GreekChat.com Forums - Dirty GA politics

"The more you hear about Saxby Chambliss, the sicker you get."
- ad by Max (have you heard he lost three limbs in Vietnam?)
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Here's some quotes from some of our liberal friends about the Max- Saxby race in '02. They seem to agree that it was a dirty campaign on both sides, that Saxby closed the race late - with help from Bush-Cheney visits, and that Saxby's potent force was Max's record.
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“You can't run against Max Cleland, you run against Max Cleland's record," he Chambliss) told Bob Schieffer. "I mean Max is a nice guy. I never said anything but that his voting record is so out of touch with the way a majority of Georgians think."

Both men have been airing commercials attacking the other.

Chambliss forces put Osama Bin Laden's picture into one ad against Cleland decrying his lack of support for Mr. Bush's version of Homeland Security legislation.

And Cleland's ads have been no gentler than Chambliss'. One said, "The more you hear about Saxby Chambliss, the sicker you get."

While the race is tight, Cleland is believed to be slightly ahead. But it's so close, the outcome will probably depend on voter turnout. And, it's so close the president will make yet another visit to Georgia this weekend.
-CBS Evening News 10-31-02

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... in Georgia. Max Cleland, an authentic, established, genuine American hero, is being, challenged essentially on cultural issues ... It's not a sense that he is has gone national on the Democratic policies of taxes nearly as much as that he may not share Georgia values.
- MARK SHIELDS, PBS Online News Hour 11-1-02
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Nov. 6 -- Republican challenger U.S. Rep. Saxby Chambliss scored an upset victory over incumbent Georgia Sen. Max Cleland after a race in which Cleland lost substantial ground in the days leading up to the election.

Chambliss' victory flies in the face of recent opinion polls which had Cleland safely ahead. An American Media poll in mid-October put Cleland ahead of Chambliss 47 percent to 41 percent, with a 4 percent margin of error. As late as Saturday, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution and WSB television reported the race had tightened, with Cleland leading 48 percent to Chambliss' 45 percent among people "certain to vote" - a lead within the poll's margin of error.

The victory follows a heated campaign characterized by ugly campaign ads during the race's final weeks. One Chambliss ad, according to the Journal-Constitution, attempted to portray Cleland's procedural votes on setting up the proposed Department of Homeland Security as opposition to the president's efforts to defend the homeland.

Chambliss backed a version of the homeland security legislation that would set aside employee union rules to allow President Bush to hire and fire federal workers in the new department. Cleland supported a version more favorable to those unions, which contributed heavily to his campaign, the Journal-Constitution reported.

Cleland consultant Karl Struble told Cox News Service the Chambliss ads used "some of the ugliest stuff I've ever seen," including "using pictures of Osama bin Laden and Saddam Hussein ... They're taking lying to a new art form in that race."

Chambliss media consultant, meanwhile, said Cleland's ads are "so over the top negative" that they seemed designed to disgust uncommitted voters and keep them from the polls, Cox News Service reported.

On the issues, Chambliss and Cleland also sparred over a potential move to allow workers to direct some Social Security payments into private investment. Cleland was against such a move; Chambliss supported it. They also differed on health care and the president's economic plan.
- PBS News Hour 11-6-02
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Cleland defeated by conservative
By Andrea Stone, USA TODAY
Few believed Republican Saxby Chambliss could paint Sen. Max Cleland, a veteran who lost both legs and an arm in Vietnam, as soft on national security. But that's just what the conservative congressman did to score a surprising victory over the one-term Democrat.

Chambliss, 59, a four-term congressman from Moultrie, was virtually unknown in Atlanta and its Republican suburbs, where a hefty share of Georgia voters reside. But his message that Cleland was too liberal for Georgia resonated statewide. He cited the incumbent's vote on a proposed department of homeland security; Cleland had sided with fellow Democrats by insisting that workers' civil-service protections be retained. Chambliss even ran a TV ad picturing Cleland with Saddam Hussein and Osama bin Laden.

A member of the House Republicans' class of 1994, which ended 40 years of Democratic rule, Chambliss positioned himself to appeal to Georgia's conservative, pro-military voters. He made a point to tour every military base in the state. As a member of the Armed Services Committee, he kept Robins Air Force Base off a 1995 base closing list.

More recently, Chambliss chaired a House panel on terrorism and homeland security. He used the post to champion President Bush's version of the homeland security department. And he released the first congressional report criticizing counterintelligence efforts before Sept. 11.

Bush repaid Chambliss for his support. The president made campaign visits to Georgia three times, most recently on Saturday. Chambliss credited the weekend trip to helping to win over late undecided voters.

PS: It's raining like hell in Atlanta right now. Welcome Ivan.