Stacey Abrams Is Inspiring and Defiant in the Face of Corruption
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Politics
Stacey Abrams Is Inspiring and Defiant in the Face of Corruption
Luke Darby, GQ 2 hours 25 minutes ago 
"If I wasn't your first choice, or if you made no choice at all, you're gonna have a chance to do a do-over."Before the first vote was ever cast in the election for Georgia's governor, it was clear that voter suppression was going to be an issue. The Republican candidate, Brian Kemp, had the luxury of overseeing his own election , a conflict of interest so huge it would inspire shame in a normal person. And it's poised to pay off. Long wait lines drove away an unknown number of voters in huge, non-Republican-leaning districts , as of Wednesday morning, with more votes still left to count, Kemp narrowly led opponent Stacey Abrams.
But Abrams hasn't conceded. Under Georgia law, the election moves to a run-off if no candidate manages to secure 50 percent of the vote. Kemp is slightly over that threshold now, but Abrams is holding out hope that absentee and provisional ballots will drop him below it. In a speech she made to her supporters late Tuesday night, Abrams was inspiring and defiant.
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Georgia, you put your faith in me, but I want you to know tonight, the feeling is mutual. And I want you to look around—tonight should be all the proof you need—when we put our faith in the great people of this state, there is nothing we can't accomplish together. This fundamental truth is why we fight on, because Georgia still has a decision to make. A decision between division and trickery, or a leadership that defends your rights, your kids, your career, your community, your right to vote in America. That's what's on the ballot.
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Kemp also told his supporters that not all the votes are in yet but that he's optimistic about his chances. And why wouldn't he be? He's been throwing every smear and conspiracy he can at Abrams the entire campaign along with trying to freeze the registrations of tens of thousands of black voters (Kemp currently leads Abrams by fewer than 80,000 votes).
This iframe is not allowedAgain, it's jaw-dropping that Kemp is free to so blatantly meddle in his own election. But as Abrams has been defiant throughout the campaign and appears still ready to fight now.
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So glad she did not concede. There's a very good chance Kemp's vote will fall below the 50% threshold and force a run-off in four weeks. These republican [deleted] need to be fought tooth and nail. The fact that Abrams got this close with Kemp doing all he could to spike the election is a win in itself.
Vote up; nope to the "scumbags" use. (Smile.)
I call 'em like I see 'em but to each his own, right?
I agree. It is just the word is a little strong for my 'taste.' That said, I can understand the tug of eclectic outrage! (Smile.)
Understood.
You're a nice man.
Ms. Abrams is a black woman . Those are facts . Being a democrat and "better" are opinions. There is no requirement to invalidate oneself (if it is even possible to do so) because of the facts in one's life. Look how close she currently is to becoming the first black woman governor in the U.S. We will always be left to wonder if she cut-off some votes (and how many) with her last minute denial of the obvious.
Should a Georgia Run-off be called for, I hope Ms. Abrams remembers to let people vote for her leadership based upon any set of positives they choo se .
I'm willing to bet Mr. Kemp would never reject any vote based on routine caliber.
Meaning that she might have discouraged voters who wanted to vote for her just because she's black and a woman? If so, that would sound pretty cynical about the people who supported her so effectively. Or, did I misunderstand your comment?
Excellent catch , Atheist!
For background, there is a biblical quote which goes, " don't quench the spirit."
In a generic use, this phrase can mean, do not weaken the 'fire-hose stream' by any discernible degrees .
Also, you may remember the period in the 1980's when President Jimmy Carter conceded to Ronald Reagan:
Waters, Peacock’s Night to Crow, NEWSWEEK, NOV. 17, 1980, at 82. NBC predicted Reagan the presidential winner at 5:15 Pacific Time. At that time, only 5 % of the total vote had been reported. Although ABC and CBS did not report Reagan the winner until two hours later, they reported the outcome prior to the closing of West Coast polls. Many adversaries of early election predictions claim that President Carter by conceding the election early, was as irresponsible as the networks. Carter was aware that his statement would be nationally broadcast. The President, therefore, should have been sensitive to the effect conceding early would have on voters. For most voters, President Carter’s actions provided a major incentive to stay at home or even leave the polling lines.
SOURCE : Leslie Yalof Garfield, Curtailment of Early Election Predictions: Can We Predict the Outcome?, 36 U. Fla. L. Rev. 489 (1984),
The operative words there are: "sensitive," and "major incentive."
Ms. Abrams drew in all the women she could into her support network, all the minority advocacy support she could, and the day of election in some version of nodding to critics, she spoke up in a dismissive fashion . As in former President Carter's early concession faux pas, it can be seen how Ms. Abrams could have caused herself loss of some votes. Just don't do it! Be still!
Fortunately, Ms. Abrams, did not follow her remarks up later that night by conceding early! Thus, she is still "running" at the end of the week!
Remember the prehistoric times of 2016 when Democrats claimed challenging election results were a threat to democracy?
Good times.
Nope. That must come from some secret rightwing false memory hole.
"He's been throwing every smear and conspiracy he can at Abrams the entire campaign along with trying to freeze the registrations of tens of thousands of black voters "
How did he freeze votes????
It must be a bit harder for Kemp to fix an election now with the FEC breathing down his neck.