News Burst: June 20, 2017 (Patreon)

Hello!

I hope today’s (or should I say this evening’s) News Burst finds you very well. I wanted to wait until the Special Election results rolled in from a couple of Congressional races here in the States, and now that they’re in and they’re conclusive, it’s go-time. And so I write.

There's little else to report, otherwise. I had an idea for Thursday’s episode of CLS; pivoted this afternoon to another idea. Now, I’m pivoting to yet another idea. Life moves fast, my friends. Very fast, indeed.

I hope all is well, and, as always,  I thank you for your support.

Mandel Beats Ossoff in Georgia: http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_HOUSE_ELECTION_GEORGIA_THE_LATEST?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2017-06-20-21-32-17

My Take: I’m not too interested in how either side spins this one, because it’s clear to me that the Democrats should have won this seat, they didn’t, and it wasn’t even close, really. Ossoff lost to Mandel by five points, or about five times more than Trump beat Clinton in the same district back in November of 2016. This should have been a slam dunk for Democrats; it wasn’t. Now, if they’re smart, they won’t deflect blame or take this as a little victory, but instead take time to actually self-reflect, and figure out where they went wrong. Because this isn’t the outcome that should've happened, no matter how “red” the district is (and frankly, the “redness” of the district, depending on your lens, is being wildly overstated).

For starters, Jon Ossoff wasn’t an ideal candidate. Too young, too inexperienced, and, well, a carpetbagger by definition. He grew up in the Georgia 6th, but didn’t live there, and, to make matters worse for him with family-oriented suburban Republicans, he had a longtime girlfriend who he just happened to decide to marry during the election. It was all a little strange. Handel, on the other hand, didn’t run away from Trump, or his base of support. So, the complexion of this race is bizarre, up and down the proverbial list.

The big story here, though -- other than the Democrats losing, of course -- is how expensive this race was, on both sides. With internal and external spending, the 2017 special election in Georgia was the most expensive Congressional race in American history. Ossoff’s campaign outraised and outspent Handel a staggering 7-to-1, but with outside PAC spending in Handel’s favor, the overall spend in favor of Ossoff was significant, but not by the former margin. Either way, it’s another L for Democrats, which may or may not be the subject of Thursday’s video. =)

(Related Story | Georgia 6th’s Congressional Election Most Expensive Ever: http://www.cnbc.com/2017/06/20/georgia-election-results-karen-handel-wins-house-special-election.html)

(Related Story | Democrats Fall Short Again: http://www.politico.com/story/2017/06/20/georgia-election-results-ossoff-handel-239778)

Norman Defeats Parnell in South Carolina: http://www.politico.com/story/2017/06/20/republican-wins-south-carolina-special-election-239783

My Take: This election got far less play in national media than the Georgia special election for a multitude of reasons, but it actually ended up being a more interesting race, with a slightly tighter outcome and a larger swing in electorate behavior. Similar to the Georgia race, in which Tom Price was nominated to a Trump administration position and therefore vacated his post, this race was also to replace a Trump appointee, the popular Mick Mulvaney, who won his election in November of 2016 by 21 points. It wasn’t quite the blowout for his successor.

One point this story made clear is how little attention Democratic opponent Archie Parnell attracted from monied powers, and the Democratic party itself. While the DCCC got behind the aforementioned Jon Ossoff, as well as Montana’s Rob Quist (who also lost to a Republican), the D-Triple-C spent a mere $300,000 on Parnell’s behalf. The story here, as it sometimes is, may just be what would have happened if the Democrats paid more attention, which was a similar storyline in the most recent gubernatorial race in Virginia, not to mention the presidential race there, which both could have went Republican if the GOP paid more attention (and paid more, period).

This race, along with the race in Georgia, doesn’t change the complexion of the House at all. Two GOP seats stay in GOP hands. The bigger question here is if the Democrats will finally, finally, finally reflect on their tactics. The biggest klaxon of the night for me came from a Tweet I RT’d not too long ago, one sent out from Massachusetts Congressional member Seth Moulton. Moulton Tweeted, “#Ossoff race better be a wake up call for Democrats - business as usual isn’t working. Time to stop rehashing 2016 and talk about the future.” Well said, Representative. Let’s see if anyone’s listening.

Attempted Terrorist Attack in Belgium: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-4622952/Explosion-reported-Brussels-central-station.html

My Take: Some hours ago, a fresh, new terrorist attack took place, this time in Brussels, Belgium. There’s not an incredible amount known about the attack as of yet, as it just happened, but suffice it to say, it was an act of Radical Islamic Terrorism. The suicide bomber was reported to have yelled “Allahu Akbar” before detonating a bomb like a coward, so the motive of the attack should be fairly clear.

The whole situation was a little unclear to me, in terms of the play-by-play, but what appears to be the case is that the terrorist was strapped with a suicide vest, but also had a separate explosive device. The separate device was used to create a small explosion, which apparently injured no one (thankfully), but then started threatening people at a Brussels train station with a separate explosion, this one purportedly hailing from the vest he was wearing. Belgian soldiers gunned down and killed the terrorist; a controlled explosion later rid the vest he was wearing of any danger. No one was injured in the latter, controlled explosion, or in the gunfire that took the punk down.

I’ve said it once, and I’ll say it again. Europe has a problem on its hands -- especially mainland Europe -- and they really need to start wrapping their heads around it. Identify the issue, and rectify it, for the good of Europeans across country boundaries. It’s scary and sad reading about this stuff on a near-daily basis. I love Europe, and I hope the terroristic violence that’s plaguing the continent will be solved, far sooner than later.