Republican lawmakers are "completely lost"

By GottaLaff

The GOP is the party that claims Democrats are dead wrong about everything, that Dems are destroying our country, shredding the Constitution, killing grandma, and running American into the ground.

This is the party that inappropriately and awkwardly shouts "You lie!" and "Hell no!"

This is also the party that cannot answer a simple question about health care reform.

Jay Bookman:

AJC editors and columnists just finished a pretty wide-ranging 80-minute interview with Sen. Saxby Chambliss and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, and I took the opportunity to ask a question that had been nagging at me for a while. [...]

[H]ow are the Republicans going to cover pre-existing conditions?

“The premiums are going up either way,” he [McConnell] said.

OK, I responded, a little stunned. That doesn’t explain how the Republicans intend to cover pre-existing conditions.

“The premiums are going up either way,” he repeated.

That was that. We moved on, and I still don’t have my answer.

Good response, Mitch McNoLips!

Except for the part where he didn't respond.

At all.

Steve Benen has a thing or two to say about these things or two:

If those with pre-existing conditions will be protected, the mandate is necessary to keep costs from spiraling and to prevent the "free rider" problem. [...]

After over a year of debate about health care policy, two leading Senate Republicans, including the Senate Minority Leader, can't speak intelligently about the basics. Bookman didn't throw a curve ball at them [...]

They want protections for those with pre-existing conditions, and want to eliminate the mandate, but asked how that could work, these experienced senators have no idea how to even begin answering the question. [...]

[I]f anyone dares to scratch the surface, even a little, they're completely lost.

It's all about the talking points, drumming non-answers into the uninformed electorate's heads, ignoring facts, smearing, belittling Democratic victories, lying about Democratic policy, ignoring the truth, and being utterly unable to justify their own arguments.

Jay Bookman cornered them, Steve Benen nailed them, and it's time we expose them for what they are... and aren't.

This story needs to get out, and be repeated and repeated.

H/t: Rachel Maddow via Twitter, who will hopefully cover this tonight on her show.

Chambliss' leadership PAC funds more golf outings than candidates

So basically the big corporations are subsidizing Saxby's golf jones? Nice gig if you can get it.

WASHINGTON -- Over the past two years, deep-pocketed donors to Sen. Saxby Chambliss have helped the Georgia Republican enjoy a quarter of a million dollars worth of golf outings at some of the nation's ritziest resorts.

Through their contributions to the senator's Republican Majority Fund -- a type of leadership political action committee established by a member of Congress to support other candidates -- lobbyists and such industry leaders as Blue Cross/Blue Shield and Lockheed Martin footed the bill for Chambliss' rounds of golf at California's Pebble Beach, with its sweeping views of Monterey Bay. There were tourneys at the fabled Greenbrier in West Virginia and jaunts at the Breakers Palm Beach and Ritz Carlton Naples' sun-kissed fairways in Florida.

Chambliss' affinity for golf is so widely known in political circles that President George W. Bush joked about it during a 2003 golf fundraiser for the Georgia lawmaker. In 2005, the senator missed a highly sensitive Iraq war intelligence briefing to tee off with Tiger Woods.

In all, since 2007, Chambliss has used PAC money to golf at roughly a dozen of the nation's top resorts, according to Federal Election Commission records and an analysis by ProPublica, a nonprofit investigative journalism organization.

VIDEO- Saxby Chambliss: Obama better behave tomorrow night

By GottaLaff



How many times a day can I become dumbstruck? Saxby Chambliss, who once said that homeland security would be improved by turning the sheriff loose to "arrest every Muslim that crosses the state line," is demanding humility from the president.

Obama would a fool, a fool, for not taking advice from the man who, in 2008, was named one of 10 worst congressmen by Esquire Magazine, which described the competition as "staggering." [7]

Yes, you heard him, the African American named Barack Hussein Obama better stay in line and know his place:

Sen. Saxby Chambliss (R-GA) said today that, because of angry town hallers and the like, President Obama should show "humility" when he speaks to Congress Wednesday night. [...]

The implication here is that Chambliss's side -- the one that opposes much of the Democrats' reform plan, especially a public option -- is winning, and that the president had better be humble.

So the -Ers call the shots, huh Saxby? Obama better be on his best behavior, or.... what? They'll pull out their guns? They won't vote for him in 2012? They'll yell louder? Sound more racist, if that's even possible? Look even stupider and more backward than usual?

No, those cretins are not winning. They are the very definition of losers, and they better damn well show a little humility.

VIDEO-- Fox's Cavuto: Voters reconsidering Democratic victory

By GottaLaff

Via Think Progress:

In a Politico op-ed published today, RNC Chairman Mike Duncan tried to squeeze the maximum propaganda benefit from Tuesday’s reelection of Saxby Chambliss (R-GA). He claimed that the (very predictable) Republican victory “proved” that the 2008 election had not given progressives a mandate, and that the country remained fundamentally conservative:

[...] Georgian’s [sic] clearly sent a message that any rhetoric about a liberal mandate is nothing but hot air.

[...] Fox Business host Neil Cavuto suggested yesterday that Chambliss’s win was “a sign that voters are already reconsidering the Democratic victory they gave the country last month.” [...]

As staunch conservative Charles Krauthammer noted yesterday on Fox News, “If the Republicans can’t win a straight up Senate race in Georgia, they ought to disband and join a country club.”

Yeah, I guess one win in a state that Obama didn't carry, one state in a general election that Obama won by a landslide, is a real reversal of public opinion.

From the Dep't. of You Knew This Was Coming: Chambliss Credits Palin for Victory

By GottaLaff

Yes, it has been and always will be all about Pitiful Palin:

Sen. Saxby Chambliss (R-GA) said that Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin (R) was a key to his victory over Jim Martin (D) in yesterday's Georgia Senate run off, according to Fox News.

Said Chambliss: "I can't overstate the impact she had down here. We had John McCain and Mike Huckabee and Gov. Romney and Rudy Giuliani, but Sarah Palin came in on the last day, did a fly-around and, man, she was dynamite," Chambliss said. "We packed the houses everywhere we went. And it really did allow us to peak and get our base fired up."

"Man, she was dynamite": That explains how she consistently shoots off her big mouth and blows her tattered reputation, the English language, and any sense of logic and/or ethics to smithereens.

Chambliss wins Georgia runoff

By GottaLaff

CNN just reported. They've projected him to be the winner. No surprise, if you look at my post below this one.

Sigh. Now let's hope Franken can pull a win off in Minnesota. 59 Dems in the Senate's not a bad thing, not at all.

But as Ady said in Comments, let's hope this isn't the start of a string of interviews in which Pitiful Palin crows loudly in that inimitable slaughtered-turkey-like voice of hers. Because, you know, without her Big Stump (no disgusting turkey pun intended), Chambliss wouldn't have had a chance.

She's a reg'lar hero now. It's all about her.

Not looking good for Martin, Chambliss way ahead

By GottaLaff

Bleh:
Georgia Election Results
Unofficial And Incomplete Results of the Tuesday,
December 02, 2008
General Election Runoff

63% of precincts reporting :

Chambliss (R) 778,004	Martin (D) 505,484	Totals 1,283,488
60.6%	39.4%	100.0%

Palin recycles McCain stump speech for Chambliss

By GottaLaff

Pitiful Palin in Georgia:

Vote for [insert name here]. [Insert name here] is the best candidate ever. Guys 'n' gals, [insert name here] will never let us down. [Insert name here] would never pal around with terrorists, nor would [insert name here] practice socialism, doggone it. Also.

If you're going to put the time and energy into supporting a candidate, it might be a good idea to tailor your stump speech to, you know, the guy who's actually running:

Palin On Washington:

On CHAMBLISS: Too many politicians forgetting why they were sent to Washington. Well, Saxby has not forgotten and he has not forgotten who it is that he is serving. He is serving you, residents of Georgia, and he is serving all of America. He knows we must put government back on your side.

On McCAIN: In Alaska, we went back to basics. We put government back on the side of the people, and John and I will use the same approach to reform Washington in our administration. We will never forget the people who hired us. We will be there to work for you, the good people of America.

Palin On Government Working:

On CHAMBLISS: He knows you do not have to feel you are working for your government, but your government must be working for you.

On McCAIN: John and I…we don’t think you should be working for government; we think government should work for you.

Palin On Independence:

On CHAMBLISS: Saxby has not forgotten why he was sent to Washington. He has stayed true to his principles. Today those principles are needed more than ever. Senator Chambliss, he has such a strong, independent spirit. And that’s another reason I really like him.

On McCAIN: John McCain and I, what we represent is that maverick independent spirit that will not let the self-dealing and excessive partisanship get in the way of what’s right.

Palin On Herds:

On CHAMBLISS: Saxby doesn’t just run with the Washington herd.

On McCAIN: John is his own man. He doesn’t run with the Washington herd.

Talk about lazy, what a creative, original approach, there, Gov. Diva. Who's your speechwriter, Joe the Replicator?

Poll-itics: It's not over 'til it's over/Chambliss leading edition

By GottaLaff

There is a major caveat, as you'll see in paragraph two:

The final Public Policy Polling survey in Georgia's U.S. Senate runoff finds "overwhelming support from white voters" likely to result in the reelection of Sen. Saxby Chambliss (R-GA) over challenger Jim Martin (D), 53% to 46%.

A big caveat: "Polling a special election is hard. You usually don't have a lot of precedent to base turnout projections on, and that makes it difficult to figure out ahead of time what the electorate is going to look like. Polling a special election over a holiday weekend is even harder. People are out of town, at the mall, and generally just harder to reach than usual."

The run off election is tomorrow.

Georgia Obama organizers have "a wistful, gravitational pull" to keep working

By GottaLaff

The Obama Georgia campaign organizers are at it again:

If Barack Obama isn't coming to rain-soaked Georgia, his ground organization is very much here. In addition to the existing Georgia organizing infrastructure that has stayed on board, at least fifty outside organizers showed up in Georgia within a few days of November 4. The mission: to help Democrat Jim Martin in his U.S. Senate runoff against incumbent Saxby Chambliss. More organizers arrive each day. They're young -- but they're veterans -- and they've jumped right in.

In other parts of the country, including northern and southern California, Obama organizers run phone banks into Georgia on Martin's behalf.

This is what we wanted to hear. Thank you, Sean Quinn of 538.

At the human level, there is almost a wistful, gravitational pull for many of these organizers in returning to a race. To work on the Obama campaign, these folks had to disconnect from their previous lives. [...]

While the pride is evident, conversations with many of these organizers reveals a strange sense of feeling lost, untethered from an all-consuming routine. So when organizers hear other organizers are coming to Georgia, it's a form of therapeutic reunion for many, much like a reunion of military veterans. Unless you've been through it, it's hard to explain.

I love these people. I want to marry them. All of them.

The Martin campaign has 25 field offices in the state, which is the same number of offices Chambliss has. We visited the Savannah offices Friday night and yesterday, and the organizing edge goes to Martin. On Friday night, the Chambliss office was open but empty, and a couple of dialers worked on Saturday around noon.

So what's the latest on the early voting?

Whatever turns out to be the case, at the close of early voting Wednesday, according to the Secretary of State's office 345,564 had voted, and 22.5% of those votes were African-American, an ominous dropoff from the 34.5% of black early voters for the general election.

Still, according to Georgia Democratic Party spokesman Martin Matheny, thousands of volunteers were hard at work across the state knocking doors in the rain and making phone calls on Jim Martin's behalf. The lines on Election Day will be much shorter than during the general election, given the much shorter ballot, and Democrats here think that most of its voters are going to turn out on Runoff Day itself.

Ohpleaseohpleaseohplease.

Palin's hometown paper slams her for supporting Chambliss

By GottaLaff

The Anchorage Daily News isn't thrilled with Pitiful Palin's pallin' around with draft-evadin', Cleland-bashin' Saxby the Smearer. The piece rips into Chambliss, detailing his Rovian despicableness, and ends with this:

So there you have the fine American that Palin is trying to re-elect to the U.S. Senate.

Gov. Palin’s eldest joined the Army and has been deployed to Iraq. As a justifiably proud military mom, she might ask herself why she is using her conservative star power to support such a reprehensible Republican chicken hawk.

She has the judgment of a drunk toddler.

VIDEO: Saxby Chambliss lies about not knowing what a recession is

By GottaLaff


Via Think Progress:

In attempting to appear knowledgeable about the economy by citing the “technical definition” of a recession, Chambliss actually demonstrated his ignorance. Indeed, Chambliss said this morning that a recession is “supposed to be two consecutive months of negative GDP” growth. In fact, the often cited — though misleading — definition of a recession to which Chambliss was referring says nothing about “two consecutive months,” but rather “two consecutive quarters.”

Definitions aside, Chambliss’s apparent inability to recognize that the U.S. is in a recession demonstrates he is uninformed about the state of the economy.

Think Progress has more. Just follow the link.

Poll-itics-- Research 2000: Chambliss Leads By Six in Georgia

By GottaLaff

From the Department of Things You Don't Want to Hear:

The latest Research 2000 poll in the Georgia U.S. Senate run off shows Sen. Saxby Chambliss (R-GA) with a six point lead over Jim Martin (D), 52% to 46%.

Key finding: "Research 2000 is speculating that the likely-voter model for the runoff election will be substantially different from the turnout model for the November election...if poll respondents mirrored those who voted on Election Day, the race would be a lot closer. However, the pollster is figuring that a lot of voters -- African-Americans in particular -- who voted for Obama in the general election will stay at home for the runoff."

What happened to GOTV? This is not good news.

Doonesbury: Pitiful Palin action doll edition, with bonus campaign update

By GottaLaff

(click on image to enlarge)

Palin Heads Back to Campaign Trail

Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin "will come to Georgia next week to campaign for incumbent Republican U.S. Sen. Saxby Chambliss on the eve of the runoff election," the Atlanta Journal Constitution reports.

She is scheduled to appear at four Chambliss rallies.

I hope Palin's staff remembers to check her surroundings before they give her the go-ahead to resume her run-on sentences again.

VIDEOS: Saxby Chambliss Turns Election Frustration on Cameraman

By GottaLaff

(This is a really short video, about 25 seconds)

Oh that Saxby, always causing a ruckus. He's probably just upset about his name.

Facing a runoff election in a few weeks — and recently hit with a subpoena to testify about his ties to the sugar company whose refinery exploded in February, killing 14 — the Georgia Republican has turned his frustration on the media, giving a light shove to a cameraman yesterday who appears to get to close to the embattled senator.

The Democrats are hoping to make the subpoena (not to mention the shove) an issue in Chambliss’s Dec. 2 runoff against Democratic challenger Jim Martin — which, by the way, can’t come quickly enough.

Here's another, slightly longer video (h/t: Jon Lester) to give you some background:

Can he just lose already? Please?