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jainphx
15 years ago
Wait a minute! I thought she was the reason we lost the White House, how could this be possible. Sarah almost pulled McCain through. All you doubters just sit back and watch, her popularity can only grow. Sarah 2012.
road warrior
15 years ago
Palin is the republican rock star for sure! It’s offical!!! The question is, can she hold the status and use it to her advantage in 2012? The liberal illuminati will once again do everything they can to bash her… it worked in 2008 but will it in 2012? We shall see.
Craig
15 years ago
Hey hey! Larry W. won’t believe his eyes when he reads this… lol
Scrapiron
15 years ago
It could be that 60% + of the people have figured out how bad they screwed up on Nov 4th. You don’t have to use more than 10% of an average brain to figure out the democrats spent 8 years trying to destroy the economy and finally succeeded in the past two years with control of both houses of congress. Evidently they thought they could destroy it to a point they would gain control of congress and the white house and then put on the brakes and everything would return to Jan 07 when they took control. I think it’ll be a while before the stock market is bumping 15,000 again and people are able to purchase new homes. Just remember to thank the democrats every time you can’t afford what was a normal purchase through 2006.
luva the scissors
15 years ago
now we are proving that we conservatives aren’t gonna role over and play dead.
This is nice, but there are far too many RINO senators for the minority to be much more than inconsistently successful. If the Minnesota seat is not stolen, that is one less RINO required, but there are too many potential republican cloture votes at any given time–2 from Maine, 1 each from Alaska, Pennsylvania, Nebraska, Ohio, Utah, Indiana and South Carolina, to mount strong oppositions to a progressive agenda. Say it isn’t so. Please.
SpideyTerry
15 years ago
Congrats to Chambliss for the win.
Obviously, this is also a win for Palin. If she wasn’t a top-tier candidate for 2012 before, she is now. Barring any messy PR incidents (and by that, I mean ones that actually exist and that aren’t made up by Obama cronies in the MSM), it’s her call and her call alone if she goes for a run.
“She headlined four rallies for Chambliss across the state Monday that drew thousands of party faithful.”
Damn. Why do people think she will fade away, again?
This was a good win for the GOP, but attributing it to Sarah Palin is a stretch. It will be interesting to study the exit poll demographics. I’d wager a much lower turnout, percentage of the electorate-wise, from African Americans and young voters.
Here’s another explanation: The Georgia electorate (wisely) didn’t want to see a filibuster-proof majority in the Senate.
I voted for Obama, but I also voted for my (hard Right GOP) congressman, Dana Rohrabacher, in part because I want to see Obama succeed, which he is more likely to do if he is not regularly presented with the choice between alienating the (hard Left) base of the Democratic Party by vetoing unwise Leftist legislation and alienating the Center of the electorate by signing such legislation.
P.S. The headline of the post, claiming an “all out effort by Obama” wasn’t precisely correct.
Quote:
“President-elect Barack Obama recorded a radio ad for Martin and sent 100 field operatives, but he didn’t campaign in the state despite a request from Martin to do so.”
Obama’s political antennae are very sensitive. I think that you’ll continue to see him spend his political capital with discretion.
– Larry Weisenthal/Huntington Beach, CA
Craig
15 years ago
Larry, you are hopeless. “Obama antennae are very sensitive”… you must be kidding, right? And you can relax now, we know what you think of Sarah; you have been obsessively repetitive. She really bugs you doesn’t she? She is a threat to your darling Obama and you know it but will never admit it. It doesn’t matter because we have figured it out a long time ago… lol
Craig, the honest to goodness truth is that I give the GOP electorate enough credit to know that they’d never make such a foolish choice, given the fact that there are many more promising candidates available, other than Palin.
Larry, if the election of Barack Obama to President has taught us (reminded us) of anything, it’s that sizzle sells to a demographic looking for a certain sound. Steak is irrelevant. Forget who is better/worse, smarter/dumber, more experienced, whatever. It’s about strength-of-appeal to a specific demographic, and in that it can be no more deniable that Sarah Palin is appealing to many demographics as Barack Obama is to others.
Fox News viewers and talk radio listeners were found to be the most accurate, the majority of the best informed, according to questions asked, were McCain/Palin voters.
Hard Right
15 years ago
Delusional Larry, thanks for making it clear you are nothing more than a mindless, leftist drone. Argue all you want, but Palin made the difference. You only prove that being a leftist means never having to face reality.
If Martin had won, the headline today would be “Obama magic gains upset in Georgia!”
Therefore, attributing Chambliss’s win to Palin is a fair statement.
Besides, I was there. I saw the energy that Palin generated and even McCain had been to Georgia for Chambliss and couldn’t match it. The salue to our troops got bigger applause then when John McCain’s name was mentioned.
Obama not only cut an ad for Martin, if you read the Boston Globe article you will note that he lent his offices and staff. Clinton and Gore went to the state (if Gore was here that explains the record cold front). Hundreds of Obama people from all over the country poured into the state.
Any way you want to spin it Larry this was a stop Obama vote.
I voted for Obama, but I also voted for my (hard Right GOP) congressman, Dana Rohrabacher, in part because I want to see Obama succeed…
Wow, talk about using a BLUNT OBJECT to achieve your goals, Weisenthal…
Hard Right
15 years ago
You are exactly right Mike. As we all know, if Larry were to acknowledge that Palin had an impact it would force him to face the fact that Palin isn’t hated by most people and is a viable candidate for 2012.
Larry, if you told me the sky was blue I’d go outside to check because you just aren’t all there. You are very much a product of blue state brain washing.
Hah. All that Obama bling…..didn’t work.
Sad that this sort of victory, that should be the norm in america, is now so difficult to achieve.
Methinks Obama will regret not going there himself…..his money and his staff and his Clinton and Gore weren’t enough. Obama’s first mistake.
Looks like the Georgians now realize what a horrible mistake america made on Nov 4, the day that america voted to hang itself.
sanjay
15 years ago
On to Minnesota, where it will be lawyers, and big money.
Larry Sheldon
15 years ago
Too many Larrys.
This one wonders if there is a sign of buyers remorse here among the I won’t vote for anybody since ${name} bailed out of the primaries folks.
Larry Sheldon
15 years ago
And the margin looks to be wide enough that buying it or stealing it will be really pricey.
Fit fit
15 years ago
Sorry Mike, but the “60” number is kind of arbitrary. Between Snowe, Specter, Collins, McCain and Graham, most of the agendas and appointments will have no trouble getting passed.
Steve Rowland
15 years ago
Larry, right from the horses mouth:
Fresh off his runoff victory Tuesday night, Georgia Republican Sen. Saxby Chambliss credited Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin with firing up his base.
“I can’t overstate the impact she had down here,” Chambliss said during an interview Wednesday morning on Fox News.
“When she walks in a room, folks just explode,” he added. “And they really did pack the house everywhere we went. She’s a dynamic lady, a great administrator, and I think she’s got a great future in the Republican Party.”
Chambliss said that after watching her campaign on his behalf at several events Monday, he does not see her star status diminishing within the party.
The Republican also thanked John McCain and the other big name Republicans that came to Georgia, but said Palin made the biggest impact.
“We had John McCain and Mike Huckabee and Gov. Romney and Rudy Giuliani, but Sarah Palin came in on the last day, did a fly-around and, man, she was dynamite,” he said. “We packed the houses everywhere we went. And it really did allow us to peak and get our base fired up.”
Why are you so skeered of this lady?
A Typical Patriot
15 years ago
If a Socialist Dem would have won an election 60-40 landslide and mandate would have been all we heard all day.
Fit Fit: You’ll notice one difference between Republicans and Democrats. The Republicans will NOT block all that many Obama appointments, if any, the way Dems did.
Unlike you folks, the filibuster will not be the first option we use.
Hard Right
15 years ago
Mike, I’m thinking we should give the dems a taste of their own medicine. Besides, the last thing we need is more liberal activist judges.
Hard Right: I hope we do when they try and force some clown down our throats. But you may recall that the Dems purposely held up confirmation of Secretary Rice until after Inauguration Day in 2005 just out of spite.
We will not be doing any of that.
But I do intend to remind McCain of what he told me a year ago when he visited: that I’ll be glad we didn’t blow up the filibuster when we had the chance (gang of 14). I will remind him that now he needs to USE it when the time comes.
Hard Right
15 years ago
True, we aren’t as vindictive as the dems. And PLEASE DO remind McCain of what he said and that it needs to be used. I’m so sick of wimps.
Fit fit
15 years ago
We will not be doing any of that.
More like they won’t be able to do any of that.
We? I think maybe you need to spend more time in your garden.
Still we get more nonsense about Palin’s star power, appears the dems can’t bear to admit that there is a reason she draws a crowd, her conservatism and her accomplishments. I’s a record I hope she seeks higher office on in the future.
As far as the Chambliss/Martin race. The dem rock-stars(Clinton-Gore) evidently couldn’t accomplish much, yet all we hear from the opposition is more Palin bashing. Nothing about worn out, washed up dem figure heads well past their prime.
At the very least, one would think the Dem party could have at least provided updated campaign literature, that was pathetic.
Besides, I was there. I saw the energy that Palin generated and even McCain had been to Georgia for Chambliss and couldn’t match it. The salue to our troops got bigger applause then when John McCain’s name was mentioned.
Obama not only cut an ad for Martin, if you read the Boston Globe article you will note that he lent his offices and staff. Clinton and Gore went to the state (if Gore was here that explains the record cold front). Hundreds of Obama people from all over the country poured into the state.
Any way you want to spin it Larry this was a stop Obama vote.
Let’s take things in order:
1. Impact of Palin. There is no doubt that Palin currently inspires the most loyal segment of the GOP base. That is proven by her very fervent supporters on this blog. Georgia is a deeply red state. Democrats have no business being close in a state-wide election. What happened on the day of the Presidential election was an aberration. There was an enormous African-American turnout and there was a sizable youth (age 18-29) vote. We have to see what the demographics of the run-off election show. I’ll wager that they showed a dramatic fall off in turnout among both African Americans and in younger voters. I’ll wager that this accounted for most of the increased margin in the vote for Chambliss; so it wasn’t so much Palin bringing voters to Chambliss as it was Obama failing to bring voters for Martin. But I do concede that Palin did probably bring out some increased numbers of the GOP base. It will take a study of the voting demographics to determine if Chambliss owes more to Republicans coming out or to Democrats staying home.
2. Effort Obama made. This wasn’t anything like an “all out effort.” Martin asked Obama to come and campaign. Obama stayed in Chicago. With regard to the Obama volunteers going to Georgia, this was a token effort, at best. There were literally thousands of Obama volunteers from California who descended on tiny Nevada, for weeks before the election, right on up to the day of the election. This sort of effort was made in all of the battleground states. Not so in the Georgia run-off.
3. The so-called “stop Obama” vote: As I stated in my original post, I’m sure that a good portion of the votes were cast to deny the Democrats a filibuster-proof Senate majority. This is by no means a repudiation of Obama, who’s approval rating has increased substantially since his election.
Were this a referendum on Obama, Martin would have again been very close to Chambliss. Instead, it’s just a reflection that wise voters (including my immodest self) don’t like seeing one party have a filibuster-proof margin in the Senate, with the same party also holding the House and the Presidency. Again, I’m proof of the principle that a great many voters don’t want to see too much power concentrated in one political party, as evidenced by my votes for both Barack Obama and (hard right GOPer) Dana Rohrabacher (California did not elect a Senator, in the recent election).
– Larry Weisenthal/Huntington Beach, CA
Fit fit
15 years ago
Maybe you need to spend more time in reality.
You’re the one so caught up in the tribalism of partisan politics that you talk like you’re a member of the Senate. Kinda sad.
Craig
15 years ago
Larry,
Boy you are a sore loser. I have never met anyone with such intense insincerity. Would it kill you to recognize that Sarah can reallly pack the house everywhere she goes and energize everyone? Is your ego as big as Obama or what? Like attracts like… they say.
wesmorgan1
15 years ago
Craig, Governor Palin certainly energizes the GOP base; there’s no doubt of that. She does not, however, energize moderates or independents in her favor. She plays well to packed GOP houses–perhaps “packed to order” would be a better term, since we’re talking about the party faithful, yes?–but she didn’t do a great deal for the larger electorate.
Having said all of this, there’s no doubt that she helped Chambliss. Runoff elections are notorious for low turnout, and Martin couldn’t sustain the bounce he got from early/absentee voting to create the runoff in the first place. If you go read some of the blogs on the left side, they were as surprised as you on Election Day. Palin definitely kept some GOP faithful in line to vote for the runoff.
I don’t think this was an “all-out effort” by Obama, since he didn’t even show up in Georgia. Frankly, I think that such was a smart move on his part; if he played the “let’s get 60!” game, it would have come across as a total power grab. If I had to guess, he’s playing hands-off in GA and MN (and the other still-undecided spots; there are a few) for a very specific reason; he’s sustaining the “post-partisan” meme that won the election for him. He is NOT the political neophyte as which he has been characterized.
All in all, it was a fairly typical runoff situation. Runoffs usually tend to favor incumbents more than do general elections, even dirtball incumbents–think Jefferson in LA–and Chambliss fit the mold.
Nit Wit: Among other things I have actually worked for a member of the U.S. Senate. So I might know a little bit about it.
Larry: Anyway you want to spin it you cannot deny that if Chambliss had lost the press would be blaming Palin and claiming Obama was responsible for Martin’s victory.
Since that did not happen, it’s not unreasonable to give Palin some of the credit and to reflect on the fact that Obama’s effort was for naught.
I suggest you stop spinning before you get dizzy and fall down or become disoriented like Fit Fit.
Missy: Thanks for that link to Red State. That video reminds me of Fit Fit for some reason. The photo, which the Boston Globe story cited above also used was interesting:
Martin campaigns with gangsta rappers. That might get you a handful of young thug votes but it surely loses you hundreds more white votes.
Timothy
15 years ago
Ric,
What RINO from Nebraska? Hagel is bye-bye.
Timothy
15 years ago
Geeze….you Palin naysayers, keep smokin it, REALLY, keep smokin it.
She’s been in the spotlight for three months, from a remote state, overhandled by the mangers, backstabbed by malcontents, where the MSM and detractors have been trying to define her (not to mention the political hit squads). You say she only “attracts to the base” but without that, she no future in the party (something McCain forgot, hence her recruitment). Give me a friggin break boyos. She just got to the dance….let the cards play out a bit.
JeffUSMC
15 years ago
That is *awesome* that Republicans can hold a seat in Georgia, of all places. That we won in November. Hooah! Go Republicans!!
Martin campaigns with gangsta rappers. That might get you a handful of young thug votes but it surely loses you hundreds more white votes.
First McCain runs with Daddy Yankee, now this…collectively, they just don’t get it, do they? *laugh*
Steve Rowland
15 years ago
JeffUSMC:
Well, I’m proud that Georgia dissed the Great Anointed. These ‘Soutners’ do think for themselves and see what a empty suit we have ready to inhabit the oval office. The US of A is going to get what it deserves, since he was asked for, get ready to bend over.
Wait a minute! I thought she was the reason we lost the White House, how could this be possible. Sarah almost pulled McCain through. All you doubters just sit back and watch, her popularity can only grow. Sarah 2012.
Palin is the republican rock star for sure! It’s offical!!! The question is, can she hold the status and use it to her advantage in 2012? The liberal illuminati will once again do everything they can to bash her… it worked in 2008 but will it in 2012? We shall see.
Hey hey! Larry W. won’t believe his eyes when he reads this… lol
It could be that 60% + of the people have figured out how bad they screwed up on Nov 4th. You don’t have to use more than 10% of an average brain to figure out the democrats spent 8 years trying to destroy the economy and finally succeeded in the past two years with control of both houses of congress. Evidently they thought they could destroy it to a point they would gain control of congress and the white house and then put on the brakes and everything would return to Jan 07 when they took control. I think it’ll be a while before the stock market is bumping 15,000 again and people are able to purchase new homes. Just remember to thank the democrats every time you can’t afford what was a normal purchase through 2006.
now we are proving that we conservatives aren’t gonna role over and play dead.
This is nice, but there are far too many RINO senators for the minority to be much more than inconsistently successful. If the Minnesota seat is not stolen, that is one less RINO required, but there are too many potential republican cloture votes at any given time–2 from Maine, 1 each from Alaska, Pennsylvania, Nebraska, Ohio, Utah, Indiana and South Carolina, to mount strong oppositions to a progressive agenda. Say it isn’t so. Please.
Congrats to Chambliss for the win.
Obviously, this is also a win for Palin. If she wasn’t a top-tier candidate for 2012 before, she is now. Barring any messy PR incidents (and by that, I mean ones that actually exist and that aren’t made up by Obama cronies in the MSM), it’s her call and her call alone if she goes for a run.
“She headlined four rallies for Chambliss across the state Monday that drew thousands of party faithful.”
Damn. Why do people think she will fade away, again?
This was a good win for the GOP, but attributing it to Sarah Palin is a stretch. It will be interesting to study the exit poll demographics. I’d wager a much lower turnout, percentage of the electorate-wise, from African Americans and young voters.
Here’s another explanation: The Georgia electorate (wisely) didn’t want to see a filibuster-proof majority in the Senate.
I voted for Obama, but I also voted for my (hard Right GOP) congressman, Dana Rohrabacher, in part because I want to see Obama succeed, which he is more likely to do if he is not regularly presented with the choice between alienating the (hard Left) base of the Democratic Party by vetoing unwise Leftist legislation and alienating the Center of the electorate by signing such legislation.
P.S. The headline of the post, claiming an “all out effort by Obama” wasn’t precisely correct.
Quote:
“President-elect Barack Obama recorded a radio ad for Martin and sent 100 field operatives, but he didn’t campaign in the state despite a request from Martin to do so.”
Obama’s political antennae are very sensitive. I think that you’ll continue to see him spend his political capital with discretion.
– Larry Weisenthal/Huntington Beach, CA
Larry, you are hopeless. “Obama antennae are very sensitive”… you must be kidding, right? And you can relax now, we know what you think of Sarah; you have been obsessively repetitive. She really bugs you doesn’t she? She is a threat to your darling Obama and you know it but will never admit it. It doesn’t matter because we have figured it out a long time ago… lol
Craig, the honest to goodness truth is that I give the GOP electorate enough credit to know that they’d never make such a foolish choice, given the fact that there are many more promising candidates available, other than Palin.
– Larry W/HB
Larry, if the election of Barack Obama to President has taught us (reminded us) of anything, it’s that sizzle sells to a demographic looking for a certain sound. Steak is irrelevant. Forget who is better/worse, smarter/dumber, more experienced, whatever. It’s about strength-of-appeal to a specific demographic, and in that it can be no more deniable that Sarah Palin is appealing to many demographics as Barack Obama is to others.
Here’s the updated “How Obama Got Elected” poll that includes McCain voters:
http://howobamagotelected.com/#wilson
Fox News viewers and talk radio listeners were found to be the most accurate, the majority of the best informed, according to questions asked, were McCain/Palin voters.
Delusional Larry, thanks for making it clear you are nothing more than a mindless, leftist drone. Argue all you want, but Palin made the difference. You only prove that being a leftist means never having to face reality.
Larry:
If Martin had won, the headline today would be “Obama magic gains upset in Georgia!”
Therefore, attributing Chambliss’s win to Palin is a fair statement.
Besides, I was there. I saw the energy that Palin generated and even McCain had been to Georgia for Chambliss and couldn’t match it. The salue to our troops got bigger applause then when John McCain’s name was mentioned.
Obama not only cut an ad for Martin, if you read the Boston Globe article you will note that he lent his offices and staff. Clinton and Gore went to the state (if Gore was here that explains the record cold front). Hundreds of Obama people from all over the country poured into the state.
Any way you want to spin it Larry this was a stop Obama vote.
I voted for Obama, but I also voted for my (hard Right GOP) congressman, Dana Rohrabacher, in part because I want to see Obama succeed…
Wow, talk about using a BLUNT OBJECT to achieve your goals, Weisenthal…
You are exactly right Mike. As we all know, if Larry were to acknowledge that Palin had an impact it would force him to face the fact that Palin isn’t hated by most people and is a viable candidate for 2012.
Larry, if you told me the sky was blue I’d go outside to check because you just aren’t all there. You are very much a product of blue state brain washing.
Hah. All that Obama bling…..didn’t work.
Sad that this sort of victory, that should be the norm in america, is now so difficult to achieve.
Methinks Obama will regret not going there himself…..his money and his staff and his Clinton and Gore weren’t enough. Obama’s first mistake.
Looks like the Georgians now realize what a horrible mistake america made on Nov 4, the day that america voted to hang itself.
On to Minnesota, where it will be lawyers, and big money.
Too many Larrys.
This one wonders if there is a sign of buyers remorse here among the I won’t vote for anybody since ${name} bailed out of the primaries folks.
And the margin looks to be wide enough that buying it or stealing it will be really pricey.
Sorry Mike, but the “60” number is kind of arbitrary. Between Snowe, Specter, Collins, McCain and Graham, most of the agendas and appointments will have no trouble getting passed.
Larry, right from the horses mouth:
Fresh off his runoff victory Tuesday night, Georgia Republican Sen. Saxby Chambliss credited Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin with firing up his base.
“I can’t overstate the impact she had down here,” Chambliss said during an interview Wednesday morning on Fox News.
“When she walks in a room, folks just explode,” he added. “And they really did pack the house everywhere we went. She’s a dynamic lady, a great administrator, and I think she’s got a great future in the Republican Party.”
Chambliss said that after watching her campaign on his behalf at several events Monday, he does not see her star status diminishing within the party.
The Republican also thanked John McCain and the other big name Republicans that came to Georgia, but said Palin made the biggest impact.
“We had John McCain and Mike Huckabee and Gov. Romney and Rudy Giuliani, but Sarah Palin came in on the last day, did a fly-around and, man, she was dynamite,” he said. “We packed the houses everywhere we went. And it really did allow us to peak and get our base fired up.”
Why are you so skeered of this lady?
If a Socialist Dem would have won an election 60-40 landslide and mandate would have been all we heard all day.
Fit Fit: You’ll notice one difference between Republicans and Democrats. The Republicans will NOT block all that many Obama appointments, if any, the way Dems did.
Unlike you folks, the filibuster will not be the first option we use.
Mike, I’m thinking we should give the dems a taste of their own medicine. Besides, the last thing we need is more liberal activist judges.
Hard Right: I hope we do when they try and force some clown down our throats. But you may recall that the Dems purposely held up confirmation of Secretary Rice until after Inauguration Day in 2005 just out of spite.
We will not be doing any of that.
But I do intend to remind McCain of what he told me a year ago when he visited: that I’ll be glad we didn’t blow up the filibuster when we had the chance (gang of 14). I will remind him that now he needs to USE it when the time comes.
True, we aren’t as vindictive as the dems. And PLEASE DO remind McCain of what he said and that it needs to be used. I’m so sick of wimps.
More like they won’t be able to do any of that.
We? I think maybe you need to spend more time in your garden.
Nit Wit: We very well could “do any of that” and we may be able to count on at least one or two Dems to join us.
Maybe you need to spend more time in reality.
Still we get more nonsense about Palin’s star power, appears the dems can’t bear to admit that there is a reason she draws a crowd, her conservatism and her accomplishments. I’s a record I hope she seeks higher office on in the future.
As far as the Chambliss/Martin race. The dem rock-stars(Clinton-Gore) evidently couldn’t accomplish much, yet all we hear from the opposition is more Palin bashing. Nothing about worn out, washed up dem figure heads well past their prime.
At the very least, one would think the Dem party could have at least provided updated campaign literature, that was pathetic.
BTW, has anyone visited RedState lately? Heh:
http://www.redstate.com/diaries/redstate/2008/dec/03/now-that-were-done-with-jim-martin-let-me-s/
Let’s take things in order:
1. Impact of Palin. There is no doubt that Palin currently inspires the most loyal segment of the GOP base. That is proven by her very fervent supporters on this blog. Georgia is a deeply red state. Democrats have no business being close in a state-wide election. What happened on the day of the Presidential election was an aberration. There was an enormous African-American turnout and there was a sizable youth (age 18-29) vote. We have to see what the demographics of the run-off election show. I’ll wager that they showed a dramatic fall off in turnout among both African Americans and in younger voters. I’ll wager that this accounted for most of the increased margin in the vote for Chambliss; so it wasn’t so much Palin bringing voters to Chambliss as it was Obama failing to bring voters for Martin. But I do concede that Palin did probably bring out some increased numbers of the GOP base. It will take a study of the voting demographics to determine if Chambliss owes more to Republicans coming out or to Democrats staying home.
2. Effort Obama made. This wasn’t anything like an “all out effort.” Martin asked Obama to come and campaign. Obama stayed in Chicago. With regard to the Obama volunteers going to Georgia, this was a token effort, at best. There were literally thousands of Obama volunteers from California who descended on tiny Nevada, for weeks before the election, right on up to the day of the election. This sort of effort was made in all of the battleground states. Not so in the Georgia run-off.
3. The so-called “stop Obama” vote: As I stated in my original post, I’m sure that a good portion of the votes were cast to deny the Democrats a filibuster-proof Senate majority. This is by no means a repudiation of Obama, who’s approval rating has increased substantially since his election.
Were this a referendum on Obama, Martin would have again been very close to Chambliss. Instead, it’s just a reflection that wise voters (including my immodest self) don’t like seeing one party have a filibuster-proof margin in the Senate, with the same party also holding the House and the Presidency. Again, I’m proof of the principle that a great many voters don’t want to see too much power concentrated in one political party, as evidenced by my votes for both Barack Obama and (hard right GOPer) Dana Rohrabacher (California did not elect a Senator, in the recent election).
– Larry Weisenthal/Huntington Beach, CA
You’re the one so caught up in the tribalism of partisan politics that you talk like you’re a member of the Senate. Kinda sad.
Larry,
Boy you are a sore loser. I have never met anyone with such intense insincerity. Would it kill you to recognize that Sarah can reallly pack the house everywhere she goes and energize everyone? Is your ego as big as Obama or what? Like attracts like… they say.
Craig, Governor Palin certainly energizes the GOP base; there’s no doubt of that. She does not, however, energize moderates or independents in her favor. She plays well to packed GOP houses–perhaps “packed to order” would be a better term, since we’re talking about the party faithful, yes?–but she didn’t do a great deal for the larger electorate.
Having said all of this, there’s no doubt that she helped Chambliss. Runoff elections are notorious for low turnout, and Martin couldn’t sustain the bounce he got from early/absentee voting to create the runoff in the first place. If you go read some of the blogs on the left side, they were as surprised as you on Election Day. Palin definitely kept some GOP faithful in line to vote for the runoff.
I don’t think this was an “all-out effort” by Obama, since he didn’t even show up in Georgia. Frankly, I think that such was a smart move on his part; if he played the “let’s get 60!” game, it would have come across as a total power grab. If I had to guess, he’s playing hands-off in GA and MN (and the other still-undecided spots; there are a few) for a very specific reason; he’s sustaining the “post-partisan” meme that won the election for him. He is NOT the political neophyte as which he has been characterized.
All in all, it was a fairly typical runoff situation. Runoffs usually tend to favor incumbents more than do general elections, even dirtball incumbents–think Jefferson in LA–and Chambliss fit the mold.
Nit Wit: Among other things I have actually worked for a member of the U.S. Senate. So I might know a little bit about it.
Larry: Anyway you want to spin it you cannot deny that if Chambliss had lost the press would be blaming Palin and claiming Obama was responsible for Martin’s victory.
Since that did not happen, it’s not unreasonable to give Palin some of the credit and to reflect on the fact that Obama’s effort was for naught.
I suggest you stop spinning before you get dizzy and fall down or become disoriented like Fit Fit.
Missy: Thanks for that link to Red State. That video reminds me of Fit Fit for some reason. The photo, which the Boston Globe story cited above also used was interesting:
Martin campaigns with gangsta rappers. That might get you a handful of young thug votes but it surely loses you hundreds more white votes.
Ric,
What RINO from Nebraska? Hagel is bye-bye.
Geeze….you Palin naysayers, keep smokin it, REALLY, keep smokin it.
She’s been in the spotlight for three months, from a remote state, overhandled by the mangers, backstabbed by malcontents, where the MSM and detractors have been trying to define her (not to mention the political hit squads). You say she only “attracts to the base” but without that, she no future in the party (something McCain forgot, hence her recruitment). Give me a friggin break boyos. She just got to the dance….let the cards play out a bit.
That is *awesome* that Republicans can hold a seat in Georgia, of all places. That we won in November. Hooah! Go Republicans!!
Jeff: Would you rather we had lost?
Mike:
First McCain runs with Daddy Yankee, now this…collectively, they just don’t get it, do they? *laugh*
JeffUSMC:
Well, I’m proud that Georgia dissed the Great Anointed. These ‘Soutners’ do think for themselves and see what a empty suit we have ready to inhabit the oval office. The US of A is going to get what it deserves, since he was asked for, get ready to bend over.