Georgia Democrat Jon Ossoff Gets 48% of the Vote; Not Quite Enough to Score Upset Victory; Runoff In June
- Headline #1: “Democrats failed to win Georgia’s 6th Congressional District as Republicans get 51% of the vote to Dems 48%.”
- Headline #2: “A Democrat won 48% of the votes while the top Republican got only 20% in the conservative Congressional District once represented by Newt Gingrich.”
- Both headlines are factually correct in describing last night’s election and you will be hearing both arguments made today.
- The runoff wasn’t declared until after midnight. Most expect a close race in June. Currently, GOP candidates cumulatively show a 3 point edge for the seat vacated by Republican Tom Price, who’s now President Trump’s Secretary of Health and Human Services.
- Short term, Republicans should be much more worried than Democrats by this result. If a Democrat can do so well in a conservative district, it stands to reason they could do well in districts where voting last November was closer. [Atlanta Journal Constitution] At the same time, the next regular congressional election is nearly 2 years away, and a lot can change.
- President Trump, of course, patted himself on the back in late night Tweet.
- It’s an uphill battle now for the Ossoff campaign, which will have to convince a number of die-hard Republicans to switch over come the June 20 runoff election. Here is contact info for Ossoff, should you want to get involved.
Do you know what the U.S. aircraft carrier Carl Vinson looks like?
- That’s OK. Neither does apparently anybody else in the world! Remember when President Trump last week said an “Armada” was headed for the Korean peninsula, led by the carrier? Turns out it was actually more than 3,000 miles away off the coast of Indonesia, sailing in the opposite direction. That’s like saying something’s in San Francisco when actually it’s in Boston. White House officials pointed to the Defense Department for the “error.” And Defense says it became very hard to “correct” once the President flexed his muscles on the matter. Should we care since the deception–intentional or not–achieved its purpose, at least in the short term?
- And why didn’t anyone else notice? Interestingly, it was the Navy itself that let the cat out of the bag when it posted this photo of the carrier in the Indian Ocean. At least now you know what it looks like. And the Carl Vinson is now headed toward Korea. At least that’s what we’re told.
- The U.S.S. Carl Vinson is itself named after one of the most astounding political figures in U.S. history you may have never heard of. The Georgia congressman served from 1914 until 1965 (not a typo!) He is credited with revitalizing an aging U.S. fleet during the Great Depression, allowing it to catch up with the Japanese Navy in time for World War II.
China is manipulating its currency
- But in a way that will likely benefit the U.S., so we’re not likely to make a fuss about it. Banks are once again being allowed to freely move money overseas on behalf of corporate and individual clients. Earlier this year, China’s central bank had required banks to prove they were not letting more capital out of the country than was coming in.
- Ivanka Trump is going to be doing more business in China. On the same night the first daughter was having dinner with the president of China at Mar-a-Lago, her company won approval from the Chinese government for three trademarks to sell Ivanka branded jewelry, bags, and spa services. How’s that for mixing politics and business? Ivanka no longer manages the brand, but she still owns it. It’s just more evidence of the Kleptocracy Administration. [AP]
Congress Still in Recess for Another Week: Town Halls Abound!
- It’s not too late to get your member of congress to hear your voice! We alerted you all to this last week, but worth mentioning again as lots of voters seem to be doing good work getting to their representatives at local appearances. Here’s a really good guide on “how-to town hall” from Indivisible.
And yes, we’re giving Steve Ballmer free publicity, but this looks awesome…
- The former Microsoft CEO and current Los Angeles Clippers owner unveiled USAFacts, a huge, publicly accessible database of government spending. It’ll be fun to play with and probably very useful.
Not political, but major, tragic news from the world of sports this morning
- Where former New England Patriots star tight end Aaron Hernandez was found dead in a prison cell, apparently a suicide. Hernandez last week was acquitted of two murders, but was already serving a life sentence without parole for a separate killing.
Editorial: “Let’s Hope It’s Hubris”
UK Prime Minister Theresa May’s sudden call for UK elections is part of a growing trend that runs directly against the narrative being presented by much of the mainstream media. You know, that populist leaders both home and abroad are all lunatics who preyed on the stupidity of voters with promises they could not keep and are now quickly losing their sway. Yet from everything we’re seeing, the Mays, and Erdogans, and Trumps of the world believe the opposite: that their power is solidifying, and there is no solid evidence yet to refute that. (No, the Kansas special election was NOT close, Dems came a lot closer in Georgia, but close doesn’t count.) While we hope May’s move backfires and she loses a lot of seats, and Scotland, which is possible, it is equally possible that there’s something going on us city folks are still not making sufficient effort to comprehend. Resistance does not happen by itself; change may not come simply by waiting it out.