Saxby has won his second term as a senator. I thought I'd share my perspective on the matter, as someone who lives in Georgia  - in fact, Cobb County - where the GOP is supposedly strongest.

Saxby won this seat alright, by bringing in people from Alaska. Arizona.  New York. Every extra dollar in the GOP fund was handed to him. And then, Saxby won his own Senate seat during arguably the worst six years that conservatism has ever faced - with the most amount of money ever spent in the history of the GOP - by spending even more money in shadow groups that took out major campaigns on his behalf.

Saxby rained money down on this election to make sure he can take more money from lobbyists and do their will. Saxby stood on stage with Sarah Palin. And Sarah Palin stood on stage with Saxby. The 134 lobbyists that worked for Sarah Palin during the election were not on stage, but they were making sure she had some really nice suits, I bet.

But here's my quiet perspective.  He didn't really win. In this reddest of red states,  with all the star power they could muster - Saxby still lost more than 40 percent of the vote to a Democrat that had such a horribly underfunded campaign that in the early days of this election cycle he was literally being outspent by Saxby ten dollars to every one.

Jim Martin rocketed up to Saxby not because of blacks vs. whites, or straight ticket voting - Martin gained his 27 points because Jim Martin understands that Georgians want better healthcare - and Jim Martin actually opposed all the spending that Saxby rubber stamped. Jim gained leaps and bounds on Saxby and damn near almost threw him out of the senate because Saxby was and still is out of touch. Saxby "Mr. I don't know what a recession is" did what he promised to do. He went to the Senate to be a rubber stamp for George W. Bush. And despite his token opposition to immigration reform and a couple of other good photo opportunities, he made good on that promise. He went along with the president.

And Now, Saxby is going to be there to make sure the Senate has a paid vacation option they call the "filibuster" - and that the GOP that got us into all of this mess, can be around to block real reform. And they will. Belive that they will. Saxby will fight Obama tooth and nail. Because Obama doesn't mean lobbyist. And because the lobbyists don't have anyone else left now that the Bush republicans are almost all thrown out on their ears. So what have we really got? Well, lets see.. hmm...

Saxby is a good golfer. He's almost in the top ten best golfers of the Senate. Think he's almost a ten handicapper. And thats on some pretty good courses where the lobbyists just happen to show up on the golf course and pay the greens fees. 200.00 a round golf.

So at least , you know. Being here in Georgia. At least I've got that going for me.

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(cross-posted from DKos)

Jim Martin is a terrific candidate and it is thrilling that we have this second opportunity to replace the despicable Saxby Chambliss with a forthright, intelligent, experienced progressive. I'd like to encourage everyone who'd like to know more about Senator Chambliss' atrocious record to visit this site explaining his platform (www.saxby-chambliss.com). After you read up on Chambliss' voting record, refresh your memory of his campaign trickery with this video (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tKFYpd0q9 nE). And after your ire has been replenished, take advantage of this information on how you can help Jim Martin.

To start making calls now, visit: www.my.barackobama.com/call4martin

To organize a phonebank with paper call lists, sign up at: www.nationalfield.org/phonebank

Most importantly, Jim needs more volunteers on the ground. If you are interested in going to Georgia and joining Jim's team, email the campaign at: volunteer@martinvictory.com

Jim will need all the help he can get to push back against the distortions of his record that Chambliss and his Senate Repug pals are spouting on local ad buys and national media. Jim's campaign site is here (www.martinforsenate.com) and his ActBlue page is here (http://www.actblue.com/entity/fundraiser s/19359).
IF YOU ARE IN OR NEAR GEORGIA, please find some time to knock on doors, call voters, and get Obama and Martin supporters to the polls on December 2. Early voting begins this week, and I will update this diary with the most comprehensive link to this information that I can find. Of course, I welcome tips and helpful links in the comments.
This is our kind of candidate. Run-offs are usually low-turnout elections, and must be won on the ground. Let's prove one more time this year what the power of the netroots can do to change the shape and character of our government. Let's put Jim Martin in the Senate.

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One party Democratic rule is good, at least that is what a recent CNN poll states. With the Begich surge in AK and the recount about to start in MN we are close, very close to getting a filibuster proof congress. It may all come down to Georgia and the Senate race between our candidate Jim Martin and the `Shameless one' Saxby Chambliss. You may remember this despicable ad Shameless ran against Max Cleland a Vietnam veteran who left 3 limbs on the battlefield while Saxby claimed he had other things to do and got deferment after deferment to avoid service. Otherwise known as a Chickenhawk.

The metro Atlanta area inside the perimeter is a treasure trove of votes for Jim Martin, similar to the beltway in NoVa. But the real surge in votes is out in the suburb and exurb areas of Gwinnett and Cobb counties. In 2004 Kerry got 81k votes in Gwinnett while Obama received 128k this year. Cobb had a similar surge going from 103k votes in '04 to 141k votes this year. The best part...republican numbers stayed flat. Turning out almost the same numbers this year as in 2004.

How can you help? By making phone calls, sending contributions and considering heading down to Georgia for a couple of weekends to help us win this seat. We are in the process of setting up the phone banking system now for out of state help. If you email me sndeak [at] gmail.com,  I can get you in contact with the coordinator for this effort in our area.

Last night I dropped by our office to start getting things ready and found 5 volunteer field directors from Missouri in the office making calls to our Obama volunteers organizing a meeting for this Sunday. It was great to see the energy and commitment from people who have no ties to Georgia coming in to help. I understand more are on the way.

Having an army of callers from out of state allows us to focus on getting boots on the ground to canvass and make face-to-face contact. With a turnout of about 15% expected, it will all come down to the ground game.

One last thing....We have 2 partisan races in this statewide run-off. Jim Powell, a Navy veteran and 20 year Energy Department senior executive is running for the Public Service Commission. There are no Democrats currently on the commission. They are in the pockets of the big energy companies and we desperately need a consumer advocate on the PSC. Please consider showing Jim Powell some love while making phone calls.

I'll be dropping by from time to time to give you updates of how things are looking on the ground.

Thanks for any help you can provide.

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