MyFoxAtlanta.com is reporting that Saxby Chambliss has a 51% lead with 98% of precincts reporting.  However, the Secretary of State site is showing Saxby at 49.9% with 96% of precincts reporting.

I thought all along that Fox called this race way too early last night.  They said it was over when Saxby had 57% of the vote, and then I watched that lead dwindle.  Now he’s not quite to the required 50% plus one number he needs for a win.

Now they’ve magically come up with 2% more precincts than the Secretary of State has.  Apparently what Fox doesn’t know to be true, they just make up.  Insert “We Report, You Decide” joke here.

They called it a few hours ago…predicting Saxby Chambliss will unfortunately retain his seat in the U.S. Senate.  The Secretary of State web site currently shows 95% of precincts reporting and Saxby with 50.7% of the vote.

I suppose there’s still a chance that Buckley and Martin could spoil this, but it’s late and I have to work tomorrow.  So I’m calling it a night, and I’ll check the SOS site first thing tomorrow.

Maybe, if we’re lucky, we’ll get another month of the political TV commercials and some more old-fashioned political Georgia mud slinging before we get to do this all over again in December.

The word I’m hearing is that people aren’t finding long lines at the polls this morning.  I’ve even heard some reports of no lines at all.

So you have no reason at all to skip voting today.  The last thing we need is to have Saxby Chambliss in Washington for another term because you didn’t go vote against him!  Go now…Georgia needs your vote.

Those of you looking for last night’s debate can find it here.  I tried to pull it down and get it on youtube, but it started taking more time than I have to spend on it.  Sorry for the non-embedded link.

My favorite line of the night was from Allen Buckley, who, in his closing statement said:

Our state needs and deserves a great senator.  Saxby Chambliss is not, and never will be, a great Senator.  I think he is less than a mediocre Senator.  From farm subsidies to pork to sugar factory explosions, he serves the special interest groups that serve him.

If you didn’t get in on the early voting, be sure to get out and vote (Buckley) in tomorrow’s election.  We need a great senator.  This is our chance to elect one.

This self-described Republican with Libertarian leanings is leaning more and more towards the Libertarians each day.  An email received from the Buckley campaign shows how Chambliss’ voting record proves he is a big government Democrat.

The following bullet points are quoting the email from the Buckley campaign.

• $1.5 trillion of debt between 2001 and 2006
• a 75 percent increase in nondefense spending from 1995 through 2007 (35 percent, when adjusted for inflation)
• 7 percent growth in government on average per year from 2001 through 2006
• expansion of Medicare by addition of Part D (which then Comptroller General David Walker called “probably the most fiscally irresponsible piece of legislation since the 1960s”)
• farm subsidies and pork in general
• “National Watermelon Month!”
• No Child Left Behind (a bureaucratic mess with little positive to it)
• Gang of 10-one of the worst deals in the history of deals.

Wait. What? National Watermelon Month?

Anyway, take a good look at those points before you go vote.  There’s only one fiscal conservative running in this race, and it’s certainly not Chambliss.

From the Secretary of State site (source, pdf), these are the official write-in candidates for the elections in Georgia.  It’s always good to know your options.

And while this post isn’t specifically anti-Saxby, take note that you do have 2 more (4 total) non-Saxby options in the Senate race.

FOR PRESIDENT
Jonathan Allen
Chuck Baldwin
Brian Russell Brown
David C. Byrne
James Harris
Cynthia McKinney
Frank Moore
Ralph Nader
Michael A. Peroutka

FOR VICE‐PRESIDENT
Rosa Clemente
Alyson Kennedy
Jeff Stath

U.S. SENATE
Eleanor Garcia
William Salomone, Jr.

U.S. CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT 3
Loretta VanPelt

U.S. CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT 4
Faye Coffield
Loren Christopher Collins
Jacob Perasso

U.S. CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT 5
Jeanne Fitzmaurice
Shira Kash

GEORGIA SENATE DISTRICT 21
Francis Parmar

GEORGIA SENATE DISTRICT 36
Henry Anderson

GEORGIA HOUSE DISTRICT 151
Rance Pettibone

Note:  This is mostly the work of one of our readers, Shane, who left this as a comment to a previous post.  Some minor changes have been made, but the vast majority of this post is his content.  Thanks, Shane, for agreeing to let us post it here.

I watched the Senate debate between Buckley, Martin and Chambliss on the WMAZ 13 live stream as it happened. The only candidate on that stage with any fire in his belly was Allen Buckley.

Since we’re 15 days out from the election, Georgians might want to ponder the special significance of our US Senate race. Let’s put up the long lens and see if we can devine a narrative for the murky future.

First, We have in Saxby Chambliss a politician that thrives on pork through the power of the purse. It’s a family affair with Chambliss as his son Bo is the Chicago Mercantile Exchange’s chief in house lobbyist. What does it say when the son of a powerfully positioned member of the Senate plies his trade in the same industries that his father is supposed to regulate on behalf of the people?

Combine that fact with the illustrious Senator’s votes on Immigration, The pork laden farm bill, his attempt to sell out the American people’s energy independence with the Gang of 10 proposal and I can not see any way to justify sending him back for another term.

Second, we have Mr. Martin. A good man, a career Democrat with ambition who fought a tough primary against a large field of competitors. A man that is intimately aware of the power of the run off. Especially a run off that requires democrats to turn out in record numbers.

Third, we have Allen Buckley. The Libertarian Candidate, a hard to define candidate in a country dominated by an entrenched two party system. Who are the Libertarians? What do they stand for? Why should I cast my vote for the perennial losers?

As the national race progresses, the leadership at the DNC is starting to talk about the possibility of a 60 seat, veto proof, filibuster proof majority in the Senate. A chimera they have pursued for the last 40 years. The scent of absolute power drives them and they will use every weapon in thier arsenal to achieve it.

Which brings us to the general election on November 4. What if the race for the US Senate here in Georgia was not resolved by a clear 50% +1 vote winner? What if the moon and the stars align in such a fashion as to deny Saxby or Mr. Martin a victory? And also left the disposition of that all important 60th seat in the Senate up in the air?

I can not think of a better way to jam my thumb in the eyes of the Republicans and the Democrats than voting for Allen Buckley. Enough votes to get him in the runoff. Think 34% to 38% of the votes in the general election. That’s an impossible task for a candidate with absolutely no campaign funds, no campaign staff and no major support.

Except for you.

If you’re as unhappy with the two party choices foisted upon us by the powers that be, consider the above narrative.  Observe the scene and the players, orient youself relative to your observations, decide your course of action, and act.

Large events are shaped by a series of small ones. The seemingly impossible becomes doable with resources. We have seen the effect that the internet has on political fundraising. Millions flow into republican and democratic campaign funds on a daily basis, imagine the possibilities if a fraction of that could find it’s way into the Buckley campaign.

Imagine the grin on your face on November 5, if there’s a runoff between Allen Buckley and Jim Martin. Georgia could lead the way, the third way, and send a Libertarian Senator to Washington.

Something to consider over the next 15 days.

Polls from Strategic Vision show some interesting data.  While I’m generally cautious about accepting poll results as a good sampling of public opinion, two questions in this poll caught my eye:

12. Do you think the nation is headed in the right or wrong direction?
Right 15%
Wrong 74%
Undecided 11%

17. Do you approve or disapprove of the way Congress is performing its job?
Approve 10%
Disapprove 79%
Undecided 11%

Three out of four Georgians believe our nation is headed in the wrong direction, and four out of five disapprove of the way Congress is performing its job.

These polls are right.  Our nation is headed in the wrong direction.  Congress is failing us.  President Bush is failing us.  It’s time for Georgia voters to stand up and shout “Enough already!”

Polls mean nothing.  Sure, they can sometimes be a decent gauge of public opinion, but they don’t bring about any real change from politicians.  If public opinion mattered to Senators Chambliss and Isakson, they would have voted against the recent bailout rescue bill.

The numbers that do mean something are the numbers collected on November 4.  If you’re in the 80% of Georgians that are unhappy with Congress, you need to speak up.  Reelecting Saxby Chambliss won’t bring any change.  Vote for somebody else – anybody else.

Let’s send a real message to Saxby Chambliss, our new Senator, and Johnny Isakson and let them know that we won’t allow them to continually misrepresent the best interests of Georgia.

We need their attention.  We’ll have it on November 4.

When Congressman Phil Gingrey voted against the bailout rescue bill in congress, I wrote him to express my appreciation for him standing up against a bad idea, even though it meant going against his party’s leadership.

Earlier today, Congressman Gingrey replied to me.  In his email was this quote (emphasis his):

I could not support a bill that aimed to save our free-market economy by sacrificing the very free-market principles that sustain it.

See that?  He gets it.  He understands why this was bad legislation.  Saxby voted for this bill – he voted to sacrifice the free-market principles of our economy.  He doesn’t get it.  Saxby Chambliss followed his party in this issue and insists that this bill is what our economy needed.

With an election on the horizon, Saxby Chambliss followed his party and voted against the best interests of Georgians.  Phil Gingrey, on the other hand, did what was right.  This voter appreciates Gingrey’s stand for what was right and will be voting for Gingrey (and against Chambliss) on Election Day.