Rassmussen Poll: Dewine - 46%, Brown - 37%

[derby378]

I hate to tell you Ohio Democrats this, but hold on to your butts...

This may be a very long campaign season.

[OzarkDem]

1. Agree, Rove is having a field day

and Hackett and the Hacketteers are his willing accomplices.

Hackett has been the single most destructive force in Ohio Dem politics in a decade or more. Thanks Paul.

[rexcat]

4. The most destructive force in Ohio are the Brown cult supporters.

[FreedomAngel82]

13. LOL

Oh yes. Someone who voted against the "Patriot Act" and the Iraq war is truly destructive. LOL! Do you believe that shit?

[stepnw1f]

44. cult?

[rexcat]

50. Just a play on OzarkDem's references to Hackett supporters...

OzarkDem has the propensity to call Hackett supporters cult followers! I think OzarkDem gets "its" tactics from James Traficant's playbook (no profile information such as which state "it" resides in and gender not listed, so "it" appears to be appropriate in this case of "Jim" for the tactics it uses).

[OzarkDem]

94. .

:nopity:

[rexcat]

95. .

Yes Jim, what ever you say.

:rofl:

[AtomicKitten]

68. as opposed to the Hackett cult supporters

LOL

grow up, pull up your socks, and move on.
politics isn't for the faint of heart.

[Telly Savalas]

85. Actually they comprise part of the 37%

Y'know, the folks that are part of the solution, not the problem.

[Texacrat]

87. Who do you want? DeWine?

n/t

[sandrakae]

18. Fuck Rove.

[Aaaargh]

33. Yeah, & Burch, Fisher, Hagen, Fingerhut all lost 'cause of Hackett too!

Darn that Hackett! It's ALL HIS FAULT!

If you knew anything about Ohio politics, you'd know that Democrats have been losing statewide elections against Republicans for the last decade and a half. This is why a lot of Ohio Democrats wanted to go in this election with a candidate who was outside the mainstream -- but Chuck and Raum nixed that idea for us, thank you very much.

So here we are. The Senate election campaign hasn't really taken off yet, at all. These are early polls. There aren't even any TV commercials yet. Sherrod Brown is going to be the nominee, so let's GIVE HIM A FREAKIN' CHANCE before you start scapegoating people for a loss that hasn't happened, and hopefully will not happen.

"Hacketters" -- what childish BS.

[OzarkDem]

40. Repeating Rove's talking points?

Surely you can come up with something better than the RNC attack lines.

Ohio Dems have been begging Sherrod to run statewide for the last decade. We finally convince him to do it, and now he has to deal with downstate Dems who believe everything Rove tells them.

[rexcat]

41. Really OzarkDem...

the more you post the more you remind me of James Traficant. Keep up the good work! From now on I'll call you and Algorem "Jim." That fits you to a tee!

[SOS]

49. It must have been a challenge

to convince Brown to run. Could you elaborate how you managed to get him into the Senate race?
In his August 17, 2005 statement (now deleted) on Grow Ohio, Brown staked his profession and his honor on remaining in the House:

"After discussions with my family, closest friends, and colleagues in Congress, I have decided to seek re-election to the United States House of Representatives. The race for U.S. Senate is very winnable, and there are a number of impressive Democrats considering a run who I am confident will defeat the incumbent in 2006. My first professional obligation, and honor, is to continue serving the people of northeastern Ohio."

Also, you write "Dems who believe everything Rove tells them". Do you have some quotes from Rove? What is Rove telling downstate Dems?

[Kolesar]

46. Hackett was the laziest campaigner Ohio saw since Tim Hagan

It was said of Tim Hagan that "I don't think he ever even knocked on a door!"

Well, Hackett was so unmotivated that he would not make fund raising calls and he would not even go to events that his scheduler had already set him up with.

He's a great attorney (note the Rolex in the MJ article), but he is not cut out for politics.

[greenohio]

70. Hackett, that lazy-ass marine.

Here's pictures of Hackett running all over 2nd district working his tail off.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/oh02/page41/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/oh02/page42/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/oh02/page44/

The real lazy asses are the pretend Democrats who sit on their fat asses attacking a fellow Dem and courageous marine.

[Twist_U_Up]

2. The Corporate Machine

is fudging their numbers again.

I guess you can do that when you control the elections too.

[rexcat]

3. It is always a long campaign in Ohio for Democrats...

There has not been a Democrat win a state-wide race in over 12 years. It is really getting old! There is hope that Strickland can win the Governor's race. As far as Brown goes it does not look good. He is not well known in SW Ohio and DeWine is not a shoe-in for the primary on the repuke side. To top it off the independents went for Bush in 2000 and 2004. The independents still support Bush in Ohio and that is not good for Brown.

[BluegrassDem]

6. Brown isn't a statewide known person

I assume he's only familiar to those in his district, so I wouldn't put too much into the horserace. However, the number too look far is that DeWine is polling under 50%, which is a danger zone for incumbents.

[OzarkDem]

8. He has high name recognition

He used to be secretary of state. He's very popular in Ohio, that's why he's been asked numerous times to run for this seat.

[rexcat]

42. His last victory as Secretary of State was 1986!

Ancient history!

On edit: He does not have state-wide recognition prior to his latest run for Senate. Some people on DU are delusional. He mihgt have been very popular then but things have changed in Ohio since 1986, unfortunately for the worse.

[OzarkDem]

9. Btw, Welcome to DU!

[Doremus]

5. Sherrod better bring it. If he learned anything from Hackett at all,

it's that straight talk and strong action is what's going to win in Ohio.

Not quiet politeness, not intellectualism, not equivocation, not even having a better heart.

One thing will win Ohio: Relentless, honest, straight talk about the crooks and hoodlums that currently run this joint.


Do NOT let us down, Sherrod. You wanted this race, now you BETTER bring it.

[OzarkDem]

7. Then listen

Have you noticed its Hackett getting all the media coverage, not Sherrod?

[FreedomAngel82]

14. Yeah him and his whining

Instead of routing democrats to support Brown he's whining like an asshole.

[Douglas Carpenter]

27. Sherrod Brown is straight talk with substance

Sherrod Brown bucked the Administration of his own party to fight NAFTA

Sherrod Brown broke with most of his party and overwhelming pressure to oppose the Patriot Act

Sherrod Brown almost personally led the fight against CAFTA

Sherrod Brown was an outspoken opponent of the War In Iraq before it happened and voted against the Iraq War Resolution.

courtesy of vote smart - link:

http://www.vote-smart.org/issue_rating_category.php?can_id=H3141103&type=category&category=Foreign%2BAid%2Band%2BPolicy%2BIssues&go.x=12&go.y=8

2005 Representative Brown supported the interests of the Council on American-Islamic Relations 100 percent in 2005.

2004 Representative Brown supported the interests of the Nuclear Age Peace Foundation 100 percent in 2004.

2004 Representative Brown supported the interests of the Peace Action 100 percent in 2004.

2005 Representative Brown supported the interests of the Service Employees International Union 100 percent in 2005.

2004 Representative Brown supported the interests of the AFL-CIO 100 percent in 2004.

2004 Representative Brown supported the interests of the Communications Workers of America 100 percent in 2004.

[IndianaGreen]

31. If you wanted straight talk, you should have kept Hackett

instead of listening to political hacks like Schumer and Reid.

[OzarkDem]

38. Brown is the candidate

not Schumer and Reid.

And Brown has a much longer history of straight talk, hard work and results.

All Hackett can do is go on conservative talk shows and complain about a so-called whispering campaign that no one heard of besides Hackett himself.

[PBass]

92. HEAR HEAR!

Posted by Doremus
"If he learned anything from Hackett at all,

it's that straight talk and strong action is what's going to win in Ohio.

Not quiet politeness, not intellectualism, not equivocation, not even having a better heart.

One thing will win Ohio: Relentless, honest, straight talk about the crooks and hoodlums that currently run this joint."

I hope the Ohio dems will also bury the hatchet and PULL TOGETHER.
Do it soon, please (!) the election is coming up fast!!!

[regnaD kciN]

10. All the more reason...

...for Hackett to have not thrown a hissy-fit and pulled out of the race.

[Cocoa]

11. big drop since last month

you know Rove/DeWine will exploit the dems' division to the hilt.

Let's defeat them by coming together:

http://www.nationalledger.com/artman/publish/article_27263582.shtml

A month ago, DeWine was ahead by five points, 45% to 40%.

Brown's support among Democrats has fallen from 77% in January to 69% this month. Next month's Ohio election poll will provide a hint as to whether this is just a temporary hiccup in the wake of the Hackett withdrawal or an ongoing problem for the Democrats' likely nominee.

***

One does have to wonder what kind of effect the forced withdrawal of Paul Hackett by Washington Democrats will have on enthusiasm by the extreme left. Will they stay home?

[FreedomAngel82]

15. If they do they don't care about this country and want to be cry babies

Let them deal with the consequences if they do stay home. This is our last chance to get our democracy back and they're acting like spoiled assholes. They don't care about the impact they're having on people all across the country by staying home.

[IndianaGreen]

36. It is Schumer and Reid that don't care about this country

They are the ones that decided to choose the Democratic Senate nominee rather than trust the Ohio primary voters.

[OzarkDem]

39. This is Brown's race

Schumer and Reid have nothing to do with it. Again, we're dealing with one of Hackett's "rumors" again - absolutely no evidence that any of the stuff he alleged happened.

He dropped out of his own campaign because it was failing. His own staffers even admitted it.

[greenohio]

72. Brown said there were rumors.

I heard lots of rumors about Paul Hackett months ago. Connie (Brown's wife, Connie Schultz) and I heard it together from somebody. We immediately told our campaign that we were not interested in those and they were not to spread any rumors or discuss any rumors about Paul Hackett, period.''...

http://www.cleveland.com/weblogs/openers/index.ssf?/mtlogs/cleve_openers/archives/2006_02.html

So much for your non-existant rumors.

Stop lying please. Its like you belong in the WH with your censorship attempts and your lying.

[IndianaGreen]

74. Nothing like Brown's Joe McCarthy imitation!

"I've heard rumors" is Brown's equivalent to McCarthy's "I have a list of Communists working in the State Department"!

[greenohio]

80. Very nice analogy nt.

[ProudToBeLiberal]

83. uhhh even Howard Dean said

that it was skulduggery in D.C. that drove out Hackett.

[SOS]

51. Already blaming Dewine's potential win on Hackett supporters?

How convenient.
If Schumer couldn't see this coming, he's not fit to be Chairman of the DSCC.
(Schumers complete lack of foresight in regard to the Iraq disaster is worth noting.)

And please stop calling Hackett supporters "assholes".
You've posted it 20 times and it's really boring.

[rexcat]

52. If you think we Hackett supporters don't care about this country then...

you are sadly mistaken. Most of the Hackett supporters on this forum are from SW Ohio. We have endured much in the past 12+ years since the Democratic Party imploded on itself. I take offense at the ignorance of such statements such as yours. To belittle one's love of country is something a repuke would do. I see the Brown supporters have resorted to the ways of the dark side. Way to go!

[FreedomAngel82]

12. Brown more than likely would've won the primaries

According to the polls recently.

[Doctor_J]

16. I thought the Brownies were telling us that their guy was a much better

candidate than Hackett would have been. You mean Paul would be polling only 30%?

[OzarkDem]

20. He is

Hackett was 20 points behind Brown, he didn't stand a chance.

Right now, Brown is having to deal with the swiftboat treatment from Hackett and Rove. It will pass as there is no substance to any of Hacketts allegations. He only has rumors and his 15 minutes of fame are about over.

[formernaderite]

35. I'm sure Rove is thrilled but so far see no evidence

that he had anything to do with this. So far, it seems the DC crowd made the decision. I was never a Hackett fan, I didn't like the way he ran his campaign against Mean Jean...I don't like stealth democrats parading as repubs. I did criticize Hackett for pulling out and for what I perceived as whining, I also like Brown.

However, it seems I spoke too soon. I do think some dirty shit was pulled. I don't know why, but have no reason to think Hackett or ROVE created it. like it or not...this is DC insider crap. And yes....they were stupid to think Hackett, a soldier would roll over and play dead for them. There's the stupidity, they can't leave well enough alone.

[DancingBear]

48. Ah, if only yours were n/t

[Cocoa]

25. Brownies

I like it. I'm proud to be a "Brownie." :toast:

[IndianaGreen]

32. Reid and Schumer know what's best for Ohio

that is why they swiftboated Hackett, with Brown's help, because they didn't trust the primary voters.

Ironically, not having a primary denied Brown having a statewide exposure against a tough opponent. It would have been a good thing for Brown in terms of publicity to have won the primary fair and square. As it is, Brown is now viewed as another political hack, unfair as that may be.

[zulchzulu]

17. What's the + or - ?

Without that, polls are meaningless... As for Brown being within 9% at this point in the race, it's also fairly meaningless.

[OzarkDem]

21. Agree

polls this early are highly inaccurate.

[sandrakae]

19. You can't trust a Rasmussen pole.

[tritsofme]

37. Yep, never trust Rasmussen.

Especially after they did so shitty in 2004...

"The final, certified, results of Election 2004 show that President George W. Bush received 50.7% of the vote while Senator John Kerry earned 48.3%. Those figures are very close to the final Rasmussen Reports Daily Tracking Poll. We projected the President would win 50.2% to 48.5%...

During the final weekend, we provided polling data for 24 states and were 24 for 24."

http://www.rasmussenreports.com/State%20by%20state%20comparisons%202004.htm

[Dawgs]

62. So what?

Their numbers matched the stolen election. That should make you more skeptical.

Can you explain why they are the outlier in every poll since 2004?

[tritsofme]

66. You're right....

I guess Karl Rove just CCs Scott Rasmussen all the stolen election data a few days in advance...

[Dawgs]

69. I see you can't explain why they're an outlier.

Hmmm...

[tritsofme]

73. I don't know why they've been the outlier lately.

They were on the high end for Bush throughout most of 2004, and still turned out being right on the money.

Perhaps their methods are seeing trends that other polling companies are missing. I really don't know, and I am willing to give them the benefit of the doubt.

All we have to look at are results, and in 2004 and 2005 Rasmussen has been at the top.

If any major polling company has been letting their partisanship get in the way of objective results I would have to say its been John Zogby, making that utterly ridiculous "call" for Kerry in May 2004.

If Rasmussen's data skews heavily toward the GOP in November, I have no problem with a mea culpa, but I suspect when they're right on the money, and if people here don't like the results, many will likely trot out the "stolen election" meme again.

[Texacrat]

90. You got it

:D

[ProudToBeLiberal]

84. alert another conspiracy theory on DU...move on folks

[Name removed]

86. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Texacrat]

89. You just broke DU rules ... I wonder who the troll is now ...

n/t

[tritsofme]

91. Thanks

Thanks for yet another insightful comment...

[Texacrat]

88. Except for the fact they were the most accurate polling firm?

Putting your head in the sand is not going to solve the problem.

[OzarkDem]

22. More on the poll

Only 18% of Ohio voters paid close attention to Hackett's withdrawal from the race. 29% of voters think Hackett was betrayed by party leaders, 15% say he was not and 55% could care less. Results aren't reliable, they say next months polls will show if its a blip or w/in the margin of error.

http://www.rasmussenreports.com/2006/State%20Polls/February%202006/Ohio%20Senate%20February.htm

Given how well this is working for Rove, if Hackett is still making the rounds of the talk shows bashing Brown and Dems a month from now, its a very, very strong likelihood he is deliberately helping Rove.

[Doctor_J]

23. 29% think he was trashed by the Dem leaders

I guess 29% listen to Limpballs and Tweety.

[1932]

43. That's 29% of the 18%, so less than 6%, and at least half are probably

Republican.

[Savannah Progressive]

57. But wait, Hackett is a Democrat, and Democrats don't do that.

OzarkDem (1000+ posts) Fri Feb-17-06 07:46 PM
Response to Reply #18
24. Welcome to DU
and there's a big difference between Dems and Republicans and no Dems didn't and wouldn't do this kind of thing.


http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=132&topic_id=2466660#2466918

I don't understand, if Democrats don't and wouldn't do something like intentionally harm another Democrat, then what are you claiming that Hackett is doing? Are you saying he is so foolish, so easily gulled that he would not understand the results of his comments? If that is the case, then his mental ability would be below the fictional character Forrest Gump.

You can't have it both ways, if Hacket is a Democrat, and Democrats don't do that kind of thing, then you have debated yoruself into a corner. Perhaps now you will say that SOME psudo Democrats would do it, but not your favorite Democrats.

[OzarkDem]

61. Correction

Good Democrats don't do that. Brown has been running for office most of his adult life, winning races and never going negative against a fellow Dem. Its not his style.

[Edgewater_Joe]

24. Thanks For That Knife In Brown's Back, Hackett

Jackass.

[Douglas Carpenter]

26. unfortunatley I have to agree.. I gave to Hackett's House campaign last

year. But he does not have to do this.

[IndianaGreen]

34. I believe it was Brown who wielded that knife first!

Don't go bitching about the unfairness of it all, when some of you were applauding pukes like Schumer and Reid before.

You chose to sleep with the Beltway crowd, now be prepared to suffer the consequences of listening to such a bunch of losers.

[greenohio]

71. I see. So skulduggery is ok to use to attack your opponent and run him

out of the race. But God forbid he respond in kind.

[Robeson]

28. I have no dog in this hunt, and am ambivalent to the Hackett vs. Brown....

...debate. I've seen the polling of Hackett vs. Brown, but are there any polls out there between Hackett vs. Dewine? I'm more concerned about who would/will do best against Dewine. Whoever polled best against Dewine, is who the party should support, irregardless of which one it is.

[OzarkDem]

59. That's why he pulled out

Hackett was polling very low against DeWine and would only be able to make up the difference if he spent $10 or $15 million on advertising.

Brown is better known to voters, polled higher against DeWine (some polls showed him outpolling DeWine) is an experienced grassroots campaigner and has the money to run.

It was a slam-dunk.

[Lexingtonian]

29. The changes are easily within standard margin of error.

Nobody's changed their mind. DeWine goes from 45% to 46%...wow. Nothing there.

Brown has gone from 40% to 37%. That's under standard m.o.e. difference. Could well be mere stastical noise.

Btw, the Republican baseline in Ohio is 45%.
The Democratic baseline in Ohio is 40-42%.

Neither side has the support of a single swing voter yet.

[IndianaGreen]

30. But Schumer and Reid wanted Brown over Hackett

and they know what is best for the people of Ohio!

:sarcasm:

[rockymountaindem]

53. Where's your proof that Hackett would be polling any higher?

And if Reid and Schumer are so dumb, why was Brown leading in the primary polls by 2 to 1?

All I hear around here is complaining with no proof to back up the position that Hackett would be polling any higher against DeWine.

[SOS]

60. One point higher

Rasmussen January 2006:

DeWine: 45%
Brown: 40%

DeWine: 43%
Hackett: 39%

http://www.rasmussenreports.com/2006/State%20Polls/January%202006/Ohio%20Senator%20January%204.htm

[AtomicKitten]

65. They don't need no stinking proof

Any platform to launch their ANTI-DEMOCRAT rhetoric will do.

Brown has a wonderful almost 100% progressive voting record. Nothing to sneeze at.

Hackett should pull up his socks and run against Schmidt again.

[rinsd]

75. Last I checked Hackett's internal poll showed Democrats wanted Brown

So maybe they do know what's best.

[AtomicKitten]

77. damn it, now you've gone and made sense

there will be none of that here at DU where Dems seek to eat their own.

Not to worry, if it's not this issue, there will be another.

[IndianaGreen]

78. Do you have a link to back up your claim?

Or do we take your word on faith-based alone?

[rinsd]

79. I was wrong....

It's wasn't Hackett's poll that I was referencing, it was Brown's.

http://blog.oh02.com/2005/12/12/51-yes-38-favorable/

Though I did find Hackett's poll(not more encouraging)

http://www.cleveland.com/weblogs/openers/index.ssf?/mtlogs/cleve_openers/archives/2006_02.html#112922

http://www.cleveland.com/open/wide/index.ssf?/open/wide/hackettpoll.html

Also found this poll showing Brown closer than the other(granted its a Dem party poll)

http://www.cleveland.com/weblogs/openers/index.ssf?/mtlogs/cleve_openers/archives/2006_02.html#113597

Hope that helps.

[Roland99]

45. Rasmussen (at the nationwide level) has been an outlier for months

No idea how accurate their local polls are but at the nationwide level, they've been the outlier by FAR.

[mzmolly]

47. Dewine is an incumbent Republican and we just narrowed down Ohio

to ONE candidate. This poll highlights the importance of doing so, frankly. Now Brown can use his 2 million to educate voters about Dewine/himself and hopefully have a shot at winning.

Hackett and Brown need to talk and come together in some way though. Hackett talked about "service to country" and is not exclusive to the Marines or a run for Senate.

[NCarolinawoman]

54. Would Independents have been allowed to vote in the Dem Ohio primaries?

I read that Hackett polled well among Independents.

[OzarkDem]

58. No

only if they registered as Democrats. The Democratic primary is for members of the Democratic Party, not independents. Its how the party system works. If people want a say in how the Democratic party chooses its candidates, they need to get involved and be part of the process, not just injecting their opinion as outsiders on a signle candidate.

As they say, there are benefits in being a member.

[fliesincircles]

63. Yes they can

In Ohio primaries a voter can ask for any ballot they want. Dem, Puke, or non-partisan.
What ever ballot you vote in the primaries becomes your "party" registration as far as the state is considered. That's why the "official" state numbers show like 65% independent. If you don't vote in the primary, you're independent. Go figure.

[rexcat]

81. Totally wrong again...

I have been a poling judge for the past 2 years and OzarkDem does not know what she is talking about. At least fliesincircles did his homework.

[columbusdem]

55. Take a deep breath

I have no beef with venting, but we really do need to stick
together.  I myself was a "Hacketteer", but now I'm
more than willing to be a "Brownie".  I've always
liked that our party has been one of independent-minded people
who don't babble off mindless talking points, but if we allow
any controversy over the way Major Hackett ended up leaving
the Senate race, we Dems are screwed yet again.  Let's not
forget that have been completely the opposition party in
Washington since January 2003.  Let's redirect our anger in a
more constructive direction, like the fact that Senator DeWine
would like the government to be able to spy on us without
warrants in advance or even retroactively.

[columbusdem]

56. A correction

Oops.

I'm sorry, I don't mean to double-post, but I meant this sentence...

"I've always
liked that our party has been one of independent-minded
people who don't babble off mindless talking points, but if
we allow any controversy over the way Major Hackett ended up
leaving the Senate race, we Dems are screwed yet again."


...to say this...

"I've always
liked that our party has been one of independent-minded
people who don't babble off mindless talking points, but if
we allow any controversy over the way Major Hackett ended up
leaving the Senate race *divide us*, we Dems are screwed yet again."

[derby378]

64. Welcome to DU!

And thanks for the feedback.

You should be able to edit your posts if you made a mistake - look for the Edit button under your post.

[Kolesar]

96. Welcome to the Democratic Underground and the Ohio forum

:hi:

[blue cat]

67. I heard that these rumors

were around when he ran against Mean Jean. What if Rove restarted the whisper campaign to get Hackett out because they were more afraid of him because of his service and message? And Hackett fell for it. Rove was probably very threatned by Hackett's service and his message, more than Dewine. Rove is an evil genious when it comes to running a dirty attack. There is no proof that Brown himself whispered anything, nor proof that Hackett leaked his report on Brown to the newspaper.
Thanks Hackett for taking that invitation from tweety to air our dirty laundry at the enemy's home. Why else would he have invited you after you dropped out? Tweety had such a hard on when you handed him the ammunition to use against your fighting dems. We're doomed to stay in the minority now, but damn, Hackett sure got back at Schumer and Reid, didn't he? Hackett gave the republican noise machine an issue that they will morph into a message like the dems treat soldiers bad, etc. Hackett will learn the hard way when he is campaigning for the other fighting dems, and he will continue to have to answer questions about this, instead of focusing on the issues.

[LittleClarkie]

76. I didn't like Rassmussen's Bush approval numbers

they seemed bogus. I'm not sure I want to trust these therefore.

[globalvillage]

82. From the DSCC e-mail today

Ohio is yet another state where the Democratic challenger is defeating a longtime Republican incumbent. The newest DSCC poll was released last week and showed Democratic Rep. Sherrod Brown leading Republican Senator Mike DeWine by three points.

The polling just confirms what I've known all along. Mike DeWine is vulnerable and Sherrod Brown can beat him. The Republican Party in Ohio is in disarray on the heels of major corruption scandals, so we're making major gains in this battle ground state. I've been in politics for a long time, and I know this is a race we can win.

[OzarkDem]

93. Excellent news! n/t