Two Clips That Show Why Ossoff Lost This Morning’s Debate

Jon Ossoff’s debate performance didn’t get any better from his dismal performance on Tuesday. This morning, Ossoff’s debate started on the wrong foot when he thanked the wrong debate sponsor, and got even worse once he moved on to issues of substance.

First, Ossoff has long tried to balance his liberal patrons like Hank Johnson and Bernie Sanders with the more moderate leanings of Georgia’s Sixth Congressional District. When the debate moderator turned to health care, specifically whether Ossoff supported a single payer health care system, Ossoff could only dodge the question. Specifically, Ossoff refused to say whether he personally supported a single payer system:

Ossoff’s dodge is no surprise given that Johnson and Sanders are such strong supporters of a single payer system.

Ossoff also ran into trouble when he was caught repeating the same discredited talking points that the DCCC has so desperately pushed against Karen Handel. Ossoff claimed that Handel had increased spending as the Chair of the Fulton County Commission by over 40%:

Last month, it was the DCCC pushing these exact same claims. Yet when Politifact looked into the DCCC’s ad, they gave them a rating of “Mostly False,” saying also that they left out “critical facts”:

“Democrats say Handel saw her office budget rise 42 percent. While some viewers might not spot the distinction between the administrative budget and the budget for the entire office, the raw numbers support the claim. But most of that increase came from moving around work — and the money to pay for it — inside the department. The rise in the administrative budget was offset by cuts elsewhere. The ad’s statement contains an element of truth, but leaves out critical facts that would give a different impression. We rate the claim Mostly False.”

Ossoff repeating the discredited talking points of his DC backers is as damaging as it is predictable. Ossoff has been propped up by national groups at every step of the way. By repeating the DCCC’s fake claims, Ossoff has confirmed voter’s worst fears about who he’ll take his marching orders from. Ossoff will be working for Nancy Pelosi and the DCCC, not the voters of Georgia’s Sixth Congressional District.