Jon Ossoff

Desire Vs Reality: Democrats At This Point Must Settle For Half Social Infrastructure Ambitions!

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Sadly, it is now clear that Joe Biden and progressive Democrats have no choice to but accept a Social Infrastructure bill worth about half of the originally planned $3.5 trillion to help make life better for everyday Americans.

This author and scholar is furious about the impact of West Virginia Senator Joe Manchin and Arizona Senator Kyrsten Sinema, as well as some moderate Democrats in the House of Representatives.

But this is the reality when we have an evenly divided US Senate and a House of Representatives with a narrow margin of six votes.

But consider that IF Georgia had not elected two Democratic Senators in January—Raphael Warnock and Jon Ossoff–the first elected African American and first Jewish senators in Georgia history—the Republicans would be running the Senate under Mitch McConnell.

So the goal now is to accomplish what can be done, and try to work in the first half of 2022 for more, or make it the key campaign issue for the Congressional elections coming up next November.

Right now, celebrating what can be done, which advances the American nation, is still a major positive for Democrats, and it still will be the major domestic initiative, along with the financial assistance to deal with the COVID 19 Pandemic, that we have seen since Lyndon B. Johnson’s Great Society nearly sixty years ago.

So let us be happy for what can be done, and work to accomplish more Democratic Senators in the midterms, as there are more Republican seats up for election, and five Republicans are leaving, and more extreme nominees are likely, which, hopefully, will cause a major Democratic edge, despite historical trends, as this is a crisis situation for American democracy!

Georgia And The Outrageous “Jim Crow” Voting Limitations Against African Americans

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The state of Georgia once had a forward looking, decent Governor named Jimmy Carter, a half century ago.

The state of Georgia has, at present, two decent US Senators in Jon Ossoff and Reverend Raphael Warnock.

But it also has a corrupt, racist Republican state government, which has now passed outrageous “Jim Crow” voting limitations against African Americans, and without shame.

And as the legislation was signed, a Democratic legislator was arrested for simply knocking on the door of the office in which corrupt Governor Brian Kemp was in process of signing the legislation, which includes making it a crime for anyone to offer food or water to anyone waiting online, often for hours in hot weather, or simply elderly and needing food or water, as they wait to cast their vote in the elections.

This new legislation allows the state government to ignore election results, and declare the losers the winners of the election.

This is unadulterated racism, white supremacy, and Fascism, and will be appealed, and MUST be rejected and declared unconstitutional!

No decent person would support such a restriction on voting in a democracy, and it makes it more urgent that the Democratic Congress pass H.R 1 and H.R. 4, to guarantee voting rights to all Americans and flexibility in voting regulations!

What A Wonderful Inauguration Tomorrow Of Joe Biden And Kamala Harris!

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What a wonderful inauguration takes place tomorrow, Wednesday, January 20, 2021!

A President and Vice President who have empathy, compassion, common decency, and exceptional character to lead us out of the nightmare of Donald Trump and his racist, antisemitic, Islamophobic, nativist, and misogynist followers, offer recovery and advancement in the next four years!

If Donald Trump had won, our nation would be in the throes of a full scale Fascist dictatorship, and the attempted coup on January 6, thankfully, was overcome, but showed just how dangerous a situation we would be in if Trump had won, or stolen the election, as he clearly did with Russian collusion in 2016!

To deny the truth and reality is no longer going to be acceptable, and this author and blogger will not associate with anyone who tries to deny truth and reality about Donald Trump!

So tomorrow, we will have our second Catholic President of Irish ethnicity (after John F. Kennedy); our first woman and African and Asian heritage as our Vice President; and with our first Latina (Puerto Rican) Supreme Court Justice (Sonia Sotomayor) giving the oath to Kamala Harris; and with the first Second Gentleman, Douglas Emhoff, who is Jewish, bringing the highest level person of Jewish ethnicity into the top levels of government! We also will be bringing a true educator, Dr. Jill Biden, in as First Lady!

And also, we have our first Jewish Senate Majority Leader, Chuck Schumer; and our first Jewish Senator from Georgia, Jon Ossoff; and the first African American Senator from Georgia, the Reverend Raphael Warnock (who was pastor at the Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta, earlier having Martin Luther King, Jr as its pastor; and the first Latino Senator from California, Alex Padilla, with all three Senators being sworn in tomorrow when the Democrats take control of the US Senate!

Joe Biden and Kamala Harris have major challenges not matched since Abraham Lincoln and Franklin D. Roosevelt, and let all of us wish them the best, and knowing they have our backs!

A Very Emotional Time With Many Thoughts Which Will Require Time To Process

Ronald 10 Comments

The last 48 hours have been the most emotional roller coaster imaginable!

It began with great excitement as Georgia saw the victory of both Democratic Senate candidates, the Reverent Raphael Warnock and John Ossoff, marking the first African American Senator from a Deep South state since Reconstruction, and the first Jewish Senator in the history of the state.

It also meant that the Democrats would control the US Senate under new Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, and that Joe Biden would be able to have more success with a Congress controlled by his party, even if paper thin control.

But then, we had the first attack on the US Capitol Building, the home of Congress, since the British attacked on August 24, 1814 during the War of 1812, and done by a right wing Fascist terrorist, insurrectionist group of Donald Trump supporters, and egged on by Trump himself, as well as his son, Donald Trump, Jr. and Rudy Giuliani, former NYC Mayor. These three men are guilty of treason and sedition and need to be held accountable!

The Capitol was defiled, and our national security was in danger, and it caused America to be ridiculed in the eyes of the world, which have seen America as the image of democracy being threatened by an egomaniac who wanted absolute power!

So even though at this writing, there are only 13 days to the inauguration of Joe Biden and Kamala Harris, the push is on to impeach and remove the President, a second attempt, or to invoke the 25th Amendment, with great pressure being brought on Vice President Mike Pence by Schumer and Nancy Pelosi to prod the Trump Cabinet to join him in taking the Presidency away from Trump, and giving the authority for the remaining days of this term to Mike Pence.

There will be much need to process these events, as the nation and its future remain at risk, as this author and blogger publishes this entry!

Trump Conspiracy Theory About The Election Might Cause The Loss Of Republican Senate Control

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A full month after the Presidential Election of 2020, Donald Trump refuses to concede, and is promoting conspiracy theories, which include Republican officials in many states, including Georgia, working to undermine his case.

Trump is clearly totally off the wall, and his supporters are now saying they cannot trust Georgia state government officials, and that therefore, Republicans should not vote in the upcoming Georgia Senate runoffs on January 5.

If Republican voters in Georgia follow this crazy advice, then Jon Ossoff will defeat David Purdue, and Raphael Warnock will defeat Kelly Loeffler, turning both Georgia Senate seats “Blue”, and making for a Democratic controlled Senate in the 117th Congress that begins in January.

So let us hope this happens, as it will give President Elect Joe Biden a free reign in promoting his program if Democrats control both houses of Congress, so this would be all for the best!

Two Georgia Senate Seats Crucial For Joe Biden Presidency

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The future of the Joe Biden Presidency will hang in the balance, based on the runoff races for the two Georgia Senate seats, to be held on Tuesday, January 5.

Both Republican incumbents, one elected (David Perdue), and one appointed (Kelly Loeffler) have ethics violations in their stock dealings in the early days of the COVID 19 Pandemic, and both are miserable wretches, corrupt to the core, and they do not truly represent the interests of Georgia!

Instead, we have the Reverend Raphael Warnock, the pastor of the Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta since 2005, the former home of Martin Luther King, Jr, running against Loeffler, and having been first in the November elections, but not having a majority of all votes in that election.

And we have Jon Ossoff, who would be the youngest Senator at 33 if he were to win the seat of David Perdue, who displayed antisemitic attitudes toward Ossoff, who is Jewish, and who also made fun of Kamala Harris’s first name, seen as a racist act.

If both seats are won by the Democratic candidates, the Senate will be 50-50 and Kamala Harris would organize the Senate, and make Chuck Schumer the Senate Majority Leader, instead of the despicable Mitch McConnell.

This will be very important for the Biden Presidency and its agenda, so lots of effort and funding is going into this massive commitment to try and win both seats!

Final Projection On Congressional Elections Of 2020

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With only five days to go until the Congressional Elections of 2020, this author and blogger wishes to indicate his final projection on what is likely to happen.

The House of Representatives will witness a major Democratic gain, with the estimate being about 15 seats, to a total of approximately 250 Democrats and 185 Republicans, giving the Democrats a wide margin for the next elections in 2022.

Democrats will gain seats in California, Florida, Illinois, Texas, Virginia and Pennsylvania, reaching about five more than I estimated on May 2 in my earlier projection, and a large number will be female and minority.

The US Senate will see a Democratic takeover, and have 53-55 seats. The Democrats will lose Alabama, regrettably, although Doug Jones is an exceptional Senator, the best Alabama has had in a long time, but Alabama is simply unwilling to appreciate a man as decent and accomplished as Doug Jones. If he does indeed lose his seat, however, Jones should be part of the Biden team, maybe as a cabinet member.

The Republicans will lose seven to nine seats, with assuredly the following seven gains and possibly two more:

Arizona, Mark Kelly over Martha McSally

Colorado, John Hickenlooper over Cory Gardner

Maine, Sara Gideon over Susan Collins

Georgia, Jon Ossoff over David Perdue

Montana, Steve Bullock over Steve Daines

North Carolina, Cal Cunningham over Thom Tillis

Iowa, Theresa Greenfield over Joni Ernst

Kansas, Barbara Bollier over Roger Marshall

South Carolina, Jaime Harrison over Lindsey Graham

Georgia’s other seat, presently held by Kelly Loeffler is more difficult to determine, and will not be settled until January.

Sadly, this author and blogger doubts the defeat of John Cornyn in Texas or Mitch McConnell in Kentucky, but sees the first seven listed above sure to go Blue, and Kansas and South Carolina possible, so therefore, with the loss of Alabama, but the gain of seven Republican seats, at least 53 Democrats, and the possibility of up to two more, for a grand total of 55 maximum!

Jon Ossoff Loses Georgia Race, But All Four Special Elections Show GOP Edge Dramatically Cut From Elections In November 2016

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All of the four Congressional special elections, due to sitting Republican Congressmen taking positions in the Trump Administration, were won by Republicans, but in all four districts, the margin of victory was much closer than the races for those seats in November 2016.

It is disappointing that Jon Ossoff lost the race in the Georgia Congressional District, but Karen Handel’s margin of victory is one fifth what it was for Tom Price last year.

The same for Ryan Zinke’s seat in Montana; Mike Pompeo’s seat in Kansas; and also Nick Mulvaney’s seat in South Carolina.

But one must realize all four districts are strong Red districts, so the massive narrowing of the margin of victory is a major story.

The reality is that 23 Congressional districts with Republican wins in 2016 were also Congressional districts won by Hillary Clinton, and none of these four special elections were among those 23 districts.

So it comes down to the reality that IF Democrats can win those Clinton districts, with all of the discontent and turmoil over Donald Trump and the Republican agenda, they would be on the way to a likely gain of the House of Representatives majority in 2018, whereby 24 seats need to be gained.

But to do so, the Democrats must be much more aggressive in their campaigning, and must vigorously work to recruit the best possible candidates, so that they can revive their fortunes before the Presidential Election of 2020.

This is NOT the time to be downcast over the Ossoff defeat, but to applaud how he cut down the Republican party edge in the district by about 19 points, and mobilized thousands of people to become engaged in politics, who had never done so before.

Confidence and optimism are the key words to be emphasized and pursued!

Rob Quist And Jon Ossoff Could Be Signs Of Democratic Advancement Against Donald Trump

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The odds are growing that Democrat Rob Quist will win over Republican Greg Gianforte for the At Large House of Representatives seat in Montana this week, and that Democrat Jon Ossoff will win over Republican Karen Handel for the Georgia 6th Congressional seat race next month, flipping two House seats to the Democratic Party.

This is, to a great extent, due to the growing lack of popularity of President Donald Trump, and if the flip of two seats occurs, it could be a sign of a coming Democratic wave for the House elections in the fall of 2018, and would make Nancy Pelosi the House Speaker in 2019-2020, after having been Speaker from 2007-2010.

The odds of winning the Senate, however, are very long, and highly unlikely. as 25 Democrats must defend their seats, with only 8 Republicans facing reelection.

But a House of Representatives with a Democratic majority could move toward impeachment of the President, even though conviction in the Senate by two thirds is highly speculative, as right now it would require 19 Republicans along with the 48 Democrats, to be accomplished.

But if Donald Trump is still in office in 2019, such an impeachment trial might convince Trump to resign the Presidency, as Richard Nixon did in 1974.

The Urgency Of The Democratic Party Taking Back The House Of Representatives, And State Governorships And Legislatures In 2018

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Jon Ossoff, the Democratic front runner in the 6th Congressional District of Georgia (Atlanta suburbs), fell just short of the 50 percent needed to win that seat in the House of Representatives, and avoid a runoff.

Now he will face Republican Karen Handel on June 20, and it will be more difficult to gain the seat, a traditionally GOP district in the past 38 years since Newt Gingrich won the seat in 1979, followed up by Tom Price, the Health and Human Services Secretary, who vacated the seat to become part of Donald Trump’s cabinet.

One can be assured massive amounts of money will be spent on both sides of this race, which, if Ossoff wins, would be a major blow to Donald Trump and his agenda.

The 24 point swing in Kansas’s special election for the House, and now the 10 point swing in Georgia, in the first round, are signs that the Democrats COULD regain the majority in the House of Representatives in 2018, after eight years in the “wilderness”.

It is simply a sign of the reality that the Democratic Party, at a low point, having lost so many seats in both houses of Congress in the Barack Obama era, along with governorships and state legislatures, have the urgency to work very hard to start their revival.

The average number of seats gained by the “out” party in the midterm elections is 23 in the House of Representatives, and right now, the Democrats need 24 seats to regain control, so it is within potential gains that one might expect.

The US Senate will be nearly impossible to win seats, however, as only 8 Republicans are up for reelection in 2018, as against 25 Democrats.

Looking at the GOP held seats, the only possible gains, and not easily, might be Jeff Flake’s seat in Arizona, and Dean Heller’s seat in Nevada. The only other possible hope would be if somehow Ted Cruz could be unseated in Texas, but that is highly unlikely. So at this point, the most that could be expected is a 50-50 tie in the Senate, with Vice President Mike Pence able to use his vote in a tied Senate.

One must realize that while many of the 25 Democratic seats are seen as safe, a large number are not so, including Claire McCaskill in Missouri, Jon Tester in Montana, Heidi Heitkamp in North Dakota, Joe Manchin in West Virginia, Joe Donnelly in Indiana, Bill Nelson in Florida, and Bob Casey in Pennsylvania. Note that Heitkamp, Manchin, and Donnelly tried to protect their flank by voting for Supreme Court nominee Neil Gorsuch, but McCaskill, Tester, Nelson and Casey did not do so.

But beyond Congress, it is urgent that state governorships be gained, as well as control of more state legislatures, all in planning for the next census of 2020 and the redistricting of House seats and state legislative seats that will come after 2020, with the evil reality of gerrymandering affecting the next decade.