I can understand why Saxby isn’t listening—he managed to squeak it out in ‘08, and he’s safe. Isakson, though, sent me an almost identical response, and, as you say, he’s up for re-election.
What makes me sick is that the talk shows (i.e., Hannity, etc.) continually pushed Georgians to vote for Chambliss because he would be the deciding filibuster vote. These same people now whine about the party losing its values and conservative principles.
What needs to happen if the Republican party is to emerge from the “smoke-filled room” is that some of their good ol’ boys need to lose in states where the population is known to be overwhelmingly conservative, like Georgia. Chambliss needed to lose to send a message to Isakson. Now ol’ Johnny will run on the old message that he has no intention of following once he gets back to Washington.
The problem with letting the no good Republicans lose in conservative states, is that then you're stuck with someone like Wyche Fowler for six long years.