Campaign Crawlers
The Last Man Standing
Saxby Chambliss -- and a few Georgia Libertarians -- may be all that stands between the Democrats and a 60-seat Senate majority.
The day after the election, Republicans across the country breathed a sigh of relief. Yes, the Democrats had won the presidency and increased their majorities in both houses of Congress. But it initially looked like the Democrats were going to fall short of their goal of a 60-seat, filibuster-proof Senate majority.
Not only did the Democrats fail to take out Republican senators in Kentucky and Mississippi, but a few other troubled GOP incumbents seemed like they might hang on. Gordon Smith was leading in Oregon. Norm Coleman of Minnesota and even the felonious Ted Stevens of Alaska appeared to have won reelection. Saxby Chambliss was poised to avoid a runoff in Georgia. It was as if swing voters saw the early returns and decided to put a brake on the Democrats. Joe Lieberman was reportedly in talks about caucusing with Senate Republicans if Harry Reid's minions took away his committee chairmanship.
Since then, the tide has again turned. When all the votes were counted, Smith lost (a Constitution Party candidate played the spoiler). Stevens lost. Lieberman kept his committee chairmanship and stayed in the Democratic caucus. With 88 percent of ballots recounted, Coleman stubbornly clings to his lead over Al Franken, but Franken and the Democrats appear willing to pry that seat from Republican hands by any means necessary -- perhaps including having the Democrat-controlled Senate vote to seat Sen. Stuart Smalley.
When all the returns were in, freshman Sen. Saxby Chambliss fell just short of an absolute majority and was forced into a runoff against Democrat Jim Martin. Zell Miller, a conservative Democrat who endorsed against Chambliss in 2002 but supports his reelection now, calls Chambliss "the last man standing" against a "far-left agenda" sailing through the Senate without debate. In the event Coleman is unseated, Zig Zag Zell is right: Chambliss will be the last Republican capable of keeping the Democrats from getting to 60 Senate seats after all.
TUESDAYS'S RUNOFF has now become a focal point in the battle for the Senate. President-elect Barack Obama has kept 25 of his Georgia field offices open to help Martin's campaign and left much of his paid in-state staff intact. Obama field operatives from throughout the South and as far away as Ohio have streamed into Georgia to support the Democratic Senate candidate.
Meanwhile, John McCain and the base-friendly Sarah Palin have each traveled to Georgia to stump for Chambliss, the latter four times. The McCain-Palin ticket carried the state with 52 percent of the vote, despite Obama's vast field operation and substantial black turnout. Chambliss ran behind McCain, taking 49.8 percent of the vote to Martin's 46.8 percent.
One reason for the difference: Libertarian Party candidate Allen Buckley's presence in the race. Buckley received nearly 3.5 percent of the vote, running almost 100,000 votes ahead of Libertarian presidential nominee Bob Barr -- even though Barr had served as a Republican congressman from Georgia and polled as high as 8 percent statewide in the presidential contest. Many of those voters were fiscal conservatives upset with Chambliss's vote for the $700 billion Wall Street bailout -- or, as he prefers to describe it, "the financial rescue package."
"It's for the people, by the people," an anti-bailout conservative told the Politico in late October. "I think that 99 percent of the phone calls that Saxby got were for him to vote against the bailout, yet he did it anyway. He's supposed to represent the people of the state of Georgia.… By far, the vast majority did not want the bailout."
Chambliss has been trying to win such voters back by hitting his Democratic opponent's liberal voting record as a member of the Georgia state legislature. In a conference call last month, he described Martin as "the most liberal member of the state house" and someone who "supports partial-birth abortion, supports gun control, voted against making English the official language of Georgia, he voted against toughening laws against child prostitution." Chambliss concluded that Martin has "nothing in common" with people who voted Libertarian in November (the senator may be a little hazy on the Libertarian Party's position on prostitution).
The parallel is the 1992 Georgia Senate race. A Libertarian candidate won more votes than incumbent Democratic Sen. Wyche Fowler's Election Day margin over Republican Paul Coverdell. Fowler did not get the required 50 percent plus one, however, and the race went to a runoff. Eliminated from the second round of voting, the Libertarian endorsed Coverdell, who went on to become Georgia's next U.S. senator.
DON'T EXPECT a repeat this time around, Libertarians say. Buckley has refused to endorse either major party candidate and has criticized Chambliss not only on the bailout, but also on civil liberties and the Iraq war. The Libertarian also-ran drew up a statement of principles (pdf) for the two candidates to sign but neither one bit. Buckley told a blogger for the Atlanta Journal Constitution, "I believe Martin would be better with respect to civil liberties. It's hard to believe he could be worse than Chambliss on fiscal matters, but he could be so."
The Libertarian's voters may be just as conflicted. According to Public Policy Polling, 36 percent of them supported John McCain for president, 32 percent voted for Barack Obama, and another 30 percent were for Bob Barr. Buckley's support also skewed younger than Chambliss's.
Even without the Libertarian's support, Chambliss has many of the advantages Coverdell enjoyed in the 1992 runoff -- and a few he didn't. This will be the first opportunity for conservative Georgians to rebuke a Democratic president-elect. In '92, that president-elect had carried Georgia (with help from Ross Perot). In 2008, Georgia voted Republican for president. Sixteen years ago, Fowler won the first round of voting. This time out, Chambliss finished first in November.
That gives Chambliss a distinct advantage heading into the lower-turnout runoff election, one that has been reflected in the polls. Chambliss finished ahead of Martin in November with a Libertarian on the ballot and Obama bringing record numbers of new black voters to the polls. Will he not do so again without them? White men account for 36 percent of the half-million early votes already cast, up from 27 percent on Election Day.
Saxby Chambliss isn't taking anything for granted. Neither are the libertarian-leaning voters who may help decide the election. With the race down to two candidates, they can reelect a Republican who has sometimes supported the Bush-era big-government conservatism that has so tarnished the GOP brand -- or try their luck with a Democratic supermajority eager to grow government at rates unseen since the Great Society's heyday.
For the GOP, it's still filibuster or bust.
About the Author
W. James Antle, III is associate editor of The American Spectator. You can follow him on Twitter at http://Twitter.com/Jimantle.
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Georgia Prune| 12.1.08 @ 5:58PM
Saxby wouldn't be in this situation if he had not betrayed his constituency by standing next to Ted Kennedy (D-Chappaquiddick) and trying to ramrod amnesty for illegals down our throats. He is wholly owned by agribusiness & poultry business in Georgia. I can't decide if it's worth the effort to turn out & vote for him tomorrow. Could Jim Martin be worse? Just askin'.
jacksmith| 12.1.08 @ 10:08PM
WE HAVE MORE TO DO:
Democrat Jim Martin is in a runoff against Bush Republican Saxby Chambliss for the Senate seat from Georgia. Bush's Saxby Chambliss voted against spending a few measly dollars to provide health care coverage for Georgia, and Americas needy children. But he supported wasting hundreds of billions of your dollars, and the life BLOOD of Americas finest on an unnecessary war in Iraq.
At a time when 47 million of you have no health insurance coverage, and over 100 million of you with insurance are just one major illness away from complete financial destruction. Bush and Saxby Chambliss voted to make the heart break of bankruptcy relief even harder for all of you to use.
You see, Bush and Saxby Chambliss, and his family don't have to worry about their health care coverage. They have the finest health care coverage your tax money can buy for them. Courtesy of you. The American Tax payer. In fact, no one but the super rich can afford the health care coverage you the tax payer provide for Saxby Chambliss, and his family for FREE! with your tax dollars.
He supposedly works for you. But he doesn't think you and your family should have access to the type of taxpayer supported FREE health care that you provide for him, and his loved ones for FREE!. Doesn't that just make you BURRING MAD!
Vote for JIM MARTIN for US senator from Georgia. Vote for JIM Martin who will be on your side. Vote for JIM MARTIN who will work with President Obama and a majority congress for you. Vote for JIM MARTIN most of all for your-self, your family's, friends, and loved ones. Vote for JIM MARTIN for a better America, and a better World.
Don't let Saxby Chambliss make a chump out of you by tricking you into voting against your own best interest. Saxby chambliss is NOT! on your side. He's not one of you. He is on George Bush's side. And we all know what a catastrophe the Bush Chambliss administration has been the past 8 years.
Contact all your family and friends and do every thing you can to see to it that JIM MARTIN and GEORGIANS! take that senate seat back for Georgia, and America. No matter where you live in America. This is important to you. President Obama will need all the help, and power you can give him to try and fix this catastrophic mess that the Corrupt Bush Chambliss administration has created.
As I said before you will have to vote in overwhelming numbers to overcome the Bush Chambliss "Let Them Eat Cake" vote fraud machine. Vote early if you can. Then help everyone you can get to the polls and vote for JIM MARTIN. You and your loved ones don't have to be Saxby Chambliss's victims anymore.
I know you will get it done. Just like you did for President Obama.
God bless all of you
jacksmith - WORKING CLASS... :-)
Osamas Pajamas| 12.1.08 @ 11:34PM
I'm a registered Libertarian who votes Republican in close races in the hope of preventing a Democratic victory and who votes Libertarian when the Republican is sure of winning by a substantial margin. Each party may regard me as a summer patriot and sunshine soldier but America's future --- if we are to have one --- depends on shrinking the Democratic party in favor of the Republicans and Libertarians.
Jason| 12.2.08 @ 5:08AM
I really hope that Georgia voters, who are not happy with Saxby's vote for the bailout, look at the big picture. Georgia is a red state, but if they let go of Saxby because he wasn't conservative or libertarian enough, the U.S. will instantly become a lot more blue.
Eric Dondero| 12.2.08 @ 9:23AM
The big loser today is not going to be the Democrat, but rather Libertarian Buckley. Chambliss is going to win big. And thankfully, Chambliss did not cede to Buckley's wishes to sign his silly pledge. So, he's going to be left with nothing; no access to Chambliss as a US Senator for the Libertarian Party of GA, nor a signed pledge showing he had an influence in the election.
It should be noted that the Republican Liberty Caucus, representing the libertarian wing of the GOP, did most enthusiastically endorse Chambliss on Nov. 20. So, not all of us libertarians agree with Buckley and his Leftwing Libertarian agenda.
Libertarians for Obama| 12.2.08 @ 12:04PM
And not all of us Libertarians agree with the Right-Wing Libertarian agenda, either. So, what's your point, Eric Dondero?
Eric Dondero| 12.2.08 @ 3:27PM
So, why don't you tell us how a guy who scored perfect 100s on both the ADA and National Journal surveys of the US Senate, to the Left of Socialist Bernie Sanders, is any sort of Libertarian?
Equating Obama with libertarians, is almost like saying Libertarian Fascists, or Fascist Libertarians.
Notice you don't post under your own name? Are you for real, or just an operation of Moveon.org?
Stan Redmond| 12.2.08 @ 5:11PM
Re: jacksmith,
Tired old liberal tripe we've heard thousands of times from the democrats. there is NOT a right to free healthcare yet we have the coverage in emergencies. Healthcare for politicians is part of their pay package. My boss pays for my healthcare package as a benefit which is part of my compensation. And the customers of our company pay for it. Now, I'm going to go roll an old lady in to a snowbank and steal her wheel chair like the mean republican I am.
Alan Brooks| 12.2.08 @ 8:58PM
Libertarians are not conservatives in any way-- they are radicals.
Kevin Riley O'Keeffe| 12.3.08 @ 5:26AM
I would rather eat a live lizard than vote for any Amnesty-supporting Republican. I'm an authentically conservative Republican, and I damn sure didn't vote for McCain, either. Saxby Chambliss has won his second term, as it was obvious he would. Who cares? I hope some scandal erupts that forces him to resign in disgrace. People like Senator Chambliss are enemies of the American nation. All neocons must go.
And can someone please explain to me why the Hell the people of South Carolina voted for that effete little twerp, Lindsey Grahamnesty? Just because Bob Conley was technically a Democrat? Are people really that blind?
Kevin Riley O'Keeffe| 12.3.08 @ 5:29AM
"Libertarians are not conservatives in any way-- they are radicals. "
Not half so radical as the Bush/Cheney administration, the McCain/Palin ticket, or the other neo-"conservatives" who, in their quasi-Trotskyite radicalism, wish to bring a global democratic capitalist revolution to all corners of the globe, through force of American arms.
Kevin Riley O'Keeffe| 12.3.08 @ 5:36AM
"I really hope that Georgia voters, who are not happy with Saxby's vote for the bailout, look at the big picture. Georgia is a red state, but if they let go of Saxby because he wasn't conservative or libertarian enough, the U.S. will instantly become a lot more blue."
How so? Suppose Saxby had lost (he didn't, but suppose he had), so what? Let's assume Norm Coleman wins his race, and that gives the Democrats 59 votes, one shy of the required supra-majority. Then along comes Susan Collins, Olympia Snowe, and Arlen Spectre, and suddenly the Democrats have two votes to spare! Hell, probably three votes, when you count Coleman. Plus probably a couple more, from people I ain't recalling at the moment. Obama has his supra-majority. The RINOs likely would have given it to him even if he'd only had 55 Democrats lined up.
The Republican Party is a fictional entity. It stands for nada. Get rid of it.
Ms. Know| 12.6.08 @ 9:50PM
The left-wing illuminati can dry their eyes, because their plan to socialize the entire country on every issue is done with now, there is a filibuster.
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