To see the full Saxby Chambliss interview with Newsmax, go here now.
Republican Sen. Saxby Chambliss, who faces a runoff election against Democrat Jim Martin in Georgia, tells Newsmax that Senate Democrats will promote an “out-of-control left-wing agenda” if they gain a 60-vote, filibuster-proof majority.
And he says Martin is “locked at the hip” with President-elect Barack Obama on the issue of tax increases.
Asked by Newsmax’s Ashley Martella how important the Dec. 2 runoff is to the Republican Party, Chambliss answered:
“There’s no question that it is critical. Right now the Democrats have 57 seats in the Senate and we’ve got three elections outstanding, two of which we have basically no control over, Alaska and Minnesota. My race we do have some control [over] and if we allow the Democrats to get 60 votes, it’s going to be an out of control left-wing agenda that’s going to be presented, promoted and passed in the Senate as well as in the House.
“So it’s critically important that we have the 41 votes that we need to make sure that we can stop that left-wing agenda from being enacted into law.”
Martella pointed out that when Democrat Zell Miller was governor of Georgia in the 1990s, he proposed a $100 million tax cut in the state, and Martin — who served in the Georgia House of Representatives from 1983 to 2002 — was the first state legislator to oppose the cuts.
“My Democratic opponent has a long history during his years in the state house of supporting tax increases,” Chambliss responded. “He voted for the largest tax increase in the history of our state.
“And the $100 million that Zell referred to was actually surplus that Zell wanted to give back to the taxpayers, and what Zell said was that Jim Martin [was] the first one who piped up and said we’ve got other spending priorities we need to use that money for.
“So not only is he a person who doesn’t believe in returning taxpayer money to them, but he’s got a long history of supporting tax increases and he’s locked at the hip right now with Barack Obama on both those issues."
Chambliss continued: “When [Martin] was in the state house he was known as the most liberal member.
“While Jim may be a nice guy, his leanings are just so far left, just like President-elect Obama’s, and he’s not going to be an independent voice, whereas Saxby Chambliss has been a strong conservative for all my years in the House and the Senate.
“We represent the ideas of smaller government, lower taxes, more rights and freedoms for individuals. And he’s just the opposite. I don’t care whether it’s tax increases, or universal health care, second Amendment rights, the issue of drilling offshore which he‘s opposed to and I support.
“All those issues simply got lost with all the economic issues that surfaced at the end of the campaign. But it’s very clear that Jim Martin is going to promote the ideas of Barack Obama and he’s going to be right down the line with him, whereas we’re going to be a firewall with the 41st vote in the Senate.”
Asked if he has been concerned about possible voter fraud in Georgia, Chambliss said: “I’m sure there’s been some out there, but it’s not been to the extent that it’s been reported by the press. We didn’t hear of any major fraud instances.”
He also stressed that voter turnout will be the key in the runoff election: “No question about it — we have got to get our folks back to the polls. We know the Democrats are going to vote and our people simply have to.”
To see the full Saxby Chambliss interview with Newsmax, go here now.
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