Jon Ossoff in a recent appearance on MSNBC.
Democratic candidate for Georgia’s Sixth Congressional District, Jon Ossoff, is forbidden to cast a vote for himself, or anyone for that matter, in today’s heated primary election. The thirty-year-old darling of the liberal Hollywood crowd does not live in the Sixth District and hasn’t for twelve years. When confronted about his ineligibility, he parrots a version of this story, and artfully dodges the question:
I’ve been living with Alisha, my girlfriend of twelve years down by Emory University where she is a full-time medical student and as soon as she concludes her medical training I’ll be back up the street ten minutes back up the road where I grew up. But I want to support her and her career and do right by her.
So, let me get this straight; you won’t move a mile and a half, to be counted as an actual resident of the district you want to represent in Congress because of a woman? Newbie, you are showing the wet behind your ears. Romance and love are all well and good, but this is one sappy stand-your-ground move that just may backfire.
There must be other qualified liberal hopefuls in Georgia’s CD6, wishing to steal the district once represented by House Speaker Newt Gingrich, so how did the Democratic Party conclude that Ossoff was their golden ticket?
It is becoming painful to watch the liberals try and select legitimate, rule-following and law-abiding candidates. They haven’t managed to back one yet. Do they even vet these people? Georgia’s Democratic Party has all but anointed Ossoff–they have trotted out their big-name Hollywood types, like Samuel L. Jackson, Alyssa Milano, and Christopher Gorham (okay, maybe ‘big name’ is too much for Milano, but you get the idea) to rally the faithful and enliven the arduous trip to the polls. One could call it a celebrity Uber ride, so to speak. They have also raised 8.3 million dollars in a few scant months and are putting their hopes in the Ossoff basket. I just don’t understand the attraction.
The lanky, well-coiffed Ossoff, is not the first interloper to invoke Article 1, Section 2 of the U.S. Constitution, which sets parameters of whom is eligible for a seat on The Hill. When John McCain (R-AZ) burst on to Arizona’s political scene in the early 1980’s, Democratic leaders labeled the Vietnam Veteran a carpetbagger, who quietly moved to the Grand Canyon to run for office. They argued that he did meet eligibility standards of residency. Two misconceptions; McCain followed wife Cindy, who was an Arizona resident, and lack of historical residency was due in part to his last known address being the Hanoi Hilton. Legal, and understandable, but it was a costly hurdle to overcome for McCain. (Then again, Arizona could legitimately be called the capital of carpetbaggers.)
What Ossoff is doing is certainly not illegal. It’s just stupid–a public relations blunder of epic proportions. And, he is going to need all the good press he can get in coming weeks. He may have worked his ‘Ossoff’ (as his sparkly yard signs proclaim) but that may not matter if he intends to shrug off questions about his current living arrangements. Although he surged ahead in early voting, his rising star seems to have plateaued—he is required to win 51% of the vote to avoid a costly run-off process in June, and that number is appearing to be unlikely in a field of – get this — eighteen candidates.
Ossoff, you seem to be a reasonably intelligent guy. A career in documentary filmmaking, a lovely and accomplished girlfriend (twelve years, Alisha) and the admiration of the liberal elite. You have a chance to serve your country and walk the hallowed halls of the Nation’s Capital—in the footsteps of our founding fathers. Dude, just move already.
