RandySF
RandySF's JournalGillum and Democratic super PAC join forces to flip Florida House
TALLAHASSEE — Andrew Gillum and a super PAC that helped flip the Virginia General Assembly to Democrats are teaming up to turn back more than two decades of Republican rule in the Florida House.
Gillum, the 2018 Democratic candidate for governor, and Forward Majority will target as many as 25 seats in Florida that they say could turn blue with a little help — and money — from outside groups.
If the partnership succeeds, it will mark another victory for Forward Majority, which has spent millions of dollars on legislative races around the country since 2017. This year, it spent about $500,000 to help Democrats regain control of the Virginia Legislature for the first time since 1999. Two years earlier, the group spent $1 million on Virginia races.
Forward Majority is trying to turn back a Republican grip on statehouses that has held tight for two decades and grew even stronger while President Barack Obama was in office. The group is making a big push ahead of 2020, when state lawmakers will draw new legislative and congressional maps before the 2022 election.
Florida is a highly competitive presidential swing state, but its political machinery is controlled almost entirely by Republicans, who have held a trifecta on the statehouse and governor's mansion since 1999.
https://www.politico.com/states/florida/story/2019/11/27/gillum-and-democratic-super-pac-team-up-in-uphill-battle-to-flip-florida-house-1229891
Democrats Were Both Lucky and Good in the Off-Year Elections
But what can we take out of 2019? While it is true that state elections are not fought on the same issue terrain as federal races, we are seeing an increased nationalization of American politics. The hyper-partisanship and tribalism that started in federal contests has now reached into state and, in some cases, even local races.
There is very little in the way of election results this year or polling data, national or state-level, that should give Republicans much encouragement. While it’s more than a little dishonest to blame Trump for the GOP losses in Kentucky or Louisiana, the fact is he went in and put a lot on the line. He visited Louisiana three times and Kentucky once in the closing weeks of the campaigns, practically begging those attending his rallies to vote Republican for his sake if no other. It didn’t work.
Those suburbs were disaster areas for the GOP in 2018, and they didn’t look any better in 2019. Just a quick look at the northern Kentucky suburbs, near Cincinnati, shows they did not perform for the GOP the way they should have. In Louisiana, Jefferson Parish, just outside New Orleans, is one big suburb, essentially the birthplace of the Republican Party of Louisiana. Edwards won 57 percent of the vote there.
The reality is that the most convincing wins for Democrats were in lower-level offices that didn’t have the extenuating circumstances of Kentucky and Louisiana. In Virginia, a once-red state that trended purple for the last decade and is now starting to turn blue, Democrats captured both the House of Delegates and the Senate, along with the governorship. That’s the Virginia trifecta, and that’s with redistricting coming in two years.
Democrats gained control in the November elections of the suburban Philadelphia county councils in Bucks, Chester, and Delaware Counties. In the case of Delaware County, Republicans have held it since the Civil War; Democrats picked up two seats on the five-member council in 2017, then won the other three this year, a sweep in the county that long-featured the last urban Republican political machine in the country.
You can explain away some of these results, but not all of them.
https://cookpolitical.com/analysis/national/national-politics/democrats-were-both-lucky-and-good-year-elections
The only thing I expect us to get from impeachment
is the opportunity to ask Cory Gardner, Martha McSally and Susan Collins why they think Trump is above the law.
San Francisco Union Square Macy's Workers Could Strike Black Friday
Shoppers heading to Macy’s Union Square for Black Friday sales the day after Thanksgiving may encounter a picket line of store employees who are contemplating a strike over what they term unaffordable health insurance and inadequate wages.
The timing, of course, is no coincidence.
“This is an opportune time to get Macy’s attention,” said John Nunes, president of United Food and Commercial Workers Local 5, which represents 650 sales associates at the Union Square store, 90% of whom voted to authorize a strike. The union will decide soon if and when to call a strike. “We’re doing it to try to maximize our leverage,” he said.
Even if it’s business as usual on Friday, the union could still call a strike later in the busy holiday season. Bay Area shoppers are known for not crossing picket lines, according to Nunes and labor experts. Macy’s Union Square has several other unionized cohorts, including janitors, tailors, truck drivers, warehouse personnel and operating engineers, who would not work during a strike, Nunes said.
Macy’s said in a written statement that its San Francisco store will remain open throughout the holiday season, including Black Friday.
“We believe that even in this challenging environment, Macy’s offers a great work environment with fair pay and good benefits,” spokeswoman Andrea Schwartz wrote in an email. “Macy’s understands that no one wins in a strike — not our colleagues, not our customers, and not our community.”
The potential strike comes as the labor movement is finding a more favorable climate in America with awareness of income inequality on the rise.
https://www.sfchronicle.com/business/article/Could-Macy-s-have-a-Black-Friday-strike-14862269.php
Introducing PACRONYM
The general election has already begun, and Donald Trump is out-raising and out-spending Democrats online. While the Democratic candidates for President are focused on winning a competitive primary, Donald Trump is reaching voters in swing states day-in and day-out. Meanwhile, outside groups on the left have failed to match his digital investment at scale. The stakes couldn’t be higher. The President and his corrupt allies want four more years.
We think Four is Enough.
Four is Enough is an unprecedented digital campaign by PACRONYM targeting swing voters in key 2020 battleground states. Through innovative advertising campaigns on Facebook, Youtube, and other platforms, Four is Enough will reach voters online and on their mobile devices and explain what’s at stake in the November elections. The campaign relies on cutting-edge, real-time message testing and measurement to optimize content and drive results. While the Democratic candidates for president compete for resources and attention, PACRONYM’s Four is Enough campaign will fill the gap and combat Trump’s campaign directly and relentlessly online.
This is all hands on deck. It's going to take all of us having conversations, and creating and sharing content to break through and take back power. Share your voice, post content or make memes to share on your social channels telling your networks why you believe #FourIsEnough to be featured in our campaign.
https://www.pacronym.org/#about
GOP braces for Democratic spending onslaught in battle for Senate
National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) Chairman Todd Young (R-Ind.) is warning his colleagues to brace for a spending deluge from fired-up Democrats in what’s becoming an increasingly competitive battle for the Senate.
GOP senators have outraised their Democratic challengers and the NRSC has brought in more than the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC), but third-quarter fundraising shows the momentum is beginning to shift.
One senator who attended a meeting last week where Young addressed the Senate Republican Conference about the 2020 fundraising landscape said there is “concern” Democrats could pull ahead.
Republicans say they’re worried outside “dark money” fundraising groups could pour millions of dollars into competitive races, and they note that one of their biggest fundraisers, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), will now have to focus more on his own reelection in the wake of Democrats winning the Kentucky governor’s mansion earlier this month.
“These ActBlue folks are taking money from everywhere, they’re killing us,” said a GOP senator who attended last week’s meeting with Young. “I think our chances are good, but there’s a ton of money being thrown at us.”
ActBlue, a group that helps Democratic grassroots donors give to candidates, helped challengers such as Mark Kelly in Arizona, Sara Gideon in Maine and Theresa Greenfield in Iowa out-raise GOP Sens. Martha McSally (Ariz.), Susan Collins (Maine) and Joni Ernst (Iowa) in the third quarter.
Senate Republicans control 53 seats in the chamber but have to defend 22 seats next year, while Democrats have to protect only 12.
https://thehill.com/homenews/senate/472008-gop-braces-for-democratic-spending-onslaught-in-battle-for-senate
Democratic, Latino groups challenge Arizona absentee ballot deadline
Democratic super PAC, Priorities USA and the group Vote Latino filed a complaint Tuesday challenging Arizona's absentee ballot deadline, marking the latest move from Democrats to protest election laws and regulations in battleground states.
The groups argue that the deadline, which requires absentee ballots to be delivered to the county recorder office or any polling locations no later than 7 p.m. on Election Day, makes it easy for voters to be turned away because a number of voters believe the ballots are valid as long as they are postmarked by Election Day.
The complaint said the regulation puts an undue burden on voters and takes away rights to procedural due process in the Latino and Hispanic communities in particular.
“Creating artificial barriers towards the democratic participation of some diminishes the strength of our democracy as a whole,” Vote Latino President and CEO Maria Teresa Kumar said in a statement. “Attempts to silence the voice of the people, in whatever form it may take, must be struck down with the full force of the law.”
A spokesperson from Arizona's Board of Elections confirmed the office received the complaint but said they could not comment on ongoing litigation.
The move is the latest in a series of Democratic challenges against election laws in emerging battleground states.
https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/472116-democratic-group-challenges-arizona-absentee-ballot-deadline
Texas GOP rep predicts heavy Democratic presence in state ahead of 2020
Texas Rep. Chip Roy (R) pointed out the presence of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) in the state and his district earlier this month, predicting that the campaign arm will pour money into Texas in 2020.
"They are active. There are eight DCCC staffers — that’s the Democratic congressional political arm — eight of them in Austin right now. Probably half of those targeting Texas 21,” Roy told an audience at a campaign meet-and-greet fundraiser put on by the Republican Women of Kerr County earlier this month in audio obtained by The Hill.
“Do you know how many we have from the NRCC? Zero," he continued, referring to the National Republican Congressional Committee, the GOP's counterpart to the DCCC. "They are motivated, they are organized, and they are going to pour money into Texas because they believe if they can stick a stake in the heart of Texas, they can stick a stake in the heart of conservatism and limited government and their socialist dreams can come true."
The comments were made during his opening remarks to the group.
Democrats have paid closer attention to Texas in recent years in hopes of making inroads in the state, which has long been dominated by Republicans. The move comes after the DCCC scored a couple of key wins in the Lone Star State in 2018, ousting former GOP Reps. Pete Sessions and John Culberson.
Democrats were also enthused by former Texas Rep. Beto O'Rouke's (D) statewide performance against Sen. Ted Cruz (R), in which he lost by only roughly 2 points.
The DCCC is targeting six Texas seats ahead of 2020, including the 21st District, which is held by Roy.
https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/472065-texas-gop-rep-predicts-heavy-democratic-presence-in-state-ahead-of-2020
Ohio Election Day cyber attack attempt traced to Panama
The Ohio Secretary of State's office was the subject of a thwarted foreign cyber attack on Election Day.
Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose said Tuesday that the so-called "SQL injection" attack was detected by the state's internal systems. The attack was attempting to insert malicious code into his office's website.
The attempted hack originated in Panama and was traced to a Russian-owned company, he said, but was "relatively unsophisticated."
"Some of these unsophisticated attacks are ways that they probe for vulnerabilities. They are poking around for soft spots," LaRose said, noting that the cyber attack was looking for vulnerabilities in his office's website.
https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.dispatch.com/news/20191126/ohio-election-day-cyber-attack-attempt-traced-to-panama%3ftemplate=ampart
Motherfucking Mark Penn advising Trump on impeachment
“As President Trump’s White House battles impeachment, he turned to a familiar face last week: Mark Penn, one of President Bill Clinton’s top strategists,” the Washington Post reports.
“Penn came to the Oval Office for more than an hour last Monday, three people familiar with the meeting said, and brought polling data and impeachment advice for the president. Penn reassured Trump that he wouldn’t be removed from office, and encouraged him to travel the country like Clinton did when he was fighting impeachment over 20 years ago.”
https://politicalwire.com/2019/11/26/clinton-strategist-advising-trump-on-impeachment/
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