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Poll: Chambliss Ahead But Potentially Vulnerable Against Cleland
A new poll from Republican firm InsisderAdvantage finds that Senator Saxby Chambliss (R-GA) could possibly be vulnerable against former Senator Max Cleland (D-GA), whom he defeated in a bitter campaign in 2002. Chambliss leads Cleland 36%-24% in the poll, with a very high 40% undecided rate.
"My guess is that a well-funded Cleland campaign would still be an underdog, but would have more than a legitimate chance of potentially pulling off an upset," wrote InsiderAdvantage CEO Matt Towery, "given the fact that among independent voters, Chambliss led by only 7 points with some 38 percent stating that they were undecided."
Cleland has not given any indication that he's looking at the race.
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I haven't heard anybody in the blogosphere bringing up the possibility of a Cleland-Chambliss rematch for GA Senate, but this is interesting nonetheless.
Considering how Georgia has become solidly crazies only at the statewide level, I don't think it'd be in his best interest to try for a comeback. Cleland would be a shoo-in for a spot in a Democratic president's cabinet (Sec. of Veterans Affairs?) and he totally would've been John Kerry's running mate if he hadn't of lost to Chambliss.
OT: Am I the only one who thinks Cleland resembles Uncle Joe from "Petticoat Junction?"
October 26, 2007 3:35 PM | Reply | Permalink
Anyplace where a republican is leading a war-hero dem is Loonyville.
How do you talk to such folks? Beware Max Cleland, for you are treading in the twilight zone.
October 26, 2007 3:41 PM | Reply | Permalink
The demographics are changing in Georgia. Yankees are moving into North Georgia and Atlanta is pretty much blue. As for Senator Saxby Chambliss, he is odious to God and to this enemy. And Georgians who voted for him over Max had KKK etched on their filthy souls.
October 26, 2007 4:45 PM | Reply | Permalink
A word about Saxby C.
8/12/2006 Cynthia Tucker, Editor, Atlanta Journal Constitution
"In 2002, then-U.S. Rep. Saxby Chambliss, R-Ga., defeated incumbent Sen. Max Cleland, D-Ga. -- a Vietnam triple amputee -- by questioning his "courage." Chambliss ran an ad linking Cleland to Osama bin Laden and Saddam Hussein. (Incidentally, Chambliss, who walks with the brisk stride of a fit man, escaped service in Vietnam with a medical exemption for a bad knee.)"
7/10/06 IT'S EASIER TO DENOUNCE ILLEGAL WORKERS THAN ILLEGAL HIRING
"U.S. Sen. Saxby Chambliss, R-Ga. -- then a congressman -- was annoyed at the old Immigration and Naturalization Service for trying to enforce the nation's laws. In 1998, when INS agents rounded up illegal workers at the Vidalia onion fields in southeast Georgia, Chambliss and a handful of other Georgia congressmen denounced the agency. Chambliss accused INS of using "bullying tactics."
"...this unsubtle hypocrisy -- targeting illegal workers while protecting illegal hiring -- is aided and abetted by constituents who find it easier to blame darker-skinned Latinos than white business owners.
"...when Chambliss had the opportunity to vote for a proposal to crack down on illegal hiring, he refused to do so. In May, the Senate adopted an amendment to its immigration bill that would require employers to use a federal database to verify the immigration status of any job applicant; the amendment included stiff fines for employers who hire undocumented workers. But Chambliss voted against the amendment, as did Sen. Johnny Isakson, R-Ga. They also voted against the larger Senate bill, with its provisions for a path to citizenship.
"Chambliss and other opponents of the Senate bill claim they won't sanction any "amnesty" for workers who entered the country illegally. But they don't seem to have any problem with amnesty for business executives who hire illegally. The simple fact of the matter is that the status quo works -- not just for business, but also for more than a few middle-class Americans who benefit from cheap labor.
"Here's the secret: Chambliss and his ilk know they can gain a few points with their ultraconservative base by playing to its nativism. But they also know perfectly well that there is no way to round up and deport an estimated 11 million illegal immigrants. Many will remain here, desperate for any work they can get. They won't be in a position to protest low wages or unsafe working conditions. They'll remain available to farmers and poultry processors and construction contractors. And to upper-middle-class couples who need nannies and cooks and lawn care."
You don't have to be a blind conservative not to see it, just an ignorant one to deny it.
October 26, 2007 4:53 PM | Reply | Permalink
Cleland has become somewhat of a folk hero because he was supposed smeared in an ad associating him with Osama and Saddam.
If you go back and look at the actual ad it is not that bad. It begins by showing photos of the two and then criticizes Cleland for voting against the bill authorizing the Department of Homeland Security which he did.
Had Cleland been anything close to an effective senator, this ad would not have defeated him even if you assume that the ad was the decisive factor in his defeat. At the worst, the ad could be described as hard hitting.
Cleland should probably not run because he is more valuable to the Democrats as a victim of what they deem dirty campaigning by the GOP than he could ever be as a senator assuming that he is elected by some longshot chance.
October 26, 2007 9:53 PM | Reply | Permalink
Augusta -Richmond County along with Athens and Savannah are also good blue strongholds in this red state. There is hope that the rural areas will change. They just have to realize that "the gays aren't going to take away their guns."
October 27, 2007 1:11 AM | Reply | Permalink
Saxby spanked Max in 2002 and would do it again. Max had an extremely liberal voting record while he served in the Senate. He was simply out of touch wtih Georgia Values. That is why he lost in '02. Nothing has changed on that front.
Saxby has done a great job and will easily defeat whoever the Democrats try to convince to be the sacrificial lamb.
October 29, 2007 2:21 PM | Reply | Permalink