A black woman has won the seat once held by Gingrich and which a white man could not win last spring

[EffieBlack]

So, please spare us the "we'd better not run a minority or woman because only a white man can save us right now" excuses for perpetuating institutional racism.

And don't point to Abrams and Gillum as examples of how minorities and women can't win. Their races are not over yet, but win or lose, they've come closer to beating a Republican in ruby red states than any white man has come in decades. Oh ... and their opponents had to cheat their asses off just to stay competitive.

White men lose elections ALL the time but no one suggests that means other white men shouldn't run. But when female and darker folk lose to white men, that's held up as proof that women and minorities are a drag on the party and white men must be given MORE opportunities to run.

On the other hand, when white men lose to women and people of color, it's treated as an aberration that means nothing outside of that particular race. The fact that the last three presidential elections were won by a black man and a woman yet we're being told a white man must be our standard bearer if we want to win in 2020 being the glaring case in point.

The bullshit Great White Male Hope argument not only is plainly racist and sexist, no matter how it's couched, it completely ignores the fact that women and minorities kicked ass all over the country this week while a whole bunch of white men have egg all over their faces. Maybe instead of insisting that only white men can save us, we should be gearing up to run women and black and brown folk since THEY seem to be the winning tickets.

[in2herbs]

1. This white woman agrees with you 1,000,000,000%

[calimary]

13. So does this white woman.

Sadly, the one distinguishing characteristic of all these damn mass murder shooters is - the VAST majority of THEM are white men.

[GreenPartyVoter]

16. Add me in!

[flibbitygiblets]

29. And me.

[Pacifist Patriot]

68. Another white woman in total agreement.

[WhiskeyGrinder]

2. K&R for the truth.

[Solly Mack]

3. K&R

[DonCoquixote]

4. double plus hell yeah on Gillum

Florida Democrats spent their capital electing....Charlie Crist. To put Christ in, they kneecapped kendrick meek, even DU allowed Crist to run as a third party, ensuring Marco Rubio got the seat. OH, what of Rick Scott, he was fought by two D candidates (go ahead, look them up) who lost my thin margins, despite some shenanigans the GOP did to fix the vote, and they ran right home to their cushy legal jobs.

[Jersey Devil]

5. Very well written post. Thank you (nt)

x

[iluvtennis]

10. +++ agree

[misanthrope]

6. You'll like this

The Atlantic's Vann Newkirk opines that what happened in this election will have far-reaching effects across Southern states.

https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2018/11/what-to-do-with-the-democrats-progressive-darlings/575293/

[EffieBlack]

8. Great piece - thanks!

This:

For starters, there’s little reason to think that running more moderate candidates would have provided Democrats with better results. In Gillum’s own state of Florida, incumbent Democratic Senator Bill Nelson is currently in serious danger of losing his seat to the state’s Republican governor, Rick Scott. On Wednesday morning, Nelson’s campaign announced that the race, which Scott leads by only 35,000 votes, would meet the threshold required for a recount. Unlike Gillum, Nelson is a thoroughly moderate politician. He’s a 76-year-old white veteran who has opposed “Medicare for all,” has been rated as a centrist by the political monitor GovTrack.us, is known for “reaching across the aisle,” and is respected by members of both parties nationally and within the state. Assuming the recount doesn’t uncover anything substantial, he’ll still lose to the GOP.

Nationally, the story is the same: Moderate Democratic candidates in statewide races underperformed. The group of moderate Democrats in the Senate—West Virginia’s Joe Manchin, Indiana’s Joe Donnelly, Missouri’s Claire McCaskill, North Dakota’s Heidi Heitkamp, and Montana’s Jon Tester—was all but obliterated on Tuesday, with only Tester and Manchin emerging victorious. These candidates are not from swing states—and indeed may have fallen victim to deepening Republican partisanship in very-red states—so the lessons they provide for thinking about 2020 and other major elections are limited. But all told, there is little evidence in the 2018 results that moderate candidates are the key to the Democratic Party’s future.

[sheshe2]

7. The number of women we elected Tuesday...

The diversity of them was uplifting and gives me a good view of our direction for the future. Must say they, and women like them, are the ones we have been waiting for. These new members do not even paint the whole picture. For one, we reelected our AG, she was the first openly gay women ever elected to that office.


Yes, I have read the arguement that only the GWMH can win. Tuesday proved them wrong. Yes, we had some disappointments Tuesday and all races have not been called yet, that is how close it was...yet we had huge wins in so many ways.

Brava ladies. Brava.

[Cha]

9. Lucy!!!

[Hoyt]

11. I'm familiar with that fomerly white wing district. I thought Abrams had a much better chance

of winning, but her odds were low too. Honestly, the area was so red a year or so ago when they elected Handel, I never thought a Democratic political newbie had a chance. Along with increasing diversity in area, I bet women went for her.

Rep-elect McBath (D-GA) was behind when I went to bed, woke up to a surprise worth a dance.

She ran a campaign on issues, including healthcare and gun control, in a district previously dominated by white wing haters and gun-fanciers. Heck, Lester Maddox was from there.

Stunning victory that has to be freaking out the trumpsters in that area. Maybe, they should move. Maybe she can make some people listen in Washington.

[betsuni]

12. K&R

[grantcart]

14. I find the whole objectification of what kind of candidate we should run

To be very two dimensional.

It is frequently done to continue the tired premise that we can only bridge the vast canyon with whites is to run white males like Biden.

An equally two dimensional formula is that we have to advance I'll informed radical policies like economic nationalism to get more left wing supporters.

Again it is all very two dimensional.

The quality that Obama, Biden, Gillum, Abrams, Beto share is not race or policy but that they are able to TRANSMIT AN OVERWHELMING SENSE OF AUTHENTICITY.

Sec Clinton is a great person and public servant but her campaign admitted that while the people that worked closely with her felt a deep emotional bond with her they struggled to find a way to communicate that quality to a national audience

I also see a large number of African Americans outside of politics that have a gift to transmit that authenticity from Oprah to Magic Johnson.

While there are obviously folks of all races that have this ability my personal observation is that it is disproportionately found in AA public figures. I first was touched by Dick Gregory's unique authenticity to just beam out when I was a teenager in profound way.

I have developed a theory why this is, IMHO, more commonly found in AA famous and regular folks. My theory is that AA have to be fluent in 2 (or more) cultures white/black an move at ease between them at school and work while large number of whites operate in a monoculture. Of course there are many whites and other folk that have this ability I just think it is a common survival skill that many AA pick up young as a survival skill.

I saw this the other day when John Lewis was giving a thoughtful explanation about the current play of the political race on national TV and then latter at night he was very elegantly dancing at Abrams rally in a way that I have never seen a white 78 year old guy move. He was able to transmit an equally authentic John Lewis in both and widely disparate settings. I am guessing that he started to pick up those reflexes in grade school. We don't love him because he is black or because we agree on his position on capital gains but because he is able to share his authentic self.

Biden has it great but no one did it better than Obama. Gillum, Abrams, McBath all share that trait and that is why people responded to them not because they are Black but because they were able to transmit a warm authentic vision of how they incorporate Democratic values throughout their whole being.

They aren't the only ones who out performed the political stage not because of race or position papers. Bobby Kennedy did it 50 years ago, Barack Obama did it 10 years ago and Beto O'Rourke did it in Texas this year.

Republicans had a guy that did it 160 years ago and Teddy Roosevelt did it 110 years ago and since then it has been an exhausting string of Potemkin masks of inauthentic posers passing one long con on the people every four years. Teddy Roosevelt was the first and last Republican to talk honestly about the need for some kind of universal health care.

It is the authentic vision of leaders like Gillum, Abrams and McBath (and many many more) that portray the essential soul of the Democratic Party and it transcends race at about 20,000 feet.

[KY_EnviroGuy]

15. K&R for lots of truth.

One might call that trait emotional connectivity.......

[obamanut2012]

18. Great post, and I'll tl:dr for people

Forget Biden and other old white guys -- the party has so many women and men, many of them POC, who are engaging and charismatic and the leaders of the future.

[Cha]

52. Well Done! Thank

You, grant!

[obamanut2012]

17. Gillum did better than Crist, and Gwen Graham probably would have beaten DeSantis

From the gate. My point being a woman probably would ahve beaten DeSantis, and a black man did better than Crist and many other people. I think Nelson still has a chance of squeaking out a win -- Gillum probably doesn't, but only elderly racist white "Dems" kept him from winning. He did great!

Over 100 women won Tuesday night, many of them WOC, LGBT, MUslim, etc. Women can win. Gillum had the best showing in forever for a DEm as Gov.

I still want Kamala Harris to run.

[greymattermom]

19. I think Jon Ossoff deserves credit

for waking up the district to new possibilities. The same may be said of Beto some day, but he deserves a lot of credit too.

[EffieBlack]

21. Right. White guy who gets his ass kicked gets credit for the black woman's victory.

Gotcha.

And maybe aliens built the pyramids because how could those Africans have managed to pull off such a feat with no machinery?



Or, hey - here's another, more likely possibility: Osoff - like white man after white man after white man before him - didn't have what it took to win, and it was Lucy McBath, a smart, dynamic, passionate black woman, who "woke up the district to new possibilities."

[Kind of Blue]

26. +1000

[greymattermom]

36. Do you live in Georgia 6?

I do.

[EffieBlack]

37. No. But several family members do and other family, friends went there to help on both campaigns

Your point being?

[FM123]

32. I keep hearing that! Even Chris Hughes said that on his show last night! My answer is NO.

[CottonBear]

54. I agree. I'm a Georgian w/ relatives in that district.

Ossoff was one of many stepping stones in the Democrat’s slow, steady and eventual return to political power in our state.

We elected two Democrats, Wallace and Gonzalez, to the state assembly in a previous special election in the Athens area. Unfortunately, they both lost to Republicans in the 2018 midterm election. One step forward, then two steps back.

McBath was a great candidate and will be a great Congressman.

I canvassed on Election Day here in my GA community. There was huge enthusiasm for Abrams.

If there is a runoff on Dec 4, I’ll be back out going door to door.

[Horse with no Name]

59. I totally agree with this. Also Wendy Davis laid the groundwork

For Beto.
There isn’t anything wrong in giving credit for laying groundwork for the next candidate to build on.

[MineralMan]

20. Yes! K&R!

[Hermit-The-Prog]

22. to boldly go

To boldly go where the mutant toxic newt contaminated the land.


It looks like voters want representation in government that actually represents them. We are not 1 race, 1 gender, 1 culture, 1 religion and voters seem pissed off that government for too long looked like that.

Voters demand bold -- Lucy McBath, woman, black, gun control, 1st time candidate -- WON and FLIPPED a seat in Georgia. I'm still trying to wrap my head around all that.

[EffieBlack]

23. Didn't you know-SHE DIDN'T do it. Credit goes to Osoff for waking people up to the possibilities

[Hermit-The-Prog]

24. silly me, and salon

Hey, I'm not the only one silly enough to think SHE DID IT...

McBath's initial call to action happened six years ago when her 17-year-old son, Jordan Davis, was shot and killed in 2012 by a white man, who argued with the teenager about playing music too loud in a Florida parking lot. She worked as a flight attendant, but after the tragedy, McBath emerged as vocal advocate against gun violence. "She became a national spokesperson for Moms Demand Action, an increasingly formidable advocacy group that has become a perpetual thorn in the side of the National Rifle Association, and grew a national profile as a 'Mother of the Movement,' alongside other black women who lost their children to gun violence," according to Mother Jones.

In late 2017, McBath decided to move from activism to politics, announcing a bid for the Georgia statehouse, alongside scores of first-time candidates, many of whom were women. Yet once 17 people were gunned down in the Florida high school, McBath felt her message was more urgent and aimed higher.

"I knew that I could no longer sit on the sidelines while the politicians in the pocket of the gun manufacturing lobby decide the future of our gun laws," McBath wrote on her campaign site.

https://www.salon.com/2018/11/08/lucy-mcbath-a-gun-control-advocate-just-flipped-newt-gingrichs-old-seat-democratic/

[greymattermom]

50. You need to be aware that a fortune was spent on the Ossoff campaign

and even if you don't like Ossoff or think that he deserves any credit, everyone in the Atlanta area heard months of negative commercials about Karen Handel. I think that helped. That's all.

[EffieBlack]

53. I'm well aware that a fortune was spent - and he STILL lost

Lucy McBath was obviously a stronger and more effective candidate and her win should not be dismissed or cannibalized by giving a losing candidate the credit for it - especially since you haven't given HER any credit for her own win before jumping in to tell us to offer kudos to the last guy to lose the district.

[Kind of Blue]

25. K AND R!

[Demwolv]

27. Black Girl Magic

It's about damn time this country wakes up to the real fighters of justice here: Black Women.

[marylandblue]

28. Good point. I'll withdraw my previous objection

But retain my previous worries, framed differently. Given that Trump will play the race or sex card again, and that it worked well enough with enough people in 3 states to swing the election last time, what should a candidate to prevent that attack this time?

[EffieBlack]

31. Trump will play whatever card he needs to play against anyone who runs against him

As evidenced by his trampling over more than a dozen white men in the primaries and now in his presidency.

No one can prevent his attacks - the key is not playing into them, not trying to out-Trump him and not wasting time trying to convince people who fall for his crap to vote for Democrats. Leave those people to themselves and focus on building, expanding, and energizing our base and outvoting them.

[flibbitygiblets]

34. Republicans gonna smear. That and tax cuts for the rich is all they do. There's no "preventing" it,

there's only supporting our candidates and getting our own, positive message out there. There needs to be a lot more reinforcement of what good we've done because THAT is what people are voting for, results they can see and feel.

[flibbitygiblets]

30. "women and minorities kicked ass all over the country this week"

Hell yeah we did!

[ananda]

33. As far as I know, both Gillum and Abrams won their races.

It's just a matter of ALL the votes being counted.

[7962]

43. Gillum possibly, but Abrams apparently not.

Even with all the still-uncounted votes going to Stacey, its not enough to put her in the lead or drop kemp under 50%. At least the numbers for the uncounted that I saw reported anyway. Who knows, maybe THAT number will change.

[CottonBear]

55. We Georgia Democrats have a few days & judicial rulings on our side. N/T

[BumRushDaShow]

35. K&R

Ayanna Pressley in MA - a so-called "blue state" that currently re-elected a Republican governor but also elected their first black female to Congress -



https://www.vox.com/2018/11/6/18048286/house-midterm-results-massachusetts-seventh-ayanna-pressley-winner

What the MSM won't say about MA-7 is that it includes parts of Boston and Cambridge (and other 'burbs around the area)!

[MountCleaners]

38. Lauren Underwood won in an 85% white district

https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/politics/elections/ct-met-illinois-14th-district-randy-hultgren-lauren-underwood-20181106-story.html

Because she had a fresh message and people are sick of these old white farts in the GOP. This was Dennis Hastert's old district. Embracing the future is the way to go!

[7962]

44. Black candidates have won in majority white districts for YEARS.

Even in Ga. I remember being told Sanford Bishop didnt have a chance back in the 90s. "His district is a lot of white farmers. They'll NEVER vote for a black man". And while the district DOES include Columbus, a lot of those "white farmers" elected Bishop on his first run, and he's been re-elected ever since. Even with redistricting.

[elmac]

39. hmmm

[BumRushDaShow]

40. Adding 2 more that I just heard on Tweety

The newly elected Lt. Governors of Michigan and Wisconsin are these 2 gentlemen -

Garlin Gilchrist II (1st African America Lt. Gov. of Michigan - age 36)




Mandela Barnes (1st African America Lt. Gov. of Wisconsin - age 31)

[7962]

45. 36 &31??? Damn, I'm old!! nt

[BumRushDaShow]

47. LOL

[Lucky Luciano]

56. Lol that's what I thought! They're practically kids!

Obviously very talented. Would love to learn more. Right now I only know about their photographs.

[7962]

57. At those ages, this is just the first step. nt

[study war no more]

41. heck yeah!

This is the district I grew up in.

btw - if you try to type Gingrich into your phone, it may autocorrect to gingivitis..... pretty accurate.

[ismnotwasm]

42. K&R

[JHan]

46. take win for this Effie, great great OP. Thank you thank you!

[susanna]

48. THANK YOU. n/t

[ck4829]

49. K&R

[yardwork]

51. Excellent post.

[pnwmom]

58. Nailed it. Again. n/t

[Horse with no Name]

60. Lucy was one of my most favorite candidates

And was truly the underdog.
In a tidal wave of inspirational stories, for me, hers was one that moved me.
I expect great things from her when she gets to Washington.

[Awsi Dooger]

61. Why are people so scared at suggestion that a white male offers highest upside nationally?

Who cares about this House race as supposed indicator nationally? That is laughable. I don't care about single-example district political races any more than I care about day to day development in politics.

Looks like nothing but fear.

It is going to be incredibly difficult to oust a presidential incumbent. Incredibly difficult. Only Jimmy Carter has lost in this situational scenario in more than a century. We have no margin for error. It has to be someone with charisma and teflon. It has to be someone who is not rejected by the electorate as too liberal, as Gillum apparently was (by 46%), whether we like it or not.

As a handicapper I don't want misogyny to exist and thrive at such high level, but I'm not going to be dense enough to deny it. If you look at exit polling the female candidate more often than not has a lower favorable number in exit polls than her pre-election polling indicated, and with males it is reversed. Heck, even Ted Cruz was 50-48 favorable. Trump's approval was 45% in the exit poll while 538 was insisting 42% on adjustment.

Gallup in its final pre-election survey had Trump at 61% unfavorable in 2016. It was actually 60% unfavorable in the exit poll, or slightly better. But Hillary predictably erred the other way. Gallup had her at 52% unfavorable. But exit polling indicated 55% unfavorable.

Instead of 36-61 net unfavorable as reported by Gallup, the exit poll for Trump was 38-60. Hillary was only 5 points under water according to Gallup at 47-52, but actual exit polling had her 12 points below at 43-55.

https://news.gallup.com/poll/197231/trump-clinton-finish-historically-poor-images.aspx

https://www.cnn.com/election/2016/results/exit-polls

That was perhaps the least surprising development of the entire election. Sorry, but I follow numbers all the time and I'm not going to be swayed by some silly emotional argument. If we nominate a female instead of a male then we need to be prepared for a result that is again worse than the polling or conventional wisdom allow.

[EffieBlack]

62. Not scared. Just too smart to fall for the bogus argument

that because Hillary lost to Trump and she's a woman and he's a man, no other woman could ever beat him and therefore only a man should be the nominee next time around.

Funny how men lose elections all the time - sometimes even to women - but folks don't suggest that this means other men can't win and shouldn't be candidates.

This "a woman didn't win the last time, so we'd better not run a woman this time" thinking is not limited to politics. Black folk and women have had to put up with it all of our lives. I can't tell you how many jobs I've had where I've watched white man after white man screw up while more white men continued to be hired and promoted without the least bit of concern that the performance of their fellow white men in any way predicted their performance. Yet I knew that if I screwed up even a tenth as badly as my white male co-workers, that would negatively impact any black woman who sought a position because, after all "We hired a black woman once, but she didn't work out, so we have to be very careful not to repeat that mistake ..."

And while you may not be racist or misogynist, the "a woman lost last time, so we'd better not run a woman next time" philosophy enables and perpetuates the backward thinking and invidious discrimination racists and misogynists with which want to continue infecting our society.

[Scruffy1]

63. In my congressional ditrict a black woman got over 78% of the vote.

She's a muslim in a majority white christian district. a good candidate is a good candidate. Granted it's heavily democratic but she beat white males in the caucus and primary.

[BlueMTexpat]

64. Great OP!

And yes, full credit should be given to Lucy and her campaign!

However, I am still quite unhappy that all of the same people who voted for Jon Tester in MT did NOT also vote for the wonderful Kathleen Williams over the felon Gianforte.

If that wasn't sexism personified, I am not sure what is. There is no question whatsoever that Williams was much the better candidate.

Apparently MT Dems need to learn some lessons from the Dem party organization in NV.

[Stellar]

65. Well said, friend. n/t

[ismnotwasm]

66. K&R

[The Polack MSgt]

67. Thank you for another great OP. K&R nt

[guyfromla]

69. Unfortunate that we are fighting amogst ourselves

As a minority we have to do far better than the whites to get the same benefit/job or what-ever. That is also true here. Despite Abrams and Gillum being gifted orators with impeccable academic credentials, when the survey people called - the racists lied to them. And hence the polls being so wrong on both the cases. Also it does not help that Scott and Georgia AG had been fighting to suppress vote in every way shape or form.