Special Election megathread (5/21: CA-20)

[Morning in Atlas]

Congresswoman Turner would be awesome.

[Morning in Atlas]

Congresswoman Turner would be awesome.

She's probably looking at a 4th or 5th place finish, maybe a distant 3rd at best.

Oh, I'm aware. This is the Democratic Party primary, not the People's Primary one.

I'm just saying, it would be nice to have a leftist who isn't woefully incompetent at messaging.

[Morning in Atlas]

And here we go. Like I said, Nina Turner would be great.

Unfortunately, this isn't likely to happen, because Nina Turner is also running in the Democratic primary, not the People's Party primary. "Woman speaks at nascent third-party's convention" tends to not play well with Democratic voters.

[Morning in Atlas]

https://twitter.com/danielmarans/status/1364213890972864513

This is a good get, and surprisingly this union backed Biden pretty heavily in 2020 apparently. It seems like Turner has very deep connections to Cleveland organized labor, which I think might have been overshadowed by all the progressive firebrandiness she's been doing since 2016.

If nothing else, I would really love to see donut twitter/KHive completely lose it and donate tons of money to whatever Republican grifter opposes her.

Donut twitter?

Back in 2017, I think, Turner and some other people from Our Revolution tried to goto the DNC HQ to give some policy suggestions or something but were blocked by barricades. They were offered donuts and water, which Turner found insulting given that they weren't being heard, which led to a lot of centrist libs on Twitter adopting it as a symbol of antipathy towards the Bernie wing in general and Nina Turnr/Our Revolution specifically.

Literally haven’t heard of this before, but in any case, no one’s gonna donate to Turner’s Republican opponent except the time of Republican who gets duped every two years into donating to whichever random grifter is running against AOC or Maxine Waters.

It's all some weird-ass Online thing that the centrists are doing. I don't think anyone of real consequence there would do it. The only one who would even consider it is Sally Albright, who is such an asshole that Neera thinks she's an asshole.

[Morning in Atlas]

So when do the executions at FirstEnergy Stadium start?

[Morning in Atlas]

[Morning in Atlas]

The most pathetic, entitled politician in the Democratic Party still can't lose gracefully, takes another failed swipe at the left. Sad!

[Morning in Atlas]

This won't matter, but it's funny to see Turner supports on Twitter talk about Hillary's endorsement being "the kiss of death" when Hillary handily beat Sanders in OH-11 in the 2016 primary.

And absolutely nothing has happened since then.

It's still ridiculous to act like this endorsement will harm Brown. Of course it's not 2016 anymore, but I have no reason to believe that a significant number of Hillary's supporters in the 2016 primary have turned against her in the last five years. And as far as everyone wants to make this race and the 2016 primary proxies for the broader moderate-progressive conflict, the 2020 presidential primary certainly was a resounding win for the moderate side, including in the Midwest.

I would probably rather have Turner in Congress, so I'm not endorsing Hillary's endorsement, I'm just saying that Hillary is still a well-liked figure among most Democrats and thus calling her endorsement "the kiss of death" is laughable.

I agree with you that "kiss of death" is a bit extreme, but it's also likely more tongue-in-cheek than it is a serious statement. Like you say, this will have absolutely no impact on the race. Still, this endorsement reeks of yet another stab at a Bernie acolyte for the sake of doing so. Did she ever endorse a primary challenge to Ilhan Omar, Rashida Tlaib, etc?

I'm amazed at how she manages to consistently throw her support behind the most incompetent politicians possible. It's different from picking someone like Henry Cuellar to own the bros. Her congressional endorsements since her loss have been:

* Donna Shalala (lazy, dog**** campaigner, from the Clinton/Feinstein school of thought where their experience entitles them to power)
* Eliot Engel (got caught in 4k, constantly fueled the narrative that he was out of touch with his district)
* Shontel Brown (Has been an absolute trainwreck running the CCDP, can't even lock down her own machine. Probably the most incompetent congressional candidate I've seen in my lifetime.)

[Morning in Atlas]

Ah, yes. A bit of a deep cut - Haley Stevens isn't as famous as Shalala and her primary wasn't on Brown/Engel's levels.

[Morning in Atlas]

16 pages of malding

[Morning in Atlas]

And perhaps this will be the election where people figure out - hopefully - that Clyburn isn't some kingmaker in Democratic primaries, and that his endorsement is a lagging indicator rather than a leading one: that he almost always endorses the candidate who has the best chance of winning (and the rest of the time, as is likely the case here, endorses a candidate out of sheer pettiness).

You forgot one key detail, Griff. Not voting blue is fine if the "blue" is on the left.

[Morning in Atlas]

Still don't get why folks on Atlas seem to care about this race so much

You forget, my friend. We're not in 2021. We're in 2016 Part 5.

[Morning in Atlas]

Very funny watching the DNC try to cancel Turner for Maybe Not Voting Blue 5 years ago while elevating the worst of the #NeverBernie coalition. Or turning a blind eye to the people who actively backed Republicans over progressives.

[Morning in Atlas]

Very funny watching the DNC try to cancel Turner for Maybe Not Voting Blue 5 years ago while elevating the worst of the #NeverBernie coalition. Or turning a blind eye to the people who actively backed Republicans over progressives.

Not letting Turner run unopposed is not canceling and I do think that her allegedly not voting Democratic is a valid topic of discussion when she is seeking the Democratic nomination in a heavily Democratic district.

Sure, I can agree with all those things. I actually had Brown winning this race in the beginning because of how insular and Online the Bernieverse had been in 2020.

Where it starts to become "canceling" is when the national establishment blatantly steps in to try and save a failed candidate because of her transgressions. 5 years is a very long time - nobody ever questioned Kyrsten Sinema's commitment to the Democratic Party in her primary for the House. I can go on and on about the ex-Republicans that Dems have welcomed in over the years, but I know a good chunk of the anti-Nina people here didn't keep that same energy when Brad Ashford endorsed and campaigned with literal Republicans. Not "voting blue no matter who" only seems to be a cancellable offense when the "blue" is on the left.

It's also especially amusing when people like you attempt to "hold Nina accountable" when you gladly promised to do the same thing if the left got the nomination.

[Morning in Atlas]

Very funny watching the DNC try to cancel Turner for Maybe Not Voting Blue 5 years ago while elevating the worst of the #NeverBernie coalition. Or turning a blind eye to the people who actively backed Republicans over progressives.

Not letting Turner run unopposed is not canceling and I do think that her allegedly not voting Democratic is a valid topic of discussion when she is seeking the Democratic nomination in a heavily Democratic district.

Sure, I can agree with all those things. I actually had Brown winning this race in the beginning because of how insular and Online the Bernieverse had been in 2020.

Where it starts to become "canceling" is when the national establishment blatantly steps in to try and save a failed candidate because of her transgressions. 5 years is a very long time - nobody ever questioned Kyrsten Sinema's commitment to the Democratic Party in her primary for the House. I can go on and on about the ex-Republicans that Dems have welcomed in over the years, but I know a good chunk of the anti-Nina people here didn't keep that same energy when Brad Ashford endorsed and campaigned with literal Republicans. Not "voting blue no matter who" only seems to be a cancellable offense when the "blue" is on the left.

It's also especially amusing when people like you attempt to "hold Nina accountable" when you gladly promised to do the same thing if the left got the nomination.

So how is Brown a "failed candidate"?  Turner started this race with a massive advantage due to her pre-existing massive fundraising network, guaranteed heavy-hitter endorsements, and strong connections with PACs and journalists in Bernie's orbit.  Meanwhile I remember when Shontel's tweets were getting single-digit likes and I was the only person retweeting her.  The fact that we're even talking about this as a competitive race makes the Brown campaign a major success.

Because Brown should have had local endorsements locked down. If Twitter likes translated to votes, we'd be welcoming in President Sanders and VP Turner's second term.

[Morning in Atlas]

Also, no one is trying to "cancel" Turner. Stop being ridiculous.

From the getgo, Turner was the one acting as if she *deserved* the nomination. Maybe it's good someone knocked her down a few pegs and made her realize she's not inevitable here.

Repeating the same argument I already refuted doesn't make it any more true. Given the DNC's continued platforming of others who conditionalized their vote from the right, it's clear that Turner is being cancelled because they don't want another progressive in the House.

[Morning in Atlas]

https://twitter.com/HotlineJosh/status/1415622567742873600

wbrocks: Shontel Brown is not a Republican

Also wbrocks: Here is this Republican poll that shows that Shontel Brown is tied with Turner

[Morning in Atlas]

idk man when a candidate has the same views on trans people as Republican and is backed by Republicans, they're probably a Republican.

[Morning in Atlas]

Very funny to see the Centrists trumpet a very clear Republican push poll.

Maybe I wasn't so far off when I called these people Blue MAGA.

[Morning in Atlas]

Very funny to see the Centrists trumpet a very clear Republican push poll.

Maybe I wasn't so far off when I called these people Blue MAGA.

Blue MAGA would be refusing to accept that your candidate lost and pushing deranged, unhinged conspiracy theories about the election being rigged.  You know, how Nina and the rest of the Cult of Bernie did when she pushed the original Big Lie in 2016 about the Democratic primaries, normalizing and paving the way for Trump people do the same exact thing in 2020 .

Blue MAGA would be supporting Nina Turner who claims to be a Democrat but actively campaigned against Hillary in 2016 during the general election in 2016 and against Biden and the entire Democratic party throughout the general election in 2020, working her hardest to help Trump and the GOP win.

Blue MAGA would be people who gladly welcome literal MAGA throwing their support behind your candidate against a lifelong Democrat who expressed her reservations about voting for Biden.

Blue MAGA would be the same entitled children throwing a tantrum over not being an enthusiastic supporter, while gladly excusing and platforming those who promised never to back Bernie if he won the nomination. Or, worse, gladly welcoming Republicans who failed to "vote blue no matter who" into the party. Or failing to condemn other people conditionalizing their vote. I wouldn't have an issue with this if you kept that same energy with the right.

The fact of the matter is that anyone who welcomes the Free Beacon backing Brown is a Republican. So miss me with your Republican bullsh**.

[Morning in Atlas]

Once again, the #MAGA Democrats have no defense for allying with the far-right to stop the left so they resort to whataboutery.

[Morning in Atlas]

https://twitter.com/ShontelMBrown/status/1415687586761347072

Again, hilarious to see the "Turner's not a real Democrat" crowd hand-wave her opponent literally allying with the Republican Party to get positive media headlines. I'm especially disappointed that some of you are defending this crap - some of you have even acknowledged the hypocrisy yourselves!

[Morning in Atlas]

Address the situation. Why is it okay for Shontel Brown to promote a conservative organization that's trying to boost her campaign?

[Morning in Atlas]

Address the situation. Why is it okay for Shontel Brown to promote a conservative organization that's trying to boost her campaign?

She's not "promoting a conservative organization trying to boost her campaign".  It's an unbiased poll from a pollster with no vested interest in the race (if anything, anyone who supports the GOP would want Turner to win because her serving in congress while posing as a Democrat would be a huge asset for Republican candidates across the country, not to mention it would be one less Democrat in congress)

Be honest, you're just salty that Turner's campaign is in trouble because  the voters are becoming more informed and finding out the truth about how awful Turner truly is.

I think you're willfully lying about the poll. If you actually read the  poll (aside from having a tiny sample size), it's a clear push poll meant to boost Brown.

You can't accept the reality that you're supporting the candidate of the GOP, so you've resorted to personal attacks against me.

[Morning in Atlas]

I don't get why people get so worked up about this race. Both Turner and Brown have their issues, even though I sympathize with the views that Brown is less bad. I'd support a primary of whoever won, but if Turner won the primary, I'd seriously consider abstaining in the general. The willingness of her supporters to just forget how she trashed supporting the Democratic nominee is pretty awful.

Holding Nina Turner accountable

By doing the same thing Nina Turner did

Remember, folks: it's never about not voting blue for these people.