Free Republic

For all of the talk about "bi-partisanship," the Georgia Senate run-off was nothing if not blatantly partisan. It was, simply, ALL about the party, and by extention, was the most intellectually sound and pure election in all of the 2008 cycle. Six years ago, Republican Saxby Chambliss routed incumbent Max Cleland by running a partisan and aggressive campaign that "infuriated Democrats" at the time. Since then, Chambliss has often wandered off the conservative partisan plantation and infuriated mainly his own base. He even got chastised for a "reach across the aisle" energy vote in an appearance on the Rush Limbaugh...

Chambliss: ‘Dynamite’ Palin turned out vote By Klaus Marre Posted: 12/03/08 10:29 [ET] Newly reelected Sen. Saxby Chambliss (R-Ga.) credited Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin with firing up his base and allowing him to cruise to a victory over Democrat Jim Martin. “Sarah Palin came in on the last day, did a fly-around and, man, she was dynamite,” Chambliss told Fox News on Wednesday. “We packed the houses everywhere we went. And it really did allow us to peak and get our base fired up.” Chambliss beat Martin by three points on Nov. 4 but did not reach 50 percent of...

Earlier I noted that it's possible for the Dems to "steal" the MN senate seat, because the senate gets to decide who "wins".  On the other side of the argument, however, is Michael Barone who makes a particularly noteworthy point:  A consequence of Chambliss winning is that Al Franken’s importance as a possible addition to the Democratic Senate bloc diminishes...   This is especially true because getting Franken in the Senate would entail Obama (and the Dems) expending political capital that could be better used on other things.  What is more, getting Franken in the Senate might not be worth the predictable backlash that would ensue if...

Chambliss Win Offers Secret for GOP Comeback By: Dick Morris & Eileen McGann We have written before that the message of the November election results for us is simple: Conservatism and the free enterprise system are too important to leave their protection to the morons who run the Republican Party. So when even the ability to filibuster seemed on the verge of being taken from the forces of conservative government, we decided to act by helping to raise funds for independent expenditure groups who are willing to run the kind of ads and do the sort of cyber-roots campaigning that...

"Former President Bill Clinton and former Vice President Al Gore both stumped for Martin. President-elect Barack Obama recorded a radio ad for Martin and sent 100 field operatives, but he didn't campaign in the state despite a request from Martin to do so."

On the eve the last Senate election of 2008, a still-campaigning Sarah Palin declared: "You Georgians are going to have the opportunity to determine the direction this country is going to take." The Georgians blinked. Instead of stepping into the 21st century with most of the rest of the country – including the southern states of Virginia and North Carolina, both of which backed Barack Obama for president and replaced Republican senators with Democrats – Georgia opted for the past.

The danger of special elections and run-offs is that they invite analysts to impute some sort of national significance or trend to their outcomes. Sometimes, like in the string of Republican victories that preceded their 1994 revolution, this kind of analysis is warranted. But in the case of yesterday's Senate run-off in Georgia, it most certainly is not.

Fresh off his runoff victory Tuesday night, Georgia Republican Sen. Saxby Chambliss credited Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin with firing up his base. “I can't overstate the impact she had down here,” Chambliss said during an interview Wednesday morning on Fox News. “When she walks in a room, folks just explode,” he added. “And they really did pack the house everywhere we went. She's a dynamic lady, a great administrator, and I think she's got a great future in the Republican Party.” Chambliss said that after watching her campaign on his behalf at several events Monday, he does not see her...

The chair of the Allegheny County Dems, Jim Burn, has confirmed that “Hardballer” Chris Matthews has kept in touch with him about where things stand in "the west” since the weeks leading up to the Pennsylvania primary. “Chris was very inquisitive about the dynamic here in the west,” said Burn, “but equally as coy regarding whether or not he would actually run for the U.S. Senate.” Burn said before this year's primary that he and Matthews mostly discussed the presidential race between Senators Clinton and Obama. “In fact,

Palin's decision to blanket the state with appearances -- and the rock-star reception she is receiving -- speaks to two basic facts about the former vice presidential nominee: she is beloved by the base of the party and she has absolutely no intention of stepping off the national stage any time soon. While Palin has been widely derided by many political commentators and many Democrats, it's hard to dispute that there is no more appealing face for the party faithful at the moment than her's. Though few in the GOP base would admit it publicly, there is a significant weariness...

Pilgrim's Pride Corp., the nation's largest chicken producer, which has plants in northeast Georgia, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on Monday, a move some analysts had predicted given the company's sagging debt load and volatile feed prices. The Pittsburg, Texas-based company sought the bankruptcy protection in a filing with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of Texas on Monday, saying that as of Sept. 27 it had $3.75 billion in assets and $2.72 billion in debts. Company spokesman Ray Atkinson said Pilgrim's Pride was reorganizing and not liquidating its assets, and the company will keep operating throughout...

Voter turnout for today’s runoff elections is steady but light, election officials report. Cobb County checked voting levels at 30 key precincts and by 10 a.m., 5,555 people had gone to the polls. The county tracks voting at 30 of its 175 precincts. Local and state results U.S. Senate Georgia Public Service Commission Georgia Court of Appeals Carroll County Clayton County DeKalb County Douglas County Fulton County Gwinnett County Cobb had 23,345 ballots cast absentee or in early voting, according to county spokesman Robert Quigley. At stake are three statewide offices and a number of local races in Clayton, DeKalb,...

0% Precincts reporting for Senate race, but Public Service Commission is showing Republican Lauren McDonald beating the Democrat 65/35. I think this is a GOOD sign.

Polls have closed in the run-off election between Georgia Republican Sen. Saxby Chambliss and Democratic challenger Jim Martin, and results are beginning to come in. With two percent of precincts reporting, the Georgia secretary of state's Web site shows Chambliss leading by a wide margin. As of this post, Chambliss had 69.1 percent of the vote compared to Martin's 30.1 percent.

Today's run-off election for Georgia's Senate between incumbent Republican Saxby Chambliss and Democrat Jim Martin has attracted a lot of attention, especially because it could put the Democratic majority one seat closer to the 60 seats needed for a filibuster-proof Senate. Michael Grunwald of Time magazine has a story up today about the importance of the outcome of the race, but instead of giving a fair-and-balanced look at how both candidates would affect the Senate, Grunwald uses the piece to attack Chambliss for being a "textbook Bush-Cheney Republican" and praise Martin for potentially being a repudiation of Bush and a...

United States Senator, Chambliss election results. So far he is ahead with only 8% in.

ATLANTA – Georgia Sen. Saxby Chambliss has won re-election in a runoff, dashing Democratic hopes of capturing enough Senate seats to thwart Republican filibusters.

With 62% of precincts reporting at 9:00 PM EST, Chambliss has 60% of the vote. CNN projects him to be the winner.

- December 2, 2008 9:03 PM ET ATLANTA (AP) - 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.

Take it to the bank.