Blue Geogia (Atlanta, Forsyth: beach, suburban, business)

[Need4Camaro]

Eh, Abbott’s mask mandates and closing of bars (after he attempted to unsafely reopen them to nearly full capacity) were about the only two good things he did during the Pandemic.

[Born 2 Roll]

Originally Posted by markjames68

Quite possible. Tough to say but your logic makes sense. Nonetheless it's good for GA that such spending didn't occur as we would have been in a world of more hurt otherwise.

The vastly increased spending that many think Abrams would’ve done was never going to happen in her first term had she won the Governor’s Race.

That’s because the huge GOP majority in the Legislature would not have allowed her to conduct that vastly increased spending if she wanted, because of their deep fiscal conservatism and because of the limitations of the waning economic/budget cycle... Vastly increased spending, which (aside from the targeted Medicaid expansion that Kemp is pursuing and that likely would have looked much the same under Abrams) she most likely would not have wanted to do in a economic environment where the pressure remains intense for Georgia to remain highly attractive to business interests and highly economically competitive with other very business-friendly Southern and Sun Belt states.

Originally Posted by markjames68

So if the results are fundamentally the same - virus infections and economy - why all the vitriol by many against Kemp? Sounds as though he hasn't done that bad of a job...

It’s probably mostly culture war stuff.

A lot of people (both inside and outside of Georgia) remain bitter about how the 2018 Georgia Governor’s race played out.

Many people on the left (including some in the national media) remain bitter about Abrams losing a close and intensely competitive race and view Kemp as a villain who used his position as GA Secretary of State to give himself an unfair advantage in the election.

Not unlike how many people on the right (both inside and outside of Georgia) remain bitter about Stacey Abrams’ accusations of voter suppression, her nationalization of the GA Governor’s Race, her refusal to formally concede the race to Kemp, and her emergence as a national figure that many conservatives view as stalking Kemp and Georgia until the next gubernatorial election in 2022.

Because of this (and as well as because of Georgia’s emerging status as a large swing state that looks to be increasingly competitive for Democrats moving forward) Kemp remains under a national and international microscope and intense spotlight that many Georgia governors otherwise generally have not had to function under.

Because of lingering bitterness over the ‘18 Governor’s Race, many people may not like Kemp, and understandably may have used his admittedly somewhat questionable pandemic response to villainize him.

But I don’t think that Kemp was necessarily completely wrong for having Georgia be one of the first states to open back up in April before most of the rest of the country eventually did.

I did object to the full opening of nightclubs (where the virus seems to spread more quickly in close social settings) without some stronger controls like mandated mask wearing, mandated physical distancing and requirements for increased air ventilation indoors.

But I don’t think that Kemp was wrong for at least wanting the economy to get back operating in a largely safe way, if only to avoid a deeper economic downturn (and possible economic depression) than had already happened when much of the economy shut down in during the first outbreak/wave of infections in March.

Most of the rest of the country eventually followed Georgia’s lead in at least attempting to reopen much of their economies after the first wave of the virus prompted many areas to shutdown in March.

And, whether rightfully or wrongfully, it looks like Kemp was attempting to look ahead past the lockdowns and beyond the pandemic to attempt to get a jump in re-establishing TV/Film Production Industry activity in Georgia before states like California and New York opened back up as they eventually did in large part.

[Otakumaster]

Originally Posted by markjames68

The reality is that our forefathers were geniuses without really knowing it (or perhaps they did).

CA today has by far the largest # of electoral college votes. But if you look back to 1900, CA had 9. Indiana had 15, and Ohio 23. GA had 13, not too far from today.

CA in 2100 years might still have the largest #. Or it might not. But everyone gets a voice.

That still doesn't explain why a rural vote is worth 10 urban votes.

[markjames68]

Originally Posted by Otakumaster

That still doesn't explain why a rural vote is worth 10 urban votes.

How so?

If you're referring to ratios, it's clear why. And following every census there is redistricting which is the process to reapportion seats in the House.

By law, established in 1929 I believe, each state gets a minimum of 1 Representative, with no more than 1 Representative per 30,000 people. It also fixes the number at 425.

It's actually pretty consistent across each state for the House. For the Senate, each state gets 2, no more, no less.

[Otakumaster]

Originally Posted by markjames68

How so?

If you're referring to ratios, it's clear why. And following every census there is redistricting which is the process to reapportion seats in the House.

By law, established in 1929 I believe, each state gets a minimum of 1 Representative, with no more than 1 Representative per 30,000 people. It also fixes the number at 425.

It's actually pretty consistent across each state for the House. For the Senate, each state gets 2, no more, no less.

Ok, and this still doesn't justify the system. None of this answers the question on why this is a legitimate way to run democracy.

[ATLForr]

Kemp wasn’t the worst governor to handle COVID. The media made it seem like he completely mishandled it. We aren’t in the top 10 per capita in cases or deaths. We have seen democrats who have implemented way more covid restrictions and a mask mandate come out with worse results. For example, Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers and Illinois Governor JB Pritzker. Also the states that have the most deaths per capita have democrat governors. Andrew Cuomo sent sick elderly patients right back to their nursing homes/assisted care facilities causing widespread outbreaks and deaths in the elderly population, but we don’t hear the media continuously grill him on that.

[markjames68]

Originally Posted by Otakumaster

Ok, and this still doesn't justify the system. None of this answers the question on why this is a legitimate way to run democracy.

We’re not a direct democracy. We are a democratic republic of 50 sovereign states.

[FrozenI69]

Loeffler is a very creepy and disillusioned woman. I hope she gets badly defeated. She’s essentially acting as a trump cheerleader and has so many questionable practices. I don’t think she is fit to serve.

[Chevalier de Saint-George]

I think GA won't go with the Trump groupies. Warnock and Ossoff will take the runoffs.

[JMatl]

And now Loeffler & Purdue are demanding the resignation of our Republican Secretary of State for somehow botching the election!!! Like him or not, this guy has supervised a pretty damn transparent operation and stated today there has been no fraud. At this point they are both openly lying to Georgians. It's time we fire them.

This will go down in history as the wildest runoff the U.S. has ever seen.