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Tuesday, December 2, 2008
Chambliss gets the last word: ‘Georgia values matter’
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
10:35 p.m.: On the heels of a concession by Democrat Jim Martin, Republican Saxby Chambliss took the stage to claim his second term in the U.S. Senate.
But Republican National Committee Chairman Mike Duncan, who faces a tough slog to re-election in January, grabbed valuable, 10 p.m. television time from the re-elected senator.
Chambliss thanked the RNC head for valuable resources sent to the state. But WAGA (Fox5), the only TV station broadcasting the event live, ended up cutting away from Chambliss in mid-victory statement.
In front of a crowd numbering 300, Chambliss thanked supporters and the volunteers from 43 states he said worked on his campaign. “You’re the reason this happened,” the Republican said. “Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.”
“You have sent a strong message to the world that conservative Georgia values matter,” Chambliss said.
10:10 p.m.: Embracing his defeat in the U.S. Senate race, Democrat Jim Martin bounded on stage to Carly Simon’s 1980s hit, “Let the River Run.”
Said Martin:
“Tonight the voters of Georgia have spoken. I accept that decision that has been made. I called Senator Chambliss and congratulated Saxby and Julianne. I want to thank my wife Joan. I want to thank my family and campaign team and all of you volunteers who came in from all over the country. Thank you so much.”
Martin quoted Abraham Lincoln, who told of stubbing his toe when a boy: “I was too old to cry, but it hurt too much to laugh.”
More seriously, Martin said his campaign “stood up for Georgians and the important issues,” including the economy, ending the war in Iraq and “regaining our moral leadership in the world.”
He also had a message to Democrats and Republicans in Georgia, according to my AJC colleague Aaron Gould Sheinin, who was on the ground.
For Democrats, he said the future is bright with Barack Obama as president. “As Democrats, we found our soul,” Martin said. “We are the party of opportunity for all Georgians, with a base as broad as our vision.”
As for Republicans, Martin called on the GOP to protect a free flow of debate and engage in “mutual respect” to “move our state and country ahead.”
9:55 p.m.: With 90 percent of the vote in, Republican Lauren “Bubba” McDonald is cruising to a seat on the Public Service Commission, with 58 percent over Democrat Jim Powell — who finished ahead of McDonald in the Nov. 4 general election.
The non-partisan state Court of Appeals race is much closer, but Sarah Doyle has a significant 3.4 percent lead over Mike Sheffield.
9:50 p.m.: Democrat Jim Martin has just conceded defeat in the U.S. Senate runoff, with a phone call to Republican incumbent Saxby Chambliss.
9:45 p.m.: Word that the Associated Press as well as CNN had declared Chambliss the winner in the U.S. Senate runoff didn’t dampen the mood at Democrat Jim Martin’s gathering at the Park Tavern in Midtown.
Several hundred supporters, volunteers and staff lamented the apparent loss, but many continued to hold out hope for a surge of votes in metro Atlanta.
And the official word from the Martin campaign as of a half-hour ago: It’s not over.
“We’re still waiting for votes to be counted in Fulton and DeKalb counties,” said Kate Hansen, spokeswoman for the campaign.
And staffers for Republican incumbent Saxby Chambliss have let it be known that they won’t claim victory until Martin concedes defeat. But the 11 p.m. TV news slot exerts a great deal of pressure.
Martin’s share of the vote in DeKalb County was down by several percentage points off his Nov. 4 pace. And in Fulton County, where the Democrat got more than 63 percent of the general election vote, Martin was pulling only slightly more than 51 percent Tuesday night, with about half of all precincts reporting.
Several Martin supporters referenced turnout, which cratered from the general election Nov. 4 to Tuesday.
“A lot of people didn’t get out today to vote,” said Jesse McNulty, 41, of DeKalb County. “We’re in a ‘red zone,’ of course. Anybody who worked on the campaign from summer and beyond had hope for Democrats in key positions.”
Thad Flowers, 29, of Atlanta, was more resigned.
“He ran a really good race,” Flowers said. “He worked as hard as he could. It’s just tough sometimes to beat an incumbent.”
9:25 p.m.: Among those at the Saxby Chambliss victory party was Gov. Sonny Perdue, fresh from his Philadelphia meeting with President-elect Barack Obama.
The occasion was today’s gathering of the National Governors Association.
“It was a candid, engaged conversation,” Perdue told my AJC colleague Mary Lou Pickel. “He reached out to the governors, and we reached back out to him.”
Obama solicited ideas for how best to used economic stimulus money in the states. The president-elect understood he needed a partnership with the governors, Perdue said.
“We expressed our concern that we cannot borrow our way back into prosperity,” the Republican governor said.
But the governor conceded that Georgia needs federal money for new infrastructure —transportation projects and buildings for universities, technical colleges and public schools.
9:05 p.m.: State Sen. Joseph Carter (R-Tifton) quit his legislative job this year to run for a vacant superior court seat in Tift County. Looks like it was a bad bet.
With 91 percent of precincts reporting, Melanie Barbee Cross has nearly 55 percent of the vote.
9 p.m.: The Associated Press has just declared Republican incumbent Saxby Chambliss the victor in the U.S. Senate race in Georgia. The Democrats have fallen short of their 60-seat majority.
8:55 p.m.: With more than half the vote counted, Republican incumbent Saxby Chambliss has built a formidable lead of more than 250,000 votes.
He currently leads with 61 percent.
Chambliss has clearly reasserted himself in Atlanta’s older suburban counties, where a heavy African-American turnout cut into his margins. But Cobb County is falling his way nearly 3-to-1, and Chambliss is taking 60 percent of Gwinnett.
More than 20,000 votes of Chambliss’ lead comes from vote-heavy Cherokee County, where the Republican is leading Martin by 4-to-1.
Martin is taking DeKalb County more than 2-to-1. Chambliss is splitting Fulton County (Atlanta), though that’s likely to change.
8:31 p.m.: Saxby Chambliss’ momma, 91-year-old Emma B. Chambliss, came to the Cobb Energy Centre to support her son.
She couldn’t vote for him, though.
“Miss Emma” moved from Saluda, N.C. to Roswell just two months ago and missed the deadline for voter registration in Georgia.
“No, I didn’t get here in time” she told my AJC colleague, Mary Lou Pickel.
“I was disgusted, disgusted,” she said, shaking her head.
8:22 p.m.: At this point, bright spots for Democrat Jim Martin in the U.S. Senate race are Bibb County (Macon) in middle Georgia, and Chatham County (Savannah) on the coast.
Both have strong African-American turnout operations.
In Bibb, Martin is leading by 62 percent in a county that he carried by only 56 percent on Nov. 4.
In Chatham, Martin leads by a bare 51.3 percent. He won the county by 54 percent in the general election.
Neither DeKalb nor Fulton County, which contain black votes crucial to a Democratic victory, have reported yet.
8:03 p.m.: Keith Miller, 31, is one of about 100 people chatting and munching on cheese and crackers in a ballroom of the Cobb Energy Centre, where Republican incumbent Saxby Chambliss waits to see if he’ll hang onto his U.S. Senate seat.
“Because the Democrats might obtain a filibuster-proof majority, I felt an extra urgency,” Miller said.
He volunteered for Chambliss, making phone calls last week. Two employees from the Republican National Committee came to Gwinnett County to help organize the volunteers, Miller told my AJC colleague Mary Lou Pickel.
The RNC had lists of names to call and they wrote the script for the phone calls, Miller said. “We had volunteers who went door-to-door and they advised them too,” he said.
About 15 minutes ago, Chambliss walked in the door, surrounded by cameras. A few people stood and clapped, but it was a subdued crowd. Dick Chambliss, 59, travelled from Alexander City, Ala. to support his big brother.
“The last four weeks have been nervous,” Dick Chambliss said.
7:50 p.m.: Interesting dynamic developing in the three statewide races at stake. The races for U.S. Senate and Public Service Commission are so far tracking along strict partisan lines.
In the Senate race, Chambliss is at 68 percent. In the PSC race, Republican Lauren McDonald is at 67 percent.
But in the non-partisan race for state Court of Appeals, Sarah Doyle and Mike Sheffield are split 50-50. Sheffield has more closely identified himself with the religious conservative wing of the state GOP, but Doyle has strong GOP support as well.
7:37 p.m.: Reports have started to trickle in, mostly from rural areas. Of 26 counties that have reported any results, Republican incumbent Saxby Chambliss leads in 21.
7:08 p.m.: The polls are closed, and the 2008 election season is officially at an end.
Democrat Jim Martin, the U.S. Senate contender, has taken up residence at Park Tavern on 10th Street to wait out the results.
About an hour ago, Martin made a round of TV appearances for the 6 p.m. cycle. “We’ve done all we can do. Now it’s up to the voters,” he told my AJC colleague Aaron Sheinin.
Voter turnout, Martin said, is key. “Turnout is important,” he said. “We still have another hour for people to get to their polls. This is their opportunity to make their choice.”
Martin acknowledged the lengthy campaign has turned tough in the final days and weeks, but said he tried to avoid personal attacks. “It’s important people know the differences between me and my opponent,” he said.
Republican incumbent Saxby Chambliss is at the Cobb Energy Center. He’s yet to make an appearance.
While you wait, here’s your election night survival kit:
— First, the link to the web site of Secretary of State Karen Handel and the results of tonight’s runoff elections. Use it wisely.
— Now the background. The national issue in this contest is whether Democrats will make it to 60 seats in the U.S. Senate. The defeat of U.S. Sen. Ted Stevens of Alaska put Dems at 58.
Up until today, the fortunes of Democrat Al Franken in Minnesota had been in decline, making Georgia’s race less significant. But several news outlets — the New York Times, Politico and Fivethirtyeight.com — are saying the discovery of new, uncounted ballots has benefited Franken.
The outcome of the Minnesota race will remain in doubt until at least next week. But a Chambliss victory would allow Republicans to trumpet that they’ve blocked Democrats from achieving a filibuster-proof majority.
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The voice, but not the image, of Obama
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
While we wait for the returns that will determine the outcome of the U.S. Senate race in Georgia, it’s worthwhile to ponder the limited involvement of President-elect Barack Obama.
He lent his Georgia organization to Democrat Jim Martin, and his voice — in the form of a radio ad, and a robo-call recording presumably played on hundreds of thousands of phones owned by Democrat-leaning voters.
But Obama specifically drew the line at a visual image of himself. No TV commercial, no personal visit. You can argue that Obama had no time to come to Georgia, that it would have been a diversion from the critical issue of rebuilding the federal government in the face of two wars, the most severe recession since World War II, and — now — an act of terror on a nuclear fault line.
But Martin would have been entirely happy to fly up to Chicago for a 15-second meeting with Obama that would have resulted in a paired photograph — the kind that DeKalb County CEO Vernon Jones tried so hard to create during the primary.
Possibly, Martin asked. And was refused. In which case you’d have to assume that Obama’s reluctance arose from a desire to remain above partisan fray for as long as possible, while crucial legislation is at stake.
There is another possibility. And that’s the cold calculation that an appearance — on TV, in person, or in flyers — by Obama in Georgia would spark a backlash of white, Republican-leaning voters.
The evidence for that is in the auditory versions of Obama’s endorsement of Martin. In today’s technological climate, a videotape is no more difficult than a mere audio recording.
But audio can fly under the radar, piped directly into homes or played on radio airwaves that are as nearly segregated in the South as any church. This harkens back to old-style Southern politics — speaking directly but exclusively to African-Americans, so as not to upset the white majority.
The problem for Martin remains — at least until 7 p.m. this evening — the lack of a visual image that cements the Atlanta attorney to the president-elect. The vacuum was filled last night by a technically terrific AJC photograph from last night, of Martin, U.S. Rep. John Lewis, and a chorus of hip-hop stars in front of a darkened state Capitol.
The image is dramatic and challenging — but it carries none of the inviting optimism that a simple photograph of Martin and Obama might have contained. And it’s not something that the Martin campaign would choose as the definitive portrait of itself.
Photo credit: Mikki K. Harris/AJC
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In the viewfinder with Barack Obama
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
The nation’s governors — Sonny Perdue among them — met in Philadelphia with President-elect Barack Obama on Tuesday.
Obama pledged quick work on an economic recovery plan that would include tax cuts and more federal spending. He told the members of the National Governors Association he wants their advice in designing it.
As you can see, Perdue was in the frame as Obama walked to his seat at Congress Hall. That’s Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick at right.
No yet word from Georgia’s governor on what he thought about Obama’s remarks. But here’s a thought: Perdue has now been photographed with Obama more times than Democrat Jim Martin, the U.S. Senate candidate.
Photo credit: Associated Press
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Renting some storage space for those dancing feet at the inaugural
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Only this week was it formally declared that the U.S. economy is in recession.
But already we have an example of high consumer confidence.
The Georgia Democratic party is $142,000 in debt, and has $75,059 in cash on hand, according to a financial statement just filed. Even so, last Wednesday, Democrats put $40,000 on some floor space at the Smithsonian in Washington D.C.
We’re assuming, of course, that this is related to the inauguration of President-elect Barack Obama.
Clearly, someone thinks better times are ahead.
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In PSC race, both candidates show last-minute money
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Both candidates in the runoff for the Public Service Commission have now filed their final campaign disclosure reports.
Democrat Jim Powell, though he came in first in the Nov. 4 general election, has raised roughly half as much as Republican Lauren “Bubba” McDonald — overall, and in the last four weeks.
According to my AJC colleague James Salzer, McDonald had raised $68,065 since the last filing deadline, Oct. 25. Overall, he’s raised $214,315 since the start of the campaign and spent $156,767.
Among the contributors in the past month were four Atlanta Gas Light executives and several other people working for companies the PSC regulates. McDonald also received $5,000 from Republican PSC Commissioner Doug Everett and received $7,200 from nine GOP state lawmakers.
Powell has raised $38,710 in the four-week runoff period, most of the cash coming from unions and Democratic groups. Overall, he’s raised $100,300. Powell has spent $89,652.
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Barr endorses Chambliss in today’s runoff
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Allen Buckley, the defeated Libertarian candidate for U.S. Senate, has been reluctant to endorse either the Democrat or Republican in the U.S. Senate runoff.
But Libertarian presidential candidate Bob Barr has no qualms.
According to the web site Crazy for Liberty, Barr has endorsed Saxby Chambliss over Jim Martin in Tuesday’s runoff.
Surprised? Consider that both Chambliss and Barr — then still a Republican — were part of the Class of ’94 brought to Congress by Newt Gingrich. Barr was ousted from the U.S. House in ’02, the same year that Chambliss moved up to the Senate.
In a letter presumably distributed to Libertarians in Georgia, Barr says:
In Tuesday, December 2nd’s runoff election, we have a choice between incumbent Republican Senator Saxby Chambliss and Democratic challenger Jim Martin.
I urge you to vote for Saxby Chambliss.
Sen. Chambliss is closer to the Libertarian position on a number of key issues, including: shrinking the size of government, less government spending, abolishing the IRS, replacing the income tax with a consumption tax and ending the government bailouts.
And there is one other major consideration: the legislative branch of our government should not be a rubber stamp for the executive branch.
There should be a check and balance between the two. The Democrats are close to obtaining a majority of 60 members of the Senate which means the opposition party, the Republicans in this case, will have very few opportunities to have meaningful input on legislative actions.
To me, one party rule in both the legislative and executive branches is a prescription for bad public policy decisions.
Please join me in voting for Saxby Chambliss in the US Senate runoff election.
Sincerely,
Bob Barr
