost beat Saxby last time answers my own question, though.
IIRC, the guy you are talking about is Jim Martin. I don’t even know if Martin raised much money, which was proved in the run-off since neither got 50% in the first go-round. Martin got trounced in the run-off.
Martin only made a runoff because AA turnout in Georgia was through the roof in 2008 (Obama only lost by 5% in the state), and a third-party guy barely kept Chambliss under 50%.
In the runoff, Martin was smoked by 15% – wasn’t even close.
Bah, I had forgotten the margin in the runoff was that big.
So, it’s probably “Draft Max” or bust, I guess. Is there anyone else with any stature who could run there?
I don’t think stature is that important. There are plenty of recent senate candidates who didn’t have a whole of stature and were successful anyway. Some were helped by pitiful or radical opponents.
Amy Klobuchar was a county attorney.
Chris Coons was a county executive, I think.
Heidi Heitkamp was a former Attorney General.
Jon Tester was a state Senator.
Jeff Merkley was a state rep, albeit the Speaker.
Kay Hagan was a state Senator.
Jim Webb was a former DoD official and a former Republican.
Kelly Ayotte was an Attorney General.
Richard Blumenthal was an Attorney General.
Ted Cruz was a Solicitor General.
Rand Paul had no experience at all.
Deb Fischer was a state legislator.
Ron Johnson had no experience at all.
Mike Lee was an assistant U.S. Attorney
Elizabeth Warren worked on TARP.
Marco Rubio was a state rep, albeit a former Speaker.
None of those candidates had much clout in the sense of being members of the House or former governors. Only Warren and Paul had any kind of national profile, and Rand’s was completely derivative.
We don’t need Cleland. We need someone who can raise money and run a good solid campaign. The opponent is going to be a freak show and give any well-funded opponent a decent shot.
You are saying pull from the bench. Is there a bench?
I don’t know.
I like Nan Orrock. Maybe Curt Thompson has something.
We might do better with someone more in the mold of Ron Johnson. I think Sam Nunn’s daughter is thinking about running.
Ted Turner have any progress Democratic progeny? …who are Georgia residents?
And Georgia Afghanistan or Iraq vets?
We need someone young and energetic who can cover 159 counties quickly and make some waves. Remember Lawton Chiles’s campaign? Or Kissell’s? Kissell made waves and got himself elected (and then blew it). Neither of them started up with much money. Attracting the votes–>attracts the money–>provides credibility in the media–>attracts votes and donations and volunteers–>builds media and GOTV–> delivers vote.
Is there still a Democratic Party in Georgia outside of Atlanta? Does it have a heartbeat?
Do they have a bench?
Can they count to 170,000?
My same question goes for South Carolina.
Is there still a Democratic Party in Georgia outside of Atlanta? Does it have a heartbeat?
Athens. Remember how Broun became a Representative in the first place? GA is so gerrymandered that the Athens area is split into 2(or maybe even 3 .. not sure) districts. Anyway, Broun won a special election to get the seat. No one got 50% in the first round so there was a run-off, both wing-nut GOPers. Broun won because he was smart enough, at the time, to keep his mouth shut. His opponent in the run-off basically channeled Ann Coulter and said they should drop a bomb on Athens. It was that ugly. So yeah, Broun appeared to be the saner of the two wing-nuts.
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Need a long-term strategy. In the short-term there are districts and states that will choose a Republican caught in bed with a live boy AND dead girl over a credible Democrat with adequate funding. The majority of voters in those regions hate Democrats.
What’s interesting is that Republicans read that correctly and then incorrectly generalize from their strongholds to Democratic strongholds and have concluded that in “blue” regions voters hate Republicans. That leads to their strategy of doubling down on selling GOP policies in blue regions.
If Democrats ever want to turn deep red regions blue, they would be wise to recruit the most pleasant face to represent the party in elections and run on nothing but traditional Democratic economic policies and income/wealth equality/equity. Maximize the good foot soldiers in the district and free radio and TV exposure to spread a message that will take years to be heard. Policies that people actually like unlike the policies the GOP sells that people don’t like. (Such a messenger would be better heard if elected Democratic politicians worked to deliver those policies instead of always “cutting the baby in half” in compromises with the GOP.)
Better to spend $100,000 and lose with a clear message and messenger than $2 million and lose with a mushy message and messenger. It’s not just that Colbert-Busch lost; it’s that she offered Sanford-lite and therefore, the voters in the district might as well stick with the real thing.
Yes. Pleasant and now I would add young face. Neat, tidy, church-going look. And heavy-duty traditonal Southern progressive policies. Worked for John Edwards. Trouble was that Edwards was problematic as a trial lawyer and became more problematic by being like Sanford. So the third requirement is impeccable integrity. Really. Jimmy Carter integrity.
Money is over-rated. If you can get 170,000 votes in a Congressional District, you are a lock. Work for that. The money is going to go for ads to try to break your opponents GOTV or protect your own. People power can make money power waste a lot of money. Money power can get politicians to betray a lot of people. That’s the way it works.
Then use your frugal campaign to talk about good government.
Agree with “young face” for several reasons – vigor, idealism, and time to stick around would be three. As for “neat, tidy” would substitute pleasant or pleasing appearance and demeanor. Integrity is vital. Reject the “church-going look” as that is playing on the GOP field and while Jimmy Carter is a decent man, he is the politician that injected overt religion into politics and that has been killing liberalism ever since. Have to cut that link.
“Good government” is precisely what I meant and failed to state.
Jimmy Carter did not inject religion into politics. He was the first in which it could not be just assumed, and therefore it became an issue. He was actually trying to defuse an emerging trend. And the religious right hated it so much that they had a coup to take his denomination’s support away from him.
The problem was everything. He wasn’t young when he entered politics, he wasn’t progressive, and he wasn’t real.