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Saxby Chambliss Victory A Model For The GOP?

December 3rd, 2008
By JOE WINDISH, Technology Editor

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There’s been lots of comment on Saxby’s gushing over Sarah. Less on his victory as a model for the GOP:

Chambliss told reporters at this Cobb County campaign headquarters Wednesday morning that he believes his double-digit runoff win can be a “model” for Republicans in the next election cycle.

“This is the first election of 2010,” he said, as movers in the background were already carting out furniture and campaign volunteers prepared to head home.

Chambliss said the GOP must get back to the principles preached by Ronald Reagan if it is to win elections in the future. He said his win in the nationally watched election proves that voters still support the Reagan mantras of “smaller government, fiscal responsibility, more individual rights and lower taxes.”

RedState’s Erick Erickson (a constituent) answer’s back, you go first:

Saxby, do you realize your campaign did no significant outreach to third party groups in the general election? Seriously. Now I know some of your staff will say otherwise, but I’ve talked to the gun groups, the small business groups, the Christian groups, the free enterprise groups, and others — they are all pretty damn unanimous that your outreach efforts were terrible.

Likewise, you put yourself into this position. You talk about returning to your conservative roots — well you start first. The immigration compromise hurt you with the base. The farm bill hurt you with the business community. The energy compromise hurt you with the part of the base not hurt by the immigration compromise. Then the bailout vote set you on fire and nobody could bother even peeing on you after that. You’ve gotten squishy on financial issues. You’ve gotten squishy on business issues. You’ve gotten comfortable in the establishment and the base does not see you as dependable anymore.

In short Saxby, you pissed off everybody. And people did not come out to vote for you. They came out to stop a filibuster-proof Democrat Senate.

We all like you Saxby. Hell, I’ve busted my butt for years to get you elected, starting in 1994. And despite hundreds, if not thousands, of man hours working for you (including subjecting myself to Jim Marshall’s “Advising Small Businesses” class just to see if he’d say something stupid in 1998) and constantly fixing that miserable computer system in the old campaign office, I am sorely disappointed in how you’ve conducted yourself in the past few years. I am even more sorely disappointed that your campaign was a disaster of monumental incompetence and a high level of being disconnected and out of touch with the grassroots on whom you depend for votes and volunteers.

Emphasis his. Of course, it could be worse for Erick. Among the losers Chris Cillizza identifies in last night’s runoff, the Democratic congressman in Erickson’s own district:

Jim Marshall: The Macon-area congressman was courted (and considered) a run against Chambliss but ultimately decided against it. Given how close Martin, an unknown former state legislator, came to knocking off Chambliss, it’s clear that the GOP incumbent was ripe for the picking this year. Marshall’s decision to take a pass on the race means that he will face a serious challenge every two years in his Republican-leaning 8th district and may not ever see the Senate.

For his part Erick denies hating on Saxby, “I love the guy (in that heterosexual way).”



This entry was posted on Wednesday, December 3rd, 2008 at 11:07 pm and is filed under Georgia (US State), Senate, Republicans, 2008 Elections, Politics. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

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