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Other senators touted the plan's affordability to U.S. taxpayers and its efforts to provide energy in environmentally friendly ways. The plan is estimated to cost $85 billion, but would be offset with "loophole closers and other revenues," including money from the new leases and from closing a oil industry manufacturing tax credit. Sen. Kent Conrad, D-N.D., said the oil drilling portion of the plan would open up areas of the eastern Gulf of Mexico as well as areas off the eastern United States. He said the plan calls for a 50-mile buffer zone. Virginia, North and South Carolina and Georgia...

In the Senate, it nowadays apparently takes a self-appointed, biparitsan "gang" of senators to get past the partisan gridlock. For instance, there was the Gang of 14 group of senators who helped the Senate get beyond an impasse on judicial appointments a few years ago. Today, a new group of senators calling itself the Gang of Ten, announced that it had arrived at a compromise energy proposal meant to break the partisan logjam that exists on the issue. The group's members are: Sens. Kent Conrad (D-ND), Saxby Chambliss (R-Ga.), John Thune (R-S.D.), Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), Blanche Lincoln (D-Ark.), Mary Landrieu...

McCain is also set to receive the endorsements of Georgia's two Republican senators, Johnny Isakson and Saxby Chambliss, in the next two days, according to two GOP sources involved in the planning. California and Georgia are two of the 22 states holding nominating contests on Super Tuesday next week.

Just got off a conference call with the Georgia Employers for Immigration Reform, the only big group in the state to come down on the side of the bill now being torn apart in Washington. These are the people that put up the 60-second radio spot on WSB this week. With the immigration bill coming up for a second round of debate, the ad’s intended to offer some encouragement to U.S. Sens. Johnny Isakson and Saxby Chambliss, who had been deeply involved in negotiations — though they’ve begun to pull away after harsh reaction at home. “These two senators have...

Georgia Republicans Johnny Isakson and Saxby Chambliss will vote against moving the Senate’s immigration overhaul measure forward, the senators said today. “I think everybody did a noble effort to try to deal with the problem in a comprehensive way,” Isakson said. “But it became apparent that the confidence level was not there.” Isakson said he and Chambliss had heard from voters back home that they didn’t have faith in another measure that promises border action because past promises have yet to be fulfilled. Neither senator was viewed as a must-have vote by bill supporters, but losing them makes the task...

Georgia Republicans Johnny Isakson and Saxby Chambliss will vote against moving the Senate’s immigration overhaul measure forward, the senators said Wednesday. “I think everybody did a noble effort to try to deal with the problem in a comprehensive way,” Isakson said. “But it became apparent that the confidence level was not there.” Isakson said Wednesday that he and Chambliss had heard from voters back home that they didn’t have faith in another measure that promises border action because past promises have yet to be fulfilled.

U.S. Sen. Saxby Chambliss was on WGAU (1340 AM) in Athens this morning, talking about the immigration reform bill and his non-relationship with Ted Kennedy. Chambliss may have actually made some news. Talk host Tim Bryant sent us a sound clip. The senator begins by distancing himself from Ted Kennedy, the lead Democratic negotiator on the issue. “Ted Kennedy and I are at opposite ends of the spectrum, philosophically. We share nothing in common when it comes to politics. I don’t hang around with the guy,” Chambliss said. “But there are times when you can’t pick and choose your partner...

This is the letter GA Senators sent to POTUS this week.. We were "pretty loud" down here... I think they at least heard some faint noise emanating outside the beltway. DISCLAIMER: I still don't trust 'em... a'Tall ************* Dear Mr. President: Although the Senate's effort to reform our nation's immigration laws through the Secure Borders, Economic Opportunity and Immigration Reform Act of 2007 is stalled, illegal immigration remains our nation's number one domestic issue. We therefore believe it is incumbent upon us and our colleagues to tackle this issue and not leave this problem for future generations to solve. As...

Johnny Isakson’s chief contribution to the immigration reform package now stalled in the Senate is the concept of border security as a trigger for other measures, including the granting of legal status to illegal immigrants through “Z” visas. But opponents of the measure have told us that they view Isakson’s trigger mechanism as so much whitewash. Given the federal government’s past record of border enforcement, they don’t trust it. Apparently, they’ve told Isakson the same thing. On Tuesday, Isakson and U.S. Sen. Saxby Chambliss (an earlier post about his situation is below) sent a letter to the White House, offering...

A sign that democracy works: Chambliss and Isakson were at the press conference announcing the Senate Grand Compromise, but now they are singing a different tune. Here's the entire release: WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators Saxby Chambliss (R-Ga.) and Johnny Isakson (R-Ga.) today sent a letter to President Bush urging him to send an emergency supplemental spending bill to Congress to fund border security. Chambliss and Isakson believe emergency supplemental funds to secure the border will go a long way towards restoring the confidence of the American people in the federal government’s commitment to border security. The text of the letter...

Washington — Angry Georgians on Monday continued to inundate the state's U.S. senators with phone calls and e-mails opposing the immigration compromise bill the two Republicans helped craft. "The phones are still ringing," said Lindsay Mabry, a spokesman for Sen. Saxby Chambliss. Chambliss, ranking member of the Senate agriculture committee, was primarily involved in negotiating provisions of the bill dealing with migrant farm workers. But the provision that has riled most callers is one that would allow existing illegal immigrants to gain citizenship relatively quickly and without being required to return to their home countries first. Conservatives have tagged the...

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution Delegates to the state Republican convention unleashed a rare chorus of boos and hisses at U.S. Sen. Saxby Chambliss on Saturday, as he spoke up for a bipartisan immigration reform package unveiled in Washington this week. Hear it for yourself by clicking here. Chambliss had just finished emphasizing his devotion to border security provisions contained in the measure, and brought up agriculture’s need for temporary, foreign workers. “We’ve got to face the fact that we’ve got to create a new, truly temporary worker program” — the boos started here, but Chambliss plowed on — “for that segment...

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Monday, January 30, 2006 Isakson Introduces Legislation to Repeal Tax Code by 2008 Requires Congress to Reauthorize Current Tax Code or Replace It with New System Flat Tax and National Sales Tax Must Be Considered Among Options WASHINGTON – Declaring that it's time to give relief to American taxpayers, U.S. Senator Johnny Isakson (R-Ga.) has introduced legislation to repeal the U.S. tax code by 2008 and to force Congress to vote to reauthorize it or replace it with a new system. Isakson's bill also creates a commission that would be required to examine and to recommend to...

Pathetic.One expected no better of the Senate Democrats, who want to get out of Iraq as soon as possible, or sooner than possible--most of them don't really care--and who want to embarrass president Bush. But couldn't the Senate Republicans have stood and fought against passing an irresponsible resolution suggesting that Americans want to get out of Iraq more than we want to win?The Republican leadership may have figured they didn't have the votes to defeat the Democratic proposal without giving their members a weaker alternative to vote for. But better to lose such a vote by a small margin than...

The U.S. Justice Department offered up $700,000 to help ease a backlog of so-called "cold cases" in Fulton County. The grant money will be used to hire two lab technicians at the GBI crime lab to work on more than 1,200 cold cases. U.S. Senator Johnny Isakson (R-Georgia) presented the grant money to Fulton County District Attorney Paul Howard Thursday morning. At the same time, Howard announced major developments in six unsolved homicides that date back to 1988. An example of what the easing of the DNA backlog could do involves the death of Priscilla Culberson, whose raped, beaten, and...

The Betrayal of Susette Kelo By William John Hagan The Houston Home Journal, Perry, GA 08/03/2005 The Fifth Amendment states that “No person shall be…deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation.” This means that the government cannot take your property without due process and can only do so in exchange for a payment of “a fair and reasonable amount” for such things such as a public works project. This protects citizens from the forced confiscation of their land. This concept of natural property rights...

The Pentagon may not halt production of the Marietta-built C-130J Hercules after all, Sen. Johnny Isakson said Wednesday. President Bush released a budget proposal Monday that called for eliminating the plane after next year. But Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld has told Georgia lawmakers that the Pentagon is already re-evaluating that decision. Rumsfeld did not pledge to spare the plane during a meeting with senators Tuesday, Isakson said. But as soon as Sen. Saxby Chambliss and Isakson asked why the Pentagon was recommending that the plane be scrapped, Rumsfeld was quick to offer assurance that a review of that recommendation was...

This may be a repost but an important one.Alexandria, VA) – Even though President Bush took the oath of office last week, taxpayers still have one piece of unfinished business from the election: some federal lawmakers – including many seeking higher office – received thousands of dollars in salary overpayments for being away from their jobs during 2003 and 2004. According to a study released today by the 350,000-member National Taxpayers Union (NTU), an obscure federal statute still on the books requires Congressional absentees to forfeit their pay unless they or a family member are ill; but leaders have failed...

WASHINGTON Call them the five horsemen of the Republican Revolution: incoming US Sens. Richard Burr of North Carolina, Tom Coburn of Oklahoma, Jim DeMint of South Carolina, John Thune of South Dakota, and David Vitter of Louisiana. Their arrival in the US Senate next week gives a powerful boost to both fiscal and social conservatives on issues ranging from judicial nominations and abortion rights to tax reform. It also tips the number of former House members in the Senate to 52 percent - the first time it has passed a majority. More than just an additional five GOP votes, they...

The Talk Shows Sunday, December 26th, 2004 Guests to be interviewed today on major television talk shows: FOX NEWS SUNDAY (Fox Network): Lynne Cheney; Cardinal Theodore McCarrick, Washington archbishop.MEET THE PRESS (NBC): Dr. Phil McGraw, Sen. Tom Daschle, D-S.D., and Don Nickles, R-Okla. FACE THE NATION (CBS): Sens.-elect John Thune, R-S.D., John Isakson, R-Ga., and Ken Salazar, D-Colo. THIS WEEK (ABC): Sens. Carl Levin, D-Mich.; and Richard Lugar, R-Ind.; Bob Mankoff, cartoon editor, The New Yorker.LATE EDITION (CNN) : Former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger and former National Security Adviser Zbigniew Brzezinski; Revs. Jesse Jackson and Jerry Falwell; Reps. David...

...President Bush has won a clear mandate for his big second-term agenda, including the giants of Social Security reform and tax overhaul. Yet his ability to do anything still rests with the Senate.... Republicans [picked] up Democratic seats in both Carolinas and Georgia, as well as Louisiana and Florida. They weathered storms in Kentucky and Oklahoma, and even held Alaska. But the big daddy came with the overthrow of Mr. Daschle. That ouster... was as much a repudiation of obstructionism as it was Mr. Daschle's own record. [C]onsider not just the Republicans' numerical gains, but their ideological ones. With the...

New U.S. Senators: Obama, Isakson, Coburn Tue Nov 2,11:58 PM ET By The Associated Press Profiles of new U.S. senators elected Tuesday: ___ Tom Coburn OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — To say conservative Republican Tom Coburn has rarely been shy with his opinions is a a serious understatement. Asked about his opposition to the death penalty, the former three-term congressman said he favored executions for "abortionists" and anyone who takes life. At one town hall meeting, he said he had heard lesbianism was so rampant in area schools that girls could only go to the bathroom one at a time. He...

Just wondering, have Thune, Martinez, Vitter, DeMint, Burr, Isakson or Coburn been on any nationwide talkshows on radio or TV? I'm always curious to what the newly elected folks have to say, and haven't heard anything but Thune's victory speech. Anybody know anything?

First...Meet Your New United States Senators. Second...We will look ahead to the mid term elections. JohnThune.COM A profile of John Thune. John Thune grew up in Murdo, South Dakota, where his father taught at the local high school and coached sports and his mother was the school librarian. The fourth of five children in a family of athletes, John grew up playing football and basketball and running track.More. CoburnForSenate.com Dr. Tom Coburn Wins Senate Seat. Described by newspapers as a budget hawk, Coburn made balancing the budget a top priority. He played a central role in Medicare and health care...

What is the latest on this? Are there any seats still too close to call? How many seats did we gain? +2, +3, or +4?

US Senate seat went to Johnny Isakson (RINO), gives us both Senate seats. Gov went to Perdue (R) in last election. "Completing an electoral revolution that began two years ago, Georgia Republicans on Tuesday won the majority in the state House for the first time since Reconstruction. The win gave the party control of both chambers of the Legislature. Picking up newly created districts in north and south Georgia and bumping off a handful of incumbent Democrats, the GOP increased its hold on the Senate majority while taking enough seats in the House to complete its statehouse takeover. Republicans had...

Put info and links about Georgia here.

Senate hopeful Democratic Congresswoman Denise Majette said Monday a company owned by her opponent, Republican Congressman Johnny Isakson, was guilty of discrimination. As both candidates crisscrossed the state, the Majette campaign distributed information that accused Isakson’s company, Northside Realty, of discriminating against Black homebuyers in the early 1970s. The company, which was founded by Isakson’s father and also run by him at the time of the charges, was found in violation of the Fair Housing Act by the federal government in 1970. “The public needs to know what his record is and I’m not doing anything other than informing the...

With less than twenty-four hours until the voters go to the polls, I’m now ready to make my calls on the Senate races, given what I have learned this morning. You can check realclearpolitics as the day progresses for more polling data. Illinois: This was the one that got away from us. Perhaps it would have been better if we had kept Senator Fitzgerald, but that’s hindsight. Obama has run a smart primary and general election campaign. Oklahoma: All the polls are moving in Coburn’s direction. I would have appreciated it if Coburn had been a little more careful this...

ATLANTA - Underdog Democrat Denise Majette hammered away at front-running Republican Johnny Isakson in two U.S. Senate race debates Sunday, attacking his support for a national sales tax as bad for Georgia and challenging his claims he has never supported a tax increase. She suggested it bordered on criminal for him to accept a lake lot lease from Georgia Power Co. while serving in the Legislature and then to sell it at a profit years later. The sweetheart deal for key lawmakers was disclosed years ago. Majette has made it the focus of one of her ads. The aggressive stance...

Senate Analysis 2004 – 11/1/04 Final Senate Race Predictions Over the past several months, I've followed the Senate races closely, noting every poll and watching every trend. I've made predictions and then rescinded them. I've made mistakes and occasionally shown some insight (odds are out as to which I've done more, though). As the election nears – just tomorrow, in fact, it's time for my final predictions. So, here they are. Not only am I predicting the winner of each race, I'm predicting the margin of victory – closer races have vote tally predictions, too – just to give me...

ATLANTA - President Bush, Republican U.S. Senate candidate Johnny Isakson and a state constitutional ban on gay marriage all hold strong support among Georgia voters in the week before the election, according to the latest poll conducted this week for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution and WSB-TV. Bush gained some ground over Democratic challenger John Kerry, leading the Massachusetts senator 52 percent to 42 percent in the last survey by the news organizations before Tuesday's election. The president had a lead of 51 percent to 41 percent in the previous AJC-WSB poll two weeks ago. Eight percent were undecided in that survey,...

Alaska : Murkowski loses -1 Colorado : Coors loses -1 Florida : Martinez wins +1 Georgia Isakson wins +1 Illinois Obama wins -1 Louisiana Vitter wins +1 N.C. Bowles loses +1 Oklahoma Carson wins -1 S.C. Demint wins +1 S.D. Daschle wins -0- Kentucky Bunning wins -0-

-- Republicans Likely to Pick Up Senate Seats by John Gizzi Posted Oct 15, 2004 With two weeks to go before voters go to the polls in 34 states to choose U.S. senators, prospects are good the Republicans will make a net gain of 3 seats. Such a gain would increase their Senate majority from the current 51 to 49 (when Independent Sen. James Jeffords of Vermont is counted with the Democrats) to 54 to 46. The Republicans appear poised to pick up seats in five states where Democratic incumbents are retiring--Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, North Carolina and South Carolina But...

Isakson/Majette debate on C-SPAN.

>Subject: Fwd. fwd. Re: Georgia Senate Race >Date: Sat, 18 Sept 2004 21:02:14 -0400 (EDT) Y'all should take a look at the candidates' websites. I think the links are down there somewhere in this forward. I personally like the Buckley guy, but like the forward says he doesn't have a chance of winning. God Bless! Fellow Georgians - I'm writing you as a concerned Christian and Georgian. As I am sure you are well aware, the upcoming election is very important. We are making a choice about a president that will shape our future. But there are other important races...

ATLANTA (Reuters) - Democrats' hopes of retaining a Senate seat in Georgia are fading fast and such a loss could deal a fatal blow to the party's chances of regaining control of the Senate. In the battle for the seat being vacated by a retiring Zell Miller, a Republican congressman appears headed for an easy victory over a relatively unknown opponent. Polls in the traditionally conservative state put Johnny Isakson, a three-term Republican congressman, ahead of Democratic challenger Denise Majette by as many as 15 percentage points. "Isakson is much better known because of his long history of political service...

ATLANTA (Reuters) - Democrats' hopes of retaining a Senate seat in Georgia are fading fast and such a loss could deal a fatal blow to the party's chances of regaining control of the Senate. In the battle for the seat being vacated by a retiring Zell Miller, a Republican congressman appears headed for an easy victory over a relatively unknown opponent. Polls in the traditionally conservative state put Johnny Isakson, a three-term Republican congressman, ahead of Democratic challenger Denise Majette by as many as 15 percentage points. "Isakson is much better known because of his long history of political service...

(Washington, D.C.): The Center for Security Policy released today its instructive sixth edition of the National Security Scorecard - covering the 108th Congress (assessing votes conducted up to September 15, 2004) - that is designed to illuminate the voting records of members of the United States Senate and House of Representatives on important defense and foreign policy issues. The Scorecard considers 12 House and 18 Senate votes. In producing the National Security Scorecard, the Center hopes to assist the American people in understanding the commitment of their elected officials to the time-tested philosophy of promoting international peace through American strength,...

Democrat Denise Majette's campaign on Tuesday blasted The Atlanta Journal-Constitution for supporting Republican Johnny Isakson in the race for U.S. Senate. "The AJC didn't even bother to give Denise a chance to talk to them" before publishing an endorsement of Isakson on Sept. 27, the Majette campaign charged in a statement sent to reporters and posted online. Rick Dent, campaign spokesman for Majette, said the congresswoman is also upset that the newspaper's editorial board would not publish her reply to the Isakson endorsement. "Our contention is that the general election is a different election [from the primary], between two people...

Democrats slowly behind GUEST OPINION By JOHN BRUMMETT October 1, 2004 While the rest of you have stewed over the presidential race, I've looked into whether the Democrats might take back the U.S. Senate or the Republicans might increase their lead to something so formidable as to be nearly immune to filibuster and veto. The answer is yes. The Democrats might. The Republicans might. It's that fluid, that wild. And it might be more important to the course of public policy than the presidential outcome. Here are the numbers: The Republicans control the Senate by 51-48-1. If the Democrats could...

THE QUESTION no longer is whether Democrats can win back the Senate, now controlled 51-49 by Republicans. The prospect of a Democratic takeover was always remote and has recently become more so. The question now is how much can President Bush, should he defeat John Kerry by 5 percentage points or more, help Republican Senate candidates, assuming there's a coattail effect. And that leads to the more important question of how many seats Republicans might pick up. As many as four or five, or none at all?The trend at the moment is favorable to Republicans, but nothing is guaranteed. Of...

* IN A PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION HELD IN GEORGIA TODAY, GEORGE W BUSH DEFEATS JOHN KERRY, WHILE REPUBLICAN JOHNNY ISAKSON BEATS DEMOCRAT DENISE MAJETTE TO PICK UP THE U.S. SENATE SEAT OF RETIRING DEMOCRAT ZELL MILLER, ACCORDING TO THIS SURVEYUSA POLL OF 658 LIKELY VOTERS, CONDUCTED 9/13 + 9/14 + 9/15. * 47 DAYS TO ELECTION, IT'S BUSH 58%, KERRY 38%. * BUSH LEADS 3:1 AMONG WHITES. KERRY LEADS 4:1 AMONG BLACKS. 14% OF DEMOCRATS CROSS OVER AND VOTE FOR BUSH. BUSH LEADS INDEPENDENTS BY 23 POINTS. * ISAKSON GETS 58% TO 33% FOR MAJETTE, A 25-POINT LEAD. ISAKSON LEADS BY...

Majette poll puts Democrat 5 points back Isakson lead much bigger, campaign says

GA remains Bush country

Below are the results of a four-day poll of likely voters in the state of Georgia for the presidential race. Results are based on telephone interviews with 801 registered voters in Georgia, aged 18+, and released as indicated below. For results based on this sample, one can say with 95% confidence that the margin of sampling error is ±3 percentage points.1. If the election were held today, would you vote for Bush—Cheney or Kerry—Edwards?   07/13 08/04 08/18 08/30 09/15 TBA TBA TBA Bush-Cheney 51% 52% 54% 55% 58% 0% 0% 0% Kerry-Edwards 40% 43% 40% 38% 36% 0%...

Republicans have settled on Senate nominees in four states since our last roundup. Candidates in Georgia and Oklahoma avoided runoffs, a beer man in Colorado received his party's nod, and a carpetbagger descended on Illinois. The next important GOP decision comes in Florida, where a crowded field of senatorial wannabes is winnowing down to a two-man race. Herewith, a review of this year's hottest Senate races: ALASKA: Expect Republican senator Lisa Murkowski to blow by former state senator Mike Miller in the GOP primary on August 24. Then she'll move on to face former Democratic governor Tony Knowles in the...

Sixth District Rep. Johnny Isakson's probable ascendancy to the U.S. Senate sends an optimistic signal about Georgia's future. Though he wears a Republican label, Isakson fits the mold of Georgia's last great Democratic senator, Sam Nunn, a quietly cautious lawmaker who knew how to make good things happen in Washington for his nation and state. Like most Georgia leaders, Isakson is a center-right politician. When Congressman Mac Collins, who finished third (and last) in the July 20 GOP primary, repeatedly referred to Isakson as a "certified moderate," a lot of voters must have thought, "just like me." Moderation in governance...

Isakson Leads Ga. Primary Early Returns Wednesday July 21, 2004 1:46 AM AP Photo GAJB601 By DICK PETTYS Associated Press Writer ATLANTA (AP) - Rep. Johnny Isakson opened a wide lead Tuesday in early returns in the Republican primary for the seat held by maverick Democratic Sen. Zell Miller, whose retirement has given the GOP an excellent opportunity to pick up a Senate seat. Eight Democrats vied for the nomination, but face an uphill battle in a state that has experienced a sudden shift to the right in the last two years. In North Carolina, former Clinton chief of staff...

Will it be Isakson? Cain? A runoff? Will that beast McKinney go down in flames to Leviatan? Who will be the Dims sacrificial lamb in the Senate race? Here is the place where we'll discuss it.