Saxby Chambliss

The hope of 60 seats in the Senate is now dead:

Relieved Republicans celebrated a resounding win in Georgia's hard-fought U.S. Senate runoff, a victory that denied Democrats a filibuster-proof majority and cemented the state's reputation as a GOP bastion.

Sen. Saxby Chambliss trounced Democrat Jim Martin Tuesday night, winning his second term by a margin of more than 10 percentage points. The race dashed Democrats' hopes of a 60-seat majority immune to Senate filibusters, which would have given President-elect Barack Obama a stronger hand moving his agenda.

I wasn’t entirely sold on 60 seats meaning we had a filibuster proof majority. It’s hard to get 100% of the caucus to vote with the party all the time. Of course that can also apply to the Republicans now. If the Democrats put forth good legislation and get a couple of the more moderate Republicans on board, then filibusters can be broken.

Of course this also leads the Republicans to the cusp of the abyss. Mitch McConnell is a filibustering fool. In the elections this year, we saw the controlling party of the worst approved Congress make major gains in seats. The voters understand that the current Congress performed so poorly because of the obstructing Republicans. If they continue down this path then 60 seats should really be a viable option in 2010. I believe some of the more sensible Republicans in Senate will also see this and that will force them to break with their caucus on some filibusters.

Watch as Saxby Chambliss pushes a camera away when asked about his refusal to testify in the Imperial Sugar Co. lawsuit.

This guy is just a peach. He not only hates veterans, but also hates reporters. Class act Georgia!

And we missed him so. Zell Miller is hitting the campaign trail hard for Saxby Chambliss, and going on his old attacks of the “far liberal agenda”.

Saxby Chambliss has just given Democrats some good ammo for the run-off:

Saxby Chambliss is resisting an order to give evidence in a lawsuit by families of victims killed or hurt in the Imperial Sugar Co. explosions and fire earlier this year.

The U.S. senator was subpoenaed last month on behalf of four victims - two dead and two injured - of the Feb. 7 Port Wentworth inferno that claimed the lives of 14 workers and hospitalized scores of others.

The conduct of Chambliss concerning the disaster has developed into an issue in his re-election campaign against Democrat Jim Martin. The incumbent outpolled Martin and a third candidate on Nov. 4 but failed to win a majority. Chambliss now faces runner-up Martin in a Dec. 2 runoff.

Savannah attorney Mark Tate, who issued the subpoena, said the Republican lawmaker tried to talk some of Tate's clients out of suing Imperial Sugar.

Through his attorneys, Chambliss has said that as a U.S. senator, he does not have to comply with the subpoena.

So because Chambliss is a Senator he doesn’t have to testify? That’s the biggest line of bull I have ever read. This shows that Chambliss is out to abuse his position and something Jim Martin can really hit on. Imagine losing your loved ones in a tragedy like this, only to be called by a U.S. Senator and told “hey don’t try to seek damages”. I smell the birth of a hard hitting political ad here.

Shorter Saxby:

The coloreds are out there voting and while defeat our supreme race.