Word: georgias
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: all
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
Some political observers think Tuesday's Senate runoff in Georgia is a big deal because a victory by underdog Jim Martin over incumbent Republican Saxby Chambliss would keep alive the Democratic Party's dreams of a filibuster-proof 60-seat majority to move its agenda successfully through the Senate. Other experts see the race as a big deal for the opposite reason; Democrats with that majority as well as control of the House and White House could overreach, leading to a conservative backlash...
...Martin-Chambliss race actually is a big deal: Chambliss is a textbook Bush-Cheney Republican - and every vote counts. Sixty seats would be better for the Democrats than 59, which would be better for the Democrats than 58. Six years is also a long time. In fact, Georgia is still an extremely conservative state, so if Chambliss can win at a time when the Republican Party is at its lowest ebb, he can probably hold his seat as long as he wants - which would be good news for Bush-style Republicans and bad news for Obama-style Democrats, no matter...
...results, and pollsters say the runoff will come down to turnout. But all elections come down to turnout, and it's hard to see the path to victory for Martin, a mild-mannered former state legislator and human-resources commissioner who is unusually progressive for a statewide candidate in Georgia. Chambliss narrowly missed an outright majority in November, pulling in 49.8% to Martin's 46.8%, and black Democrats who turned out in record numbers to support Obama didn't vote early for Martin in similar numbers. John McCain and Sarah Palin both returned to Georgia to campaign for Chambliss after...
...changing Washington. He's portrayed Martin as a squishy Big Government liberal who supports Obama, higher taxes, socialized medicine and pro-abortion judges who legislate from the bench, but opposes the Second Amendment, prayer in schools, offshore drilling and a bill to make English the official language of Georgia. Martin is borrowing more from the Obama template of 2008, declaring himself the candidate of the middle class, bashing Chambliss for voting to privatize Social Security while opposing health insurance for children, prescription drugs for seniors, the GI bill for veterans and Democratic efforts to end subsidies...
...Obama got only 47% of the vote in Georgia, which is not a bellwether state. And so national fatigue with Bush will not necessarily translate into Georgia fatigue with Chambliss, who is in many ways nearly a parody of a Bush-Cheney Republican. He has supported the Administration on just about everything but its efforts to rein in outrageous farm subsidies. He is so tight with the sugar industry that he attacked a whistleblower who reported safety problems after an explosion at a Georgia mill killed 14 people. He has been an ardent supporter of sending U.S. troops into harm...