Georgia Went Republican!? Well, Color Me Shocked

03.12.2008

ABC's "The Note" is making a big deal about Obama's coattails not being long enough to help Jim Martin pull out a victory against Saxby Chambliss is Georgia.

I'm sorry, did anyone really expect Martin to win this one? Georgia is, after all, Georgia. Obama only got 47 % of the vote there, and this runoff was only possible because libertarian candidate Allen Buckley and his whopping 3 percent of the vote held Chambliss at an eyelash under 50 percent last time around. This week, Obama wasn't on the ballot. Much of the nation (including, presumably Georgia) is suffering from election fatigue. (Even I wish the folks in my neighborhood would take down their blasted Obama-Biden signs.) And, let's face it, the Democrats' plea for Georgians to turn out and give them a shot at a filibuster-proof Senate margin doesn't pack nearly the terror-inducing motivational juice of Republicans' warning of a Washington controlled 100 percent by the Obama-Pelosi-Reid socialist axis.

Apparently the folks at ABC had a vastly a more expansive view of Obama's coattails than I.

--Michelle Cottle

Posted: Wednesday, December 03, 2008 10:14 AM with 6 comment(s)

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WoodyBombay said:

Well, now, after all: It IS The Note. One of their "must reads" for today is entitled "Hasselbeck Hits Obama on Iraq."

Apparently, you have a vastly more expansive view of The Note's importance than I.

December 3, 2008 10:53 AM

poldpf said:

Martin didn't have a snowball's chance. But the 60 target in the Senate is overrated anyhow.

December 3, 2008 11:33 AM

hrlngrv said:

Democrats may have to work harder to convince 1 or 2 Republican senators to vote for cloture from time to time. Is it going to be a problem turning a few Republican senators up for re-election in 2010 when the policy in question is a good or at least popular idea? And the Democratic senators present a united, disiplined front in which no individuals would ever think of abstaining or (gasp!) disagreeing with their president or party on any issue? Since when?

December 3, 2008 12:19 PM

alexmh said:

Take heart GOP. A goes Georgia so goes Alabama.

December 3, 2008 12:59 PM

baxterjones said:

A view from Atlanta:

First, I have to say that I have known Jim Martin for almost 20 years, and I think he would have made a terrific Senator. He was respected on both sides of the aisle in the Georgia legislature for his intellect & honesty. As for Chambliss, well, even my Republican friends admit that he's a mediocrity who happens to look like a senator from central casting.

I'm not surprised at the outcome - Georgia is a Republican-leaning state, for now. Demographic changes should make it a true toss-up state over the next decade.

And yes, the whole "60 Democrats" thing (or its "41 Republicans" counterpart) is overstated. When you consider that the Democratic caucus includes not just Joe Lieberman, but Senators from states such as North Carolina, Louisiana, Arkansas, Alaska, and Montana, that's hardly a solid wall of liberals. On the other side, start with the two senators from Maine, then add one each from Pennsylvania, Iowa, Ohio, New Hampshire, and oh yes, that maverick guy from Arizona......plenty of opportunity to pick up votes for some of the Democratic agenda.

One more Georgia note: in the 2010 governor's race, we could elect a Democrat. The Republican-led legislature was disastrously inept in 2008, and the business community is concerned. Governors races are usually less about ideology than competence. The quality of the parties' nominees in 2010 will be decisive.

December 3, 2008 3:36 PM

harriscrl3 said:

Its about as silly as Sarah Palin winning the election for Chambliss. I guess they will say anything to position her for 2012. But umm Chambliss was going to win this one without Palin. Obama did the smart thing not going there.

Carol

December 4, 2008 9:12 AM