Free Republic

For all of the talk about "bi-partisanship," the Georgia Senate run-off was nothing if not blatantly partisan. It was, simply, ALL about the party, and by extention, was the most intellectually sound and pure election in all of the 2008 cycle. Six years ago, Republican Saxby Chambliss routed incumbent Max Cleland by running a partisan and aggressive campaign that "infuriated Democrats" at the time. Since then, Chambliss has often wandered off the conservative partisan plantation and infuriated mainly his own base. He even got chastised for a "reach across the aisle" energy vote in an appearance on the Rush Limbaugh...

Chambliss: ‘Dynamite’ Palin turned out vote By Klaus Marre Posted: 12/03/08 10:29 [ET] Newly reelected Sen. Saxby Chambliss (R-Ga.) credited Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin with firing up his base and allowing him to cruise to a victory over Democrat Jim Martin. “Sarah Palin came in on the last day, did a fly-around and, man, she was dynamite,” Chambliss told Fox News on Wednesday. “We packed the houses everywhere we went. And it really did allow us to peak and get our base fired up.” Chambliss beat Martin by three points on Nov. 4 but did not reach 50 percent of...

Earlier I noted that it's possible for the Dems to "steal" the MN senate seat, because the senate gets to decide who "wins".  On the other side of the argument, however, is Michael Barone who makes a particularly noteworthy point:  A consequence of Chambliss winning is that Al Franken’s importance as a possible addition to the Democratic Senate bloc diminishes...   This is especially true because getting Franken in the Senate would entail Obama (and the Dems) expending political capital that could be better used on other things.  What is more, getting Franken in the Senate might not be worth the predictable backlash that would ensue if...

Chambliss Win Offers Secret for GOP Comeback By: Dick Morris & Eileen McGann We have written before that the message of the November election results for us is simple: Conservatism and the free enterprise system are too important to leave their protection to the morons who run the Republican Party. So when even the ability to filibuster seemed on the verge of being taken from the forces of conservative government, we decided to act by helping to raise funds for independent expenditure groups who are willing to run the kind of ads and do the sort of cyber-roots campaigning that...

"Former President Bill Clinton and former Vice President Al Gore both stumped for Martin. President-elect Barack Obama recorded a radio ad for Martin and sent 100 field operatives, but he didn't campaign in the state despite a request from Martin to do so."

On the eve the last Senate election of 2008, a still-campaigning Sarah Palin declared: "You Georgians are going to have the opportunity to determine the direction this country is going to take." The Georgians blinked. Instead of stepping into the 21st century with most of the rest of the country – including the southern states of Virginia and North Carolina, both of which backed Barack Obama for president and replaced Republican senators with Democrats – Georgia opted for the past.

The danger of special elections and run-offs is that they invite analysts to impute some sort of national significance or trend to their outcomes. Sometimes, like in the string of Republican victories that preceded their 1994 revolution, this kind of analysis is warranted. But in the case of yesterday's Senate run-off in Georgia, it most certainly is not.

Fresh off his runoff victory Tuesday night, Georgia Republican Sen. Saxby Chambliss credited Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin with firing up his base. “I can't overstate the impact she had down here,” Chambliss said during an interview Wednesday morning on Fox News. “When she walks in a room, folks just explode,” he added. “And they really did pack the house everywhere we went. She's a dynamic lady, a great administrator, and I think she's got a great future in the Republican Party.” Chambliss said that after watching her campaign on his behalf at several events Monday, he does not see her...

The chair of the Allegheny County Dems, Jim Burn, has confirmed that “Hardballer” Chris Matthews has kept in touch with him about where things stand in "the west” since the weeks leading up to the Pennsylvania primary. “Chris was very inquisitive about the dynamic here in the west,” said Burn, “but equally as coy regarding whether or not he would actually run for the U.S. Senate.” Burn said before this year's primary that he and Matthews mostly discussed the presidential race between Senators Clinton and Obama. “In fact,

Palin's decision to blanket the state with appearances -- and the rock-star reception she is receiving -- speaks to two basic facts about the former vice presidential nominee: she is beloved by the base of the party and she has absolutely no intention of stepping off the national stage any time soon. While Palin has been widely derided by many political commentators and many Democrats, it's hard to dispute that there is no more appealing face for the party faithful at the moment than her's. Though few in the GOP base would admit it publicly, there is a significant weariness...

Pilgrim's Pride Corp., the nation's largest chicken producer, which has plants in northeast Georgia, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on Monday, a move some analysts had predicted given the company's sagging debt load and volatile feed prices. The Pittsburg, Texas-based company sought the bankruptcy protection in a filing with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of Texas on Monday, saying that as of Sept. 27 it had $3.75 billion in assets and $2.72 billion in debts. Company spokesman Ray Atkinson said Pilgrim's Pride was reorganizing and not liquidating its assets, and the company will keep operating throughout...

Voter turnout for today’s runoff elections is steady but light, election officials report. Cobb County checked voting levels at 30 key precincts and by 10 a.m., 5,555 people had gone to the polls. The county tracks voting at 30 of its 175 precincts. Local and state results U.S. Senate Georgia Public Service Commission Georgia Court of Appeals Carroll County Clayton County DeKalb County Douglas County Fulton County Gwinnett County Cobb had 23,345 ballots cast absentee or in early voting, according to county spokesman Robert Quigley. At stake are three statewide offices and a number of local races in Clayton, DeKalb,...

0% Precincts reporting for Senate race, but Public Service Commission is showing Republican Lauren McDonald beating the Democrat 65/35. I think this is a GOOD sign.

Polls have closed in the run-off election between Georgia Republican Sen. Saxby Chambliss and Democratic challenger Jim Martin, and results are beginning to come in. With two percent of precincts reporting, the Georgia secretary of state's Web site shows Chambliss leading by a wide margin. As of this post, Chambliss had 69.1 percent of the vote compared to Martin's 30.1 percent.

Today's run-off election for Georgia's Senate between incumbent Republican Saxby Chambliss and Democrat Jim Martin has attracted a lot of attention, especially because it could put the Democratic majority one seat closer to the 60 seats needed for a filibuster-proof Senate. Michael Grunwald of Time magazine has a story up today about the importance of the outcome of the race, but instead of giving a fair-and-balanced look at how both candidates would affect the Senate, Grunwald uses the piece to attack Chambliss for being a "textbook Bush-Cheney Republican" and praise Martin for potentially being a repudiation of Bush and a...

United States Senator, Chambliss election results. So far he is ahead with only 8% in.

ATLANTA – Georgia Sen. Saxby Chambliss has won re-election in a runoff, dashing Democratic hopes of capturing enough Senate seats to thwart Republican filibusters.

With 62% of precincts reporting at 9:00 PM EST, Chambliss has 60% of the vote. CNN projects him to be the winner.

- December 2, 2008 9:03 PM ET ATLANTA (AP) - Georgia Sen. Saxby Chambliss has won re-election in a runoff, dashing Democratic hopes of capturing enough Senate seats to thwart Republican filibusters. Chambliss, who fell just short of the majority vote needed to win re-election in November, prevailed in a one-on-one rematch with Democrat Jim Martin.

Take it to the bank.

The polls close in ten minutes. Hopefully Georgia has held the line today. Poll traffic was reported as steady here Northeast Atlanta today...

The polls are open. Let's do it! Don't let Democrats reach critical mass! Please make time before or after work. Turnout is the key. Elections are the times when our activism can really get things done...or not.

It is a must that Saxby pulls it out tommorrow. If the Democrats get to 59 with a there is a decent chance they will just install Al Franken as Senator and know their is nothing that anyone can do to stop them for 2 years. It is important if you don't live there to call everyone you know there. Or if you can influence other people who have friends or family there ask them if they can do the same, turnout is critical in this race.

AUGUSTA, Ga. – Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin urged Georgia voters to back Sen. Saxby Chambliss in Tuesday's runoff in an election eve appeal that underscored her popularity within the Republican Party and the GOP's efforts to stave off erosion of its shrinking Senate numbers. "Losing an election doesn't mean we have lost our way," the former vice presidential candidate told a cheering crowd of 2,500 on Monday in the central Georgia town of Perry. "If we are to lead again, we have lots of hard work ahead of us. Let it begin here tomorrow in Georgia." Palin's campaign appearances for...

Sarah Theus blew her perfect attendance record at Porter Elementary to go Monday to see Sarah Palin in Perry. The 11-year-old from Macon wore a hot pink "Sarah" headband that caught Palin's eye as she took the stage at a rally for Senator Saxby Chambliss on the eve of the run-off. "Our candidate did not win the election but she won our hearts," said Sally Theus, Sarah's mother, who gave in to her daughter's begging to attend the rally. Theus drove down to Perry with her sister-in-law Tammy Hawkins and 9-year-old niece Hailey Hawkins, who missed a day at Covenant...

Public Policy Polling of North Carolina has released a final poll of the U.S. Senate runoff, giving Republican incumbent Saxby Chambliss a “solid” 53 percent lead over Democrat Jim Martin, who weighs in at 46 percent. But PPP also attaches a caveat. The survey of 1,276 likely voters was conducted Nov. 29 and 30, and has a margin of error of plus-or-minus 2.7 percent. Here are two cogent paragraphs from the PPP analysis: Chambliss is up 71-28 on Jim Martin with whites. For Martin to win the runoff with that performance, the electorate would have to be 34% African American....

[Video/Audio] Michael Reagan, the famous radio host, author and son of President Reagan has joined with the National Republican Trust in endorsing Saxby Chambliss for the Georgia Senate run-off election set for Dec. 2nd. Michael rarely does political endorsements, but sensing the critical importance for the future of the country and the GOP, he has put the full "Reagan legacy" solidly behind Chambliss. The Democrats and Obama are working overtime to defeat him and gain the 60 votes they need in the Senate for filibuster-proof total control. With Obama's recent appointments, some believe he will govern from the center. Make...

First-term Republican Sen. Saxby Chambliss holds a 52 percent to 46 percent lead over Democratic challenger James Martin), a former state representative, in their Dec. 2 runoff battle, according to a Research 2000 survey conducted Nov. 23-25. Two percent are undecided and the margin of error is 4 points. Research 2000 makes the same observation that Public Policy Polling did in its Nov. 22-23 poll: that Chambliss has been able to widen his lead because, this time around, Barack Obama is not on the ballot to lure a larger turnout. PPP had Chambliss leading Martin 53 percent to 41 percent....

[VIDEOS] In this ad, we remind Georgia voters what is at stake in this special Senate run-off election: total control of the U.S. Congress. We also remind them that Obama has promised pro-immigration groups he will work to legalize 12 million illegal aliens. This will be a crushing blow to the U.S. economy, not to mention the political balance between Republicans and Democrats. If Republican Saxby Chandliss loses, Obama and his Democrats will have a filibuster proof majority in the Senate for their radical agenda. The liberal blogs have even targeted Dick Morris for supporting us. Dick is fighting back...

Eyewitness News @ 6 November 25, 2008 • 6:54 pmTuesday, November 25, 2008 A POLITICAL SUPERSTAR IS COMING TO CENTRAL GEORGIA.EVER SINCE SHE WAS NAMED AS JOHN MCCAIN'S RUNNING MATE...ALASKA GOVERNOR SARAH PALIN HAS DRAWN BIG CROWDS.NOW....PALIN WILL CAMPAIGN WITH SENATOR SAXBY CHAMBLISS MONDAY IN PERRY.THAT'S THE DAY BEFORE HIS RUNOFF WITH DEMOCRAT JIM MARTIN. AND BOTH CANDIDATES ARE BRINGING HIGH PROFILE PEOPLE TO GEORGIA TO CAMPAIGN FOR THEM.THE DEMOCRATIC GROUP INCLUDES FORMER PRESIDENT BILL CLINTON.. AND FORMER VICE PRESIDENT AL GORE.REPUBLICANS INCLUDE FORMER REPUBLICAN PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATES MIKE HUCKABEE.. AND MITT ROMNEY.ON MONDAY.. CHAMBLISS LANDS THE HOTTEST ITEM IN THE...

ATLANTA | Democrat Jim Martin is campaigning feverishly, aided by Barack Obama's grass-roots organization from the presidential race and a flood of support from the national party, but he remains an underdog against incumbent Republican Sen. Saxby Chambliss in a Georgia runoff election considered pivotal for the balance of power in the U.S. Senate. Mr. Martin is behind in polls, has half the cash of his opponent and early-voting turnout among black voters is stagnating - a crucial block for any Democrat in this mostly conservative state where Republicans also hold the other U.S. Senate seat, the governor's office and...

http://www.OurCountryPAC.org presents this wonderful new television ad thanking Gov. Sarah Palin. The ad will run around the Thanksgiving holiday.

President-elect Barack Obama, who co-sponsored the misleadingly titled Employee Free Choice Act in the Senate in 2007, has vowed that the measure, called “Card Check,” will be the law of the land once he’s in office. Given the Democratic majority in the U.S. Senate, if Republican Sen. Saxby Chambliss loses Georgia’s runoff election on Dec. 2, Card Check probably will become law—and that would be terrible news for Americans who want to keep their jobs. Card Check would do away with the present secret ballot process used by the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) when employees vote on whether to...

FairTax volunteers led by Georgia State Director Gene Key put together a 2,500 person FairTax "Truth" Rally at the Gwinette Center Sunday outside Atlanta. Ken Hoagland of FairTax.org offered thanks to the excellent team in Georgia for their hard work and quick action. The rally came in response to distortions of the FairTax by the Democratic Senate Campaign Committee on behalf of challenger Jim Martin. Mr. Martin, trying to unseat Georgia Senator and a FairTax bill co-sponsor Saxby Chambliss, later distanced himself from the ads but then added, "They’re right". Mr. Martin was invited to attend but did not respond....

Obama: 'Elections aren't over' Email|Link|Comments (1) Posted by Foon Rhee, deputy national political editor November 21, 2008 09:49 AM The outcome in the US Senate is still in doubt more than two weeks after the election -- and with it the possible fate of President-elect Barack Obama's agenda. Democrats hold 58 seats in the Senate that takes office in January (counting independents Joe Lieberman of Connecticut and Bernie Sanders of Vermont, who usually vote with them), and they're within reach of 60 -- and a possible filibuster-proof majority -- with races in Georgia and Minnesota still up in the air....

Atlanta & Savannah Victory Rallies with Mitt Romney~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~                                      Please Join Senator Saxby Chambliss&Governor Mitt Romney Atlanta Victory Rally 2008 Friday, November 21, 200810:30 am - 11:30 am InterContinental HotelVenetian Ballroom3315 Peachtree Rd NEAtlanta, GA 30326 Savannah Victory Rally 2008 Friday, November 21, 20082:30 pm - 3:30 pm Charles H. Morris Center10 East Broad StreetSavannah, GA 31401 Please RSVP to RSVP@saxby.org or call (678)589-4888

Rasmussen reports that Saxby Chambliss is clinging to a narrow lead of only 4 points in the Georgia runoff election scheduled for Dec. 2. With Ted Stevens defeated for the Alaska Senate seat and Al Franken within 200 votes of overtaking Norm Coleman with the Minnesota recount yet to even begin, the Chambliss seat is all that stands between the Democrats and 60 votes in the Senate — a Senate that would be filibuster-proof.

Wednesday, November 19, 2008 Email a Friend Email to a Friend Republican incumbent Saxby Chambliss holds a four-point lead over Democratic challenger Jim Martin in Georgia’s closely-watched Senate runoff race, according to the first Rasmussen Reports survey in the state since Election Day. Chambliss leads 50% to 46%, with the vote scheduled for December 2. Four percent (4%) are undecided. However, runoff elections typically have lower voter turnout than general elections and can be impacted in either direction by organized get-out-the-vote efforts. In Georgia, although Chambliss defeated Martin on Election Day, with a third-party candidate in the race, he failed...

Abstract: The runoff for a U.S. Senate seat in Georgia is providing a stark example of how candidates in the 2008 election have been able to skirt campaign-finance limits -- without actually breaking the law. Federal campaign-finance law limits individuals to donating $2,300 to a candidate per election. Yet Republicans and Democrats are soliciting donations more than 10 times that amount for the Dec. 2 runoff in Georgia. GOP fund-raisers are asking people to give as much as $65,500 toward incumbent Sen. Saxby Chambliss's campaign, while Democrats are seeking donations up to $30,800 for challenger Jim Martin. So how are...

Early voting for the runoff between Sen. Saxby Chambliss (R-GA) and Democrat Jim Martin began in most counties in Georgia on Monday. Turnout has been steady with long lines in some counties, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Richmond county began early voting last Friday, while Bleckley and Wilkinson counties began on Tuesday. Advance voting, distinguished from early voting by casting one's ballot a week before the election, is scheduled throughout the state from Nov. 24-26. While voting includes races such as the one for the Georgia State Appeals Court, interest is by far focused on the contest between the Chambliss...

Jim Martin, the Democratic candidate in the contentious Georgia Senate runoff, is getting a big Democratic name coming into the state for him: Al Gore, who will be going to Georgia on Sunday, a Martin campaign source confirmed to Election Central. Martin is still the underdog against incumbent GOP Sen. Saxby Chambliss, but this race remains on the table. The runoff election is expected to have very low turnout -- it's effectively the same as a special election in many ways -- and as such will be all about ginning up turnout among the party base. Bill Clinton is visiting...

Georgia supporters of the fair tax turned out en masse Sunday to cheer the idea of a national sales tax, which has become a thorny issue in the state’s high-profile Dec. 2 U.S. Senate runoff. Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, who won Georgia’s GOP presidential primary in February, joined about 2,000 people Sunday afternoon at the Gwinnett Civic Center in what became not just fair-tax rally, but a major campaign stop for Republican incumbent U.S. Sen. Saxby Chambliss of Moultrie. Chambliss backs the fair tax, which would abolish the Internal Revenue Service and replace the federal income tax and most...

Disgruntled conservatives are making plans to oppose his every move over the next four years, and - patricularly in some parts of the South - emotions are running high, sometimes spilling over into outright hostility. Any hope that partisan rancour might ease after Mr Obama's historic election victory have been rapidly dispelled - not least in Georgia, where a bitter new Senate election battle is under way. Elsewhere, wrangles over continuing knife-edge Senate recounts in Minnesota and Alaska have ensured that the divisions in the run-up to the election persist. Under Georgia law, a senator must win at least 50...

No word whether President-elect will campaign for Senate candidate An appearance in Georgia by President-elect Barack Obama on behalf of Jim Martin appears unlikely, but that doesn’t mean he isn’t making his presence felt in Martin’s Dec. 2 runoff against incumbent Republican U.S. Sen. Saxby Chambliss. Obama is keeping 25 of his Georgia field offices open for Martin, leaving most of his in-state paid staff on the ground here and importing about 100 field operatives from Southern states to help Martin, according to Matt Canter, a spokesman for Martin’s campaign. Other veterans of completed campaigns are also on their way...

(CNN) — Republican Paul Broun is sorry for calling President-elect Barack Obama a 'Marxist' and comparing him to Adolph Hitler, the Georgia Congressman said Tuesday.

Heard on the local radio that McCain has scheduled a trip to Georgia to campaign for Saxby Chambliss.

His positions. FAIRTAX America desperately needs tax reform. The current income tax code is so complex that even the IRS does not understand it. Our so-called progressive income tax punishes individual success. NATIONALSECURITY As a young man, I had a strong desire to serve in the military. The day that I became a U.S. Marine was one of the proudest days of my life. Later, I also served as a Navy medical officer. As a Marine, I took an oath to defend the United States. Keeping that oath is a sacred obligation.

Runoff elections in Georgia have been set for Tuesday, Dec. 2, and advanced voting will be conducted at the usual places in the tri-county area Monday, Nov. 24 through Wednesday, Nov. 26. All Georgia voters will be filling three state-wide posts including that for U. S. Senator. With 99% of the state ballots counted, Incumbent U. S. Senator Saxby Chambliss still falls just short of the percentage he needs for a clear win. It is likely that he will face his Democratic challenger, Jim Martin in the runoff. According to the Secretary of State website Monday, Chambliss had received a...

With the Georgia Senate race heating up as a contest between Democrat Jim Martin and Republican Saxby Chambliss, ACORN has promised their full non-partisan support for Martin in the upcoming runoff election. An anonymous ACORN spokesperson stated that according to their registration records, hundreds of thousands of voters nationwide have selected Georgia as their new home and are registered to vote in this special election. ACORN will be arranging transportation for these individuals to go to Georgia so they can participate in the election. Although not specific, they have also received absentee ballots from many thousands more who are unable...

The National Republican Senatorial Committee is already on the offensive in Georgia. Where were ads like this in the general election? Why did we not do a better job shapping the debate? This is the exact ads we need now and in 2010. Watch this ad at ObamaHood.org