CQ Transcriptswire

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The Alaska governor will attend four rallies across Georgia on the eve of the hotly contested Dec. 2 runoff, which could prove key in the battle over a filibuster-proof Senate.

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On Thursday, Georgia’s Department of Labor announced that the state’s unemployment levels rose to 7 percent in October, the highest in 16 years; approximately 43,093 unemployed Georgians are looking for work. That same day, Sen. Saxby Chambliss (R-GA), who is locked in a tough run-off election battle with Democrat Jim Martin, gave a campaign speech [...]

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A November 16 Augusta (Georgia) Chronicle editorial
supporting the “Fair Tax”
plan, a proposal that “replaces all federal income and payroll based
taxes” with a national sales tax, falsely stated that under the
“Fair Tax” people will “get
their entire paycheck.” The editorial failed to point out that the
“Fair Tax” would not pre-empt state income taxes, so Georgia residents would still have to pay the Georgia income
tax, which is withheld from their paychecks. The editorial also cited radio
host Neal Boortz as a supporter of the “Fair Tax” plan but did not
note that Boortz himself has said that employees might not receive 100 percent
of their current paychecks under the “Fair Tax” plan.

As the editorial noted, Sen. Saxby Chambliss (R-GA) — who
is in a run-off Senate election against former Georgia state Rep. Jim Martin (D)
– has endorsed the
“Fair Tax” proposal. On November 14, the Chronicle endorsed Chambliss
in his run-off against Martin, saying “the re-election of Chambliss is a
must. He may be all that stands between the American people and congressional
tyranny.”

According to the Georgia Department of Revenue,
“[e]mployers are required to withhold Georgia
income tax from the wages of residents for services performed inside or outside
of this state and from nonresidents for services performed in Georgia.”
Georgia
income tax is
“computed at a graduated rate and is assessed in a range from one to five
percent on the first $10,000 of net taxable income (total tax on first $10,000
of net taxable income is $340) plus six percent of the excess of net taxable
income over $10,000.”

As Media Matters for
America previously noted, on the November 29, 2007,
edition of CNN’s The Situation Room,
correspondent Ali Velshi rebutted the claim that, under the “Fair
Tax” plan, workers would get to keep their entire paychecks: “Now,
this would be a 23-percent tax on everything you buy. Promoters like [former
Arkansas Gov. Mike] Huckabee [R] talk about how you’d get 100 percent of your
salary paid to you. Now, that is a myth. … [Y]ou’d still have to pay all of
your state and local taxes and property taxes. And, by the way, everything will
be taxed — including things like rent and health care.”

Additionally, the editorial stated: “On Nov. 16, at
the Gwinnett Center
in Duluth,
there will be a Fair Tax ‘Truth’ rally to clear up some of the lies
and distortions about the Fair Tax featuring GOP presidential candidate Mike
Huckabee, nationally syndicated radio host Neil [sic] Boortz and U.S. Senator
Saxby Chambliss as guest speakers, among others.” But the editorial did
not note that Boortz, co-author
of The FairTax Book: Saying Goodbye to
the Income Tax and the IRS (William Morrow, August
2005), wrote in a September 25, 2005, post on his
website: “Now, let’s elaborate on the ‘keep 100% of your paycheck’ line
that appears in The FairTax Book. It is certainly true that after the FairTax
becomes law there will be no more withholding from your paycheck for any
federal taxes. What you earn is what you get. This is not to say that your
gross pay will equal what it was before the FairTax. This will depend on what
your employer does when the embedded costs represented by the tax burden you
have passed on to your employer disappear.” Boortz later stated:
“The ‘keep 100% of your paycheck’ concept can more easily be
applied to those who either change jobs or come into the labor force after the
implementation of the FairTax. A new worker will negotiate a wage with an
employer knowing that the amount negotiated will be the amount that worker
receives every two weeks … no deductions.”

In the post, Boortz also wrote: “When the FairTax is
implemented, and when business and personal income and payroll taxes disappear,
your employer is going to have to make a decision. He will either take some or
the entire amount he had been withholding for federal income and payroll taxes
and add it to your weekly check, or he will readjust your pay figures so that
your entire paycheck will be equal to what you used to call ‘take home pay’
before the FairTax. The employer may also decide to do a little of both.”

From Boortz’s post headlined, “The FairTax –
Straightening Out Some Confusion”:

When the FairTax is implemented, and
when business and personal income and payroll taxes disappear, your employer is
going to have to make a decision. He will either take some or the entire amount
he had been withholding for federal income and payroll taxes and add it to your
weekly check, or he will readjust your pay figures so that your entire paycheck
will be equal to what you used to call “take home pay” before the
FairTax. The employer may also decide to do a little of both. Either way, you
can see that the amount of money you actually receive as pay - the amount
you can put into your bank account - will not decrease, and may actually
increase.

[...]

Now, let’s elaborate on the
“keep 100% of your paycheck” line that appears in The FairTax Book.
It is certainly true that after the FairTax becomes law there will be no more
withholding from your paycheck for any federal taxes. What you earn is what you
get. This is not to say that your gross pay will equal what it was before the
FairTax. This will depend on what your employer does when the embedded costs
represented by the tax burden you have passed on to your employer disappear.
One thing is certain: You will suffer no decrease in real or net earnings —
the amount of each paycheck you deposit into your bank account every other
week. The “keep 100% of your paycheck” concept can more easily be
applied to those who either change jobs or come into the labor force after the
implementation of the FairTax. A new worker will negotiate a wage with an
employer knowing that the amount negotiated will be the amount that worker
receives every two weeks … no deductions. Likewise, when you change employers
you, too, will negotiate a wage that will not be subject to withholding, and
you will get 100% of your wages in each paycheck.

From the Augusta (GA) Chronicle editorial:

A proposed 23-cent national sales
tax, the Fair Tax would replace the current federal system of taxation –
meaning no income tax and no Social Security tax.

That means power to the people,
because, first of all, they get their entire paycheck. Secondly, they determine
the amount of tax they pay by the decisions they make on their purchases.

The Fair Tax also contains a feature
called a “prebate” — money that would wipe out federal taxes
completely for those at or below the poverty line.

[...]

It’s an awful shame that such a
partisan shroud has fallen down around the Fair Tax. On Nov. 16, at the Gwinnett Center
in Duluth,
there will be a Fair Tax “Truth” rally to clear up some of the lies
and distortions about the Fair Tax featuring GOP presidential candidate Mike
Huckabee, nationally syndicated radio host Neil Boortz and U.S. Senator Saxby
Chambliss as guest speakers, among others.

This isn’t a Republican or
Democratic idea. Fact is, it’s a grass-roots movement that has been catching
steam in recent years. What a tragedy it would be if Nov. 4 were to sap the
energy out of the movement.

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In a November 14 article, The Atlanta
Journal-Constitution reported that Sen. John McCain appeared at a
rally the previous day in support of the re-election of Sen. Saxby Chambliss
(R-GA). But unlike
articles about the event by The Associated Press, Los Angeles Times,
The New York Times,
and USA Today,
the Journal-Constitution article
did not note that McCain previously reportedly criticized as
“disgraceful” and “reprehensible” a campaign ad Chambliss used during
his 2002 race against then-Sen. Max Cleland (D-GA). The Democratic Senatorial
Campaign Committee highlighted McCain’s comments in a web ad released November 11.

Chambliss’
2002 ad featured images of Osama bin Laden and Saddam Hussein and asserted that
Cleland — a decorated Vietnam
War veteran and triple amputee — “says he has the courage to lead. But
the record proves… Max Cleland is just misleading.” In a July 3,
2003, article (accessed from the Nexis database), The Washington Post reported that McCain “denounced”
the ad “[i]mmediately,” and quoted his assertion: “I’ve never
seen anything like that ad. …
Putting pictures of Saddam Hussein and Osama bin Laden next to
a picture of a man who left three limbs on the battlefield — it’s worse than
disgraceful, it’s reprehensible.”

From the November 13 AP article:

Democrats greeted McCain’s
arrival in Georgia with an
Internet spot reviving remarks the Arizona
senator made in condemning a tough ad Chambliss used in his 2002 campaign against Democratic Sen.
Max Cleland, a triple amputee wounded in Vietnam. The ad questioned
Cleland’s national security credentials and flashed a picture of Osama bin
Laden.

“I’ve never seen anything like
that ad,” McCain,
a Vietnam
prisoner of war, said in 2003. “Putting pictures of Saddam Hussein and
Osama bin Laden next to a picture of a man who left three limbs on the
battlefield, it’s worse than disgraceful, it’s reprehensible.”

From the November
14 LA Times article:

In a video released
this week, the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee reminded voters that McCain once criticized as
“disgraceful” and “reprehensible” a 2002 Chambliss campaign ad that
questioned the courage of then-opponent Max Cleland, a veteran who lost three
limbs in Vietnam.

From the November 13 NY
Times article:

The Democratic Senatorial Campaign
Committee is spending its money reminding voters of Mr. Chambliss’s attack on former Senator
Max Cleland, the Democratic incumbent he defeated in 2002. The advertisement,
still bitterly remembered in Democratic circles, showed pictures of Saddam
Hussein and Osama bin Laden, and criticized Mr. Cleland, who lost three limbs
in Vietnam,
for voting against homeland security measures.

At the time, Mr. McCain
was among those who defended Mr. Cleland, as the Democratic campaign
committee’s advertisement points out: ”I’ve never seen anything like that
ad,” Mr. McCain said. ”It’s worse than disgraceful.
It’s reprehensible.”

From the November 14 USA
Today article:

The Martin campaign is trying to
remind Georgia
voters of McCain’s
condemnation of a television ad Chambliss aired in his successful 2002 race against
then-senator Max Cleland, D-Ga. The ad questioned the national security
expertise of Cleland, a triple-amputee Vietnam War veteran, and used images of
Osama bin Laden and Saddam Hussein. At the time, McCain called the ad “worse than
disgraceful. It’s reprehensible.”

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ATLANTA (AP) — Republican John McCain implored Georgia voters Thursday to back Sen. Saxby Chambliss in next month’s runoff, warning that Democrats will increase taxes and cut defense spending and the GOP needs to strengthen its ranks….

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In recent days, several conservative talk
radio hosts have accused Democrats of “trying to steal” the Minnesota senatorial election for Democratic
challenger Al Franken over incumbent Sen. Norm Coleman (R). They offer no evidence to back up their accusation, and, according
to the state’s Republican
governor, there is none. Gov. Tim Pawlenty said on November 12 on Sean Hannity’s radio show that there is “no actual evidence that there’s been any
fraud or problems” in counting the votes.

Also, on the November 12 edition of Hannity & Colmes, Hannity asked
Pawlenty: “Do you suspect there’s been cheating going on?” Pawlenty
replied: “Sean, we don’t have any direct evidence of that, and when
you make an allegation — not you, but anybody — of fraud in an election, it’s
a very serious matter, so you gotta have specific evidence to back it
up.”

The following conservative talk radio
hosts have baselessly accused Democrats of trying to “steal” the
election:

• Mark Levin: On the
  November 11 broadcast of his nationally syndicated radio show, Levin
  described Franken as a “spiteful troll,” and said: “I
  see he and his fellow hoods are trying to steal the election in Minnesota.”

• Rush Limbaugh: On the
  November 12 edition of his nationally syndicated radio show, during a
  discussion with a caller about the upcoming Georgia run-off between
  Republican Sen. Saxby Chambliss and Democratic challenger Jim Martin,
  Limbaugh stated: “At this point, people in Georgia have gotta take
  this very seriously. Because the Democrats are trying to steal Minnesota, and they’re gonna, they’re –
  he’s [Chambliss] gotta win this runoff in Georgia.”

• Chris Baker: On the
  November 13 broadcast of his Minneapolis-based radio program, Baker
  asserted that “the left” have “become the fascists that
  they have claimed to be the watchdog to protect people from.” He
  added: “And it’s really frightening, especially with the
  coming political situation. I mean, once the Norm Coleman election is
  stolen, and they get rid of [Sen.] Ted Stevens [R-AK], and
  they maybe get rid of Saxby Chambliss, with a supermajority, these people
  are gonna run amok, and it’s all over and we’re all gonna be
  in irons.”

From the November 11 edition of ABC Radio
Networks’ The Mark
Levin Show:

LEVIN:
Well, speaking of the spiteful troll, aka Al Franken, I see he and his fellow
hoods are trying to steal the election in Minnesota. May I say a brief prayer out
loud? Dear God, I think we’ve had about all we can take in this last
election. Please, please, not a Senator Al Franken. What would the Founding
Fathers say? My God, please. All right, now, I would be remiss if I
didn’t thank our new affiliate in Nacogdoches,
Texas — KSFA. There we go.
Let’s go to Katie, Oxford,
New Jersey.

From the November 12 broadcast of
Premiere Radio Networks’ Rush Limbaugh
Show:

CALLER:
I’m a little frustrated. Well, that’s not true; I’m very
frustrated. I kind of feel like my vote is being extorted down here. You know, Georgia
conservatives screamed bloody murder over the bailout, and Saxby Chambliss
refused to vote with us. He went up there and — and did what he wanted to do
– whatever he wanted to do, which is, you know, even come clean down here and
admitted –

LIMBAUGH:
I know, I know. I know it. He voted for the gang of whatever on the offshore
drilling. He made a tactical mistake there. At this point, people in Georgia
have gotta take this very seriously. Because the Democrats are trying to steal Minnesota, and they’re gonna, they’re –
he’s gotta win this runoff in Georgia. If — if — if we lose
these two they’re up to 59.

CALLER:
I know, Rush. I am — I’m in total agreement with you there. And I
continue to write and write and write letters over to their campaign begging
them for just one humble moment to admit that the bailout was a really bad
idea, and that it’s down the tubes further than anybody could have
imagined, and just to admit that he’s in Washington to represent me.

LIMBAUGH:
Not gonna do it. He’s not gonna — he’s not gonna do it.

From the November 13 broadcast of KTLK’s The Chris Baker Show:

BAKER:
See, we’ve — we’ve come to a point where if you have an opinion
that opposes the left, sorry, you must be silenced and shut down.

LANGDON PERRY (KTLK host):
Right.

BAKER:
I don’t hear conservatives asking for people to be thrown out of their
job on a regular basis. I don’t hear conservatives on a regular basis say
that people should be ostracized, culled from the herd. But, man, you get these
people all wound up, and they, you know, they burst into a church over the
weekend.

PERRY:
The left, I think, has become much more the party of “you can’t say
that” or “you can’t do that.”

BAKER:
They have become the fascists that they have claimed to be the watchdog to
protect people from. And it’s really frightening, especially with the
coming political situation. I mean, once the Norm Coleman election is stolen,
and they get rid of Ted Stevens and they maybe get rid of Saxby Chambliss, with
a supermajority, these people are gonna run amok, and it’s all over and
we’re all gonna be in irons.

From the November 12 edition of Fox
News’ Hannity & Colmes:

HANNITY:
And this is a “Fox News Alert.” The recount has not even
started in Minnesota,
and somehow Al Franken has already shaved off more than 500 votes off the incumbent
lead. That’s Norm Coleman.

Now,
Republican Coleman was up by 725 votes last Wednesday
morning, but as of yesterday that difference has now shrunk to just 206.
Coleman’s vanishing lead came during a week when Minnesota election officials
were required to check their initial results.

Under
normal practices, both candidates would expect a bump, but these strange
circumstances have seen only Franken’s vote totals swell. Now, the
Minneapolis
director of elections claims to have found 32 absentee ballots hiding in the
trunk of her car — all of them conveniently going to Al Franken.

Liberal-leaning
precincts in Two Harbors, Minnesota, and Partridge
Township threw Franken
another 346 votes combined, claiming
that wrong numbers were initially submitted. Again, Coleman’s vote total — it remained
unchanged. Plus, Franken’s changes are nearly three times the gains for
Democratic candidates statewide. So, the question is: Is the fix in?

Joining
us now is Minnesota Governor Tim
Pawlenty. Governor, as I describe that — I’m sorry, no reasonable person can
conclude there’s not funny business going on here. What is your thoughts on
this?

PAWLENTY:
Sean, in the practice of law, there’s a phenomenon called disparate impact,
which means when something is so out of proportion to what the norm or the
trend would be, it at least raises a concern or a suspicion.

In Minnesota,
we don’t have any evidence of wrongdoing, but these patterns that you’ve just
described cause us concern, because even if you’re in a part of the state
that’s overwhelmingly Democrat, Norm Coleman should be getting some of the votes, not losing 100
percent or 90 percent to Al Franken. So, it’s cause for concern for sure.

[...]

HANNITY:
But here’s the problem. We did not have a uniform system in terms of the day
after Election Day to protect those ballots. So, in other words, the different
precincts — so, in other words, my fear is that the fix may already been in,
and during the recount, we’re going gonna
discover, oh, there’s another 500 votes for Franken.

When
you look at these changed votes
so far, Governor, you know, we see that, for example, the Senate gains for
Franken were two and a half times that than the gain for Barack Obama, and
Barack Obama way outperformed Franken in the state of Minnesota; 2.9 times the
total of the Democrats across the congressional races; and five times the net
loss that Democrats suffered for all statehouse races. So, he’s outperforming
every single solitary measure. So, I’m asking — I guess, Governor, I guess my
question is honest: Do you suspect there’s been cheating going on?

PAWLENTY:
Sean, we don’t have any direct evidence of that, and when
you make an allegation — not you, but anybody — of fraud in an election, it’s
a very serious matter, so you gotta have specific evidence to back it up.

What we
do know is the statistics that you’re citing and the patterns that you’re citing
are suspicious. They seem to defy probability theory; they seem to defy common
sense. Even in an overwhelmingly Democratic area, Norm Coleman would be getting
some of those votes — 20, 30, 40 percent.
That’s not happening, so it raises a red flag.

From the November 12 edition of ABC Radio
Networks’ The Sean Hannity Show:

HANNITY:
Well, here’s what I read. John Lott wrote a very frightening piece about
what’s happening here, and he chronicled how we’ve gone from 725
votes — what are we, down to 206 votes separating the two in Norm
Coleman’s favor?

PAWLENTY:
Correct.

HANNITY:
OK. So he points out that, for example, the Senate gains for Franken were two
and a half times the gain for Obama in the presidential race count. In other
words, these ballots “oops” that we found — now here’s a
state where Barack Obama won fairly handily. But yet, these ballots that
we’re now finding, you know, are favoring Franken two and a half times
than that of the gain of Obama; 2.9 times the gain of the Democrats and what
they got all across Minnesota
in congressional races; and five — five times the net loss the Democrats
suffered for all state house races.

PAWLENTY:
Yeah, those — those are definitely a concern, Sean. I want to be clear. You
know, Minnesota
has a tradition of clean elections, and good election systems, and there
isn’t any actual evidence of wrongdoing or fraud yet. But the pattern
that you just described, as long as — and as well as the ballots in the trunk
and some other things — raise concerns, and we need to make sure that the
ballots are secure, the process is transparent, that there is a uniform
standard, and that all these things are looked into and make sure that they are
fully legitimate — and that’s gonna happen.

HANNITY:
Does Norm Coleman have operatives or — or members of his campaign now, 24
hours a day around these voting machines, et cetera?

PAWLENTY:
Yeah, the news accounts suggest that he has dispatched people to watch the
room, and there — most of the counties’ administrators, you know, have a
room that’s locked — and this county that issued the court order, they
actually only have two people can have access to it. People have to sign in or
sign out; they have to explain why they would even go in the room in the first
place. The campaign’s gonna have monitors as to who would go into the
room or out of the room. That’s the kind of uniform standard we’d
like all the counties to use, I know that those –

HANNITY:
Has that been implemented? Here’s the problem, though. Because there
hasn’t been a recount yet. Has that been implemented from — from the day
after election or no?

PAWLENTY:
Day — no. But –

HANNITY:
That’s a problem, Governor. Because that means it could have already
happened.

PAWLENTY:
That’s also true. But there is no actual evidence, Sean. I wanna be
clear. There’s no actual evidence that there’s been any fraud or
problems there. There are these patterns of concern, and again, Norm’s
campaign and Franken’s campaign were close as of a day ago to have an
agreement about how to handle all this.

HANNITY:
All right, Governor Tim Pawlenty. Appreciate you, updating on us — updating
for us these — these goings-on in Minnesota.
But it’s somewhat frightening to me. All right, we gotta –

PAWLENTY:
I understand.

HANNITY:
Well, we’ll stay on it. Appreciate it, Governor Pawlenty. Thank you.

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The Dec. 2 Georgia Senate runoff between Republican Sen. Saxby Chambliss and Democratic former state Rep. Jim Martin is now a reality. Karen Handel, Georgia’s Republican secretary of state, on Thursday certified a vote count that showed Chambliss officially falling just short of the majority needed under state law to win a general election outright and avoid a runoff.

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In a November 13 article, The Atlanta
Journal-Constitution reported that the Democratic Senatorial
Campaign Committee (DSCC) “has purchased a week’s worth of ads on
metro Atlanta television stations” in support of Georgia Democratic
senatorial candidate Jim Martin, and quoted Sen. Saxby Chambliss (R-GA)’s
assertion that Democrats will spend “millions and millions on the
airwaves to try to discredit me.” But the article did not note that the
DSCC’s counterpart, the National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC), is
launching a new ad accusing Martin
of being “Out of Touch with Georgia Values,” and
both organizations have reportedly committed similar amounts of money to the
race. Nor did the article mention that the National Republican Trust Political
Action Committee (NRT PAC) is launching a
“TV ad campaign and other outreach efforts” focusing
on the Georgia Senate race.

In a November 12 post on The New York Times’ political blog,
The Caucus, Sarah Wheaton reported of the NRSC, “Today…
the group began running a new ad attacking Jim Martin, the Democratic
challenger, on his tax record in the Georgia assembly.” Wheaton further
reported that the ad “features a bluesy soundtrack and ends with pictures
of Mr. Martin, Senator Charles E. Schumer [D-NY] and Representative Nancy
Pelosi [D-CA] as an announcer says, ‘With unchecked power hanging in the
balance, Georgia can’t afford another liberal like Jim Martin in
Washington.’ ” As the announcer makes that comment, the words
“Liberal” and “Out of Touch with Georgia Values” appear
surrounding Martin’s name.

According to a November 11 Roll
Call article, Sen. John
Cornyn (R-TX) “has committed $100,000 to the NRSC to help fund
Chambliss’ race.” A November 13 Roll
Call article reported
that the DSCC “has dropped cable television buys totaling $100,000 in
several media markets around Georgia,” and that “[d]uring the last
week of the general election campaign, the DSCC dropped nearly $1.6 million in
independent expenditures in the race while the NRSC shelled out more than $1.3
million in the Peach State.” A November 8 Politico article reported
that the NRSC “has ramped up its fundraising operation to funnel
cash” to Chambliss.

In “A Letter to America” on the NRT
PAC website, Executive Director Scott Wheeler wrote: “With Democrats now
controlling 57 seats in the Senate, they are perilously close to getting the 60
votes in the Senate they need to end filibuster and pass [President-elect
Barack] Obama’s radical legislation. This why [sic] the special Georgia Senate run-off
election slated for December 2 is now a national
contest.” Wheeler further wrote that NRT PAC is “launching an
emergency appeal to Republicans across the United States to help defeat Jim
Martin,” including via a “TV ad campaign”:

We at the National Republican Trust PAC, also known
as GOPtrust.com, are launching an emergency appeal to Republicans across the United States
to help defeat Jim Martin and keep Saxby Chambliss in the U.S. Senate.

[...]

Have no doubt the Democrats will
throw everything they have to get out core constituencies for Jim Martin: union
members, African-Americans and other special interests.

That’s why our work at the
National Republican Trust PAC is so critically important.

Our TV ad campaign
and other outreach efforts will alert Georgia Republicans that this
election is like no other. In fact, the future of the United States
depends on it.

You can help us in our fight to keep
Georgia’s
seat in Republican hands and out of Obama’s control.

Donate today to
help this important cause.

During the 2008 presidential election, NRT PAC produced
several ads attacking Obama, including one highlighting
sermons given by his former pastor, Rev. Jeremiah Wright. A November 4 Boston Globe article reported
of the Wright ad: “The National Republican Trust has made enormous
advertising buys to put the ad on several national television networks in the
final days of the campaign. The group spent $1.2 million on Thursday and $2.5
million more on Friday.” The Globe
further reported that the group “expects to raise $8.5 million this year
and spend about $7 million on advertisements, including the commercial about
Wright.”

From The Atlanta Journal-Constitution article:

“John McCain is a great American,” Martin
said at a news conference at the state Capitol. “And he served his
country with distinction. All Georgians know that.”

But, Martin said, Georgia voters need a senator who
will work with President-elect Barack Obama, not fight him.

“You can bring in all the political leaders of
the past, like Saxby Chambliss is to shore up his position, but truthfully,
it’s the old politics. We’re moving forward, and are taking our
message to voters,” Martin said.

The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee,
meanwhile, has purchased a week’s worth of ads on metro Atlanta television stations for Martin.

Chambliss, standing with Ensign, predicted Democrats
will spend “millions and millions on the airwaves to try to discredit
me.”

“The Democrats are going to try to buy this
race,” Chambliss said. Neither Chambliss nor Ensign, however, would say
how much the GOP plans to spend on the runoff. Democrats have been equally
evasive about how much they plan to spend.

Martin said there continues to be no word from Obama
about a potential visit to the state before Dec. 2. He said his campaign is
moving forward with the same plan as the primary, the primary runoff and the
general election: appeal to middle class voters that he will be a voice for
them in Washington.

From The Caucus post:

The National Republican Senatorial Committee
isn’t leaving anything to chance in Georgia, where
one of the three outstanding Senate races is heading toward a run-off on Dec.
2. Today, for example, the group began running a new ad attacking Jim Martin,
the Democratic challenger, on his tax record in the Georgia assembly.

Senator Saxby Chambliss received a
plurality of votes on Nov. 4, but because he did not take a majority, the
contest heads to a run-off. The N.R.S.C.’s television ad features a
bluesy soundtrack and ends with pictures of Mr. Martin, Senator Charles E.
Schumer and Representative Nancy Pelosi as an announcer says, “With
unchecked power hanging in the balance, Georgia can’t afford another
liberal like Jim Martin in Washington.”

From the website of NRT PAC:

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By Jim Tharpe
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Friday, November 07, 2008
Georgia’s high-profile U.S. Senate campaign continued unabated Thursday, with the failed Libertarian candidate jumping back into the fray as Democrats and Republicans geared up for a Dec. 2 runoff.
Neither Republican U.S. Sen. Saxby Chambliss, Democrat Jim Martin nor Libertarian Allen Buckley won a majority of votes in Tuesday’s [...]

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Sen. Saxby Chambliss, R-Ga., and Democratic challenger Jim Martin geared up Wednesday for a runoff even as state and county election officials continue to sift through ballots to see whether a second vote is necessary.
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Some experts say it could take until Friday for all the results to be tallied. State officials must [...]

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