Can the Left Rebuild in the Deep South?

You're with me at the center of a storm right now.
Ten days, 10 days.
Folks have woken up and recognize that they can't be bystanders. That there is a lot at stake.
Now, you got 5 minutes on this corner.
Do you know who he is? This is Mr. Ossoff!
This is about the soul of the country.
Folks are standing up in a way that no one predicted to push things back in the right direction.
[Music]
The Democratic Party is at its worst point since Ulysses S. Grant.
The number of Democrats in the House dropped from 256 to 187.
They simply don't have any power.
In a hotly-contested Special Election to replace
former Congressman Tom Price in Georgia, Republicans are scrambling to head off defeat.
Hi, my name is Dan. I'm a volunteer for Jon Ossoff for Congress.
Hi, my name is Lindsey and I'm calling today on behalf of Jon Ossoff for Congress.
April 18th, we've got the Special Election to replace Tom Price in the 6th district.
The 6th district is pretty much Atlanta's northern 'burbs.
The last time a Democrat held this seat was in Jimmy Carter's era in the 1970's.
This was by all accounts expected to be a very sleepy, Republican-only affair.
Jon Ossoff has transformed the race.
Jon Ossoff's campaign has gone from someone
who people had barely heard of, even in Democratic circles,
to someone who has raised 8.3 million dollars,
which is setting what we believe to be a record.
Democrats do hope to make this
the beginning of an Donald Trump resistance.
They hope to deal Republicans an embarrassing blow.
If Ossoff prevails, and that's a big if, then all bets are off for 2018.
A few of you have known me for a while.
Some of you are just getting to know me.
I was born and raised in metro Atlanta. Grew up in the 6th congressional district,
in North DeKalb County.
I worked on Capitol Hill for five years, specializing in defense and national security policy.
And I saw the gridlock and the partisanship and the corruption, and I decided to leave.
Since then I've run a small business
that produces investigations of crime and corruption for international television broadcasters.
And I had no plans to get back into politics anytime soon until November.
It wasn't the outcome that I was expecting, although
I wasn't sure what was going to happen going into election day.
But immediately I felt that I needed to get re-engaged in a much more direct way
than I had anticipated.
The notion of America as an open and decent, kind place
where anyone can get ahead is at risk of abandonment.
I will stand up for civil liberties and civil rights
and voice my object to scapegoating of vulnerable and marginalized people in our community.
This is the first chance in the country to make a statement about what we stand for.
It is an honor for all of us that Georgia is indeed the front line.
[Clapping]

Republicans say that he's inflated his resume. He's 30 years old, and he claims
to have five years of experience as a national security aid to Hank Johnson,
a back-bench Democrat who has little to his name.
I think the most indelible attack ad here in the 6th District so far
painted Jon Ossoff as this Han Solo character.
Jon Ossoff, not honest, not serious, not ready.
Sorry, Jonny, but the truth strikes back.
All due respect to Jon, because, he's a nice guy. I've met him, I like him.
I don't think he's got the experience. When I was 22, I was making photo copies.

Twelve days, 24/7 operation, going to win this.
I'm sure there's some very successful Democratic businessmen.
Instead, they chose to pick a kid who has very little real world experience.
He spent a few years in Washington, D.C. pretending he was on House of Cards.
It's kind of confusing that they couldn't find a better candidate?

He's pretty much been selected by the DNC.
I mean he's holding fundraisers in Washington with Nancy Pelosi.
He goes on television saying how he's going to make Trump accountable. Good luck with that.
His wife can't make him accountable. His people can't make him...
Nobody's gonna make Trump accountable! He's just full of crap.
You run for office, you expect to get hit.
Some of it is a little over-the-top, but I'll put up a positive vision for this community
up against standard negative, partisan hits any day.

In the wake of Trump being elected, a lot of women were feeling ... powerless.
I'd never been quiet, and I had been too quiet since moving here.
Pave it Blue started in early March of this year,
to give women in Metro Atlanta an opportunity to get involved and help flip the 6th District.
Hey! Hi! Do you know about the early voting that's coming up?
I do, I do. I haven't voted yet, but I will soon.
And I'm on board with Jon Ossoff.
Yay! That's awesome!
We went from literally two people, Jen and I, to four people, Jen and Sarah, my mom and I and
to 1,000 in the blink of an eye.
We have a queue that we can't keep up with,
about 150 women sitting in there waiting to join in, with some misdirected dudes in there too,
we keep having to ignore.
So these are the big hashtags that we have trending right now for PaveItBlue.
Flip the 6th, GOTMFV, and Hold My Purse, since this is a woman-led movement.
And what does that middle one stand for?
That is get out the mother fuckin' vote.
Lots of groups are at risk now and it's all of our responsibilities to get involved.
What do you sense is the feeling in the district?
Well, the atmosphere here is electric right now.
I can feel it, I can feel it! I almost can touch it.
This thing has taken on a little bit of a life of its own and people are watching across the country.
I had no idea that it was gonna become quite this much of a thing.
There is some pressure, I want to make folks proud.

We welcome you to The Atlanta Press Club Loudermilk-Young debate series.
The winner of this non-partisan race will fill the seat
vacated by Tom Price who was appointed as Secretary of Health and Human Services.
Karen Handel, you may ask a question of one of your opponents.
Thank you. My question is for Jon.
You are being bankrolled to the tune of four million dollars from outside of the state interests,
Nancy Pelosi, Dailey Cause, Act Blue, George Sorros.
So my question is, how can the people of the 6th District really trust that you will represent
their views, when the liberal left of Pelosi's views are so radically different from the district?
One of the things I am proud of about my campaign is that we've raised money
in small dollar contributions, which means that folks running for office
are accountable to a broad range of people who dig deep for small amounts of money
to support candidates that they choose. I am proud that I have built
a diverse coalition that spans the political spectrum here in Georgia rather than
more predictable partisan politics.
[Music]
If I win, it will demonstrate that the passion of folks here in Georgia
is stronger and more powerful than fear and division.
I am an ordinary person. I just had the passion. You get on Facebook. You start a group.
This guy just turned 30-years-old, with no resume of accomplishments or achievements.
And is just throwing this whole dog-and-pony show together and trying to trick voters.
This is a conservative district. You can do the math. It's just not in the cards.

Can the Left Rebuild in the Deep South?

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