Free Republic

The ranking Republican on the Senate Intelligence Committee said he’s spoken to former CIA Director David Petraeus about still testifying on the Benghazi attack — and the answer is not now. Sen. Saxby Chambliss (R-Ga.) said on ABC’s This Week this morning that his committee wasn’t told about the Petraeus investigation — reportedly centering around his mistress and emails — until Friday, when the general’s resignation was announced. “He and I have already had a conversation. You know, he’s trying to put his life back together right now and that’s what he needs to focus on,” Chambliss said in regard...

A senior senator slammed the Obama administration on Wednesday and called for additional hearings on Libya after emails surfaced showing that White House officials knew within hours that an Islamic militant group was taking responsibility for the attacks on the Benghazi-based U.S. Consulate there. “I don’t know what the White House’s problem has been through this whole thing,” said Sen. Saxby Chambliss, the vice chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, on Fox News Channel’s”Fox & Friends.” “Here’s what really concerns me: You’ve got four Americans dead, you’ve got an ambassador, a very important person in any administration, dead...

A number of conservative bloggers allege they have been targeted through the use of harassment tactics such as SWAT-ting (fooling 911 operators into sending emergency teams to their homes), in retaliation for posts they have written, and now Sen. Saxby Chambliss, R-Ga., has stepped into the matter. He has sent a letter to Attorney General Eric Holder urging him to investigate the SWAT-ting cases to see if federal laws have been violated.

Sen. Chambliss Attacks Purchase Of More Super Hornets Author:Loren B. Thompson, Ph.D. Date:Thursday, September 01, 2011 TagsF/A-18, F-35, Navy, Saxby Chambliss You know the budget wars are heating up when a senior Republican senator starts attacking weapons programs important to other legislators in his own party. That's what happened yesterday, when Georgia Senator Saxby Chambliss assailed Pentagon purchases of Boeing's carrier-based F/A-18 Super Hornet, saying the plane is "obsolete" and "will be of limited to no value in any future threat scenario." In a letter to Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta, Chambliss argued that if the Pentagon failed to move...

Georgia Sen. Saxby Chambliss leveled sharp criticism at his Republican colleagues for spouting “misinformation” about the Gang of Six’s proposal, calling their remarks “very disturbing” and questioning their desire to pass a deficit-cutting deal. “Because people are here on this floor throwing out numbers that are wrong, giving specifics on a piece of legislation that has not even been written, and they’re talking like they’re experts on the subject of a matter that my five colleagues and I have been discussing, debating among ourselves for the last six months,” Chambliss said on the floor. “And we haven’t even put the...

Sorry for the vanity but I thought some would like to see one of the Gang of Six's defense and my response to my "conservative Republican" Senator's email. ------------------- Dear Mr. Mortensen: I appreciate your thoughts and comments in the past regarding our nation's budget crisis. I wanted to reconnect with you on the situation, and summarize some solutions I have been working on. As always, I welcome your thoughts on this most important issue. Our country is in the midst of a fiscal crisis. In 2010, our government spent at a rate of 25% of GDP (Gross Domestic Product)...

President Barack Obama said Tuesday that a proposal offered by Republican and Democratic senators is “a very significant step” that represents “the potential for bipartisan consensus” on resolving the impasse over cutting the deficit and raising the debt ceiling. In an appearance in the White House briefing room, Obama urged congressional leaders to embrace the “Gang of Six” proposal, which would slash the deficit by $3.7 trillion over 10 years, in part by raising about $1 trillion in new revenue. We have a Democratic president and administration that is prepared to sign a tough package that includes both spending cuts,...

Senator John McCain (R-Ariz.) has introduced a bill that would allow the President to imprison an unlimited number of American citizens (as well as foreigners) indefinitely without trial. Known as The Enemy Belligerent Interrogation, Detention, and Prosecution Act of 2010, or S. 3081, the bill authorizes the President to deny a detainee a trial by jury simply by designating that person an “enemy belligerent.” The bill, which has eight cosponsors, explicitly names U.S. citizens as among those who can be detained indefinitely without trial: An individual, including a citizen of the United States, determined to be an unprivileged enemy belligerent...

A few weeks ago, I reported that the Senate Republicans’ point man on dealing with the deficit, Saxby Chambliss (R-GA), said he’d support tax increases as a means to reduce the deficit. Chambliss promptly denied it. Yesterday, in the New York Times, Chambliss admitted he and the Senate Republicans will support tax increases to pay off the deficit. Mr. Chambliss has been increasingly outspoken in arguing that additional revenues must be part of a debt-reduction plan, given the scale of the problem. “I’m taking arrows from some on the far right,” he told the Rotary Club of Atlanta in an...

Gang of Six negotiators are close to striking a deal on a deficit-reduction package, according to Senate sources.  White House officials and Democrats are pressing for the six negotiators to wrap up their talks by the Easter recess beginning on April 16. There is no deal yet, however, and Sen. Tom Coburn (R-Okla.) has made clear that he will not be held to an arbitrary timeline.  Coburn has also insisted that a broad deficit reduction package include Social Security reform, something that Democratic negotiators such as Sens. Kent Conrad (N.D.) and Dick Durbin (Ill.) argue should be handled separately.  The...

SNIP The other lawmakers in attendance (beside Sen. Richard Lugar R-IN) were Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV), House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer (D-MD), Sen. Carl Levin (D-MI), Sen. Saxby Chambliss (R-TX), Rep. Mike Rogers (R-MI), Rep. Dutch Ruppersberger (D-MD), Speaker John Boehner (R-OH), Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-VA), Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL), Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY), Sen. John Kyl (R-AZ), Sen. John Kerry (D-MA), Sen. Diane Feinstein (D-CA), Rep. Buck McKeon (R-NY), Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL), and Rep. Howard Berman (D-CA). Deputy National Security Advisor Denis McDonough held a conference call with...

There is absolutely no reason to capitulate to the illegitimate Democrat majority and their golden parachute continuing resolution The first few days would be tough as the networks show pictures of "suffering" national park workers that may not be paid for 23 more days. But notice that number, 23. Only 23 days. Many Americans who work get paid once per month. Twenty-three days is only nine days more than 14 and only 16 days more than seven. Nearly 18% of Americans are underemployed and over 9% haven't been paid in over 6 months. But is it really 23 days that...

WASHINGTON -- U.S. Sen. Saxby Chambliss' office has determined it was indeed the source of a highly publicized homosexual-bashing slur on an Internet site.

Chambliss: Abortion compromise 'sets up a Supreme Court challenge' By Michael O'Brien - 12/19/09 12:38 PM ET The Senate healthcare bill's language on abortion "sets up a Supreme Court challenge," one senator warned Saturday. Sen. Saxby Chambliss (R-Ga.) asserted that the compromise on abortion contained within the bill, which would seek to segregate federal funds from subsidizing health plans covering abortion, is unconstitutional. "What this provision does that Sen. Nelson negotiated sets up a Supreme Court challenge. Roe v. Wade's pretty clear on federal funding for abortion," Chambliss said at a Capitol Hill press conference early this afternoon. The compromise...

[snip long aside about Joe Wilson] Whether he knows it or not, Chambliss should be grateful that the dust-up over Wilson's outburst overshadowed the senator's own remarks about Obama. In a Tuesday interview on Fox News, Chambliss was talking about Republican expectations for the president's address when he said, "I think what you're looking at is folks on my side anxious to see what the president has to say (Wednesday) night. I think he's going to have to express some humility based on what we've seen around the country during August, and that's not his inclination." Take a closer look...

AUGUSTA,Ga---Dozens gathered at the Augusta Museum of History for a chamber of commerce forum on health care reform with Senator Saxby Chambliss. Chambliss attempted to set the record straight on what he calls misinformation. "Say goodbye," said Susan Swanson who is fed up with Washington lawmakers. "Kick out the bums. Kick them all out." She fears talk of health care reform. "My concern is all this talk about death panels," said Susan. "All the bureaucracy that people have to go through." The death panel rumors were given credence by Sarah Palin who campaigned with Georgia Senator Saxby Chambliss in Augusta...

Sen. Saxby Chambliss, R-Ga., addressed the Macon Chamber of Commerce Wednesday afternoon on the issue of health care reform. While praising President Obama for “spending a little political capital” to address the issue, Chambliss told the audience gathered on the campus of Central Georgia Technical College that “the goal of a government run option is to have everyone under a government run plan.” Obama has advocated establishing a government-offered health insurance plan as a strategy to reduce health care costs by increased competition. Appearing before reporters after his remarks, Chambliss elaborated. [...] Chambliss also distanced himself from comments made by...

If you are trying to figure out what your congressmen really believe in, don't focus on what they say - look closely at what they do when it comes time to vote. A good example of that involves Georgia's two senators, Saxby Chambliss and Johnny Isakson, and their approach to spending about $2 billion of your money. The two senators, especially Chambliss, have worked hard this summer to take nearly $2 billion out of the defense budget and earmark it for the building of more F-22 fighter jets at Marietta's Lockheed Martin plant. ... Here are some criticisms of the...

Saxby Chambliss returned to the Senate after winning a hotly contested election in which many Georgia conservatives, disgusted with his votes for the bailouts and stimulus and his stance against domestic drilling, voted for the Libertarian candidate, Allen Buckley. The number of votes acquired by Buckley did not allow Chambliss to gain a majority and forced a runoff with his Democrat challenger. Chambliss eventually won the runoff, helped a great deal by support from talk radio and national Republican leaders who were all apparently willing to sacrifice their conservative principles to save the Senate from a filibuster-proof Democratic majority. And...

Chambliss blocks regulatory pick over animal lawsuits By Alexander Bolton Posted: 06/28/09 07:57 PM [ET] Sen. Saxby Chambliss (R-Ga.) has blocked President Obama’s candidate for regulation czar, Harvard law professor Cass Sunstein, because Sunstein has argued that animals should have the right to sue humans in court. Obama has picked Sunstein, his adviser and longtime friend, to head the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, an office that has power to review and assess all draft regulations proposed within the administration. But Chambliss worries that Sunstein’s innovative legal views may someday lead to a farmer having to defend himself in...