Brian Kemp's approval rating stands at 39% weeks after he reopened Georgia (Atlanta: unemployment, bankrupt)

[ronricks]

Originally Posted by atler8

Ronricks:
It's not at all a case of whether or not I LIKE the statistics. Please understand that completely and do not conflate this into my own personal views! But rather, note that it is the State of Georgia itself that has owned up to having made serious errors REPEATEDLY & apologized for doing so and vowed (repeatedly) to improve the accuracy of what they are reporting.

Can you not understand that it is not me being partisan but rather the State of Georgia that is owning up to it's multiple errors after having been caught posting incorrect data? What is so difficult to comprehend about that fact? Did you even read from the link that I posted earlier?

Linked further below from May 13th is just ONE of the pieces from the AJC that speak to the repeated errors I have cited.

Central to my point is the following nugget taken from the AJC piece linked below:
"Gov. Brian Kemp’s office issued an apology and its spokespeople said they’d never make this kind of mistake again."

As goes your mentioning of California in your reply, yes ... by all means let's compare California's 80,000 cases among a population of just under 40 million against the 38,000 cases in Georgia among our population of slightly over 10 million.
A simple analysis of those comparative statistics reveals that our per capita rate of cases in Georgia is FAR HIGHER than what has occurred in California. I.E.: California strategies have been much more successful than those of Georgia.

https://www.ajc.com/news/state--regi...9XEF8vO11NVGO/

Your link is from May 13th. I posted one from May 18th that shows the error(s) went the opposite way. The corrections have not been skewed one way like you are trying to present them. If you don't believe the numbers then there is no reason to really have this discussion. The mass hysteria that many predicted and some even cheered for on here hasn't happened. If it did I would have no issues posting those numbers and discussing them. You and a few others seem to only want to discuss the numbers one way and it is a way that isn't currently supported by any numbers data or statistics since the reopening. I am not a huge fan of Brian Kemp but as of today the staggered reopening has not been a failure no matter how hard you try to present it as such. Meanwhile California and New York are shutdown and asking for Billions of dollars. I'd call that failure.

[atler8]

Ronricks

In my last reply, I posted "ONE" article from among multiple pieces I found at the AJC and other news reporting sites on Georgia's self-admitted data reporting problems. It just happened that the ONE I linked was from the 13th. I could have chosen from more recent pieces.

As an example, the piece below was posted 19 hours ago and discusses in great detail the nature of the continuing problems in how Georgia's data is tabulated and then presented for public consumption.

But, you are correct in that there is no point in continuing the discussion between us.

I find it remarkable that you have now leveled an accusation against some Atlanta Forum members of having cheered on "mass hysteria". That is yet another deflection type of argument.

As for myself, I advocate for both personal caution & responsibility as well as total, absolute transparency in government.

https://www.gpbnews.org/post/georgia...now-where-look

[Returning2USA]

Originally Posted by BELMO45

Kemp is gone if Trump wins re-election (most likely scenario). If Trump by some miracle loses there will be the typical reverse party wave in 2022 and Kemp will win

Trump is in trouble.

[markjames68]

Originally Posted by atler8

As for myself, I advocate for both personal caution & responsibility as well as total, absolute transparency in government.

https://www.gpbnews.org/post/georgia...now-where-look

I can't disagree with your statement. In addition to transparency we also need accountability. Mistakes happen but should never be viewed as being acceptable.

This was also a well-balanced article in the link that you shared, thank you. Too many others I've seen (and has been alluded here by some posters) take a position that it's some sort of massive conspiracy to support Kemp's agenda. The AJC and other media - as well as the citizens of Georgia - have been looking at the data for weeks, so if something appears out of order it's hardly easy to hide, and they will call it out. I suspect (but can't obviously prove - nobody can either way) that it's more due to people being overworked/underskilled than malice. I do appreciate that the media is looking at this closely and ensuring accuracy because you can't make good data-driven decisions with bad data.

I've been tracking the # of cases in North Fulton (Alpharetta, Milton). It's not very many as a total of Fulton's population. But then again I see many people wearing masks and being careful when going out. The fact that many restaurants aren't choosing to open yet for inside dining shows that there is a high degree of personal caution and responsibility on behalf of the owners and the customers.

The preliminary data shows a continued slow decline in Georgia. I agree with the linked article and many others that it is still too late to claim any sort of "victory", nor should be one be claimed at all, even if the virus was to go away quickly. There are no winners here. But if we can keep virus transmissibility under that key 1 value the pandemic will continue to decline and fade away. Going back to the original goal - flattening the curve - there are no signs in any model I've seen that shows that Georgia hospitals and ICUs are now at risk of being overwhelmed. This of course could change if people return to "business as usual" - which I don't see happening, at least with responsible adults who use good personal judgement.

[MattCW]

Originally Posted by markjames68

*SNIP*
I've been tracking the # of cases in North Fulton (Alpharetta, Milton). It's not very many as a total of Fulton's population. But then again I see many people wearing masks and being careful when going out. The fact that many restaurants aren't choosing to open yet for inside dining shows that there is a high degree of personal caution and responsibility on behalf of the owners and the customers. *SNIP*

I'm going to disagree with the bolded. While I'm sure there is some of that, I think it has more to do with simple economics of complying with the current regulations around reopening. It's much easier for large corporate chains, even "loose franchises"** to comply than mom & pop places. There are existing supply and distribution channels of supplies, and these corporations already have tons of employees dedicated to internal policy and training for compliance with stuff.



**Not sure what the official term is, but I know franchise operations range from corporate stores (ok, not really a franchise then) to basically independent entities, but they use the same name and sell the same stuff.

[toll_booth]

Originally Posted by ronricks

We can't rely on the statistics and data simply because you don't like what they are telling us? Wow. One only has to look at Georgia, Florida, and Texas and compare them to New York and California to see what is and isn't working (no pun intended)

You can't compare us to other places and then claim that other places can't be compared to. Remember:

Originally Posted by ronricks

We aren’t talking about the rest of the world we are talking about Georgia.

Either comparisons are allowed or they aren't.

It's all some conspiracy now?

The state of Georgia is coming under fire for distorting its data. You need to look at outside sources before painting a clearer picture of the problem.

Why do you think Gov. Kemp's handling of the coronavirus has the lowest approval rating of any state in America? You haven't sufficiently answered that question yet.

[markjames68]

Originally Posted by MattCW

I'm going to disagree with the bolded. While I'm sure there is some of that, I think it has more to do with simple economics of complying with the current regulations around reopening. It's much easier for large corporate chains, even "loose franchises"** to comply than mom & pop places. There are existing supply and distribution channels of supplies, and these corporations already have tons of employees dedicated to internal policy and training for compliance with stuff.



**Not sure what the official term is, but I know franchise operations range from corporate stores (ok, not really a franchise then) to basically independent entities, but they use the same name and sell the same stuff.

It could be pure economics.

I've spoken with a few small restaurant owners and their answer was more like "we and our staff aren't comfortable yet" than "I can't afford to hire back all my staff with a mostly empty restaurant". But I don't disagree with your overall statement and perhaps they're not sharing the full story with me (fair enough).

[ronricks]

Originally Posted by toll_booth

You can't compare us to other places and then claim that other places can't be compared to. Remember:



Either comparisons are allowed or they aren't.



The state of Georgia is coming under fire for distorting its data. You need to look at outside sources before painting a clearer picture of the problem.

Why do you think Gov. Kemp's handling of the coronavirus has the lowest approval rating of any state in America? You haven't sufficiently answered that question yet.

Because his approval rating has nothing to do with hospitalizations being down 34% since May 1st. You said that wasn't going to be the case and you were wrong. The numbers have been off either high or low and then corrected. That isn't distortion. Distortion would be if the numbers were only low then corrected to high. Lets remember what you posted:

It's pure recklessness. By reopening too quickly like this, many more people will die, and we're going to have to take protective measures for even longer.

That simply has not been the case. Approval numbers have nothing to do with the actual hospitalization numbers being down a third. Approval numbers don't dictate hospitalizations and other statistics. For sure you can realize that? At this point I am not sure you can.

[toll_booth]

Originally Posted by ronricks

Because his approval rating has nothing to do with hospitalizations being down 34% since May 1st. You said that wasn't going to be the case and you were wrong. The numbers have been off either high or low and then corrected. That isn't distortion. Distortion would be if the numbers were only low then corrected to high. Lets remember what you posted:

Are you using the rigged stats from our state's department of health? Those are not to be automatically trusted.

https://www.ajc.com/news/state--regi...3V8O2W7S3uU4J/

That simply has not been the case. Approval numbers have nothing to do with the actual hospitalization numbers being down a third. Approval numbers don't dictate hospitalizations and other statistics. For sure you can realize that? At this point I am not sure you can.

It doesn't matter how much you insist that. What matters is that the citizens of Georgia are not happy with our governor's mishandling the coronavirus. We live in a representative democracy, and barring voter suppression efforts, people's opinions will be heard at the polls.

[ronricks]

Originally Posted by toll_booth

Are you using the rigged stats from our state's department of health? Those are not to be automatically trusted.

https://www.ajc.com/news/state--regi...3V8O2W7S3uU4J/



It doesn't matter how much you insist that. What matters is that the citizens of Georgia are not happy with our governor's mishandling the coronavirus. We live in a representative democracy, and barring voter suppression efforts, people's opinions will be heard at the polls.

Kemp isn't on a ballot until 2022. Kemp could also cure Covid-19 tomorrow and that isn't likely to change anybody's opinion on the matter one way or the other. So far, reopening Georgia hasn't been the disaster many predicted (like you did) or wished it would for partisan reasons. You can ignore the numbers all you want but it won't change reality. At this point you are so dug in on this issue I guess its impossible for you to admit it. That's your problem not mine or anyone else's.

It's pure recklessness. By reopening too quickly like this, many more people will die, and we're going to have to take protective measures for even longer.