Saxby Chambliss: ‘I care more about the country than a 20-year-old anti-tax pledge’
As the nation began to shut down for Thanksgiving Day, U.S. Sen. Saxby Chambliss tackled that anti-tax increase pledge he once signed – the one pushed by Grover Norquist and Americans for Tax Reform. From 13WMAZ in Macon:
From the TV station’s website:
“I care more about my country than I do about a 20-year-old pledge,” Chambliss says. “If we do it his way then we’ll continue in debt, and I just have a disagreement with him about that.”
….Does Chambliss think Norquist will hold the anti-tax pledge against him during his next re-election bid in 2014? Yes.
“But I don’t worry about that because I care too much about my country. I care a lot more about it than I do Grover Norquist,” Chambliss says.
- By Jim Galloway, Political Insider
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151 comments Add your comment
Good job, Saxby
November 22nd, 2012
7:13 pm
Quite a reasonable response from Saxby Chambliss. Senators are generally smarter about this stuff than Congressmen. That’s because they only run once every six years.
Harry Dawg
November 22nd, 2012
7:21 pm
I’ve voted for Saxby every time he has run for US Senate and have voted republican my entire career. For a republican to say he will move closer to the middle with the President and do what it takes, whatever that is, to avoid the fiscal cliff, I’m all in. This isn’t democrat v republican. This is meet in the middle and figure this out before we and our grandchildren all go down in flames.
Liz
November 22nd, 2012
7:24 pm
Finally, we have someone that is brave enough to openly to stop the insanity!!! We have something to be really thankful for. Happy Thanksgiving, Senator Chambliss.
Democrat Man
November 22nd, 2012
7:48 pm
Let’s seize all of the money from the rich!
woodstock mimi
November 22nd, 2012
7:55 pm
joke on us:
Congress is NOT exempt from the ACA.
SEC. 1312 [42 U.S.C. 18032]. CONSUMER CHOICE.
(D) MEMBERS OF CONGRESS IN THE EXCHANGE.— (i) REQUIREMENT.—Notwithstanding any other provision of law, after the effective date of this sub- title, the only health plans that the Federal Government may make available to Members of Congress and congressional staff with respect to their service as a Member of Congress or congressional staff shall be health plans that are—
(I) created under this Act (or an amendment made by this Act); or
(II) offered through an Exchange established under this Act (or an amendment made by this Act).
(ii) DEFINITIONS.—In this section:
(I) MEMBER OF CONGRESS.—The term ‘‘Member of Congress’’ means any member of the House of Representatives or the Senate.
(II) CONGRESSIONAL STAFF.—The term ‘‘congressional staff’’ means all full-time and part-time employees employed by the official office of a Member of Congress, whether in Washington, DC or outside of Washington, DC.
CA
November 22nd, 2012
7:56 pm
Wow, I am someone who typically votes Democrat actually saying that I will very possibly vote for Saxby Chambliss. I always appreciate integrity over party politics.
John Carroll
November 22nd, 2012
8:12 pm
The Senator’s comments are the equivalent of saying “the world is not flat” As as cynical Democrat, I almost wish he would defend the Norquist mantra so the Dems could gain more popularity. Senator Chambliss is coming to realize that the republican party has been lead down a dead end street and MUST pivot to the center if they want to have a chance at regaining power.
RGB
November 22nd, 2012
8:29 pm
Raising tax rates retards economic growth and supresses tax revenues leading to more indebtedness. Even you cannot put a patriotic spin on that Shameless.
Adrianne
November 22nd, 2012
8:55 pm
Thanks, Senator Chambliss for thinking about the people who elected you, who you represent, instead of the plutocrat, Grover Norquist. Let’s remember why we’re in debt: two unfunded wars, spending by Bush administration, and low taxes for the rich.
JMH
November 22nd, 2012
9:00 pm
CA- your an idiot and you should continue to vote democratic. You would change your vote because he said he would possibly raise taxes; that’s what you consider integrity? As someone stated earlier we don’t have a tax problem we have a spending problem. It’s always easy to pawn the problem off on someone else; the so called rich. You and these other idiots are just jealous and want to punish someone who has worked hard and been successful. That’s not what this country is about!
Cherokee
November 22nd, 2012
9:08 pm
Sorry, RGB, no.
Raising tax rates in 1993 caused an economic boom. Cutting them in 2003 collapsed the economy.
Once again, reality has a liberal bias.
JMH
November 22nd, 2012
9:08 pm
Adrianne- what do you mean low taxes on the rich? How is the top 1% paying over 36% of all taxes not fair? How can the top 10% pay 90% of all taxes and the bottom 90% pay just 10% be not fair?
Bush may have spent too much but Obama has kicked the spending into overdrive. What was unemployment under Bush? When will you and the other democratic idiots stop blaming Bush and take responsibility for this moron you voted to run the country.
JMH
November 22nd, 2012
9:10 pm
Cherokee- actually the tax cuts in 2003 didn’t collapse the economy? Where did you get that from? MSNBC?
Cherokee
November 22nd, 2012
9:10 pm
And JMH, as one of the other idiots you talk about, you’re wrong too. I’m one of those who have worked hard and been successful. But unlike you, I guess, i love my country and I’m willing to pay a little bit more to make sure that we have roads and bridges and a prosperous middle class.
Cherokee
November 22nd, 2012
9:12 pm
Sigh…. Clinton created 22 million jobs. By the end of the Bush years, we had a net loss of jobs.
But I don’t imagine that Boortz or one of the Fox bimbos told you that, did they…
JMH
November 22nd, 2012
9:13 pm
Cherokee explain to me how taking more of what someone earns is going to incentivize them to spend more? I deal with small business owners and I can tell you that many are scared of all the new taxes coming there way. So what are they doing? Sitting on there hands! Not spending!
If the govt took more of what you made would you spend more? Bigger govt doesn’t equal better economy. Go back and take Econ 101.
seabeau
November 22nd, 2012
9:17 pm
Europe is full of Nanny States on the verge of financial collapse! If the US wants to avoid a similar fate more pols. need the sign the Norquist Tax Pledge not renounce it!
JMH
November 22nd, 2012
9:18 pm
Cherokee- how many net jobs did Obama create over the last 4 years? Last time I checked Clinton wasn’t the president. Maybe MSNBC did tell you that.
I love my country as well and I don’t see how paying more taxes would change that. We don’t have a tax problem we have a spending problem; that’s something else MSNBC probably didn’t tell you.
JMH
November 22nd, 2012
9:19 pm
Also, how does me paying more taxes make the middle class more prosperous? Explain that please.
Cobb Voter
November 22nd, 2012
9:51 pm
Did some democrat actually say “party before country”, “bozo”, and “rationality”? We don’t have a tax problem we have a spending problem. Raise taxes and kill jobs; and cut nothing. Makes perfect sense to me.
Ned Puddlman
November 22nd, 2012
10:05 pm
This is the same Saxby that voted for the banker bailouts in 2008 and had to get elected in a runoff because of it. Now he wants to raise taxes. Here is a prediction, if taxes are hiked it will do nothing to reduce the national debt because there is zero talk about reducing spending. In my mind before a single tax is raised, there needs to be a 3 to 1 ratio of spending cuts to tax increases. And EVERYONE needs to have their taxes raised so they feel the pain.
Paul Deemer
November 22nd, 2012
10:07 pm
If republicans break Grover Norquist’s pledge 2014 won’t matter. If we go off cliff 2014 won’t matter. Why? Because as soon as tax rates go up Norquist becomes useless to the rich who are funding his war chest. He will fall off the grid just like Romney, Rove and Trump already did. He knows his days are numbered and I can’t wait to see his fall from power.
Dum-Bass
November 22nd, 2012
10:29 pm
Saxby C is from the same vein of cloth as Christie of NJ. They are both RINOs and would kiss BO’s butt at the drop of a hat to get something they want. Saxby is also from Moultrie in South Ga, as I recall when he was on the city council there years ago. Problem is he has done absolutely nothing to help with the huge problem they have there in Colquitt Co. with illegal immigrants. It has one of the highest populations of them of any county in GA. In reading the Moultrie Observer almost daily one can see 3-5 instances of “no drivers license, DUI, reckless driving” etc on a weekly basis. He and others who could do something about it, like one of the county commissioners who is on the Immigration Review Board, will end up doing some reactively, rather than proactively, after someone’s loved one or close friend is killed. They may wait too late, it could be one of theirs.
Chuck Allison
November 22nd, 2012
10:55 pm
Taxes should be reduced and entitlements should be eliminated.
Christiane Hartley
November 22nd, 2012
11:17 pm
Senator, you give me hope. Thank you!
RT
November 22nd, 2012
11:49 pm
Saxby has my vote!! I like politicians that put our country first!
The Coming GOP Freak-out - Page 11
November 23rd, 2012
12:25 am
[...] a freak out, but definitely a significant shift…. and for this we can all be thankful. Saxby Chambliss: Reply With [...]
The AntiBoortz
November 23rd, 2012
12:33 am
Hooray for OUR team!
burntgrassroot
November 23rd, 2012
1:25 am
http://www.senate.gov/pagelayout/legislative/g_three_sections_with_teasers/lobbyingdisc.htm#lobbyingdisc=grt
http://www.treasurydirect.gov/govt/reports/pd/mspd/mspd.htm
I think more focus on arithmetic and less on accounting and economics would be helpful and objective. It’s true that 13% of $20M is more money than 35% of $250,000. But the Bush tax cuts have not stimulated the American economy. They have merely enriched the 1% of Americans (individuals and businesses) who have benefitted from the largesse. (Companies like Apple and GE pay no taxes, and American taxpayers subsidize the oil companies who have had record profits throughout the recession!) The real redistribution of wealth is, instead of paying taxes of $7M (35%) on $20M, tax cuts allow paying $2.6M (13%) which gives that 13% taxpayer more disposable income, which has been shown to NOT be used for job creation. The wealth accretion loop allows the heirs of people who started businesses to increase their wealth without the business model contributing to the American gross domestic product. So the public deficit is over $1T, and when tax cuts expire that’ll generate about $853B. $1T=$1000B-853B=$147B
It’s true that the top 1% paying a higher percentage for taxes will not incentivize the middle class workers to spend more. It will decrease the public deficit. The public debt is what we all owe, and the deficit is what we lack to pay the public debt. For example, if your credit card (public debt) is maxed out, you cannot spend more; the balance is what you’ve already spent. You only have two responsible choices: raise the limit (debt ceiling), or increase payments on the balance (reduce deficit by increased revenue such as taxes). Three poor choices are: 1) borrow money to pay on your credit card (e.g. loans from China), 2) use another credit card to pay on your first credit card (e.g. treasury securities backed by the full faith and credit of the US government), or 3) don’t pay your credit card (default).
alice
November 23rd, 2012
2:08 am
Did Saxby reject any printed or borrowed federal money for Georgia? Therefore he is a hypocrite.
Drive off cliff to begin to pay down deficit.
Read these articles: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/04/opinion/04burry.html?pagewanted=all
http://www.businessinsider.com/michael-burry-ucla-speech-us-economic-policy-2012-6
Our country must stop printing and borrowing and speinding money period.
Just Saying..
November 23rd, 2012
2:47 am
Saxby shows he’s a grown-up, Kyle runs a column on which Republican should oppose a two term senator in his own Party’s primary.
And there’s doubt why Republicans are the new Whigs?
JohnDB
November 23rd, 2012
3:03 am
Imagine, GA gives the country one of its few GOP budget realists, who’d have thunk it? When Karen Handel runs against him, I hope someone asks her about her record as GA Sec of State. Remember how she was the one who gave us voting machines with NO audit trail? In terms of statesmanship, Chambliss makes Handel look like Thomas Jefferson.
JohnDB
November 23rd, 2012
3:05 am
Handel makes Chambliss look like Thomas Jefferson.
aaa
November 23rd, 2012
3:18 am
Saxby reminds me a lot of Hannity. Hannity was anti immigration until the dems won and SUDDENLY 2 days later, he had an epiphany and realized that perhaps immigration reform wasn’t that bad. Saxby is seeing the writing on the wall and so now he’s suddenly for his country rather than politics. Where was he for the past 4 years when Obama tried to reach out and the repubs would have non of it? Going off topic, I don’t think any politician should be able to make a career of politics. Too many politicians spend their time and money trying to get elected rather than focusing on the issues. It would be great to have term limits on every branch of the government.
Former Vietnam medic
November 23rd, 2012
5:39 am
@ Cephas, 6:38 pm
” getting blown up by your own grenade while drinking beer does not qualify one as a war hero.”
You sniveling dirtbag, you don’t deserve to live in a world with men like Max Cleland, much less comment on him. For the record, here is how Cleland lost three limbs in Vietnam.
On April 8, with a month left in his tour, Cleland was ordered to set up a radio relay station on a nearby hill. A helicopter flew him and two soldiers to the treeless top of Hill 471, east of Khe Sanh. Cleland knew some of the soldiers camped there from Operation Pegasus. He told the pilot he was going to stay a while with friends.
When the helicopter landed, Cleland jumped out, followed by the two soldiers. They ducked beneath the rotors and turned to watch the liftoff. Cleland reached down to pick up a grenade he believed had popped off his flak jacket. It exploded, and the blast slammed him backward, shredding both his legs and one arm.
David Lloyd, a Marine in a nearby mortar bunker, rushed to the scene, took off his web belt and tied it around one of Cleland’s shredded legs. When the medics arrived, Lloyd left to help another injured soldier – one of the two who had gotten off the helicopter with Cleland.
Lloyd claims that the unnamed soldier was crying. ‘It was mine,’ he said, ‘it was my grenade.’
According to Lloyd, the private had failed to take the extra precaution that experienced soldiers did when they grabbed M-26 grenades from the ammo box: bend the pins, or tape them in place, so they couldn’t accidentally dislodge. This soldier had a flak jacket full of grenades with treacherously straight pins, Lloyd says. “He was a walking death trap.”
gregory
November 23rd, 2012
6:14 am
This guy would sell his grandkids out to whoever for a free game of golf, I think he collected somewheres in the area of 300 grand in free golf games from corp crooks and wallstreet. His games at sitting on the laps of corps cost 13 people their lives at the suger company when he relaxed the safety rules and the joint blew up. Pond scum all the way around, thats why the repucks are a lost, and soon to be gone crowd. Show us his net worth before office and now, I bet its a real eye opener, he is horse dung along with the rest of the repucks, to bad for them the internet came along and we have more outlets for the news than corp newspapers via the right wingnut vent guy and soft news ala 7 pm news about long lost pets and relatives and nothing about our bombing kids to steal natural resources in Aphganistin like lithium. .
DeborahinAthens
November 23rd, 2012
6:34 am
I was a Republican back when Saxby ran one of the nastiest campaigns ever against Max Cleland. Saxby, who avoided the draft made Cleleand, a Vietnam War hero, look like pond scum. The sad,sad thing is that it worked. It does seem that he is the only thing this state has that resembles a representative with a brain. I might consider voting for him if he doesn’t suddenly change his stripes again. You go Saxby!
DeborahinAthens
November 23rd, 2012
6:39 am
Former Vietnam Vet, I hate war. I marched against the Vietnam War. I hate the war in Iraq and Afghanistan. But any man or woman who was drafted, or (today) who volunteers, is a hero. I don’t care if he was drinking beer when some dummy screwed up with a grnade–the man was in a jungle far, far away that was filled with danger, and Saxby was playing golf.
DeborahinAthens
November 23rd, 2012
6:41 am
That last post was aimed at Cephus, I am agreeing with you, Vietnam Medic….I need my coffee.
Cherokee
November 23rd, 2012
6:43 am
Former Vietnam medic – thank you for your service – and for correcting Cephas’ . He sounds like a typical Republican – they love the troops, until one has the audacity to disagree with their politics. Then he’s pond scum…
Cherokee
November 23rd, 2012
6:53 am
JMH if you happen to come back, I am one of those small business owners. I’m willing to pay a little more, because I know that balancing the budget and securing the financial health of the middle class, will make my business thrive.
Putting more money into the pocket of Neal Boortz and the Koch Brothers, on the other hand, won’t do me any good at all.
Again, this isn’t rocket science – it worked during the Clinton years – we tried it your way during the Bush years, and it failed. And jobs? Since the depth of the recession, we’ve created about 4 and a half million jobs.
Facts just keep getting in the way of your argument, don’t they?
Former Vietnam medic
November 23rd, 2012
7:10 am
I got that, Deborah, no offense taken. Chickenhawks like Cehphus think war is like the movies, where the only casualties are from deliberate enemy action. In fact, the machinery of combat is an equal opportunity killer and the pressures and fog of war make even the most trivial action potentially lethal. Cehphus, besides being a liar, doesn’t know a hero from a war wimp, those who “supported” wars, but did everything in their power to avoid going. I’m talking to you, Ronald Reagan, GWB, Cheney, Chambliss, Romney, Grover Norquist, Rush Limbaugh, Roger Ailes, Bill O’Reily, Glenn Beck, Neal Bortz, John Wayne, etc.
btw, I treated a lot of men who had the kind of “band aid” wounds that the GOP mocked John Kerry for. Most of them took just a little debridement and a bandage. But some of those little pin pricks hit just the wrong spot and took a limb, an organ or a life.
Former Vietnam medic
November 23rd, 2012
7:15 am
Appreciate it, Cherokee. Full disclosure, I’m no hero, I was drafted, didn’t like the Army or the war, glad to get out with no consequence except survivor’s guilt.
Georgiavet
November 23rd, 2012
7:21 am
I’ve been a Georgia Republican longer than anyone else I know of, but it seems to me elected officials should have learned from Bush 41 that you can’t make a long-term pledge to solve short-term problems. I’d like to tell Grover Norquist where he can put his billions and will continue to support Saxby’s efforts to serve the Country, even after he was so surprised at boos he received at a Republican State convention as he was starting his campaign for the term ending soon. GO SAXBY – and Johnny will vote logically too.
JMH
November 23rd, 2012
7:22 am
Cherokee it’s easy to cherry pick numbers to suit your argument. The bottom line is raising taxes will not fix our problems. Giving examples of people making millions are year is far different that someone making 200 or 250k a year; that’s not rich in my book. It’s easy to push off solving problems onto someone else and make it their responsibility which is what this country has always done. Did you not see my stat above that 10% pay 90% of all taxes; how much more do you want to pay?
Why don’t you just send a little extra this year if it makes you feel better????
Chris Weyer
November 23rd, 2012
7:28 am
“Please proceed, Senator…” What part of “act of terror” does Senator Chambliss not understand? The President called the Benghazi attack an ACT OF TERROR. The terms “terrorist attack” and “act of terror” are synonymous. And yet here here we are, rehashing over and over again the wording of the talking points. Senator Chambliss isn’t interested in the truth. He’s interested in scoring political points, as is Senator McCain. Why aren’t they calling for “Watergate-style hearings” on Colin Powell’s and Condi Rice’s testimony leading up to the war in Iraq, e.g. all of the “mushroom cloud” nonsense?
Wide Awake
November 23rd, 2012
7:39 am
Saxby and the rest of our elected D.C. officials have created a monster. They can’t quit spending, so the solution to that is to raise our taxes in order to keep spending. Obviously, his position now points out that his word / oath are not good. He goes in the direction the wind is blowing. With his re-election coming up, he is attempting to get his name and face out in front of the public. How could anyone trust any of our elected politicians. They never keep their promises, their word is not good, and they attempt to make the voters who point these things out look like idiots. We could fiscally responsible officials running this country, and we don’t have many of them as it stands right now. They sell out to special interests at the first opportunity.
Willie1
November 23rd, 2012
7:40 am
Three things I would like to see have less influence.
1.Grover Norquist
2 Goldman Sacs
3.NRA
Flowery Branch
November 23rd, 2012
7:43 am
Chambliss for President. Tom Coburn for V.P.
JMH
November 23rd, 2012
7:48 am
Wide awake your exactly correct and it’s sad. The people we elected to represent us constantly let us down. Spending is our problem and these jokers don’t have the courage to fix it. I say do your damn job or get the hell out.