I did read a take that now Manchin was free-er to vote as the pseudo republican that his voters want (no idea if they really do). This would aid is his appeal to be re-elected.
Interesting idea. Not sure he was really holding his nose and voting with democrats as much as the pundits thought.
“Of course I’m voting Warnock! I’m a lycanthrope, not a misanthrope.”
Question to the Georgians here (state, not country): Newt pronounced DeKalb as if it were “de cab” instead of “de kalb”. Was that a mistake on his part, or is that how the county is pronounced there?
Some do, some don’t. It’s not the truism we’ve been lead to believe.
With 159 counties to learn the name of I’d bet that even a lot of native Georgians wouldn’t know.
Why does Georgia need so many dang counties anyway? That’s triple the number in California, and they’ve got about 1/4 of the population. 35 of their counties have populations under 10,000 people, and the population of Taliaferro County (1,558) is less than the number of students enrolled at my old high school.
I’m a 30-year resident of DeKalb County, GA. It is definitely pronounced “deh-KAB” or “d’KAB” That’s how I’d spell if phonetically, anyway.
Hope this helps.
Thank you!
I was simply curious. Good to know.
I have family in ATL:
They’ve always pronounced it “deh cab,” silent L.
From the Carl Vinson Institute of the University of GA website:
"In 1800, Georgia had 24 counties. As the state grew, so did the number of counties.
“Counties were created not to be so large that the citizens could not reach the county seat within a reasonable one day round trip,” Harry Hayes, Senior Public Service Associate with the University of Georgia’s Carl Vinson Institute of Government said.
There were political implications.
Until 1962, Georgia used the County Unit System to choose many elected officials. The system gave more political muscle to urban counties, so it benefited rural Georgia to create more counties and therefore more muscle.
“Another rural county, that’s two more rural votes there, off-set those interests in Atlanta,” Charles Bullock, Political Science Professor at the University of Georgia explained.
In 1945, the Georgia Constitution capped the number of counties at 159."
As a native Georgian, I’ll speculate that some of that “rural power” was racially motivated.
Only Texas has more counties than Georgia in the U.S.
Yeah, that would explain it.
IIRC, he’s stated that he’s going to retire once his current term is over in 2026.
I see this sentiment a few times in this thread and it’s not terribly accurate. The final tally shows a 2.8% Warnock lead. In any competitive election, that’s a whoopin’. Considering that Warnock and Ossof flipped not one, but two seats in a state that wasn’t even considered competitive before 2020’s results, I think it counts as a double whoopin’. It also indicates that the base feels empowered in a way they haven’t since… shit, I don’t know when. They have now shown up with decisive numbers in four elections, half of them runoffs, which almost always see a precipitous drop off in vote totals, especially for Dems.
I’m seeing this term “New South” being bandied about and I am here for it. Southern politics has been dominated by regressive goons due to gerrymandering, voter suppression and outright terrorism for a long damn time. Now a sleeping giant has been awoken and the results are decisive. Nobody wants to go out and fight for Hershel Walker. But this guy?
Come on! That’s a leader people will stick with.
Watch for the trumpiest of trumpy assholes to be the new WV senator. I keep telling you guys, Manchin may be shit, but if not for his name, he would be way too far left for WV. I remeber as a young voter being horrified when a convicted, imprisoned felon nearly defeated Obama in the primary there, for mysterious reasons.
I see someone who will give Mike Lee a run for his money as the most racist, stupidest senator in history. I hope I am wrong, but I am from there, and still have connections there. It ain’t looking good.
Yeah, it’s a lot more useful to think of him as a “sometimes ally” than anything like a normal Democrat. And given that WV was the 2nd Trumpiest state (giving Trump over 68% of the vote both times!) that’s about the best we could hope for from that state.
Yup. Manchin’s mere existence as a Democratic senator is a minor miracle, irrespective of how poor his voting record is. Nobody more liberal is likely to be elected in WV without decades of work. The fact that he votes procedurally with the Dems more than justifies the cost of keeping him on board.
Sinema could be easily replaced by dozens of better Democrats. And should be, come her next primary season. No excuses for shitness there.
What’s the point of having an Olympic swimming pool full of oil industry cash if you can’t swim in it!?!
Another example of why this addition to the Dem Senate was so important:
I interpret that data a bit differently. What I think that indicates is that WV is open to electing a populist outsider. In 2016, that meant Trump. But a charismatic populist progressive also has a shot.
It wasn’t that long ago that WV had the highest support for unions of all states.
I never understood how some of the people supported Bernie pivoted to Trump when Hillary won the primary. They’re both “outsiders,” yes—but they are also polar opposites on nearly every single issue. What kind of idiot votes like that?
One whose whole political viewpoint comes down to “no chicks”? Just as a guess.
