Posted on 06/18/2017 6:20:10 AM PDT by Pinkbell
You could count on one hand the red Make America Great Again baseball caps in the crowd here Saturday at a get-out-the-vote rally for Karen Handel, who is in danger of being the first Republican since the 1970s to lose in Georgias 6th Congressional District.
At least two of the hats sat atop the heads of voters from the nearby 14th District. And that summed up rather neatly the struggle Handel and her GOP allies face.
They need to keep Donald Trump close. Just not too close. The president beat Hillary Clinton by only 1.5 points last fall in the suburban Atlanta district. Polls suggest Tuesdays special election to fill the House vacancy left by Tom Price, whom Trump picked to be Health and Human Services secretary is a coin flip.
Many Republicans fear the contest in its final days is trending toward Democrat Jon Ossoff, who has raised far more money in whats already the most expensive congressional race in history. Results will be parsed as a barometer for both parties nationally as they realign in the Trump era.
Handel has offered Trump an awkward and politically cautious embrace. He headlined a private fundraiser for her in April, though he already had been scheduled to come to town for a National Rifle Association event.
That checked the box, Chip Lake, a Republican consultant in Georgia, told BuzzFeed News. Handel accepted an assist from the White House, but she didnt have to do it in front of TV cameras or the kind of raucous rally crowd that Trump draws. (More recently, Vice President Mike Pence came to the district for a low-key fundraiser with Handel.)
I think shes handled it very well, Lake said. Itd be a tricky situation for anyone.
(Excerpt) Read more at buzzfeed.com ...
Perdue hit on the message Handel hopes will resonate with voters skeptical of Trump. If its right, shell stand up for it, he said. If its wrong, you better watch out.
(Snip)
Perdue also made a pitch to those who dont like Trump. I know some of you out there, some Republicans, may even be turned off by our president. Im not, because let me tell you I know its hard, but let me just share. I was in Miami yesterday with him, Perdue said, noting Trumps reversal of friendlier US policy toward Cuba. The president keeps his promises.
What does he mean by "I know it's hard?" It's your boss! He says he isn't turned off by Trump - well Thank God for that, you're only in his Cabinet!
It was the most Trumps name was mentioned during the half-hour event. Handel avoided reference to the president in her remarks. (My job is to represent the people of the 6th District, she told reporters the night before when asked about her relationship with Trump during a campaign stop at a local tavern. Im not an extension of the White House.)
So her goal was ultimately to distance herself from Trump. We see how Gianforte won in Montana being pro-Trump. We see how close Corey Stewart came in Virginia - almost knocking off the establishment. He may have won with promotion and funding. We see the enthusiasm with the pro-Trump movement and that he drives out people to vote - some who have never before voted.
That said, she is listening to the media talking points about Trump and looking at Trump's approval rating and deciding that what people want is a moderate, establishment Republican? We'll see. Maybe that's her district - I don't know. What I can say is that we are frustrated. The last thing we want is another moderate, establishment Republican. We want someone who will support the President and get things done. If she loses, the reason why she'll lose is because of the failure of Republicans to get things done and fight the media narrative.
Perhaps someone from the district or with more knowledge can correct me, but I'm getting suspicions of a RINO. She seems very establishment.
Is the Ossof candidacy typical lefty media wishcasting or is Handel actually in a position to lose?
I haven’t been following that race closely, but I wouldn’t trust any reporting coming from Buzzfeed.
That was because alot of #Nevertrumpers thought he was a Liberal in sheep's clothing!!!
After watching all the good stuff TRUMP has done, he'll probably win by 10% now!!
Polls have him ahead. Trafalgar, which I thought was pretty accurate with regard to the general at least in the state polls (correct me if I’m wrong), has him up 3. A local Fox poll in the area had him up less than 1%. It’s hard to know. Turn out is important, and the left is very motivated. Republicans have to turn out with equal enthusiasm.
I’ve had my fill of politicians like Karen Handel and I think others have too.
She is a hard core, big gov’t RINO. Ossoff will be a one termer, better than getting Handel in for term after term.
So DNC's Tom Perez is coaching Ossoff to speak w/ a New England accent and is force-feedng Jon bowls of "clam chowdah."
Perez told Ossoff to say he lives in a "compound"....and that he has eight brothers and sisters who play touch football.
She is a hard core, big govt RINO. Ossoff will be a one termer, better than getting Handel in for term after term.
—
So wrong. If he wins, he’s there for a long time. There aren’t many one-termers in congress.
That’s the vibe I’m getting. I hate to see Democrats get the moral victory of Ossoff, although I think he could win because the Republican Congress has been spineless as usual. I’d rather that she win and be primaried out in 2018 if she’s bad then he win.
don’t worry, she’ll Handel him, and send his Ossoff to pasture.
Oh no, I didn’t just write that, did I?
Don Lemon said he sounded like Barack Obama. (huge eyeroll)
For example, one of the very few actual pro-Handel campaign ads that gets aired at all on radio in the ATL area is paid for by the US Chamber of Commerce. EXACTLY the GROUP of what Ossoff's campaign is running against! (White, rich, entrenched Wall Street business-as-usual business interests are what THEY want to run against!)
OMG.......sounding like Obama has gotta be “the kiss of death.”
He learned to talk from Hank (”Guam will tip over”) Johnson.
At least I don’t need to feel bad if she loses.
Nobody knows it’s very close.
The Dems have poured 35 million dollars into this race. Can you imagine their depression if they lose? Lol. And it’s for an 18 month seat....
The overwhelming majority of his $ came from California. He doesn’t live in the district so he can’t vote in it - during the debate, Handel asked him who he’d be voting for LOLOLOLOL! Great move on her part.
Ossoff talks a good game (0bama-esque), had $35 million spent on his behalf (95% of which came from out of state), and is in a district Trump won by 1.5% or so.
Handel is frumpy, has not much charisma and had far less money to spend. But she has generally the better positions.
If the Dems don’t win this then they aren’t gonna win sh!t.
There’s one thing about Trump supporters. They know when to be quiet and just wait. There were millions of us who went silent until it was time to go to the polls. I think this will follow that pattern.
If she wins, she will be there a long time. We do not need another neverTrumper voting with the dems against Trump. We have 20+ of those RINOS already.
It was a huge mistake by the Rep party to allow such a screwed up campaign for this seat.
1) Handel is a poor candidate.
She one of those constantly running for something (and losing) candidates. Other than her Secretary of State win, I don’t think she’s actually won another election.
I believe her primary win was simply due to name recognition.
Unfortunately, she doesn’t seem to have the political chops to win a fight.
2) Ossoff is running a stealth campaign.
He went to college in Washington DC, and earned a degree only fit for work in government (BS - foreign service) and lived most of his adult life around DC.
He worked for congressman Hank Johnson (they guy who thought Guam might tip over) who is one of the most liberal congressmen.
He also worked as a filmmaker making films for Al Jizeera. Literally, he made films for the pro-Islam, anti-American network.
But, if you listen to his ads (which are everywhere) he’s an all American, conservative Georgia boy that wants to reign in the government.
I’m hoping that when the voters get in the ballot box and see the word “Democrat” next to his name the scales will fall off their eyes.
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