DAVE ROSS

Latest referendum is the equivalent of shoving a thermometer into a cooling turkey

Jun 20, 2017, 5:50 AM

Candidates in Georgia's 6th Congressional District race Republican Karen Handel, left, and Democrat...

Candidates in Georgia's 6th Congressional District race Republican Karen Handel, left, and Democrat Jon Ossoff. (Branden Camp/Atlanta Journal-Constitution via AP)

(Branden Camp/Atlanta Journal-Constitution via AP)

Today, we’re having another referendum on you-know-who!

The special Congressional election in Georgia is billed as the latest attempt to take America’s temperature after the shock of 2016.

Seems to me it’s more like plunging a meat thermometer into the turkey after you’ve turned the oven off; it’s only accurate for a small area. In this case it’s Georgia’s 6th Congressional district, which is suddenly headline news.

Personally, I was hoping that at this point we’d have headlines about a giant new border wall, a new health care plan, new highways, millennials flocking to their new coal mine jobs, but we have none of that yet.

All we have is this little fortune cookie election that is supposed to tell us whether the nation is leaning Democrat or Republican, which is important for reasons I can’t understand. Anybody know?

If the Republican wins in Georgia, will this have a different effect on your insurance premium, tax bill, jobs, than if the Democrat wins?

I know this much: Based on the campaign ads, this race has nothing to do with any of that. According to the ads, this race is between a candidate who endorses shooting members of Congress and a candidate who shows off in a Lexus and who tried to sabotage Planned Parenthood.

But the “New York Times” headline says, “High-Stakes Referendum on Trump Takes…” and Trump himself last night tweeted that this is a “big day.” Nate Silver, the famous election statistician, wrote on his blog, “Sometimes dumb things matter if everyone agrees that they matter.”

Dave's Commentary

Dave Ross on KIRO Newsradio 97.3 FM
  • listen to dave rossTune in to KIRO Newsradio weekdays at 5am for Dave Ross on Seattle's Morning News.

Dave Ross

car culture...

Dave Ross

Ross: Are we killing car culture? Or is car culture killing the US?

I don’t think the question is whether we're going to "kill" our car culture. The real question is can we stop our car culture from killing the U.S.?

3 days ago

drivers data insurance...

Dave Ross

Ross: As cars release driving data to insurance, is your driving my business?

Every move you make, every swerve you take, every lane change you fake – someone’s watching you. Do drivers have a right to keep driving data private?

10 days ago

rent control...

Dave Ross

Ross: Rent control was never the answer in Wash.

The rent control bill died in the Washington State Legislature this week, even though Democrats control both houses.

30 days ago

end of democracy...

Dave Ross

Ross: Conservative activist earns applause for pledging an ‘end of Democracy’

The theme from Jack Posobiec's speech is that Jan. 6 was a righteous attack not on democracy, but on those who threaten democracy.

1 month ago

Image: Rep. Lauren Boebert, R-Colorado, is seen on Capitol Hill on Jan. 6, 2023. (Photo: Alex Brand...

Dave Ross

Ross: Voters can help cull bad politicians from the herd early

Let's remember that just about every occupant of a higher office once occupied a lower office, and was put there by us, Dave Ross says.

1 month ago

Super Bowl celebration...

Dave Ross

Ross: The NFL does it again

The NFL once again put on a show that was able to keep me tuned in for four hours even though I had no stake in either team.

1 month ago

Latest referendum is the equivalent of shoving a thermometer into a cooling turkey