As I stated over on Spencer’s blog, Erickson seems to forget that this was a runoff election. Even Saxby “the Scumbag” Shameless got 500,000 or so votes less than he got a month ago. Martin only got half the votes this time. You are right. Erickson is still an assclown who has no use for facts.

Amy Walter at National Journal (via MSNBC) disagrees with Erickson as well.

WASHINGTON – So what does Republican Sen. Saxby Chambliss’ decisive win — 57 percent to 43 percent — over Democrat Jim Martin in Tuesday’s runoff election in Georgia mean for President-elect Obama? Simply put, very little. For all the talk of a “realigned” electoral map post-2008, the reality is that Georgia is still a tough sell for any Democrat.

That Obama didn’t make himself an overt presence in the race sent a signal that he was not willing to risk his political capital on an underdog. Still, it’s notable that he never stayed completely clear of the contest. After all, he lent both his voice (to radio ads and robocalls) and his donors to Martin’s effort. What he didn’t do, of course, was lend a partisan edge to the contest. His upbeat ads encouraged voters to get to the polls “one more time” and support Martin, who can “help me change Washington.” They never even mentioned Chambliss’ name.

This makes us in Idaho feel that we are redeemable. Looking towards Montana, not rednecks.

Hi BT. (peeks around carefully)

I hope all’s well with you and yours.

I’m sad for Georgia and its people.

Nice piece! Though I’d quibble with this:

That Obama didn’t make himself an overt presence in the race sent a signal that he was not willing to risk his political capital on an underdog.

Actually, it’s a signal that he didn’t want to rile up the racists so much that they’d come out and vote in droves. We all knew that Chambliss was likely to win a runoff here, as Republicans generally do a better job of turning out their base. Only in the last week or so, when those rather optimistic polls showing a dead heat were released, did it look like Martin might have had a chance.

Besides, with Mel Martinez retiring in 2010, that will be an easier pick for us.

The GOP is becoming the party of White Poor Racists and the GOP seems proud of that fact. Is Sarah still having rallies where people shout death threats to Obama?
Or has the MSM stopped covering such news?

David Gergen, Wise Villager, tried to fly this freak flag too, announcing to Andy Cooper last nite that Saxby’s extraordinary victory was a feather in Sarah Palin’s cap. Cooper asked, incredulously, “Are you really crediting Sarah Palin with Saxby Chambliss’s re-election in Georgia?” Gergen mumbled, backtracked, and started talking about how this runoff election really meant that Barack Obama now needed to start governing from the center.

Because, you know, Saxby — and Georgia — represent the center of American politics.

Georgia is the center?….Of the 30%ers maybe. End the war, National Healthcare the Economy on the biggest issues voters care about we are the majority.

One more time:

Southerners voting against their own interests? Again?
Shocking!

I still think the Lieberman decision prevented lots of Democratic activists from donating to, or working to elect, Jim Martin. Senate Democrats have proven by allowing Lieberman to keep his gavel that’s there is no price for treachery and disloyalty, thus making it impossible to corral the caucus against filibusters in the 111th. They don’t deserve 60. I didn’t hear about a lot of them making the trek to Georgia to help Martin.

He was a good candidate in a long-shot race. Had he won, pundits would be forced to talk about the coma-like state of the GOP.

Now, it’s a renaissance. Not.

Anyone have any figures on how much Chambliss’s campaign spent to eke out this ‘astounding’ victory?

I like this part: Obama flew under the radar heavily targeting black voters, demanding support for Martin

Ooooh, those black voters are in a lot of trouble now!

It takes a village (of hillbillies)

Southerners will almost always vote for the incumbent – seem to think that if he/she won the seat once that he/she must be okay. Also white southerners are much more interested in local and state elections than national.

Besides, with Mel Martinez retiring in 2010, that will be an easier pick for us.

Let’s not count our chickens…

The state and local party organizations have been pathetic. Even though Pinellas and Hillsborough counties went for Obama I think there were 1 or 2 local Dems elected. Obama’s win here was due more to the efforts of his campaign folks and local activists than the state party. Local candidates have pretty much been on their own.

Senate Democrats have proven by allowing Lieberman to keep his gavel that’s there is no price for treachery and disloyalty,

And no price and oversight for the worst policy.

Oh but hey, at least the republikans will have to eat their words on filibustering, and something tells me they will be as obnoxious as in previous administrations.

Also, won’t it be difficult to find a Dem who can compete on the same level as a former governor, Jeb Bush? I thoroughly expect him to run. In fact, I suspect he’s the reason why Mel Martinez was enticed not to run.

Quite the “awesome” win for the GOP. After losing, what was it, 8 Senate seats on November 4th?

Yes, quite the awesome win-an incumbent GOP Senator holding his seat in one of the reddest of red states.

Yes, awesome, indeedly-doodly.

If you want to get a good look what passes for thinking among the leadership in Georgia, check out the Sunday morning talking head show called Georgia Gang. It runs on the Atlanta PBS affiliate, so folks outside of the region might not get to see it.

It’s a pity because the ignorance on display is shocking. Maybe I should make a copy and send it to Tbogg, because somebody with a gift for snark needs to see the show and give it the mocking send-up it deserves.

Oh and one more questions for Erick.

If she’s so gosh durn wunnerful *wink*, why didn’t Princess Dumbass ride to the rescue for Uncle Ted?

I don’t know about Jeb. He’s not real popular here now. This could go either way.

Back to the cesspool.

Namaste

That should be: “Oh, and one more question…”

I duz knoes grammer.

All this election proves is that the fewer the voters the greater the chance that the rep will win, hasn’t that been the rep party stratergy(shrub speak)since Nixon and his “southern strategy”? Also, I have been interested in elections since Kennedy in 1960 when I was 10 years old. I have to say that elections have been throwing more mud every election cycle since LBJ and the “daisy” commercial about Goldwater. However my personal observation has been that over the last 10-15 years it has been the reps who have been throwing the most slime, from GHWB in 1988 to shrub in 2000(against McCain, in a very very slimy campaign in SC)and against both Gore and Kerry. McCain-to his very lasting shame-abandoned his principles, and hired the very people who slimed him in 2000. I wander away from my point. I watched a rep campaign against Bart Stupak D, MI(who was my congressman at that time)she(a very young lady from a very political family in NorthernMI-whose name I can not remember)even got Newt in to campaign with her, but all she did for the entire campaign was throw mud at Stupak, she never articulated what she would do if elected, she just slimed Bart. Well Bart won the election, every county & she even lost her own township(Bart is a dem and his entire district is very very republician) That happened when Newt was speaker, so I started paying closer attention to what the reps did in other elections. There was a trend towards going negative early and often, and not saying exactly what the rep stood for. This has now reached a pinnacle of sorts with the McCain/Palin ticket. I do not believe that I ever heard exactly what that ticket actually stood for, something about “mavericks” and stamping out earmarks-the reps were by far the worst offenders of earmarks over the last 8 years, McCain, dispite his denials, got many earmarks, as did Alaska and Palin thru Sen Stevens the earmark king-but it seemed as tho 99% of the McCain/Palin campaign was throwing mud at Obama. Given Obama’s novel approach to this and his general refusal to participate in their mud fight along with his performance in the debates where he got McCain all flustered because he refused to be drawn into a shouting/mud throwing match, does this bring to a close the extreme nastiness of all rep campaigns since 1968? Or will the reps instead take note of the chambliss victory in GA and still believe that mud is the way to go?
BTW, I read that only 65% of the registered voters actually voted in 2008. Why such a small number in such an historic election? With the economy crumbling around them, 35% of the voters stayed home. Now that is quite sad.
In the GA runoff election, turnout was very small, which always favors the reps. In fact, turnout was so small that if the Obama grass roots teams had done the same job that they did in Nov, Martin might have won because chambliss got 200,000 less votes than he did Nov 4.
It will not be war or revolution that will destroy the US, it will be voter apathy. Because in the end, the american voter is becoming less educated-30% HS drop out rate nationally & only a 39% college graduation rate. WTH have we done to our schools? What are we doing to our future?

Yes, I love how Palin was “rallying” Republicans while Obama was “demanding” support.

Hey! Tell that to California and New York.

And Connecticut.

Carly,
White (sorta) in the Ozarks

Not to be confused with Eric Erikson

We have a PBS show like this in Little Rock, but our issues-discussers are a nice round-table of rational, soft-spoken liberals and barely-centrists.

The Hot Springs through Little Rock/North Little Rock swath voted heavily Obama; I was proud. Eureka Springs, too.

Stay out of the Ozarks, though. Lieberman and Palin may have moved on to even greater power and privilege, pink-cheeked and unscathed. Not so for the handful of anti-Bushies in these hills. We are far worse off than ever since the avalanche of lies those characters set off for US FEW to deal with on our own.

(Thank you, Lord Joseph Chickenhawk of Connecticut. *wink* I know your day will be good. Good-day to you all the same. We will not forget you.)

Something worth keeping in mind in all of this is that turnout for this runoff election was higher than turnout for the 2006 general election in Georgia, which had a governor’s race at the top of the ticket.

All of that said, about 10,000 fewer folks voter for Saxby Chambliss for Senate in this runoff than voter for Republican Sonny Perdue for governor. Jim Martin picked up 100,000 more votes in this runoff that Democrat Mark Taylor – the longtime Lt. Governor – had in the governor’s race.

Republicans held their own. Democrats, though, are slowly making up the ground.

I’m looking forward to a Palin/Saxby Chambliss ticket in 2012!!! Can I give money to their campaign now??!!

Who the fuck is Erick Erickson?