Showing posts with label jim martin. Show all posts
Showing posts with label jim martin. Show all posts

Saturday, December 6, 2008

Gail Collins takes cheap shots at Chambliss and his win

Oh, it's really not surprising at all, coming from the op-ed of NYT. I can understand why columnist Gail Collins is taking these cheap shots since Democrat Jim Martin lost to Saxby Chambliss in Georgia. If the outcome had been the reverse, I'm sure Collins would've penned something less of an eyesore.

Cheap shot #1, attacking Chambliss' work ethics:
Anyhow, the Georgia runoff was more important than you might imagine. Certainly more significant than anything Chambliss has done since he skipped a closed-door Senate session on Iraq intelligence data to go golfing with Tiger Woods...
Cheap shot #2, making fun of other Republicans and those who went to Georgia to support Chambliss:
...Mitt! Mike! McCain! Together again, just like in the primaries, with a stuffed manatee playing the part of Fred Thompson. “If we give them a blank check, they will sign that check and be taking money out of our pockets,” warned Rudy Giuliani, whose total failure as a presidential candidate clearly has not affected his ability to turn a phrase.
Cheap shot #3, somehow linking Sen. Chambliss' golfing skills with her BDS:
Now Chambliss has been a senator for six years, and his greatest achievement was getting ranked the 33rd best golfer in Washington by Golf Digest. It is highly unlikely that he could stop the president from doing anything beyond making a putt.
Cheap shot #4, dragging Sen. Joe Lieberman into the picture:
Besides, if the Democrats did get the 60 seats, one of them would belong to Joe Lieberman. You may recall that although Lieberman spent the last year campaigning for John McCain (and, as it turns out, donating money to Republican candidates for the senate), the Democrats were so desperate to keep him in their caucus that they caved in to his demands to keep his committee chairmanship. If Lieberman had turned out to be Mr. 60, he would not only have wanted the committee, he would have insisted on being carried to all its meetings on a litter, borne by the fellow senators who failed to appreciate him, with Lindsey Graham running ahead, clashing cymbals.
Cheap shot #5, trying to justify her cheap shots with RINO Olympia Snowe (Maine):
Olympia Snowe, the senior senator, is widely regarded as one of Congress’s quality acts. In fact, some people might have wondered why John McCain, if he was so desperate for a woman on his ticket, ignored a well-traveled, independent-minded experienced legislator who does her homework in favor of an out-to-lunch moose-murderer who cannot seem to put together a coherent sentence.
All right, so #5 can also be #6, which is ridiculing Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, a well-liked politician and rising star among conservatives, but a woman that, for odd reasons, doesn't quite appeal to the feminists and liberal op-ed columnists.

Thursday, December 4, 2008

It's not just about those 60 seats...

Sen. Saxby Chambliss (R) defeated Jim Martin (D) with a clear mandate -- by nearly 15 points! --from Georgia voters: we want to stay a red Peach State. This win for the Republicans assures that no super-majority can be achieved by Senate Democrats. Whew!

But it's really about more than that...

Clearly, the Democratic vote driving machine did not work this time in the runoff election. Black voters didn't turn out to vote for Martin as they had in the general election for Obama. If this is any indication of voter turnout in 2010, the GOP certainly will attempt to exploit this kink in the armor.

And why didn't President-elect Obama go down to Georgia to support Martin knowing how important of a race it was? Was he never a believer in Martin? I'm sure Jim Martin is left with a bitter taste in his mouth after this campaign, and not because he'd lost, but because "The One" didn't consider traveling to the Peach State to rally for him.

Chambliss had better luck with his support cast. Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin went to Georgia to campaign for Chambliss, and according to the senator, "When she walks in a room, folks just explode." No matter what your opinion of her is, she's going to stay on the media radar and remain a star in the Republican Party.

And what about the messy senate race in Minnesota? Some Democrats are scared of Al Franken actually becoming a U.S. senator. Is it really that easy for any Hollywood hack to become a Washington politician?! Will a Franken win encourage more of these west coast loudmouths to run for office? A Hollywood invasion of Washington. That won't be a pretty sight.

Tuesday, December 2, 2008

Palin's reputation rides on Georgia election

Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin went to Georgia to stump for incumbent Republican Sen. Saxby Chambliss in the runoff election on December 2. This senate race has national attention because it could mean a 60-seat filibuster-proof majority for the Democrats if challenger Jim Martin wins (and in Minnesota, Al Franken).

Palin also took a bold step in traveling to Georgia after the fallout of the presidential campaign. Georgia is fairly receptive to Palin's conservative messages, but in other red states and among other Republicans, Palin has plenty of vocal critics. She's obviously interested in staying on the political radar for the coming years, and a win for Chambliss would allow her to bank some political credits. However, if for whatever reason Martin unseats the incumbent, then there will be many, many fingers pointed at Palin.

Wednesday, November 19, 2008

Ted Stevens loses senate race

Sen. Ted Stevens has lost re-election in Alaska, defeated by Democratic challenger Mark Begich. Sen. Stevens was the longest running Republican senator in Washington.

Now the Democrats have 58 seats in the Senate. The Georgia runoff race between Saxby Chambliss (R) and Jim Martin (D) is attracting attention from the top. Former President Bill Clinton is said to be in Georgia to rally for Martin, while Republican heavyweights John McCain and Mike Huckabee are gathering support for Chambliss.

Thursday, November 13, 2008

The importance of the Georgia senate race

Incumbent Republican Saxby Chambliss won only 49.98% of the popular vote and cannot avoid a runoff against Democrat challenger Jim Martin. The runoff election is on December 2. Dick Morris puts it best: The election is not over.

He also mentions GOPTrust.com as the conservatives' MoveOn.org. Seriously? I hate to say it, but GOPTrust.com has a long way to go to even be as effective as MoveOn.org.

Wednesday, November 5, 2008

Georgia senate race heads for run-off

Neither Chambliss (R) or Martin (D) received 50% of the votes, so a run-off election will happen on December 2. This is a high profile race as Chambliss unseated Democrat and war veteran Max Cleland previously and the Democrats would love to have one of their own from this southern state. Winning this won't put the Democrats to the magical super-majority, but another pickup would hurt the GOP in the Bible Belt.