When U.S. Sen. Saxby Chambliss stepped forward last week to push a compromise deficit-reduction package, he took on the role of either statesman or turncoat, depending on who was talking.
Chambliss’ profile had faded in recent weeks as the negotiations by a bipartisan group of senators known as the Gang of Six appeared to fall apart. But last week, the two-term Georgia Republican was thrust into the center of the debt ceiling debate.
Chambliss does not stand for re-election until 2014, by which time the Gang of Six plan to attack the national debt may be a historical footnote. For now, some conservative voters back home are sharply critical of the senator for a proposal they characterize as a tax hike and a capitulation to Democrats.
“He has been telling us he is conservative,” said Sandy Roof of Buford. “I think this [plan] shows a true reflection of what the man stands for.”
Roof, who said she voted for Chambliss and has campaigned for Republican candidates, said she called Chambliss’ office to complain about the Gang of Six proposal, which she views as little more than a backdoor tax increase.
“The voicemail box was full,” she said.
Others are praising Chambliss and the other senators for their leadership. Martin Flanagan, president and CEO of investment firm Invesco, called the plan an “extremely thoughtful” approach toward debt reduction and tax reform.
“I’m focused on outcomes, and I think that all Americans should be focused on outcomes,” he said. “Doing nothing is assuring a bad outcome for the country. We have a very fragile economy right now.”
Chambliss said he has heard the complaints from some constituents.
“Talk radio has come out and just blasted us, and for the most part, they are using trumped-up numbers that are not accurate,” Chambliss told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “Their audiences listen to talk radio because they do believe what they say. That’s a problem.”
It’s a problem Chambliss thinks he can fix as the Gang of Six plan gels in Congress. The senator said the plan is “still in sketchy form” but he is encouraged by the bipartisan support he and his colleagues have received.
The plan would cut the deficit by $3.7 trillion over 10 years by reining in discretionary and entitlement spending and raising $1 trillion in new tax revenue. While details of the plan were fluid, the new revenues would come through changes in the tax code and elimination of some deductions. Some conservative groups like the Americans for Prosperity say the changes would amount to tax increases.
The Gang of Six — three Republican and three Democratic senators — had been working on their debt reduction plan for months, meeting with fellow lawmakers, journalists and business leaders to sell their idea. Their plan didn’t appear to be going anywhere.
If not for Chambliss’ persistence — and his friendship with Sen. Tom Coburn — the plan might have never regained steam.
Coburn, R-Okla., left the Gang of Six in May over disagreements on cuts to entitlement programs. The South Georgia senator continued to discuss the plan with his colleague over a series of dinners.
“Tom is my dear friend. I have dinner with him virtually every night,” Chambliss explained. “I sort of know Tom’s personality and I understood in part his frustration, but at the same time I know how deeply he cares about this country and serious he is about solving this problem.”
Negotiations continued among the remaining five until Chambliss was able to bring Coburn back into the group.
“We did have dinner on Monday and I told him what we were doing,” Chambliss said. “We had negotiated a [Medicare] number that I knew he would be happy with and I told him that.”
The plan was not originally envisioned as a way out of the debt ceiling crisis, but Chambliss said the timing is fortunate.
“As it turned out, we happened to finish our negotiations at the same time the debate on the debt ceiling [debate] was being ratcheted up,” he said.
The news of the renewed bipartisan effort energized — at least briefly — the negotiations over the debt limit. But it quickly became clear it would not provide an immediate solution. The plan has stoked the same passions over taxes and cuts that have stymied the overall debate.
Emory University political science professor Merle Black said the Gang of Six plan could prove politically problematic if viewed as a tax hike when Chambliss stands for re-election.
“If it comes out that he has agreed to tax increases, that is something he would have to explain to voters in Georgia,” he said.
Chambliss is eager to tell his side. “I’ll have a sales job to do with constituents. That much I know,” he said.
He and the other Gang of Six members wasted no time, giving numerous interviews last week to local and national media outlets, including the AJC, to head off criticism.
“We don’t have the luxury in the Senate of being in control like our House friends are where they can pretty well pass anything they want to,” Chambliss told conservative Georgia radio host Martha Zoller in an interview Wednesday. “We have to come up with proposals that will garner 60 votes. That means you have to have Democrats and Republicans working together to address these issues.”
On Thursday, the senator was on WRGA-AM in Rome to defend higher revenues from changes in the tax code.
“Reducing spending alone won’t get this $14 trillion debt paid,” he said.
Chambliss said he is not blind to the political cost of the plan, but he said he will worry about that tomorrow.
“Sure you think about the politics, but this issue — and I am passionate about it, this issue — is so serious that you have to do the right thing,” he said.
Chambliss has been out on a political limb before. In 2007, he was booed by conservatives at the Georgia Republican Convention for his support of an immigration reform effort some decried as an “amnesty” bill. He later opposed bringing the measure up for a vote.
The Gang of Six proposal could incite a stiff primary challenge for him, Black said.
Rob Waterson, a tea party advocate in Suwanee, said Chambliss has not kept up with the GOP electorate.
“The bar has been raised. If you are going to be a conservative, then you have to go up there and stand up for us,” he said. “I think we have an opportunity to cut spending here and we should take advantage of it.”
Chambliss likely will find few collaborators among the Republicans in Georgia’s House delegation. Five of the state’s eight Republican representatives are in the tea party caucus and predisposed against the plan.
Rep. Tom Graves said the only plan he supports is the “Cut, Cap, and Balance” proposal passed Tuesday in the House.
That plan would have tied raising the nation’s debt ceiling to immediate spending cuts and a constitutional amendment requiring a federal balanced budget. Chambliss supported it, too. But, as expected, the bill was voted down Friday in the Senate on a party-line vote.
Graves said the Gang of Six plan may seem like a way out, “but giving the president free rein to increase the debt limit, or promises of spending cuts 10 years down the road, do not to address the economic problems we have today.”
Graves’ spokesman John Donnelly said Chambliss had not reached out to the congressman to gain support for the Gang of Six plan, but he indicated such an effort would have little effect.
Chambliss said the plan has to get through the Senate first. He said he believes more House members will get on board as they learn more about it.
“At the right time we will be making a presentation to them,” he said.
U.S. Sen. Johnny Isakson, R-Ga., appeared to lean toward the Gang of Six proposal, while supporting the House “Cut, Cap, and Balance” bill.
An Isakson spokeswoman said he thinks the Gang of Six plan is a positive step in spending reform, while backing “Cut, Cap, and Balance” as a solution to the debt ceiling crisis.
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