Sweet Home To Alabamians.

[Simon E.]

Well done Alabama!

We on this side of the pond are hoping that you have signalled a return to sanity across your great nation..

[Thomas Amundsen]

[Johnny Dangerous]

Well done Alabama!

We on this side of the pond are hoping that you have signalled a return to sanity across your great nation..

It won't be I don't think, by and large the Democrats are useless, especially since the DNC elite wing is trying to purge any truly progressive or (gasp) left wing voices from the party. Sad but true, politics (among other things) here is going to get worse before it gets better. The hollow politics represented by these sorts of people is no long term bulwark against Trumpism.

By all accounts i've read Doug jones is a typical neoliberal Democrat, I think he won because Moore was so Ghastly to so many groups, and because black voters came out in droves to show him the boot...but I wouldn't call it a "a return to sanity".

Don't get me wrong, I'm glad it happened, but I'll be surprised if it represents any kind of long term shift.

[boda]

Thanks!

Yes indeed, this marks the time when the tide turns back to diplomacy, civil rights, democracy, and common decency. After three more years of reality TV that is.

[Lindama]

Johnny nailed it. ofc, I'm relieved that Moore lost, but any change in the DNC is still a dream. I'm encouraged that people who don't normally vote will take a lesson by example. Blacks turned out in unusually high numbers... and they saw what a diff they made. esp ironic, since I've seriously considered never voting again, corruption and deep state being what it is. HRC never held the sanity pole for me either.

[DGA]

Well done Alabama!

We on this side of the pond are hoping that you have signalled a return to sanity across your great nation..

It won't be I don't think, by and large the Democrats are useless, especially since the DNC elite wing is trying to purge any truly progressive or (gasp) left wing voices from the party. Sad but true, politics (among other things) here is going to get worse before it gets better. The hollow politics represented by these sorts of people is no long term bulwark against Trumpism.

By all accounts i've read Doug jones is a typical neoliberal Democrat, I think he won because Moore was so Ghastly to so many groups, and because black voters came out in droves to show him the boot...but I wouldn't call it a "a return to sanity".

Don't get me wrong, I'm glad it happened, but I'll be surprised if it represents any kind of long term shift.

You are correct about the DNC. However, the truth is that we don't really know what Jones will do in the Senate. His policy positions remain largely unspecified. But there is some cause for optimism:

Here is a man from an extremely conservative Southern state who has not taken policy positions that will turn off Democratic primary voters. The most persuasive criticism of Jones’ campaign, from the standpoint of cold calculation, was that he didn’t soften his pro-choice message, which is unpopular in Alabama, as even Tuesday night’s exit poll showed. But the fact that he didn’t moderate—and wasn’t forced to engage in great detail on issues such as gay rights and gun control—might mean that he could figure out how to pull off a presidential run aimed at Democratic base voters without having to contort himself or flip-flop.

http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_ ... ident.html

[DGA]

It's also worth recalling who actually put Jones over the top. I do hope he remembers this:

Doug Jones, Moore’s opponent, was carried to victory by black folks—specifically black women. Exit polls showed that 98 percent of black women voted for Jones, as compared with 93 percent of black men, 35 percent of white women and 27 percent of white men.

https://www.theroot.com/yall-dont-deser ... 1821255162

[drodul]

But, DGA, the other thing Jones needs to remember is that he also wouldn't have won without the numerous Republicans who followed Sen. Shelby's example and wrote in the names of Republicans who weren't quite as repugnant as Moore. Those votes amounted to more than Jones' margin of victory. Sadly,Johnny D is probably right that this election doesn't presage any long-term transformation in US politics. Alabama is still Alabama.

[amanitamusc]

But, DGA, the other thing Jones needs to remember is that he also wouldn't have won without the numerous Republicans who followed Sen. Shelby's example and wrote in the names of Republicans who weren't quite as repugnant as Moore. Those votes amounted to more than Jones' margin of victory. Sadly,Johnny D is probably right that this election doesn't presage any long-term transformation in US politics. Alabama is still Alabama.

This may be a small part of a push for a true independant,Sanders, and no not the colonel.

[TharpaChodron]

Those republicans who either didn't vote or who did a write-in still knew that they were basically helping the Democrats, so I think it shows they were more concerned about decency and what's right than doing what Trump and Bannon advised them to do and vote based upon party politics. To me, it's a sea change for Alabama and a sign that Trump doesn't have the popularity he assumed he did. I don't think people should minimize its importance.