GOP's Chambliss wins Georgia Senate runoff

[onehandle]

Source: AP

ATLANTA – Georgia Sen. Saxby Chambliss has won re-election in a runoff, dashing Democratic hopes of capturing enough Senate seats to thwart Republican filibusters. Chambliss, who fell just short of the majority vote needed to win re-election in November, prevailed in a one-on-one rematch with Democrat Jim Martin.

Read more: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20081203/ap_on_el_se/georgia...

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We remain the ass end of the "Racist Belt."

[shireen]

1. what's wrong with Georgia?

[saigon68]

3. Thank Caribou Barbie and the rest of the Right Wing Nut Jobs

Those cretins who sleep with their sisters

[Wabbajack_]

10. Democrats didn't bother to turn out

[Athens30603]

13. Exactly! n/t

[Wabbajack_]

20. Obama could have motivated them

Sucks.

[riskpeace]

24. That's what they're saying on CNN

I expect folks to start lecturing people from Georgia about needing to work harder on their ground game like they did with the people from Arizona.
So much for the 50-state strategy.

[atimetocome]

68. I think he should have tried.

[RebelOne]

45. I turned out yesterday.

But I was only one of two people voting at the polls at 3:30 p.m.

[Wabbajack_]

72. We probably would have lost anyway BUT

it should have been closer, not a GOP gloat fest.

[mitchum]

19. There's a hell of a lot of rednecks

[RebelOne]

46. My son is a redneck here in Dawson County,

but he is a Democrat. Not all rednecks here are Republicans.

[PassingFair]

47. Realistically, though, most of them are....

with the obviously intelligent exceptions!

[asksam]

35. They allow Rethugs to steal elections...

... like this one, that's what.

When are we finally going to take charge and end the Rethug election shenanigans?

[Mike Daniels]

58. So how exactly did Obama end up winning the national election?

If the elections are so easy to steal why didn't McCain end up as president?

There are several states where Obama won the general election that kept Republican governors/senators as well.

Obama didn't win Georgia and if it hadn't been for a third party candidate Chambliss probably would have gone over 50% the first time around.

But, I guess when your candidate loses it's always easier to claim the election was stolen vs. accepting that either your candidate was weak or that he would have lost in a two person election back in November.

[Loudus]

61. we need to do something

We all know that the republicans steal elections via fraud and other stuff, but what are their main tactics? A friend told me that they take busses full of homeless people and the poor elderly and they bring them around to polling places and tell them vote for the right-wing candidates several times under different names. (I think they have done that in Florida)

This makes me absolutely furious! (I'm glad that Obama won despite all the right wing vote fraud)

I guess I am wondering how do we stop them?

[EFerrari]

38. Touchscreens.

[Tesha]

50. 'Same thing that's always been wrong with it -- it's in Dixie!

Wake me if we *EVER* win one of the states
in the true racist "South".

Tesha

[FloridaJudy]

2. Shit shit shit shit shit shit shit shit. eom

[santamargarita]

4. These bastards will be dancing in the streets and eating babies!

What scum!

[smoogatz]

5. Okay--NOW can we ditch Lieberman?

[druidity33]

6. yes we can!

The bestest positive aspect to a Martin loss...

[Sheri]

7. Oh, please. Let's do.

That prospect does make me feel a little better abut Martin's loss.

Official Martin v. Shameless Run-off Election Night Thread here: http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.ph...

[Freddie Stubbs]

64. His vote is needed even more due to the loss in GA

[smoogatz]

67. It is?

There's no hope of a 60-vote super-majority; if the Republicans voted as a unified block they could still filibuster anytime they wanted. I doubt that would actually happen: Snowe and Collins and maybe a few other moderates won't play that game, I don't think. But if there's no 60/40 majority, Lieberman becomes less important, not more important.

[Freddie Stubbs]

69. Republicans don't always vote as a unified block

Take, for example, The Employee Free Choice Act, which if passed, would be the biggest victory or the labor movement in a generation:

http://www.thenation.com/doc/20060206/miller

This bill passed the House by a comfortable margin, but was filibustered by the Senate. All Democrats and independents in the Senate supported the bill, plus one Republican:

http://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_lists/r...

That means that if all of its current supporters and the new Senate Democrats vote for this next year, it will become law. Lieberman votes with labor most of the time. Do you want to give him a reason to do so on this bill?

[KillCapitalism]

8. Chambliss will never go down, WAY too popular there.

He will probably stay in the Senate there as long as he lives like Strom Thurmond did.

[Athens30603]

15. Not necessarily

It's just that more Democratic voters tend to turn out for presidential elections than runoffs, etc. Martin did extremely well on November 4.

[Hosnon]

22. On what authority do you base that statement?

Anyone left of center to any degree and old-school Republicans hate Chambliss. He won for two reasons: threat of 60 seats and the Palin Republican types.

[Athens30603]

30. sorry. replied to wrong post. n/t

[CitizenPatriot]

33. he isn't popular here

they even had people writing LTTE saying they know he is a total scum bag but you have to vote for him anyway because only he can stop Obama. Fear got them out in droves. What else is new?

[tabasco]

9. Georgia can now rightly consider itself the scum sewer of the nation.

Fuck off to any piece of shit who would vote for this rat bastard.

[Laelth]

12. As much as I would like to blame Shameless' deluded supporters ...

... they're deluded, after all, and didn't vote rationally. I blame the state's Democrats who, if they would have turned out for Martin in the same percentage that they turned out for Obama, could have won this race handily.

Democratic turnout was low, and I have no viable excuse to offer for that.

The United States is a LIBERAL Country.



-Laelth

[Athens30603]

16. Yep, that's right. n/t

[Hosnon]

23. Yep. It's a damn shame. Not nearly as many people cared. nt.

[riskpeace]

25. The Dems in Georgia just need to work

on their ground game. It was not a priority for PE Obama. .

[CitizenPatriot]

32. there is actually a reason for it

sadly, many people who are poor can not take a day off to vote, do not have cars to get to the polls, and generally were not as motivated to go out and VOTE again after waiting in 8 hour lines just four weeks ago.

The Pukes were terrified of Obama taking over the universe and it brought them out in droves.

We also had 200,000 newly registered voters purged against a judge's order by SOS Karen Handel. If you do the math, you'll see how important those voters were.

And before you write GA off completely, yes, they can steal an election here because it is believable. That is how Chambliss won the first time around. Google Spoonamore, GA Diebold uncertified machines, and Chambliss. thank god for whistle blowers, but we are still voting on those machines.

[RubyDuby in GA]

54. I know of far too many instances where people went in on Nov 4

voted for Obama and left. Didn't mark any other races on the ballot.

That, I believe, is what did us in.

[Athens30603]

14. uh...

Not everyone voted for him. Georgia contains multitudes.

[lithiumbomb]

29. thanks!

The love for Georgia I see on here is always endearing... Republicans win 58/42, therefore Georgia is scum. Thanks again! That's the way to win the south right there.

[Athens30603]

31. I know, right?

There are those who honestly believe the South is completely backward but, you know, we're not the ones shooting people in Toys R Us's or stampeding Wal-Mart's. Jus' sayin' is all...

[sunnybrook]

49. That was persuasive

what a strong compelling argument!

[Bake]

56. Does that mean we can we stop dumping on KY and MS now?

Has Georgia replaced them on the Shit List?



Bake

[Political Heretic]

71. Sometimes there's hardly any difference between people identifying as democrats or republicans.

They both act like ass-ignorant jackasses when they think that its ok because "they" are in the "right" and everyone else is wrong.

[JeanGrey]

11. Not surprising here.

[PittPoliSci]

36. nor should it be.

with obama not on that ticket, lots of first time voters aren't going to go back out to vote against chambliss. i can't believe people actually expected him to lose here.

[rasputin1952]

17. Bad news...Chambliss is one crappy Sen...and GA, running scared

of R losses got out the R vote.

This stinks, but in all honesty, Chambliss has little respect in the Senate anyway and when he speaks, he shows everyone what a jerk he is. We still have a majority, and that counts immensely as this Congress will unfold...

[CitizenPatriot]

34. good points

Chambliss is also under investigation for the sugary refinery fire which killed many people -- apparently he punished a whistle blower who said it wasn't safe and Chambliss has financial ties to the refinery. This is a rough summation-- details are fuzzy due to disappointing loss.

Republicans love to re-elect ethics violators. Odd. coleman, chambliss, stevens, et al. And they wonder why they are dying?

[rasputin1952]

41. Both sides have their pinheads in Congress...

but the R's far outnumber the D's...but criminal behavior seems to be almost exclusively R.

If, (and I believe this will happen), the D's reach out to some of the more moderate R's, things will go pretty smoothly.

on edit...Franken is beating Coleman w/2000+ plus as of last night...that makes it even better if this stands...

[CitizenPatriot]

57. wow! really???

thanks for that news. I needed it. I'm sure Chambliss will not have much support. His ilk are on their way out and clearly the rest of the country is DONE with that BS. Except for that horrid woman who went all McCarthy and got re-elected. Bachman. I guess there are a few, which is good...let them represent just enough to never let us forget the Lizards are out there

[Athens30603]

18. ?

"We remain the ass end of the "Racist Belt."

no we don't. There's lots of good people here. I'm not racist. Neither are you.

[Blue_Tires]

21. craptastic

[Third Doctor]

this does not surprise me

Ole self serving Palin motivated the troops. They ultimately voted against there own best interests as usual.

[Blue_Tires]

28. welcome to the site!

[Libertas1776]

26. Run offs, what a grand idea...NOT

First, the scum bag wins by calling Sen. Max Cleland, a war hero who lost three of his limbs in Vietnam, of being a coward and weak on terrorism, whilst he himself was a draft dodging pussy.

As always, fear wins and democracy loses.

Freaking Georgia.

[mvd]

27. Not a big Martin fan, but Chambliss is such a weasel

Really wanted Chambliss to lose. And what is with the AP article saying it dashed our hopes of ending Repuke filibusters? Maybe some, but I think there will be quite a few cases where the Repukes won't get the 60 votes needed.

[Dogmudgeon]

37. At least we made 'em soil their collective drawers

Based on what he's done to poor Norm Coleman, Al Franken must own stock in the company that makes Kaopectate and/or Imodium.

--p!

[RBInMaine]

39. 35% turnout? WTF?? Dems/Obama supporters didn't turn out. THAT WAS THE PROBLEM ! Still may not

have won given the demographics and that Chambliss is an incumbent, but this should have been closer. SHAME on Georgia Dems/Obama supporters for not turning out in higher numbers.

[onehandle]

51. I agree. They were lazy. And 78k of them didn't bother to vote for Martin downticket.

They put their card in the Diebold machine, touched Obama's name, ejected the the card, and walked away.

They weren't coming back for a runoff.

[RBInMaine]

75. Same happened in Maine and other places. We lost a local house race here because too many people

just voted for Obama and didn't vote down ticket. If they had, we'd have probably won that race which our person lost by only 69 frigging votes ! Numbers absolutely showed that plenty of Obama voters didn't vote down ticket. Sorry, but that's just the truth.

[CitizenPatriot]

59. woa there people

Until you've lived here and seen the real issues, please don't say shame on them.

As I posted up thread, the state is chock full of super poor people, many of them African American, who have been disenfranchised for a LONG time. When I was out registering voters, I talked to people who shared one broken down car among a family of 6 and watched as it fell apart in front of my eyes. The tears in their eyes were devastating. Lazy and unmotivated? NO. Living in poverty with no way out, going to a job that barely pays the rent every month and taking the bus to get there, then waiting in 8 hour lines and risking getting fired to vote, being harassed at the polls (YES, we went to counties where white business owners hung out to see if any black people came out to vote and then they harassed them with threats of their jobs, etc) JUST so they could cast a vote for history. They cared.

They bothered to take the bus down to the fucking driver's license office to get a driver's lic or voter ID card. then, their name might be spelled wrong so they had to go back. Yes, I saw this all of the time. Folks without internet, without phone! SO they took the bus back and lost more time from work. All so they could vote for Obama.

To say they didn't care and are lazy or shame on them is really horrible. Please don't say such things until you've looked into the eyes of a person who has fought all of their life just to keep a roof over their head and been treated like dirt all the while. People here are scared, too.

Be kind to GA Dems. Some of us had our lives threatened working on this campaign.

[VaYallaDawg]

63. A big AMEN, Citizen P from another "old south" state resident.

Lumping us all together as lazy, ignorant, incestuous -- you name it -- rednecks is not the way to characterize or think about fellow Democrats. Many of us are just as passionate and dedicated to our ideals as are persons in other parts of the country - and we work for them too. Just because we live here doesn't make us morons.

[CitizenPatriot]

66. double amen to that, VaYallaDawg

It's disturbing to see people buy into the msm version of things here. There are actually issues that need to be addressed here and to do that, we need our own people paying attention and caring; not judging things they don't understand fully.

There are people still living only a few steps up from slaves, for one. To judge them for voting or not voting is a poignantly cruel twist of irony.

It's also interesting how people don't give any weight to election exhaustion. The GE was exhausting. I worked on it every day as a volunteer. Election night I was too tired to stay awake. Then we find out we have to gear up again, but without the resources and for a candidate who is unknown and lacks "star" charisma. Martin is very progressive-- VERY! He was an exciting candidate to those who knew what he stood for, but not enough voters knew anything about him. If Martin had won, we coulda been somebody And we'd have windmills going up around GA for alternative energy sources. How cool would that have been???

For all you haters, GA is actually the Green Building center of America. Check it out. Progress is happening, you're just not looking in the right places and the pundits don't bother to explore nuance.

[RBInMaine]

74. No one said you were morons. 35% turnout STINKS though, and I don't see many excuses.

[RBInMaine]

73. C'mon though. 35% turnout?? That tells me plenty of WHITE GA Dems didn't turn out. Also, people can

vote absentee, vote early, etc. Voting went from 7am until 7pm, allowing time for before work and after work. People can vote on their lunch break. Plenty of laws exist to protect voting rights. There are plenty who'd be willing to sue if there was intimidation, etc. for exercising the right to vote. I don't buy a lot of this.

[HopeHoops]

40. He could have won by so much more if his campaign hadn't been Palinated!

[Ian David]

42. Once Don Young is indicted, we'll have our 60 seats. n/t

[Vinca]

43. I'm surprised he didn't win by more.

I don't think I've seen a candidate with as little charisma as the Democrat in that race. He made Harry Reid look like an electric personality. Just having a "D" after your name won't do it.

[RubyDuby in GA]

55. Sorry. I know Jim and Joan Martin and they are terrific people!

Jim is a true blue progressive - dare I say Liberal and we would have been a lot better off with him representing us, but it just didn't happen.
But please don't ever insult him by comparing him to that milquetoast asshat Harry Reid.

[Vinca]

62. I don't doubt they're wonderful, smart, intelligent people, but

the vast majority of voters make their decision based upon what they see on television not a personal relationship. To be successful in politics you must have the "it" factor. This candidate did not possess "it."

[jody]

44. Without Obama on the ballot, we Dems could face real battles in the 2010 elections. n/t

[PassingFair]

48. Hello? Can we shitcan Lieberman now?

No "magic" 60...let's dump the trash.

[marshall]

52. When does the recount start?

It can't have been a perfect counting the first time.

[onehandle]

53. We were the first 100% Diebold state.

The Republican is selected for us instantly.

No recount need apply.

[Freddie Stubbs]

70. Georgia law allows the apparent loser of an election to obtain a recount when

the margin of victory is less than one percent of the total vote.

[sofa king]

60. Eh, not so bad.

58 (or maybe 59) seats is still a powerful majority, and only one or two Republicans (and Lieberman) will have to be won over to invoke cloture. Having 60 seats still would have been no picnic--again thanks to Lieberman, but also because Democrats actually tend to be democratic, and are less disposed to stifling debate.

If things get really ugly and nothing's getting done, well, those fine folks across the aisle have already shown us the way: Remember how the Dems were locked out of Appropriations meetings in 2003? Remember how the deck was stacked so that the GOP had two more votes on every committee and subcommittee instead of one like we currently do? Remember how all pork-barrel spending was denied to Democratic states? Remember the "nuclear option"? And on the House side, remember how the floor votes of delegates from PR, VI, Guam, and DC were revoked?

I remember all those things, and so do Reid and Pelosi. And those were the tricks from the amateurs who mainly study and practice how to break and circumvent the rules, rather than follow and enforce them. We, on the other hand, have Robert Byrd, who knows how to turn the entire force of Congress' guidelines and precedent against the GOP.

As it stands now, 19 GOP Senators of Class III stand for reelection in 2010, while the Dems will be defending 16, many of them held by the Senate's most prominent Democratic warhorses. That offers a chance to make still more gains.

[FriendlyReminder]

65. Dang! Chambliss is a worthless SOB.

Too bad we couldn't get more folks out for Martin. This would have driven the republicans over the edge after losing so badly on 11/4.