Political Insider

By NoMoreLies

September 24, 2008 9:26 AM | Link to this

I read about the way that Chambliss treated the guy that was trying to actually save lives rather than save a buck. Some of Chambliss’s masters, the owners of that refinery, clearly got what they expected from their lap dog because Chambliss let into that guy as though he was the one that triggered the explosion. Chambliss is the typical Republican — he does what his big business masters tell him to do and he gladly jumps for his Scooby snacks that he’s rewarded with. Just listen to how he brags about the millions he has stashed away to ward off challengers to HIS senate seat. By the way, did I mention that he’s an arrogant a$$ — typical Republican, defenders of corporate socialism in the US. Is Chambliss really a Russian or French name or what?

By Bo Chambliss LOBBYIST

September 24, 2008 9:32 AM | Link to this

Editorial from the Savannah paper..

The sugar industry is sweet on Saxby Chambliss.

Since January 2005, the industry has spooned the Georgia Republican $58,000 in campaign funds - more than any other U.S. senator except for New York Democrat Hillary Rodham Clinton.

And during the 2005-2006 election cycle, when Chambliss chaired the Agriculture Committee, he received $36,500 - tops in the Senate - according to the online political database OpenSecrets.org.

Observers say such rankings - plus his demeanor Tuesday at a Senate subcommittee hearing - suggest Chambliss is fronting for Imperial Sugar Co.

“It’s hard to believe there’s no connection with industry largesse,” said Bill Bozarth, director of the Georgia Common Cause campaign watchdog group. “It confirms my belief that money in the process influences the way a congressman approaches a hearing like this.”

At the hearing, Chambliss plunged mouth-first into a furor over the 13 people killed in a Feb. 7 inferno at Imperial Sugar’s Port Wentworth refinery.

Imperial faces $8.8 million in proposed federal fines related to alleged safety violations there and at its Gramercy, La., plant.

Chambliss lit into witness Graham H. Graham, an Imperial executive who said he was reprimanded for trying to make the plant safer.

The senator twice questioned Graham’s sincerity and cut him off before he could answer a question.

On Friday, Chambliss lashed out at Graham again.

Nearly echoing recent comments by Imperial CEO John Sheptor, Chambliss suggested to The Associated Press that Graham was trying to divert blame from himself.

‘Tough’ vs. ‘bizarre’ questioning

Chambliss spokeswoman Lindsay Mabry blamed the flap on the news media.

“The media continue down the road of peddling the political cynicism that all Georgians and all Americans are tired of,” Mabry said.

She noted that Chambliss serves on the Agriculture Committee and said it’s “not unusual” for members of both parties to receive money from related interests.

“Sen. Chambliss,” she said, “has continued to seek answers on behalf of those who were shaken by this horrible incident. And he will continue to ask the tough questions and stand with the employees and families whose lives were affected.”

But Georgia Democratic spokesman Martin Matheny took the opposite view.

“He’s shown he’ll stand up for Imperial and the special interests before he’ll stand up for the people of Georgia,” Matheny said.

Former Democratic state Rep. Tom Bordeaux of Savannah was equally critical.

“His line of questioning was just bizarre for a guy who still has constituents in the hospital because of that disaster,” Bordeaux said. “Here’s a guy who’s trying to save lives, and Chambliss calls him a liar.

“The money gives an explanation - from a system that runs on money - as to why he might be asking those questions. It’s a sweet motivator.”

Accusations of supplied questions

Philip Hilder, a lawyer for Graham, has accused Chambliss of using questions supplied by Imperial to try to discredit his client.

Chambliss, who received $1,000 from Imperial’s political action committee in 2007, denied he was using Imperial-supplied questions.

The company provided proposed questions to the subcommittee to be directed at Graham. However, Chambliss is not a member of the panel - the subcommittee on employment and workplace safety.

Matt McAlvanah, spokesman for subcommittee chairwoman Patty Murray, said Chambliss was invited to participate as a courtesy.

The two subcommittee members who attended the meeting - Murray and U.S. Sen. Johnny Isakson, R-Ga. - have said they consider Graham a credible witness.

Mabry pointed out that Chambliss called for an investigation after the disaster. She said he’ll “continue to do everything he can to ensure that something like this never happens again” and is working on legislation to do so.

But Bozarth suggested the senator’s focus might be elsewhere.

He observed that Chambliss recently reported having $4 million on hand for his re-election campaign.

“Compared to that … (the money) from sugar interests isn’t a lot,” he said. “But, given what he’s had to say, it apparently was enough to get his attention.”

By Bo Chambliss LOBBYIST

September 24, 2008 9:37 AM | Link to this

Athen’s paper on Saxby’s sell out for the sugar industry

Sen. Saxby Chambliss - already facing heat for sharply questioning a whistleblower in a fatal sugar refinery accident outside Savannah - toughened his criticism by saying the employee is “on the hook” for the February explosion that killed 13 workers.

Asked about the issue in the Capitol on Friday, the Georgia Republican suggested that the whistleblower is trying to deflect from his own failure to act by accusing Imperial Sugar Co. executives of resisting safety warnings about the company’s plant in Port Wentworth.

Chambliss said if vice president of operations Graham H. Graham knew the plant was so dangerous, he should have pressed more urgently to shut it down.

“My question is if it was that bad, and you thought somebody was fixing to get killed, why in the world weren’t you more forceful?” he said. “Why didn’t he really do something? Because … as a result of his failure to do something a serious accident did happen, in my opinion.”

“This guy Graham knows he’s on the hook,” Chambliss added.

Chambliss, who works closely with the sugar industry as the top-ranking Republican on the Senate Agriculture Committee, insists he is not trying to defend Imperial, which is among the largest U.S. sugar producers.

But his comments are the latest in which he has focused on Graham as a culprit instead of the company, despite a recent government investigation that accused Imperial of willfully and egregiously violating dozens of safety standards.

Graham’s supporters emphasize that Graham had worked at Imperial for just three months before the accident, and that safety hazards had developed over years.

Graham’s attorney, Philip Hilder, called Chambliss’ criticism “absolutely nonsensical.”

“That plant has existed for some 90 years before Mr. Graham came,” Hilder said. “He was diligent in addressing the problems and got pushback from upper management, and for the senator … to suggest that he joined the company just a matter of weeks before the explosion and that fault lies with him - even though he saw the problem and tried to rectify it - is just the height of irresponsibility.”

Hilder and others have accused Chambliss of doing the company’s bidding on Tuesday when he sharply questioned Graham at a Senate hearing. Chambliss’ questions raised eyebrows because no one aside from Imperial had publicly doubted Graham’s claims. That includes Chambliss’ fellow Georgia Republican, Johnny Isakson. The two rarely split, but Isakson says he has full faith in Graham’s account.

Some of Chambliss’ questions at the hearing were similar to a line of questioning that Imperial had suggested to lawmakers, but Chambliss said Friday he never saw any questions suggested by Imperial.

Chambliss also said he has not been influenced by any lobbyists for the Sugar Land, Texas-based company or by his son, Bo. The younger Chambliss is an in-house Washington lobbyist for the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, which also is represented by an outside firm that lobbies for Imperial Sugar.

“My purpose has been to try to get the facts out,” Chambliss said. “This guy (Graham) is an agent of the company. How anybody can interpret that I’m doing something for the benefit of the company when really I’m chastising their agent is beyond me … The company’s got to stand on their own. I’m not about to defend them in any way.”

Investigators say the refinery explosion was fueled by excessive accumulations of dust that was probably ignited when a large bucket used to haul sugar in a silo elevator broke loose and struck the metal siding, causing a spark.

In his Senate testimony, Graham described the plant as the dirtiest and most dangerous he had ever seen. He said it was littered with debris and sugar dust. Electrical equipment had missing safety covers, and motors and controls were encrusted with sugar, he said, while fire protection gear was “sheathed in dust so thick it was impossible to determine if it was operable.”

OSHA has proposed nearly $9 million in fines, which if sustained would be the agency’s third-highest on record.

By NoMoreLies

September 24, 2008 10:02 AM | Link to this

My question is why has Chambliss not pushed for stronger oversight by OSHA. After all, if people like Chambliss REALLY cared about the health, safety, and welfare of the employees and taxpayers that he claims to care so much about, then shouldn’t he prove it by providing a strong regulator with some real teeth at their disposal. Chambliss clearly does not care about the people that he claims to care about. For him to claim otherwise is proven wrong by his own actions. I think that makes him a liar. Right. Come on Chambliss, defend yourself with some verifiable facts — things that your opponent would have to accept as fact. Let’s see what you got other than millions from your corporate masters to fund your re-election.

By Tom Ga Hunter

September 24, 2008 10:16 AM | Link to this

Saxby held this corporate executive to task for his failure to prevent this disaster. This executive was the one changed with preventing what happened and he dropped the ball. His lawyer is now trying to pass him off as a “wistle blower” to get him off the hook.

It was good to see our Senator call this guy out for his failure to prevent this disaster.

By Clarke County Young Dem

September 24, 2008 10:25 AM | Link to this

I find it disgusting that Jim “Nothing But Negative” Martin would attempt to use this tragedy for his own political gain.

Attack Saxby for trying to allow us to drill for oil,

Attack Saxby for supporting our troops in Iraq,

Attack Saxby for trying to keep the tax cuts in place,

Attack him for the stock market’s volatility,

But not this. Jim, you ought to be ashamed of yourself.

By Bill4Truth

September 24, 2008 10:32 AM | Link to this

This goes beyond partisan politics. People died in this tragedy. The question should be who is held responsible, not how can we spin this into a campaign issue. This “whistle blower” obviously did not express the fact that the plant was dangerous and needed to be closed down, WHICH IS HIS JOB! The Senator was upset with the fact that people DIED because of this man’s CARELESS OVERSIGHT. Typical liberals trying to spin a story into a campaign issue. PATHETIC!

By Tom Ga Hunter

September 24, 2008 10:50 AM | Link to this

Tom Ga Hunter

Churchill has stole my name again, guess he is skipping school again but it’s just clayton county so it probably doesn’t matter… Bo Chambliss Lobbyist posted 2 stories both from Morris owned papers which is the most conservative paper in the state, both called Saxby out as a tool of special interest apparently Churchill’s reading skills are not up to his 9th grader status.

By GT College Republican

September 24, 2008 10:54 AM | Link to this

My good hunting buddy Tom is right on the money…Saxby had the courage to call an apple an apple and stand up to this guy who was trying to shift the blame for this disaster.

Saxby gets things done for all Georgians!

By Tom Ga Hunter

September 24, 2008 10:54 AM | Link to this

Clarke County Young Dem

This must be CHURCHILL”S new name, he is in love with Saxby.What a know nothing..With Saxby special interest is always first, Obama, Saxby, Lewis is the way Churchill VOTES.

By Will Jones

September 24, 2008 11:31 AM | Link to this

Senators should be each state’s men and women of established probity, possessing the courage to stand for the Constitution they swear to support and defend against all enemies foreign and domestic.

Chambliss is one of draft-dodging closet-queen Bush’s special friends…and also dodged the Vietnam draft without ever lending his voice to those who knew Vietnam was a crime against the Constitution and the People.

Bush committed 9/11 (Viz. “The New Pearl Harbor,” Griffin, PhD).

Chambliss continues to support Bush’s treason in sending our troops to die for proven lies of yellowcake and WMD.

Chambliss is not good for Georgia or righteousness.

His being a tool of a Texas-owned company whose safety violations killed 13 of Georgia’s working people is bad, shows he is bribable, but isn’t the worst of the evil he has permitted without raising any objection whatsoever.

I thought “Dixie Crystal” sugar was a local product. I try to avoid having anything to do with Texas as it, and the corrupt legal establishment in Dallas, is, in part, guilty of failure to bring President Kennedy’s Bush/Nixon-led CIA assassins to justice. In future will be sure not to buy sugar from a company out of Texas that came here to kill Georgia’s workers.

Chambliss must go. The treason he supports must be ended.

Martin answered the call during Vietnam the same as 9.2 million other Americans. He, by doing so, proves his willingness to lay down his life for The Oath.

He, like Obama, is a step in the right direction.

Those who support Bush treason and try to discredit those standing up American workers must go.

Chambliss must go.

http://www.theamericanfundament.blogspot.com

By Tom Ga Hunter

September 24, 2008 11:51 AM | Link to this

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yY37umPGm2M

If only my man Jim “Negative Ad” Martin would work this hard….

Dang, we are getting crushed everywhere.

By GT College Republican

September 24, 2008 12:25 PM | Link to this

Tom Ga Hunter

Churchill & I are laying around smoking weed, so we stole your name. I am sorry but you know how Churchill gets David Scott & Saxby Chambliss confused. I keep telling him Saxby is white & Scott is black but he always says yes but they are both crooks. Well back to fun & games with Churchill.

Saxby gets things done for special interest, to hell with GEORGIA.

By Ga Values

September 24, 2008 12:33 PM | Link to this

Georgia’s senior senator is still dogged for his support of a controversial immigration bill that would have opened the door to citizenship for millions of illegal aliens. And who doesn’t remember him posing for photos with liberal icon Ted Kennedy to show his support for the bill? Of course, he later backed away from the measure, but the damage was done. His credibility never would be the same among the anti-immigration crowd.

Then there’s Chambliss’ son, who has been a lobbyist for the commodities trading industry at a time when Dad happened to be chairman or ranking member of the Senate Agriculture Committee - the committee with jurisdiction over commodities trading.

Chambliss is one of the few statewide elected officials in America who still is willingly joined at the hip to President Bush. Even in Georgia, Bush now has hit bottom in his approval rating.

Despite his unfailingly loyal service to the Bush administration, Chambliss has little bacon to show for his efforts. Georgia lost multiple military installations during the last round of base closings, which occurred on his watch. We appear likely to fail in efforts to land several major federal projects, including the national biodefense facility the University of Georgia has pursued doggedly

By Ga Values

September 24, 2008 12:39 PM | Link to this

Saxby’s son Bo is a LOBBYIST for the Chicago Merc. Board. Saxby’s Gang of 10 TRAITORS bill contained massive subsidies for the CORN bases ETHANOL industry. 1+1=2. . Saxby did the Same thing on his farm bill which contained among other things $437 Million in subsidies to RACEHORSES, a $1.1 BILLION bail out for NYC land speculators with a total of over $20 Billion of pork.President Bush vetoed this waste 3 times but Saxby worked with OBAMA, Kennedy, Reid & Pelosi to over ride this veto McCain says country First, Saxby says LOBBYIST first