Official Martin v. Shameless Run-off Election Night Thread

[Laelth]

I am on pins and needles, and the relative silence on DU regarding this run-off election is not helping to settle my nerves. Of course, it doesn't look good at this point. The latest polls show Shameless winning this run-off by about six points, and that leaves little hope for the good guys.

All run-off polls here: http://www.pollster.com/polls/ga/08-ga-sen-ro-cvm.php

Nevertheless, because I am dying for news, I posted this thread in the hopes that those who have news will share what they know.

fivethirtyeight.com is liveblogging this run-off here: http://www.fivethirtyeight.com/2008/12/georgia-senate-runoff-liveblog.html

A local (Macon) TV station is reporting results here: http://www.13wmaz.com/section/race15

The United States is a LIBERAL Country. And Georgia is a moderate state. Here's hoping for sanity today.

:dem:

-Laelth

[Sheri]

1. i voted first day i could.

turn out looked heavy, but who knows?

[Laelth]

2. I drove three people to the polls.

I distributed yard signs in my neighborhood, and I have been harassing numerous people about voting for the last couple of weeks. That said, enthusiasm for Martin has been weak, I believe. Still, I hope.

The United States is a LIBERAL Country.

:dem:

-Laelth

[tosh]

3. Me too, Laelth. I had a blast putting signs out allover my county

and I think a few of my friends are tired of me bugging them.

It looks as though the spread is narrowing as more results come in but will it possibly narrow enough?!!

BTW, I'm glad this thread was started here in the Ga forum. I'm SUPER sensitive to Ga-bashing tonight. I'm not sure why. I'm usually pretty tough.

[Laelth]

5. We gave the country a great President--a Democrat.

Georgia Democrats have nothing to be ashamed of. We have a proud tradition of moderation and sanity here that has been disrupted during only a few periods of our history--Reconstruction, the 1960's, and NOW (or at least since 2002 when Diebold started altering our election results).

Stand proud! :toast:

The United States is a LIBERAL Country.

:dem:

-Laelth


Edit:Laelth--sloppy proofreading.

[tosh]

6. Thanks. I needed that.

:toast:

[Sheri]

17. that doesn't make me feel much better.

there's too much "Deliverance" around here for my taste.

[Sheri]

19. i know. i was one of the three.

;)

[tosh]

4. No Clarke, Dougherty, Dekalb or Fulton results in yet.

These will all go blue.

[Laelth]

7. Secretary of State Results Here

Here's the official result-reporting site: http://sos.georgia.gov/elections/election_results/2008_1202/003.htm

At least Martin is leading (at this time) in reliably blue Bib County, and the margin looks good.

Over at fivethirtyeight, though, nate is predicting a 15 point Shameless win. That's depressing.

The United States is a LIBERAL Country.

:dem:

-Laelth

[tosh]

8. I've got windows open on SOS site and on CNN for the graphic w/counties.

http://www.cnn.com/ELECTION/2008/results/individual/#mapSGA

[Laelth]

9. Nice graphic on CNN.

Thanks for that link.

The United States is a LIBERAL Country.

:dem:

-Laelth

[tosh]

10. The lead is still narrowing. There are many BLUE counties

that have no results in yet.

[Laelth]

11. Oh, this is depressing.

Wilkes County is my personal bell-weather county in Georgia. Only 9 precincts. All 9 have reported.

On Nov. 4, 2008, this was the result: Shameless, 2,282 - Martin, 2,252

Today, Dec. 2, 2008, this is the result: Shameless, 1,916 - Martin, 1,430

Unless turnout in Fulton, Dekalb, Clarke, and Clayton Counties is phenomenal, Shameless will win this race.

The United States is a LIBERAL Country.

:dem:

-Laelth


Edit:Laelth--corrected number of precincts in Wilkes County.

[Laelth]

12. Yikes! Look at Peach County.

Peach is usually a bluish purple county. Like Wilkes, it has only 9 precincts. So far, 8 have reported.

On Nov. 4, 2008, this was the result: Shameless, 4,849 - Martin, 5,679

Today, Dec. 2, 2008, this is the result: Shameless, 2,770 - Martin, 2,550

Martin can not win at this rate. Sigh.

The United States is a LIBERAL Country.

:dem:

-Laelth

[tosh]

13. Sigh is right. Our party just doesn't seem to have a presence in some of these counties.

[Laelth]

14. fivethirtyeight called the race for Shameless at 8:54 P.M. EST.

Here: http://www.fivethirtyeight.com/2008/12/georgia-senate-runoff-liveblog.html

Shameless is still a pustule among pustules. For your inspection (k&r if you agree):


PUSTULES

The United States is a LIBERAL Country.

:dem:

-Laelth

[Laelth]

15. CNN has called it for the pustule as well.

OK, guess I can get to bed early tonight.

This is really tragic, though. We Georgians had a chance to have a voice in the working majority in the Senate, and we blew it. Now we have no voice there ... only two obstructionist pustules. Wonder if these yahoos who voted for Shameless are going to put 2 and 2 together when the military goes through its next round of base closures, and a number of Georgia military installations get axed.

You think they're that smart? No, sadly, I think this vote was emotional (and not rational) for the majority of Shameless' supporters. I only wish all those who voted for Obama on Nov. 4 had the sense to show up and do the same for Martin. It's clear they did not.

Double sigh.

The United States is a LIBERAL Country.

:dem:

-Laelth

[tosh]

16. Sleazeball Laxby. nt

[keepthemhonest]

18. Shit... I am so sick of Chambliss

Please please can we have someone else Anyonnnnnnnnne!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[yardwork]

20. I'm sorry.

[Laelth]

21. Me too.

But thanks for the sympathy. :toast:

The United States is a LIBERAL Country.

:dem:

-Laelth

[CitizenPatriot]

22. I just found this

a little late...but I wish I had found it earlier. I got so tired of being blamed, told we were racists, told we should be shut out of the free health insurance for the nation, etc in the last couple of days that I have been going off on people.

This is supposed to be a place full of progressives, liberals, demorcrats...or so I have been told:-)

The judgments have been really tough to take.

[Laelth]

23. It wasn't a big gathering, but you would have been welcome.

I've lived in three states in my adult life (Georgia, Ohio, and Texas). All three have strong Democratic traditions. The area of Ohio in which I lived, however, was more conservative than all the places in which I lived in both Texas and Georgia. The Old South aristocrat and red neck stereotypes color the judgments of many who have never lived in the South. It still applies to the politics of South Carolina and Mississippi, perhaps, but it's not applicable to either Georgia or Texas, from my experience. As is true across the U.S., the rural areas are more conservative and the urban areas are more liberal. As the South continues to urbanize, it is becoming more liberal. Bibb County, Georgia, has been blue all of my adult life.

I truly wish Georgia had been on the right side of history in this election. I suspect that, had it not been for massive disenfranchisement effected by our Republican Secretary of State and our Diebold machines, Georgia would have gone blue just like North Carolina, a state that is very similar demographically.

Either way, stand proud. Time is on our side, and Georgia's days as a red state (which it has never consistently been) are numbered.

:toast:

The United States is a LIBERAL Country.

:dem:

-Laelth

[CitizenPatriot]

24. Wht a great response...

I've lived here for a few years, moved here from Los Angeles. I'm in a blue area, but work takes me all around. I meet all kinds of people, but I've only had one instance of pure racist hate while I was registering voters. SC seems very different, though. I have family from NC, and that is what GA feels like to me, so I agree with your assessment.

Take Care...and YES, we'll get it next time. WE got the Big One:-) :toast: :toast:

[Laelth]

25. My pleasure.

Georgia has a very interesting and unique history. Did you know that, while slavery was a thriving institution in the British colonies of South Carolina and North Carolina, slavery was banned by the Georgia colony's original charter? In the lead up to the civil war, while South Carolina was all gung-ho and fired the first shots to start the war, Georgia was, by a significant majority, opposed to the war. Alexander Stevens, a Georgian, was made Vice-President of the Confederacy in order to placate those Southerners who were arguing against the war.

I am a proud Georgia liberal, by birth, and while I would never call Georgia a liberal state, I vehemently resist accusations that it is a conservative or "red" state. Of course, it's hard to get people to even listen to this argument. Thank you for listening.

Allow me to leave you with the State Motto as emblazoned on the Great Seal of the State of Georgia:

"Wisdom, Justice and Moderation"

The United States is a LIBERAL Country, and Georgia is a moderate state, darn it! ;)

:dem:

-Laelth

[CitizenPatriot]

26. Very interesting

I had just found that bit out (about slavery being banned here) during a trip to SC recently. I've also read history from the civil war and the moral struggle against slavery was large in GA. Driving through SC, I was horrified by the signs after the election ("Welcome to the United States of Socialism", etc). I haven't seen that sort of thing here. I have tried to explain to people on this board and elsewhere that the racial relations are different than they imagine here, much more complex; While there is great economic disparity, there is also a lot of interaction and caring that is unique (in my experience). If you combine this with the great emphasis on civility and manners in GA (at least in my area), you get the layered, nuanced situation we have here.

Your input has been most helpful; I learned more about this beautiful state. Thank you! Love the state motto. Having banned slavery in the original charter makes Chambliss palatable.

[Laelth]

27. Well, I can't think of anything that would make Chambliss palatable.

A rather horiffic thought, in fact. ;)

But I hope I helped make Georgia more palatable. It will grow on you. Just takes time.

:toast:

-Laelth

[CitizenPatriot]

28. Ha! you're right re Chambliss.

I guess I feel like it makes the way his win looks to the rest of the nation more palatable.

things I love about my area of GA: The people are nice, the landscape and architecture is gorgeous, and the culture is rich. Fresh seafood. Tomatoes year round. The pace of life, as compared to LA, is much more relaxing; Hardly any traffic. Friends live blocks away and have a key to your house. If you need a ride to the airport, friends will give you one (in LA, you wouldn't dare ask because of the nightmare traffic). I know everyone I deal with. No one honks or cuts you off or swears at others in public. Or, if they do, you know they're from out of town:-)

You are a gracious ambassador for your home state -- Take Care, Laelth!