Progressives: Ossoff lost because he did not speak of single-payer healthcare, free education?

[Madam45for2923]

Last edited Fri Jun 23, 2017, 09:33 AM - Edit history (1)

I disagree with the premise of this article as I think Ossoff's showing in red beet district is good news for DEMS coming forward and bad news for Repubs as they will have to defend every district in 2018.



Leftwing Democrats say Jon Ossoff loss shows 'massive failure' of party's elites
by Adam Gabbatt
Progressives insist Ossoff’s ‘Republican-lite’ message turned voters off
‘He didn’t have a core progressive message. He didn’t stand for anything’

SNIP/
Key figures in the progressive movement said Ossoff had lost because he ran a “Republican-lite” campaign – instead of embracing progressive issues.

“I’m not surprised. I knew he would lose,” said Winnie Wong, who co-founded People for Bernie, an independent activist group with more than a million supporters. “My feeling on the failure of this campaign goes back to the way that Democratic party prioritizes the needs of the consultant class rather than listening to what the voters want.”

Wong said this represented a missed opportunity. “If you look at his platform, he didn’t talk about single-payer healthcare, he didn’t speak about free college or student debt,” she said. “As a 30-year-old, imagine how much appeal he could have held with millennials.”

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2017/jun/21/jon-ossoff-georgia-democrats-party-establishment


Continuation of discussion here: https://www.democraticunderground.com/10029237154



Author of that piece Adam Gabbatt also wrote:

Link to tweet

Link to tweet

NOTE: I disagree with the premise of this article as I think Ossoff's showing in red beet district is good news for DEMS coming forward and bad news for Repubs as they will have to defend every district in 2018.

[Madam45for2923]

1. BTW ONE Congressional Representative is quoted in the article: Congressman Seth Moulton, MA Dem

[Madam45for2923]

4. Republicans are struggling under Trump and Democrats are energized!

[Demsrule86]

27. He wants to run for Ed Markey's seat...hahah.

Markey is a Massachusetts legend and will clean Seth's clock.

[Madam45for2923]

32. Aha! Of course!

[shraby]

2. Ossoff lost because Russia hackers got into the Georgia files and no one has figured out

yet what exactly they did, but it obviously still is working.

[greymattermom]

3. Wrong

This is Georgia 6, part of what folks in Atlanta call the "great white north". Jon knows the district, and free education means free stuff to the south side of town to a lot of people. The lines from legal segregation can still be seen in Atlanta because north-south streets change names at the line. White folks didn't want to live on the same street as black folks back then. Jon talked about economic development and business opportunities.

[Madam45for2923]

5. Don't know which state Minnie Wong is from! I think not from that district!

But here is her bio from her site: PeopleforBernie

Winnie Wong
Co-Founder and Internet MOM of #FeelTheBern (People For Bernie)
Winnie Wong is a radical media maker, internet activist and founding organizer of Occupy Wall Street and Occupy Sandy.
In the Spring of 2014, she helped to launch Ready For Warren. In the Spring of 2015, she co-founded People For Bernie 2016, and created the viral political hashtag: #FeelTheBern. As a professional concern troll, she is never NOT theorizing the cultural hegemony.

That is her own bio from her own website.

[NastyRiffraff]

58. Shorter Winnie:

"If only Ossaf had been a Bernie clone he would have won! And would have magically passed single-payer, all by himself! Because Bernie.

[Madam45for2923]

59. Yes I think so! and probably the writer of that article too.

[Doodley]

7. That is a wishy washy message. The Republicans are winning because their messaging is very simple.

[Madam45for2923]

14. We take money from POC! Guaranteed! Yeah, simple!

Doodley
7. That is a wishy washy message. The Republicans are winning because their messaging is very simple.

[Hoyt]

36. Pretty much agree. Right or wrong, he felt he had to run center-right in that district.

I think he could have come out a little stronger on issues, but he would have beaten badly if too strong. The white wingers there are hateful racist people.

Knowing now that he lost, it would have been nice if he had run way to left just to see for sure how it would go.

[Doodley]

6. I agree that healthcare should have been the number one campaign issue.

[Laurian]

8. The wealthy in that district (and there are a lot of them) are

not concerned about health care for average folks, and certainly not for poor folks. Jon knows that district and the second guessing by people not in the district is ridiculous.

[Doodley]

21. No! We do not abandon our core principles. We promote and persuade based on

what is the right thing to do. We do not retreat on that or we become like them. He doesn't know anything. He lost because he didn't talk about the most important issues. The tide has turned and most people hate what Republicans are doing with healthcare and we need to build on that and hammer that home and enrage voters by making healthcare the number one issue.

[Demsrule86]

29. It is a wealthy district...that message won't work everywhere.

[Doodley]

37. Don't give me that. The message that the Republicans are going to kill Americans by taking away

healthcare works anywhere. The campaign was gutless and without any passion. That is why we lost. We are where we are because we aren't fighting hard enough on the issues that matter. We lost. The messaging did not work.

[Demsrule86]

44. It doesn't. Quite a few people get their health care from work even now and many in George 6

have high paying jobs with great benefits. I lived there. This is why you won't get a single payer bill...the only shot is to lower the medicare age...starting with with those over say 50. I lived there...they are Republicans...They have not voted for a GOP in many years ...since 78. Price won by 23 points. So you can pretend that everyone agrees with us or if you want, but they don't. One things Democrats need to do if they want to win in the rust belt is address job losses. Now that would help.

[Madam45for2923]

45. Not voted for a DEM since 78.

Think a typo.

And I agree on all your points!

[Doodley]

56. I have lived in Roswell. I have lived in Smyrna. I now live in Gwinnett County, so I know

the area very well, but that has no relevance. I also do not pretend anything. I don't pretend everyone agrees, but elections are won on turnout and the minimum we need to do is get out the vote by fighting against two of the most concerning issues facing Democrats and independents - Trump and healthcare. Trump won in the rust belt because he pushed the buttons of enough extra voters to get them out. What buttons did Ossoff push in this election that would drive voters to the polls with a passion?

[Demsrule86]

71. I lived in Marietta. I was surprised it was as close as it was.

I thought Ossoff was a fine candidate but Handel is one of them...a Romney Republican. Price won the seat in 16 by 23 points ...that is not a gap that can be made up by 'enthusiastic voters'...it was a long shot, and we came closer than I expected... I like Ossoff and hope he stays in politics...we need people like him in the party in red states. In a different district, he could win. And in time, Georgia will turn blue in a similar fashion to Virginia...one day it will just happen out of the blue.

[Doodley]

72. Democrats lose because too many stay at home. If you were fired up by Ossoff, you were in a

minority of Democrats. We have the worst president in history who is destroying healthcare for tens of millions, destroying the environment, destroying safety net programs, destroying our institutions, trust in the media and the judiciary and our reputation around the world. Trump won in the district by only two points and we should be pleased that Ossoff lost the seat by four points? We don't have time to wait for the day that Georgia turns blue. We need to be fighting for what we believe in.

[Demsrule86]

76. It is a red district...they are Romney GOP and don't like Trump,but they like Karen Handel just

fine...that is the way it is. Talk is cheap my friend...you can fight all you want...and I am for fighting but that district won't respond.

[Demsrule86]

77. If you have to be 'fired' up by some savior or larger than life Democrat, then

the Republicans win...don't wait for a savior...vote Democratic always. I am fired up at the idea of ridding Congress of Republicans ...who are evil trolls. AS for Ossoff, I like the guy and people were inspired which is why it was so close...it is a deep red district..it is possible we get the house in 18...but there is still a gerrymander so we will have to fight hard for all candidates...and not wait to be inspired...are we members of a political party or groupies.?

[Madam45for2923]

9. Ossoff: GOP health plan guts protections for pre-existing conditions in Georgia

Health care dominated the final debate in the special election to fill Georgia’s 6th Congressional District seat. Republican Karen Handel argued that people with pre-existing conditions would do fine under the House Republican’s American Health Care Act.

Democrat Jon Ossoff pushed back against the former secretary of state.

"It's fine to say, madam secretary, that someone cannot be denied coverage period if they have a pre-existing condition," Ossoff said. "But if there's no limit on price discrimination and the plan is unaffordable, that is a useless protection. And it is a fact that this bill guts protections against massive price hikes for Georgians with pre-existing conditions."

The treatment of pre-existing conditions has emerged as one of the thorniest issues in the health care debate. We decided to explore how the Republican bill compares with the current law, the Affordable Care Act.

http://www.politifact.com/georgia/statements/2017/jun/13/jon-ossoff/ossoff-gop-health-plan-guts-protections-pre-existi/


Or are you talking about something else like single-payer?

[Doodley]

38. Your quote of Ossoff shows why he lost. Tens of millions of people are going to lose healthcare

and he talks with the same passion as if popcorn is going to be in smaller portions at the local movie theater. This isn't about single payer. This is about people's lives, getting our core out and suppressing moderate Republican voters.

[emulatorloo]

51. i really disagree with your interpretation of Ossoff's statement.

"The same passion as if popcorn"

It is a fairly clear statement about how people in his district will be affected if the no penalty/discrimination for pre-existing condition is taken away.

Disclaimer: I've got several pre-existing conditions, including type II diabetes and an autoimmune disorder. This isn't about a "smaller portion of popcorn" for those of us who have pre-existing conditions or know people and have family members w pre-existing conditions.

[Doodley]

55. Elections are won or lost on turnout - getting the voters out. His language does nothing

to rile up Democrats. Enough Republicans turn out because they are angry or scared or just hate to give them the edge. In other words they are passionate. They are passionate enough to go and vote. Ossoff was a bland candidate, as that quote shows. This special election was they only one where the Republican did better than Trump did. A strong candidate should at the minimum give a rallying call to the base. Ossoff was not a good candidate.

[emulatorloo]

57. Ossoff lost by 3.8%. Yes it is a loss but I believe you are overstating

it, as this Red District elected Tom Price in 2016 by a margin of 23.4 percent.

Price 61.6%
Stooksbury 38.4%

Was Karen Handel elected by that kind of margin? She won by 3.8%

Vote totals:

Handel 51.9%
Ossoff 48.1%

Even with the help of those out of state funded darkmoney ads that claimed "Pelosi is a liberal lesbian bitch and Bernie Sanders is Satan" she barely won.


Yr absolutely right about turnout. Apparently a lot of new Dems were registered in the district and they came out.

IMHO some great progress was made towards turning this Republican dominated District blue.

Obviously you disagree.

"A strong candidate should at a minimum give a rallying cry to the base"

It is good to keep in mind that the base in a Georgia district is not the same base as a deep blue district in another state.

DU is not the base in Georgia either.

I'm happy with an argument that Ossoff made mistakes. Despite what some may say he was a left of center candidate in that district. Did he run the perfect campaign? No.

[Doodley]

60. We (as a party) have to take some responsibility for Trump. Maybe twenty million will lose

healthcare, but how many times did Ossoff talk about the half million in Georgia that Nathan Deal has blocked by not extending Medicaid? How many times did Hillary Clinton talk about that? I would wager that most voters in this district aren't even aware of it.

We need to fight on the issues that are important to voters. Even Republicans aren't keen on the GOP healthcare plan. Even well-off voters may have older relatives that need care - my father in law's care last year cost $1.8 million paid by Medicare, and that was in this district. Healthcare that is accessible for all needs to be a moral argument, as it is in other developed nations. Even the wealthy need to have a social conscience. That isn't happening sufficiently because even Democrats aren't outraged. I want to see some outrage. Certainly Republicans see that in their candidates. I want the same passion in a candidate that is going to fire people up enough to go out and vote. Being a nice candidate isn't enough.

[emulatorloo]

61. Responsibility for Trump lies with the Republican Party and Trump voters.

Other than that we agree that we need to fight harder on issues that are important to voters.

My dad was a Republican but not a crazy one. Against Iraq invasion for example.

He benefited greatly from Medicare and praised it a lot.

He's gone now. My step-mom is still living and is a Republican as well in a deep red state. She confided in me that she refused to vote for Trump because of the cruelty of his policies and his misogyny and racism. She knew the Dems and Hillary had her back.

[Act_of_Reparation]

10. "Red Beet District"?

Georgia's 6th is R+9. It's one of the GOP's weaker holdings in the state.

[Madam45for2923]

13. Red as in red for 40 years. Red as in Newt Gingrich & Tom Price!

Red since 1979!

Yeah beet red!

[Act_of_Reparation]

18. Is there a point tucked between those exclamation marks?

It's an R+9 district. It's winnable. Yelling isn't going to change that.

[Demsrule86]

24. If it is so winnable than why have we not won it since 1978?

Oh and Price won in November of 16 by 23 points. I used to live there. The 9+ is deceiving...they don't have partisan voter registration.

"Representative Tom Price won the United States House of Representatives 6th District race in Georgia on Tuesday. Price is up by 23 points with all precincts reporting."

https://www.nytimes.com/elections/results/georgia-house-district-6-price-stooksbury

[Madam45for2923]

46. ooooh thanks for the lecture on exclamation points!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! LOL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[NastyRiffraff]

68. Here are some more exclamation points!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Madam45for2923]

69. LOL!

[Demsrule86]

25. Oh and we routinely win those sort of districts right ...no we don't.

[LBM20]

11. Maybe he should have been stronger on healthcare, but going hard left would have FAILED.

GA-6 is a deep red district. Ossoff knows the district and ran as a moderate. He ran a campaign that could attract a broad section of the district. And he almost flipped the seat. A far left campaign in this kind of district would not have worked. There are MANY districts we can not win with a far left candidate. We need candidates who match the districts.

[Blue_true]

40. I have tried to make that point over and over.

Only to be countered by some pie in the sky view of reality that says one mindset wins everywhere when reality has proven that decidedly wrong.

[meow2u3]

12. Ossoff lost because GA-6 is a ruby red, gerrymandered district

that no Democrat could win unless they cheated the way repunks routinely do.

[mfcorey1]

15. That is b.s.. Ossoff lost because the District 6 is redder than a ripe apple. When the voters

in conservative Cobb County showed up at the polls in mass, I knew it was over. So all the other speculation is just that. I live in District 6 and all the Wednesday morning analysis is just that and so wrong. Te future work is how to flip it. These people have financial security and grasp their money!

[forthemiddle]

16. I thought Georgia had the Hope Scholarship

Isn't that already free tuition for state residents?

[Demsrule86]

23. It is supposed to be. It was put in by Zell Miller.

However, mostly rich kids are able to take advantage of it...and tuition's have gone up too. It no longer pays all the tuition either. What happens mostly is that wealthy parents get the most benefits...those who could afford to pay tuition while middle class and poor kids get the shaft.

http://www.atlantamagazine.com/great-reads/hope-scholarship-cons/

[Dulcinea]

17. No.

GA-06 is still a red district, even though the demographics are changing. That was the execrable Newt Gingrich's seat in the 90s. Ossoff did pretty well, all things considered. Single-payer health care & free education wouldn't play well up there.

Disclaimer: I'm a metro Atlanta resident, but not in that district.

[Orsino]

19. His both-sideism wasn't much fun to watch in commercials...

...but I think that's how a Democrat will show best in GA-6. My boy done real good.

[Madam45for2923]

20. It will be interesting to learn who voted for him.

[Demsrule86]

22. Well three others endorsed by Sen. Sander lost and they supported single payer.

I lived in Georgia 6 and if you think those folks are panting for free college tuition and single payer...hahaha. Most rich kids in Georgia are able to take advantage of a college program which pays tuition at public university...Georgia Hope Scholarship. They can afford tutors for their kids and there is no income cut off just like Sen. Sander's plan. They are Romney Republicans and are pretty loyal. They do hate Trump...many of them. But Handel is one of them.

[tazkcmo]

26. I'm sure that's it.

It sure wasn't because he's a Democrat, or that he didn't live in the district, is a Democrat and is a Democrat. Nope. Not even a little bit.















sarcasm

[Trial_By_Fire]

28. Ossoff basically ran as republican-lite...

And as Truman said:

I've seen it happen time after time. When the Democratic candidate allows himself to be put on the defensive and starts apologizing for the New Deal and the fair Deal, and says he really doesn't believe in them, he is sure to lose. The people don't want a phony Democrat. If it's a choice between a genuine Republican, and a Republican in Democratic clothing, the people will choose the genuine article, every time; that is, they will take a Republican before they will a phony Democrat, and I don't want any phony Democratic candidates in this campaign.

[Doodley]

39. Well said. Only with passion for core issues will we win, even with the worst president in history.

[Blue_true]

42. Three of our losers supported single payer and free college tuition.

One did not. What does that tell you?

[Doodley]

43. It doesn't tell me anything.

[emulatorloo]

54. It tells me that GA Republicans aren't "secret socialists" dying to vote for a Cenk Uygur approved

candidate.

Link to tweet

Btw seems like Ossoff's not a "centrist". He's left of center.

[Blue_true]

41. Some one pointed out. Three of the four candidates that lost special elections

supported single payer and free tuition. So, one candidate that didn't lost but came very close to winning, the three that did lost by larger margins. Should not the argument be that campaigning on single payer and free tuition cause democrats to lose? There are more data points to support that argument than there are to support the equally loony argument that single payer and free tuition will cause Democrats to win in blood red districts.

[Madam45for2923]

47. ...and those that supported single payer and lost were in more liberal states & still lost, right?

[Blue_true]

52. No. All of the districts were seriously conservative.

I resent an argument that X and y are the solutions when actual data say they may not be solutions at all. I want candidates that embody core Democratic Party principles of caring for the underserved and striving, showing empathy for those that are having a bad turn and are in need, having a military that is strong but is cost efficient, right for the times, is ethical and not adventurous with war. A candidate that accepts and support that a woman is as good as a man for jobs and responsibility if she shows that she has the capability to succeed. A candidate that accepts that LGBTQ people were born as who they are and are not going through a fad and deserve human and economic rights without contest.

Once a candidate embodies all core Democratic principles, that candidate should craft a message that wins in his or her district and all of us should support and accept that. Any Democrat that accepts core Democratic Party principles is better than ANY republican ANY DAY.

[killbotfactory]

64. Those three of four candidates only got help from small donors, the party basically wrote them off

How much did Ossoff get? And for what? To get less votes than Clinton?

[Blue_true]

65. Clinton got votes from educated republicans that voted and were aghast at Trump.

Handel was more one of them, so they came back home. We need to focus on peeling off those people's kids and grandkids that think differently from them and are open to our message.

[killbotfactory]

66. We need to adopt FDR's second bill of rights

http://www.ushistory.org/documents/economic_bill_of_rights.htm

The right to a useful and remunerative job in the industries or shops or farms or mines of the nation;
The right to earn enough to provide adequate food and clothing and recreation;
The right of every farmer to raise and sell his products at a return which will give him and his family a decent living;
The right of every businessman, large and small, to trade in an atmosphere of freedom from unfair competition and domination by monopolies at home or abroad;
The right of every family to a decent home;
The right to adequate medical care and the opportunity to achieve and enjoy good health;
The right to adequate protection from the economic fears of old age, sickness, accident, and unemployment;
The right to a good education.

...

The reason Bernie was so successful among young people is that this was essentially his message. And it seem a lot of democrats can't stand it and want to run as far away from it as possible.

[Demsrule86]

79. Right with our huge majorities, we can do this tomorrow or the next day.

In Georgia 6, they have the best schools in the state and can afford private school as well. They have no desire to enact any of Roosevelt's proposals either.

[mythology]

50. That quote has a problem

The parties are objectively more polarized than any time since Reconstruction. There simply aren't Republican lite Democrats.

Unless you believe that Russ Feingold is a phony Democrat.

[Trial_By_Fire]

63. Ossoff ran on republican talking points...

Truman's quote is spot on even today.

Let me explain the quote for you: If a Democrat runs using repub talking points, and there is a republican running saying the same basic thing, then the voters, obviously, will choose the real repub. It is that simple,

[Doodley]

75. That sums up why we lost very well.

[Demsrule86]

80. he did not...he was pro-choice.

Ossoff was way more Democratic then say Mello in Nebraska... Had he run on your version of Democratic ideas which is called socialism in that state, he would have lost by more votes. This is a wealthy Romney district...they are not panting for single payer or a $15.00 minimum...by the way Ossoff supported a $15.00 minimum wage...the only Democratic policy he did not support was single payer...and he basically said, we can't get it now anyway...so support the ACA.

[Sancho]

30. I like the analysis at these links...

https://voterga.org/press-releases/

https://voterga.files.wordpress.com/2017/06/bulletin-evidence-of-ga6-eleciton-day-hack-continues-to-mount.pdf

Like most elections since 2004, the voting is hacked.

[Nevernose]

31. I'm a Bernie-loving leftist nutjob

And even I'm proud of Ossof's showing. To pull off 48% in that district, even with Trump and a shitty competition in Handel, is nothing short of a miracle.

Ossoff will make a heck of a politician someday, with some practice (his tv commercials, for instance, were awful).

If we can turn out that many Dems in EVERY district? The only Republican senators or governors would be from Idaho and Wyoming.

[Madam45for2923]

33. Nice Nevernose!

We have good news and don't really know it.

[standingtall]

34. I don't believe he lost that district due

to any of his policy positions. One reason he lost was something he could not due nothing about. He was simply to young. Was going to be hard for any Democrat to win that,but especially one that looked like he was fresh out of college. Maybe if he was 10 to 15 years older he could've gotten all over the hump. Also it didn't help he didn't live in that district.

[Madam45for2923]

48. He is 30 & if anything this was a great learning experience for him (& DEMS) to try again next time.

Failing can help build knowledge needed for success.

[Doodley]

74. Good points.

[delisen]

35. In GA 6 white people trust the Republican Party to represent their interests

They did not trust crude and rude Trump but the they trusted other Republicans who lost in the presidential primary.

Republican voters in GA 6 are feeling economically secure, are making money in the stock market, and in real estate. The biggest complaint they have is taxes.

This is not John Lewis's district; it is Tom Price's district.

Ossoff needed to get 50 % to win in the first round the Republican field was divided among numerous candidates. He almost made it. The local wisdom was that he would have a tough time and would likely lose once he was forced into a run off against one Republican.

What can make a difference? An strong person-to-person organization starting up now and culminating a strong person-to-person get out the vote in 2018; and a close watch on voter registration, and the vote tabulating and counting.

[Madam45for2923]

49. Makes sense! BTW I think GOP were stupid to have so many candidates in their primary

last year. If they had had a lot less candidates running against Donald I bet he would not have made it.

[Dem2]

53. People are allowed to think what they want

They're allowed to be wrong too. Monday night quarterbacking is always the most successful.

[Demsrule86]

81. Excellent point.

[treestar]

62. should put this to the test

find a district so red, there is no hope of winning. Then have the Democrat run and take all Bernie-approved positions. See if they win.

[killbotfactory]

67. People in red states just want shitty paying jobs and to be in debt for the rest of their life

if they get sick or pursue a higher education.

That makes sense, right?

[JI7]

70. the people in georgia 6th are doing quite well.

[Doodley]

73. I live in Georgia. Very insulting.

[Demsrule86]

78. They believe we want to give it to the 'others' and force them to pay for it...fill in 'other'

with whomever one chooses. Also, they consider themselves middle class and believe they will be rich someday...but now Georgia 6 is a wealthy district...so they particularly don't want to pay for the 'others'...especially the dark skinned 'others'.