2016 Postmortem
Related: About this forumRepublicans worry about hanging on to open Georgia Senate seat
And finding themselves in another Todd Akin situation
BY JILLIAN RAYFIELD
Republicans are concerned that they could lose an open Senate seat in Georgia, vacated by retiring Sen. Saxby Chambliss particularly with two Todd Akin-esque candidates, Paul Broun and, to a lesser degree, Phil Gingrey, in the race.
From the Associated Press:
Broun and U.S. Rep. Phil Gingrey, both conservative physicians, are the only Republicans to announce officially since incumbent Saxby Chambliss said he will retire. But the GOP primary field eventually could include as many as a half-dozen candidates with a credible shot at a runoff spot.
full article
http://www.salon.com/2013/04/22/republicans_worry_about_hanging_on_to_open_georgia_senate_seat/
yellowcanine
(35,692 posts)BlueCaliDem
(15,438 posts)wake the fuck up already. Vote Democratic with all the other sane states.
Hosnon
(7,800 posts)If a Democrat is going to win this seat, they will pretty much have to be fairly middle of the road. This race needs to be more about getting another D in the Senate, as opposed to getting someone who will be a big liberal heavy-weight.
I am familiar with Barrow and trust him. He has won some very tough races here in GA and has cross-party appeal. I support him.
BlueCaliDem
(15,438 posts)And I believe DiFi should be replaced, too. She's been too long in the Senate and she's too moderate-to-conservative to be a Democratic Senator from California, so Californians need to wake the fuck up too. I like Boxer, but she'll keep moving {as she's been moving} to the center if DiFi isn't replaced.
But you're absolutely right. As long as we get another "D" in the Senate, that's all that matters.
Who is Barrow?
Hosnon
(7,800 posts)BlueCaliDem
(15,438 posts)Well, I guess a conservative {BlueDog}Democrat is still better than a moderate or Right-wing Republican, and it adds another D to our column. Do you think he has a chance? Georgia is really red.
Hosnon
(7,800 posts)If you demand anything less "DINO", a Republican will win.
Edit: Yes, I think he does. He has done an excellent job of walking that fine line. Most Republicans I talk to about him don't have strong feelings either way, but generally think he's a good person (ideologically).
BlueCaliDem
(15,438 posts)that they think the same way about him when the elections begin.
Hosnon
(7,800 posts)Run some crazy-ass Teabagger.
Had the Republicans fielded a "normal", pre-Tea Party candidate, Barrow would have lost.
Wounded Bear
(58,440 posts)clown car?
illegaloperation
(260 posts)He doesn't have anything to lose and is a Vietnam War veteran so he has a lot of bipartisan appeals.
Liberal_Stalwart71
(20,450 posts)Their hatred consumes them. I grew up there. I know. Outside of Atlanta, forget it.
Hosnon
(7,800 posts)I'll never forgive Chambliss for the ad he ran.
But Georgia did elect him (and don't forget that Jimmy Carter is from Georgia).
Liberal_Stalwart71
(20,450 posts)Max Cleland was elected senator but that when the Democrats in Georgia were still pretty visible and there was a strong Democratic Party apparatus. It's not the same anymore.
Jimmy Carter, Sam Nunn, Roy Barnes--all were great Democrats to varying degrees. (Sam was a little too conservative for me.) However, again, that's when the Democratic Party in Georgia and in many areas of the south was still a strong party at the state level.
It's not the same now. That Max Cleland can lose twice tells me all I need to know about the winds of political change down in my old neck of the woods.
The Republicans now dominate nearly every aspect of government in Georgia. It's going to take a long time for the change to occur.
(There are some progressive pockets across the state, like Athens and Savannah--these are college towns. Other than that, we got vestiges of the Old South and it's going to take a while for that to change.)
Liberal_Stalwart71
(20,450 posts)Only Atlanta and the *immediate* surrounding areas are progressive. Outside of that, forget it.
It's going to take a very long time for this state to change.
Whoever runs on the Democratic side will not be liberal; he/she will be fairly moderate to conservative. We need to accept that.
Hosnon
(7,800 posts)Savannah and Athens are liberal, and Augusta is about 50/50.
I agree that any Senate candidate will have to be moderate, but hey, that's small "d" democracy for ya. This isn't Massachusetts.
Liberal_Stalwart71
(20,450 posts)is not progressive. It is changing, but changing VERY slowly. The demographics may help that change speed up only a little bit, but there's still a lot of disengaged people who don't vote. We tried very hard in Georgia in 2008 and even the potential first black president couldn't those most affected out to vote. Trust me on this.
It's going to take a while. If everyone came out to vote, we may have a chance. But the wingnuts are still very present and still very active; not to mention the fact that the state legislature is now dominated by Republicans. Again, it's going to take a long time.
I love Max. I worked hard for him. Very hard. But even he couldn't pull it off, and he's a pretty moderate fella. Liberal on a very few selected issues, but not many.
Awsi Dooger
(14,565 posts)Decisive candidate to candidate edge, along with an immensely favorable cycle. The latter is not going to happen in 2014. Figures to be a small to moderate GOP tide in a second term midterm.