Saxby Chambliss denies the Democrats a super majority in the Senate
With Barack Obama winning the White House and Democrats winning seat after seat in Congress, it was of the greatest importance that they were denied the sixty vote super majority in the Senate. Obtaining this goal would have allowed them to block any filibuster Republican Senators might have attempted, in an effort to block Democratic legislation they did not agree with. Thanks to Georgia Republican Senator Saxby Chambliss, they were denied that majority yesterday, as he won a 20% runoff victory over Democrat Jim Martin. From FOX News:
Georgia Republican Sen. Saxby Chambliss handed the GOP a firewall against Democrats eager to flex their newfound political muscle in Washington, winning a bruising runoff battle Tuesday night that had captured the national limelight.
Chambliss’ victory thwarted Democrats’ hopes of winning a 60-seat filibuster-proof majority in the Senate. It came after a bitter month long runoff against Democrat Jim Martin that drew political luminaries from both parties to the state and flooded the airwaves with fresh attack ads weeks after campaigns elsewhere had ended.
This is a very important step in assuring Barack Obama and the Democrats do not run rampant in Washington. A super majority would have allowed the Democrats to pass any legislation they wished and the Republicans would have been powerless to even slow them down. As it is now, Republican Senators, such as Oklahoma’s Tom Coburn, can at least put the brakes on some of the big government/big spending policies we may be seeing from a Democratic Congress. This is especially true if Senators like John McCain and Lindsay Graham decide to continue voting with the Democrats. Overall, we could be in for a long four years in Washington.
That’s my take!
Larry
