Chambliss Re-Elected: Basis for Republican Revival?
Significantly exceeding his performance from Nov. 4, Georgia Senator Saxby Chambliss has gained re-election to the Senate in a run-off election yesterday. The rise in Republican fortunes could not come at a better time for the party as it struggles to rebuild after devastating and sweeping defeats last month.
Chambliss’ re-election prevents Democrats from building a filibuster-proof majority of 60 seats in the Senate, even if Democrat Al Franken manages to scrape together enough newly-discovered ballots to win a recount in Minnesota or get the Democratic Senate leadership to overturn the Minnesota election day results. But more importantly than reaching the magic number of 41, Chambliss’ feat provides a pointer on how Republicans can begin to rebuild their party.
Chambliss’ election campaign for the last month focused on two major themes: preserving some modicum of check against Democratic Party hegemony in government, and restoring a focus on foundational Republican principles of fiscal conservatism. While a strong social conservative, Chambliss did not appear to highlight social issues during his election campaign. The result was a departure from the Republican playbook of the last eight years and a return to Reagan-era emphasis on economic issues that are more salient during these times of potential financial crisis. Chambliss thus offers Republicans a chance to position themselves as a genuine “loyal opposition” that can probe and question assumptions while the Obama administration moves to restructure the economy.
This is a very positive development that Republicans would do well to stick with for a while.
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