Posts Tagged “Saxby Chambliss”

Watch Chris Cillizza perform this amazing feat right before your eyes!!!

WINNERS

John Cornyn: The incoming chair of the National Republican Senatorial Committee got a bit of good news as he looks at (another) tough electoral landscape in 2010. Had Chambliss lost Tuesday night, the “sky is falling” sentiment within the party would have run wild, making it tough for Cornyn to recruit top tier candidates and drive fundraising. Now the Texas senator has at least one good talking point to donors and prospects.

Poor Chris, up against a deadline, knowing he must offfer something on the Georgia race but unable to find any kind of relevant angle anywhere. In his frustration, he turns to that time-honored tradition known as turd polishing.

Saxby Chambliss (l) and Zell Miller - eh, close enough

Fact is, this is not good news for John Cornyn, or Bible Spice, or any Republican on the face of the earth other than Saxby Chambliss himself. Imagine this as the NRSC recruiting slogan: “We elected a Republican to the Senate in Georgia. Georgia!!!”

A conservative Republican being forced into a runoff in Georgia against a liberal Democrat is not a victory, not in a state in which Democrats usually look either like Republicans (Sam Nunn) or insulting Southern stereotypes (Zell Miller - who did, surprise surprise, endorse and campaign for Chambliss). Winning said runoff is a victory only in that it holds a seat that should never have been in jeopardy to begin with.

Now that doesn’t mean everything’s hunky-dory on the Democratic side of things - the Georgia runoff was not exactly masterful GOTV, for starters. But those who are trying to spin the Georgia result into anything like a GOP “comeback” are grasping at some of the thinnest reeds of hope I’ve ever seen. Or, like Chris, they’re up against a deadline and need to pull something out of their ass.

CNN is projecting that Republican Saxby Chambliss has won the Senate seat in the Georgia runoff. His Democratic opponent was Jim Martin. This loss will keep the Democrats at least one (two if Franken loses Minnesota) away from a filibuster beating 6li0.

This is indeed turning into a strange election season, made even more strange by the news out of Georgia: looks like incumbent Republican and Bush rubber-stamp Saxby Chambliss has an actual race on his hands.

For those unacquainted with the delightful Sen. Chambliss, he’s the one who unseated incumbent Democratic Senator and actual war hero Max Cleland, in part by running an ad that morphed Cleland’s face into that of Osama bin Laden. [YouTube link].

The guy giving Chambliss a run for his money is one Jim Martin, who’s running on an actual progressive agenda rather than the usual Southern “Blue Dog” moderate platform. Rasmussen currently puts the race within single digits, which is incredible territory for a challenger to be in at this point.

This would be a great pickup for the Dems, not only because Chambliss has been a right-wing empty suit but also because of the absolutely reprehensible way he trashed Max Cleland. Keep your eyes on this one, and help out if you’re able/so inclined.