Senate runoff in Georgia draws national interest

Anybody who thought the national election ended Nov. 4 hasn’t been to Georgia lately.

Tuesday’s runoff between U.S. Sen. Saxby Chambliss (R-Ga.) and Democratic challenger Jim Martin has attracted everyone from former President Bill Clinton to GOP presidential nominee John McCain as both parties square off for one final round this election season.

Both Democrats and Republicans contend that nothing less than the future of the nation is at stake. Elect Martin, Democrats say, and voters will clear the path for the substantive political change President-elect Barack Obama promised. Re-elect Chambliss, Republicans counter, and the Senate will have enough GOP votes to stop Democrats from taking the country too far to the left.

“This is the big one,” former U.S. Sen. Zell Miller (D-Ga.) told 200 people last week at a pro-Chambliss rally in Gainesville. “This is a history-changing election. The world is watching this election.”

The Georgia runoff has become a focus of post-Nov. 4 national politics as Democrats inch closer to a 60-vote “super majority” in the Senate, enough to prevent GOP filibusters that could stymie key pieces of Obama’s agenda or even derail U.S. Supreme Court nominees. Democrats now have 58 seats; only Georgia’s runoff and an ongoing recount in Minnesota remain.

The rhetoric has intensified as runoff day nears and both camps try to get campaign-weary voters back to the polls.

“When Barack Obama says jump, Jim Martin will ask, ‘How high?’ ” WSB Radio talk show host Neal Boortz told listeners on a recent drive-time show. Boortz has called Martin’s potential election “dangerous” to the nation.

Earlier, Clinton urged Georgians to reject the claim that Chambliss should be

re-elected to prevent a rubber-stamp Congress for Obama.

“This country doesn’t need a firewall against the future,” Clinton said at a Martin rally. “It needs a bridge to the future.”

Even Obama has gotten into the battle, cutting a radio ad and automated “robo calls” for Martin. Still, as of late last week Obama did not plan to come to the state to campaign for Martin.

Meanwhile, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, who was this year’s GOP vice presidential nominee, plans a four-city stop for Chambliss on Monday, beginning in Augusta and ending in Atlanta at 4 p.m.

The race between two former University of Georgia Sigma Chi fraternity brothers has been much tighter than expected. Chambliss was considered a shoo-in for re-election to a second term, even after Martin bested a five-man field to win the Democratic primary.

Then came the financial meltdown that dominated the heart of the

general election campaign and Chambliss’ backing of the $700 billion financial rescue package, which Martin attacked. Suddenly, the state had a senatorial horse race.

Chambliss and Martin landed in the four-week runoff because Georgia’s unusual election law requires a majority of the vote and neither candidate received more than 50 percent on Nov. 4. Chambliss won 49.8 percent to Martin’s 46, while Libertarian Allen Buckley played the spoiler, taking 3 percent.

Some political observers estimated that the two campaigns — and a host of political groups that support each — could spend more than $15 million in the post-election sprint, possibly more than they spent for the Nov. 4 general election. Much of it has been devoted to a nasty ad war.

Democrats have tried to tie Chambliss to Bush administration economic policies, which they contend led to the recent financial chaos. And they have blasted his underdog 2002 campaign against then-U.S. Sen. Max Cleland — a triple-amputee Vietnam veteran — in which Chambliss’ campaign questioned the Democrat’s commitment to national security in a television ad. The ad, which juxtaposed photos of Cleland and Osama bin Laden, has become mythical in Democratic circles.

Republicans have painted Martin as too liberal for Georgia voters in part because of his ties to leaders of the national Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee. They have also revisited his tenure as head of the state Department of Human Resources, a post he resigned after two children were killed after being placed back in abusive homes.

Polls show Chambliss leading by 3 to 6 percentage points. But both camps agree that runoffs — which traditionally draw few voters — are difficult to survey.

And getting voters back to the polls a few days after Thanksgiving will be a challenge.

Still, Martin’s camp believes he can pull an upset in the race where nobody — not even Democrats — thought he had much of a chance.

Republicans, meanwhile, point to the fact that McCain beat Obama in Georgia by 200,000 votes Nov. 4, countering a Democratic sweep across much of the nation.

What the candidates say about current issues

During this year’s U.S. Senate general election and runoff campaign, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution asked the candidates about their positions on key issues. Here’s a recap of what Republican Sen. Saxby Chambliss of Moultrie and Democratic challenger Jim Martin of Atlanta said:

Do you support President-elect Barack Obama’s recent call for a massive new stimulus program — perhaps as much as $700 billion — to create jobs and improve the nation’s infrastructure?

CHAMBLISS: “We’ve got a plan [the current financial rescue plan] in place, albeit a controversial plan. But we are starting to see an easing of credit. We need to give this plan a chance to work before venturing out and spending more of the taxpayers’ money. It [Obama’s proposal] obligates our children and grandchildren for the extensive debt they will have to pay one of these days. There is a limit to the amount of taxpayer money that’s available.”

MARTIN: “I don’t know the specifics of it [Obama’s plan]. But I do know we need something to get middle-class people back to work in Georgia. We’ve lost 96,000 jobs in the state. I do know the idea of dealing not only with the immediate problem but taking a long-term approach … is a great idea. But I would have to look at the specifics. That’s the only responsible thing to do.”

What would you do to help reduce the federal debt?

CHAMBLISS: “We must reduce the national debt for our children and grandchildren. Step one: Cut spending. I supported the Balanced Budget Act of 1997, and I am an original sponsor of the United States Authorization and Sunset Commission Act, which creates a bipartisan commission to review and eliminate inefficient federal programs.

“Step two: Reform the budget process. I am a co-sponsor of the Biennial Budgeting and Appropriations Act. This will end reckless spending through reforming the federal budget process and converting it to a two-year cycle, with one year for appropriating funding and the other year devoted to much needed oversight of federal spending.

“Reducing the debt must be a priority, and I am committed to making that happen.”

MARTIN: “The failed economic policies of the Bush administration have left us with the largest debt in our nation’s history, and we must get our fiscal house back in order. Something’s wrong when oil companies are receiving billions of dollars in tax breaks and raking in record profits at the same time. As DHR commissioner, I had to make tough spending cuts in the difficult economic times following 9/11 and that’s the kind of leadership and fiscal discipline I can take to the U.S. Senate. One of the first things we should do is stop spending $10 billion a month in Iraq and to provide middle-class tax relief so that the foundation of our economy can be revitalized.”

What is the most important thing the United States can do to improve its health care system?

CHAMBLISS: “A Washington-run, big govern-ment health care system is not the answer. We cannot allow the government to tell us which doctors we can see and when; that is not right.

“We need a public-private partnership to provide affordable health care. Americans need greater access to health insurance, and families must be able to choose the plan best suited for them.

“I co-sponsored the Universal Health Care Choice and Access Act to provide individuals and families with tax incentives so families can afford to purchase their own health insurance.

“As the Senate debates this issue further, I will continue to work for choice, lower prices, competition, flexibility, tax advantages and a relationship with your doctor, not the federal government.”

MARTIN: “Nearly 50 million Americans are without health insurance, causing an economic crisis as the cost of providing care for these people is passed along to others in the form of higher premiums and costs. This crisis must come to an end. We currently spend twice as much on heath care than any other industrialized nation.

“The solution to this problem lies in more efficiently spending the money already in the system so that middle-class families bear less of the burden and insurance conglomerates and pharmaceutical companies don’t benefit at our expense.

“I envision a public-private partnership to make quality, affordable health care accessible to all. As when I helped create the PeachCare system in Georgia, I will bring to Washington the creativity and leadership necessary to make this a reality.”

How and when should the United States end the war in Iraq?

CHAMBLISS: “I have visited our troops in Iraq six times, and I am encouraged by our progress toward the establishment of a free and secure Iraq. Iraqis are assuming more and more of the military and financial responsibility for their country.

“Responsible observers of the situation agree that an arbitrary timeline set by politicians would create a power vacuum that weakens our efforts and emboldens our enemies. This is simply unacceptable. General [David] Petraeus and General [Ray] Odierno are both great leaders and have consistently said we should withdraw troops as soon as possible without jeopardizing the progress we have made. They are the experts and I agree with them.”

MARTIN: “We cannot continue spending $10 billion a month in Iraq while they have an $80 billion surplus from selling us oil at record prices.

“It is time for our focus to return to where it is most needed — on the threat of global terrorism and on the struggles of the middle class here at home. I believe the Congress and the president should instruct our military commanders on the ground to begin implementing a plan to withdraw our troops from Iraq in a manner which ensures their safety, and gives the Iraqi people the opportunity to stand up on their own two feet.”

Note: The question on Obama’s stimulus plan was answered in interviews. The other questions were answered in e-mails.