Is Saxby Chambliss in trouble?
On the eve of the state GOP convention, the U.S. senator from south Georgia certainly finds himself in a bit of a pickle. As one member of the Senate’s “Gang of Six,” he’s been consorting with Democrats as well as other Republicans in an attempt to find a solution to the nation’s debt woes -- even uttering words that some have interpreted as an openness to that most vile of conservative anathemas: taxes.
“Saxby always finds himself on the wrong side of his voters in Georgia,” Redstate.com blogger Erick Erickson told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
Chambliss, who will be the convention’s first speaker Friday afternoon, certainly could face a chilly reception from tea partyers and conservative purists at the Macon Convention Center.
The second-term senator did not respond to interview requests, but others applauded his courage Thursday.
“This issue is too great for senators to be standing on the sidelines screaming,” said Edward Lindsey, House Majority Whip in the General Assembly. “I expect my senator to get in the game.”
The bipartisan Gang of Six has been meeting since the beginning of the year to craft a plan to get the nation out of its credit crunch.
But with no apparent end to their deliberations in sight, and a crisis looming as Congress faces the imperative to increase the government’s borrowing limit, speculation is rife in Washington that Chambliss and his colleagues are rapidly becoming irrelevant.
Vice President Joe Biden recently convened another bipartisan panel to tackle the debt, and Gang of Six member Kent Conrad (D-N.D.), who chairs the Senate Budget Committee, has put out his own proposal to counter the plan introduced by House Budget Committee head Paul Ryan (R.-Wis.)
“What the hell have they been doing for four months?” Americans for Tax Reform founder Grover Norquist asked about the Gang of Six. “They’re supposed to be writing the proposal [of the president's debt-reduction commission] into legislation.”
Absent even a rough draft, some Republican members of Georgia’s legislative delegation also question Chambliss' role.
“I haven’t seen a proposal, which is why this is such a stilted, confusing issue,” said Marietta congressman Tom Price, who chairs the House Republican Policy Committee.
Add to that Chambliss’ talk of “revenue generation” -- which many conservatives read as code for “new taxes” –- as an inescapable element of debt reduction, and he may find himself on the hot seat Friday.
“He’s in a box,” said Merle Black, an Emory University professor on southern politics.
Chambliss has been here before.
In May 2007, at the end of his freshman term as a senator, he felt the Georgia Republican Party’s rancor for supporting an unpopular immigration reform bill.
“We’ve got to face the fact that we’ve got to create a new, truly temporary worker program,” Chambliss said, his words drowned by a deafening chorus of hisses and boos from the people who were supposed to be his base.
On that issue, Chambliss subsequently reversed course.
Nevertheless, political watchers say many of his voters abandoned him in November 2008, sending him into a runoff against former Democratic congressman Jim Martin.
“He had a good number of voters who sat on their hands,” Erickson said. “They wanted to send a message.”
Now, Chambliss finds himself once again stumping for legislation that clearly chafes some members of his base.
“If he continues with his plans, I guess that we’ll just assume that he doesn’t plan on running for reelection,” Georgia Tea Party Patriots state director Julianne Thompson said.
Chambliss has said many times that won’t back down from a reelection run in 2014.
But Black, who has followed Georgia politics for 40 years, counts Chambliss' talk of ending some tax deductions in return for lowering tax rates as the deliberate move of a politician in his twilight.
“That would almost be a sign that he’s not running for reelection,” Black said. “He would almost be guaranteed a challenge from within the party.”
Erickson called for just that in a blog post Tuesday.
“Saxby has consistently stabbed conservatives in the back and it is time to take him out,” Erickson wrote.
But others lauded Chambliss for rushing in where others fear to tread.
Chambliss was at the Atlanta Rotary Club last month with Virginia Democratic Sen. Mark Warner to promote importance of tackling the debt.
“The bipartisan way that they talked about dealing with the issue was very warmly received,” Atlanta Chamber of Commerce president Sam Williams said. “People started to understand the implications of the financial crisis in a global sense.”
Critics promised that Chambliss will get an earful when he opens the Republican convention.
“I expect him to receive a similar reception to 2007,” Thompson said. “I think that people are even more upset this year.”
But Georgia's other senator, Republican Johnny Isakson, warned that Chambliss shouldn’t be harassed.
“People should be respectful of the public officials trying to fix the No 1 problem that got them so worked up in the first place,” he said.
About the Author
