Posts Tagged ‘Jim Martin’

A Lose/Lose Situation

Sunday, November 30th, 2008

If you're new here, you may want to subscribe to my RSS feed. Thanks for visiting!

Well, tomorrow brings Sarah Palin to Georgia.  That should be interesting.

I’ll be at home though.  I went to see McCain when he was in town, and though he did say a few things that sounded nice, it appeared to me that it was more of the same old stuff from the liberal Republican Party we’ve come to know.

So I’ll be at home, trying to figure out what to do on Tuesday.  The options just aren’t good, folks.  Our options, as I see them:

  • Vote for the liberal who claims to be a conservative.
  • Vote for the liberal who can’t wait to sign up for all Obama has planned for us.
  • Stay at home and don’t vote.

I’m leaning away from not voting, but I’m still really very torn with the other two options.  On one hand, Jim Martin scares me.  His problem with the bailout rescue was that it didn’t do enough!  Yikes!  And on the other hand, Saxby Chambliss is a big government RINO who has proved he’s got the best interests of the special interest groups at heart.

So while I don’t want to vote for the open liberal, I don’t want to vote for the guy who is lying about not being a liberal.  Certainly I can’t be in this position alone.

Am I?

A Win/Win Situation

Friday, November 7th, 2008

Allen Buckley is in a win/win situation.  No, he won’t be our next Senator, but he’s in a unique position as we enter this (probable) runoff election.

Buckley is preparing a commitment of reasonable fiscal responsibility.  The candidate that agrees to it gets Buckley’s support and (most likely) a hefty percentage of the votes that were cast for Buckley on Election Day.

Neither Chambliss or Martin have a reputation for being fiscally responsible, and I suspect that neither will rush to agree to Buckley’s terms.  We’ll have an alleged “for the people” Republican dodging an commitment to fiscal responsibility - while the nation watches.

With the Senate runoff race being a critical race for both parties, this is going to be a perfect opportunity to address some serious issues while we have everybody’s attention.  It’s a win/win situation, and we voters need to make sure we capitalize on it.

Why Jim Martin Opposed the Bailout Bill

Thursday, October 23rd, 2008

I’m not a big fan of blogs that “me too” content from other related blogs, and I try not to do that here.  However, I saw a post on Peach Pundit that was too applicable to the discussions here to not mention.  The post (here) quotes Jim Martin on the real reason he would have opposed the bailout rescue bill:

“Obviously something needed to be done,” the former state representative said. “… My concern is that we didn’t go far enough, not that we didn’t need to do something, but that the job wasn’t completed.”

Yikes.  If you’re voting against Saxby because of his lack of conservatism, don’t vote Martin.

(Also, Peach Pundit is a great site, and if you don’t visit it multiple times daily, you really should.)

Something to Think About

Monday, October 20th, 2008

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.

Is Saxby Wrong (Yet) Again?

Tuesday, October 14th, 2008

This page came through my Google Reader earlier today, and it shows a very interesting trend.  Look at Saxby’s numbers in September.  Once he showed a 19 point lead over Jim Martin in the polls.

Since September, you can see a definite slide in those who would vote (or, rather, would have voted) for Saxby in November.  A recent Associated Press article says:

The senator downplayed suggestions that the bailout vote would make or break him.

“I’ve cast hundreds and hundreds of votes over the last 14 years,” Chambliss, a former House member, told reporters before the GOP Victory dinner in Atlanta. “To say any one is going to cost me the election, that’s just not the case.”

Saxby is deceiving himself here.  If his cowardly support of the bailout bill didn’t cause this sudden change in the polls, what did?  Certainly conservatives haven’t just decided to fall in love with the liberal Jim Martin.  No typical Saxby Chambliss supporter would ever just decide to vote for Jim Martin unless there was some big issue that prompted a change of opinion.

(The logical thing for a Chambliss supporter to do is to take a good look at Allen Buckley.  No, I don’t necessarily agree with everything he says, but those of us who favor small government and fiscal responsibility would be happy to have Allen Buckley representing us.)

If you are one of these former Saxby supporters who have changed your mind about this election since early September, and if the reason was something other than Saxby’s support of the bailout bill, share your concerns.

Saxby doesn’t think he’s wrong on this.  Let’s show him that he is wrong.  Again.

Senate Debate Video

Monday, October 13th, 2008

Many thanks to reader Chris for pointing me to the Senate Debate Video from the WMAZ web site. Here are the two parts to the 60-minute debate.

Part 1:

Part 2:

Senate Debate

Sunday, October 12th, 2008

A debate for the Senate position currently held by Saxby Chambliss took place this past Thursday in Perry.  It was streamed live on a local TV station’s site, but I wasn’t able to watch.  I deliberately delayed this posting, hoping that it would show up on youtube, but I’ve not found it anywhere online yet.

Fortunately, Jason Pye (not associated with this site) was kind enough to cover it live so we all could get a feeling for what happened at the debate.

Two pieces that I found particularly amusing:

7:19  Jason:  Chambliss blames the [economic] crisis on Clinton and is booed.

and

7:30  Jason:  Chambliss, the self-proclaimed small government candidate, praises Medicare part D.
7:30  Jason:  Buckley slams  him on it.

If you’ve got this debate recorded in some way that we can get it online here, or if you find any/all of it streaming online, drop an email to contact (at) firesaxby (dot) com.

A Close Race

Tuesday, October 7th, 2008

From here:

We see the Democrats possibly picking up Senate seats in Virginia, New Hampshire, Alaska, New Mexico, Colorado, Minnesota and North Carolina. One state that hadn’t been considered a strong Democratic pick-up possibility was Georgia. No longer.

    Research 2000 for Daily Kos. 9/29-10/1. Likely voters. MoE 4%

Chambliss (R) 45
Martin (D) 44

    SurveyUSA. 9/28-29. Likely voters. 3.8% (9/14-16 results)

Chambliss (R) 46 (53)
Martin (D) 44 (36)

There are a number of things that go into polls, and you can’t always trust the numbers entirely.  But what we’ve seen here in Georgia over the past few weeks is that Chambliss is no longer just an assumed victor in the election this year.  That’s a good thing, since somebody who doesn’t have our best interests in mind shouldn’t be able to assume victory.

Those of you who would have voted for Chambliss should take a good look at Allen Buckley before you vote for Martin.  The Libertarian isn’t showing up in these poll numbers, but I’d wager that most former-Saxby supporters would like what they see in Buckley.