Update:

With 98% of the votes in for the Georgia runoff election, it looks like we might have a Democratic sweep.

Democrat Raphael Warnock won his runoff against Kelly Loeffler in a tight race that saw him receive 50.6% of the vote versus the 49.4% won by Kelly.

The race with Ossoff and Perdue is reportedly too close to call right now. However, Ossoff is winning and has already declared victory.

“It is with humility that I thank the people of Georgia for electing me to serve you in the United States Senate,” Ossoff said this morning.

“Everybody who cast your ballot, everybody who put your faith and confidence in our democracy’s capacity to deliver the representation that we deserve — whether you were for me, or against me — I’ll be for you in the U.S. Senate,” Ossoff said.

“I will serve all the people of the state.”

If this victory holds up, Democrats will take control of the Senate.

This will have huge implications for stimulus relief as Democrats have been prioritizing bigger relief including larger stimulus checks.

We still need to wait for the official declaration of the winner but at this point it does look like Democrats may have swept an election that was originally largely in Republican’s favor.

Typically, the losing party of a presidential election has the better turn out in an election runoff.

Furthermore, many speculated that a lot of people turned out in November just to vote against Trump and because Trump was not on this ballot, they speculated fewer votes would be cast for Democrats.

But despite those factors, it looks like the GOP may have still lost.

If the GOP does end up losing both of these seats I do believe that it is largely because of the GOP’s reluctance to support more/bigger stimulus checks at a time with the majority of the country has voiced a need for more robust relief.

You can only ignore the public for so long….

So if you were holding out hope for more checks in the future, that scenario just got a lot more likely.

H/T

=====

This upcoming week is one of the most important weeks in recent memory. And in particular, January 5 which is the day of the Georgia senate runoff is the day to watch.

Currently in the Senate there are 48 Democrats and 50 Republicans. And in this election runoff, there are two seats up for grabs.

This means that if Democrats win these two seats, the Senate will be tied at 50 Republicans and 50 Democrats.

But as many of you probably know, the tiebreaker goes to the vice president who would be Vice President-elect Kamala Harris.

That would put control of the Senate in Democrats’ hands which would obviously mean a complete shift in power since Democrats also control the House and would control the White House as well.

So what is the current outlook on the runoff?

The latest polling shows both Democrats having a slight edge.

Race #1:

• Democrat Jon Ossoff: 48.7%
• Republican David Perdue: 47.5%

Race #2:

• Democrat Warnock: 49.1%
• Republican Loeffler: 47.3%

Source

Typically, the political party that loses the presidential election has the leg up in an election runoff. This is because the loss motivates members of the losing party to show out in higher numbers.

But this year is a bit different because of all of the circumstances surrounding the stimulus bills.

The vast majority of Americans support the $2,000 stimulus checks and believe that the $600 checks are not enough. In fact, some people have even resorted to vandalizing the homes of politicians involved in this time of the stimulus talks.

Republicans, such as Mitch McConnell did a lot to keep the Senate from voting on the increased stimulus checks and most Americans blame him for why the checks did not happen.

In such a tight election, this could have an impact that swings the votes toward Democrats which is why I thought it was a very risky move.

The Republican candidates in Georgia did come out and support higher stimulus checks but their support came a little bit late and could be overshadowed by the opposition from the GOP as a whole.

If Democrats do sweep this election then it is extremely likely that there will be a lot more aid that goes out in a timely fashion.

We could definitely be looking at increased checks or perhaps a third round of stimulus checks.

If Republicans win it would not surprise me to see another long battle and the prospects of more checks, while not impossible, is much more slim, in my opinion.

So get ready to pay close attention to the election on January 5 and I will have updates as they happen.

Related

Stimulus check backlash from Americans

Here’s where $2,000 stimulus checks stand now

Last chance for $2,000 stimulus checks today

I’ve been talking about the importance of today for weeks and it is finally here.

Today is the day of the Georgia runoff election, the election that will determine who will control the Senate and essentially the lawmaking in the US as we go forward.

The latest polls I reviewed showed a slight edge to Democrats but it is still likely too close to tell.

I speculated that a Democratic victory would result in more stimulus checks but this was just confirmed by President-elect Joe Biden.

He just pledged that if Democrats win the races, Congress would send a third stimulus check to Americans.

And not only that but he mentioned the figure of $2,000 for the checks.

“If you send Jon and the Reverend to Washington, those $2,000 checks will go out the door,” Biden said in Atlanta.

“And if you send Sens. Perdue and Loeffler back to Washington, those checks will never get there. It’s just that simple. The power is literally in your hands.”

The two Democratic contenders are Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock, while the two Republicans are David Perdue and Kelly Loeffler.

If the two Democrats were to win, there would be a 50-50 split in the Senate which will result in a tie that would be broken by Vice President-elect Kamala Harris.

Although I think when choosing to vote you should take a holistic approach to all of the needs of your community, it’s no secret that stimulus checks are on the minds of millions of voters.

I still think that the GOP approach to handling the stimulus checks was extremely risky and if they lose a tight race, I would attribute it to their handling of the stimulus checks.

Even though both Republican candidates chose to support the increase of stimulus checks (late), the main villain of the blockade on stimulus checks was Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, a Republican.

And I don’t think voters will forget that.

Biden has realized this and has doubled down on reiterating it as he campaigned in Georgia.

“The debate over $2,000 isn’t some abstract debate in Washington, it’s about real lives. Your lives, the lives of good, hardworking Americans,” the president-elect said. 

“If you’re like millions of Americans all across this country, you need the money, you need the help, and you need it now.”

So keep an eye out on this election today and I will supply updates as they happen.

H/T

Related

What’s needed for a third round of stimulus checks?

Stimulus check backlash from Americans

Here’s where $2,000 stimulus checks stand now

The $600 direct payments to Americans are already going out to individuals all across the country who have set up direct deposit.

These payments will continue to go out for several weeks and while many people will be happy to receive them, we know that most Americans feel like they are not enough.

Instead, most people in this country feel like they are in need of larger stimulus checks of $1,000 or higher.

So what will need to happen for us to see a third round of stimulus checks?

There is one route that would require two things to happen which could very well occur in the next few weeks.

First, the Georgia runoff election would need to result in two Democrats winning.

This would cause a tie in the Senate which would be broken by the vice president, who is currently expected to be vice President Elect Kamala Harris.

A Democrat ran White House along with a Democrat controlled Senate and House would almost certainly result in an additional stimulus bill with large amounts of aid for local and state governments and more aid for Americans.

Since $600 checks are already going out, I’m not sure what the target amount would be for lawmakers but I am sure they would be working on a proposal for more aid.

The second thing that would need to happen is Joe Biden is sworn in on January 20 and he sticks to his talk about relief.

He’s already mentioned that the $600 stimulus checks are merely a down payment and that there is more to come.

If he was telling the truth then there is no reason to expect him to backtrack, especially if the Senate flips.

If Democrats do take over the Senate then a new deal could be pushed pretty quickly after Biden takes office. It wouldn’t surprise me to see a deal hammered out by early February in that case.

If Republicans maintain control of the Senate then it is less clear what would happen. Based on what we have seen so far, I think it is very likely that a hard battle would ensue for more relief.

I could still see another stimulus bill getting done but I would be doubtful about it being very big and I do not think it would likely contain more checks.

Based on the blocked votes that we have seen take place in the Senate, the above path seems to be the most reasonable path to seeing more stimulus checks.

So tomorrow (the day of the run-offs) is going to be a huge day in terms of what we can expect to happen in the future with stimulus relief.

H/T

Related

HUGE week for stimulus relief

Stimulus check backlash from Americans

Here’s where $2,000 stimulus checks stand now

Recent data shows just how frustrated Americans are about stimulus checks and who that frustration is directed at.

National polling data from Data for Progress, a progressive think tank, recently revealed that 81% of likely voters prefer $2,000 checks over $600 checks.

That is a huge disparity and one reason why it was so unfortunate that Congress could not at least put the $2,000 stimulus bill to a vote.

Ignoring the needs of millions of Americans in need is going to have consequences (and indeed we are already seeing some).

That same polling company also just released more data that shows who the public is blaming for the lack of $2,000 checks.

47% blame the Republicans in Congress and Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell specifically.

32% blamed Democrats and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.

And finally, just 15% blame Trump.

I followed the stimulus developments since March pretty closely and it is pretty clear to me that there is blame to go around on all sides.

Democrats and Pelosi were largely responsible for not getting a stimulus deal done sooner as they were extremely stubborn with an unrealistic wish list.

At one point, there was even a deal that would have given out $1,200 stimulus checks that they held back on for other reasons.

Trump could be blamed for not bringing parties together and not being as involved in the stimulus talks as he could’ve been but he was a pretty vocal supporter of stimulus checks throughout most of the time.

But I think the polling audience is correct that the real blame is on the GOP right now.

It would be one thing if the stimulus checks went to a vote and simply did not pass the Senate but McConnell is the reason why there was no vote at all.

It makes me wonder if voters might turn out and vote Democrat in the upcoming Georgia runoff elections (although the Republican senators in that state were on board with bigger stimulus checks).

Either way, the frustration levels are very high as we just saw vandalism take place at Pelosi’s house as well as McConnell’s.

While you don’t want to see any violence, hopefully lawmakers will take surveys like this into consideration as the next Congress begins and talks about a third stimulus check evolve.

H/T

Related

Here’s where $2,000 stimulus checks stand now

Last chance for $2,000 stimulus checks today

McConnell shoots down $2,000 stimulus checks

Talks are starting to heat up with respect to the $2,000 stimulus checks as time begins to run out on the current Congress session.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell continued to block the passage of increasing stimulus checks and slammed the proposal as “socialism for rich people.”

“Socialism for rich people is a terrible way to help the American families that are actually struggling,” McConnell said on the Senate floor Thursday.

“Let me say that again. Borrowing from our grandkids to do socialism for rich people is a terrible way to get help to families who actually need it.”

Currently, McConnell is pushing a bill that contains increased stimulus checks but it also contains two extremely contentious issues including repealing Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act and establishing a commission to study voter fraud.

This is basically McConnell’s way of getting out of having to face the stimulus question by lumping together measures that he knows will not pass as a whole.

Of course, he is framing it much differently.

“The Senate is not going to split apart the three issues that President Trump linked together just because Democrats are afraid to address two of them,” McConnell said.

“The Senate is not going to be bullied into rushing out more borrowed money into the hands of Democrats’ rich friends who don’t need the help.” 

But most people — especially lawmakers on the opposing side — see right through the move.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer bashed McConnell stating, “this maneuver to combine all three issues is intended to kill the possibility of $2,000 checks ever becoming law.”

But he also said that Democrats would allow for votes of the liability shield issue and election fraud commission if the GOP agreed to hold a separate up and down vote on $2,000 checks.

Personally, I don’t think McConnell is agreeing to an up and down vote on the checks because of how it would put pressure on Republicans to act.

If they voted against increasing the stimulus checks, it could hurt their election chances and upcoming elections not to mention the potentially huge implications of the upcoming Georgia runoff in January.

If they voted in favor of the stimulus checks then they would be going against everything they have stood for over the last few months with restricted spending being a huge goal.

So I truly believe that if we don’t see a vote on the stimulus checks it is going to be purely a reason of politics being played.

And that is extremely unfortunate considering that most Americans do not believe the stimulus checks will be enough.

Furthermore, all Democrats are asking for is a vote.

“Just give us a vote on the House-passed bill, and we can vote on whatever right-wing conspiracy theory you like”

“Let’s be very clear: There is one way, and only one way, to pass $2,000 checks before the end of the year. And that’s to pass the House bill. It’s the only way to get the American people the checks they need and deserve.” Schumer said.

H/T

Related

$2,000 stimulus check update: Any chance it passes?

New bill with $2,000 stimulus checks introduced but will it get passed?

McConnell blocks stimulus checks from going through

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell on Wednesday blocked legislation to send $2,000 payments to Americans.

And later, more attempts to pass $2,000 payments were blocked by other Republican senators including Sen. Patrick Toomey, R-Pa. and U.S. Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas.

McConnell stated there was “no realistic path” for the $2,000 checks to “quickly pass the Senate.”

“Look, it’s no secret that Republicans have a diversity of views about the wisdom of borrowing hundreds of billions more to send out more non-targeted money,” McConnell said.

“Our duty is to get help to the people who need help. Like we did to an historic degree just four days ago.”

How do Democrats feel about this position?

Bernie Sanders is still attempting to block consideration of an effort to override Trump’s veto on the defense bill.

It’s still not clear to me that this would be a 100% effective strategy but it could force the Senate to spend New Year’s day in Washington unless McConnell agrees to allow the vote on the $2,000 direct payments.

“It’s about basic democracy,” Sanders said.

“All that Senator Schumer and I are asking of the majority leader is a very simple request: Allow the members of the United States Senate to cast a vote.

“What’s the problem?”

It’s hard not to agree with Bernie Sanders that a vote is at least deserved on this issue.

Most Americans surveyed say that the $600 payments are simply not enough and it’s difficult to ignore that fact.

“They are in denial of the hardship that the American people are experiencing now,” House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., said.

“Health wise, financially, in every way. Their lives and livelihood in many cases are on the brink. So, they’re in denial of that need in denying this benefit.”

One of the main Republican counter arguments is that checks will be going to wealthier Americans who did not lose any income during the pandemic.

“It is hardly clear that the federal government’s top priority should be sending thousands of dollars to, for example, a childless couple making well into six figures who have been comfortably teleworking all year,” McConnell said.

I think this is a very legitimate concern.

For example, a family of four would receive an $8,000 stimulus check if $2,000 checks were sent out and they would have to make $310,000 before the entire payment would end.

If you are making $250,000 and your household consist of four members, what are the chances you need relief compared to a household of four making under $50,000?

So I do think they could do better with the targeting but for something like pandemic relief, you don’t want perfect to become the enemy of good.

Regardless, it doesn’t seem like the newly proposed McConnell bill containing $2,000 stimulus checks will get anywhere.

Even if it were to pass the Senate with the necessary 60 votes, there doesn’t seem to be time to get it passed in the House before the end of the Congress.

“Any modification or addition to the House bill cannot become law before the end of this Congress. It’s a way to kill — to kill — the bill,” Schumer said.

“Make no mistake about it. Either the Senate takes up and passes the House bill, or struggling American families will not get $2,000 checks during the worst economic crisis in 75 years.”

So there still is a way for $2,000 checks to go out but it would require the Senate to take up the bill that has already been passed in the House. That doesn’t seem very likely at this point.

H/T

Related

New bill with $2,000 stimulus checks introduced but will it get passed?

McConnell blocks stimulus checks from going through

House passes $2,000 stimulus check bill

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell on Wednesday introduced a bill to increase the $600 stimulus checks to $2,000 and also included two other priorities for President Trump.

The bill would also repeal section 230 which is a controversial liability protection for online platforms and it would create a committee on Election Assistance Commission to study election integrity. 

McConnell is the senator who killed the bill that would’ve required unanimous consent for the stimulus check increase to $2,000.

We knew that there would still be a way for this stimulus check proposal to get voted on and apparently this is the route that he chose to take.

The problem with this bill is that it lumps stimulus checks in with other controversial measures that Democrats likely will not get on board with.

So while this bill could gain enough GOP support to pass the Senate, it may not be able to pass the House.

For that reason, a lot of people speculate that this is purely a political play that will allow members of the GOP to say that they voted in favor of $2,000 checks when in actuality they know the measure will not get passed.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., called McConnell’s proposal a “cynical gambit.”

What is even more confusing is that stimulus checks are reportedly already being processed and going out.

So if a bill increasing them to $2,000 were to take place, there would be some sort of logistical headache where tons of people will receive $600 and we just have to hope that the system holds up and delivers an additional $1,400 at a later date.

It seems less than ideal.

There still is no guarantee that this bill will receive votes so we still don’t even know for sure if there is a chance for it to pass.

Right now, a major subject of debate is Trump’s decision to veto the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA).

This legislation passed with a lot of support in both the House and the Senate so lawmakers may be able to override his veto.

Some lawmakers like Bernie Sanders have delayed McConnell’s efforts to override this veto in an attempt to get stimulus checks voted on.

But McConnell still has the ability to push ahead and end the debate on the veto override this weekend.

So based on what I have seen so far, I don’t think a bill is being presented with a straight up and down vote on stimulus checks yet.

Instead, the checks are being lumped in with other measures that will likely not getting enough support from both sides of the aisle.

In other words, it looks like typical politics.

H/T

Related

McConnell blocks stimulus checks from going through

House passes $2,000 stimulus check bill

Trump signs coronavirus stimulus bill

Update:

Senator Mitch McConnell blocked blocked unanimous passage needed for the $2,000 coronavirus stimulus checks to proceed.

Trump tweeted in response to the the move:

“Unless Republicans have a death wish, and it is also the right thing to do, they must approve the $2000 payments ASAP. $600 IS NOT ENOUGH! Also, get rid of Section 230 – Don’t let Big Tech steal our Country, and don’t let the Democrats steal the Presidential Election. Get tough!”

Since McConnell has blocked the passage, it’s not clear what the next step would be for bringing the $2,000 stimulus payments up for a vote.

While speaking on the Senate floor today, McConnell outlined three priorities Trump said he wanted Congress to address: Larger stimulus checks, Section 230 legal liability protections, and election fraud.

McConnell said that “this week, the Senate will begin a process to bring these three priorities into focus.”

But nobody really knows what this means with respect to the possibility of bigger stimulus checks.

It does seem like there will be another opportunity to vote but it may involve a complicated set of circumstances with delaying other votes.

Basically, some senators are saying that if the Senate does not agree to take a full vote on the measure, they will do what they have to do to push things out.

So while this news was not positive or even surprising, it seems that there is still opportunity to pass bigger stimulus checks this week.

=====

Original article:

Today is a huge day for stimulus checks.

As many of you know, yesterday the House passed the bill that would increase stimulus checks from $600 to $2,000 in a bipartisan 275-134 vote.

And today, Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) will attempt to pass that same legislation in the GOP-controlled Senate.

Yesterday, he commented on his goal for today:

“Tomorrow I will move to pass the legislation in the Senate to quickly deliver Americans with $2,000 emergency checks. Every Senate Democrat is for this much-needed increase in emergency financial relief, which can be approved tomorrow if no Republican blocks it – there is no good reason for Senate Republicans to stand in the way,” Schumer said.

“There’s strong support for these $2,000 emergency checks from every corner of the country — Leader McConnell ought to make sure Senate Republicans do not stand in the way of helping to meet the needs of American workers and families who are crying out for help,” he added.

The big problem is that under the Senate rules any one senator can block a request to pass or vote on a bill.

No Republican has come out and said they would block this attempt but Senator Ron Johnson already blocked two previous attempts to pass the second round of $1,200 stimulus checks so many people expect him to once again block the effort.

There may have been negotiations with President Trump and other senators that could prevent this from happening, however.

I saw reports that a condition for Trump signing the stimulus bill was that the proposal would be guaranteed to go to the floor for voting.

If that is true then perhaps we will not see a senator block the effort but it is unclear to me at this point if that agreement actually took place.

Some key Republicans have come out in support of increased stimulus checks. These include senators like Lindsey Graham and more recently Marco Rubio who stated:

“I share many of my colleagues’ concern about the long-term effects of additional spending, but we cannot ignore the fact that millions of working class families across the nation are still in dire need of relief,” Rubio said.

“Congress should quickly pass legislation to increase direct payments to Americans to $2,000.”

So while I still expect the bill to not pass the Senate with the 2/3 majority required, it does look like the the odds of it happening have increased based on recent support that has gained some momentum.

I don’t think it is quite the Hail Mary that it was a few weeks ago.

H/T

Related

House passes $2,000 stimulus check bill

Trump signs coronavirus stimulus bill

Stimulus benefits expire as huge vote approaches