Saxby Chambliss (R-Ga.)

The Man from Moultrie

Chambliss married Julianne and moved to the small town of Moultrie, Ga., where she would teach third graders in the public schools for the next 30 years. He got a job selling men’s clothes and as a firefighter in nearby Thomasville, Ga.,Jennifer O’Shea, “10 Things You Didn’t Know About Saxby Chambliss,” U.S. News and World Report, Nov. 26, 2008. before opening a law practice and launching a political career as the couple raised their two children. 

Five student deferments and a football-induced knee injury kept Chambliss out of the Vietnam War, though his lack of service would later be turned against him politically when he supported the Iraq war.Krista Reese, “Saxby Chambliss: Prime Time Player,” Georgia Trend magazine, September 2003.

Chambliss concentrated on legal issues related to agriculture until 1992, when a group of Moultrie businessmen first approached him about the possibility of running for Congress.Jeff Emanuel, “Cleland calls Saxby ‘Chicken Hawk,’ says he ‘tricked people’ to get out of service in Vietnam,” PeachPundit.com, Nov. 3, 2008.

Julianne Chambliss was not enthusiastic about a possible career change. "I cried," she said. "I thought they'd lost their minds. I was so secure with life as it was, I couldn't imagine it turned upside down.”Krista Reese, “Saxby Chambliss: Prime Time Player,” Georgia Trend magazine, September 2003.

U.S. House

Julianne eventually agreed that her husband should run, but Chambliss was beaten in the 1992 Republican primary by a conservative who was ultimately defeated by incumbent Democratic Rep. Roy Rowland. Two years later, though, Rowland retired and Chambliss won a House seat in a rural Georgia district that hadn’t supported a Republican since the Civil War.Krista Reese, “Saxby Chambliss: Prime Time Player,” Georgia Trend magazine, September 2003.

It was 1994 and Republicans, led by another Georgia congressman, future House Speaker Newt Gingrich, steamrolled Democrats to seize control of Congress for the first time in 40 years. Gingrich gave Chambliss his pick of committee assignments and the freshman chose two that would have the greatest influence on Georgia’s twin economic engines: the House Agriculture and Armed Services committees.Krista Reese, “Saxby Chambliss: Prime Time Player,” Georgia Trend magazine, September 2003.

Chambliss would go on to serve four terms in the House and spend a great deal of time protecting Georgia’s military bases from closure and its defense industries, including Lockheed Martin’s F-22 assembly line, from Pentagon budget cutters. He also helped write two farm bills and broke with many of his Republican colleagues by supporting subsidies for all farmers, including large agribusinesses.

But it was the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001, that first propelled Chambliss into the national spotlight as a prominent voice on national security issues. As chairman of a House Intelligence subcommittee on terrorism and homeland security, Chambliss led one of the first investigations into the attacks and faulted U.S. intelligence agencies. Chambliss pushed the CIA to increase its use of human intelligence gathering, but failed in an attempt to create a new intelligence oversight position at the Pentagon.

Chambliss ignited a furor among Muslims and Arab- Americans in November 2001, when during a speech to firefighters and police officials in Valdosta, Ga., Chambliss joked that national security could be enhanced if the county’s sheriff were allowed to “arrest every Muslim that crosses the state line.” There were calls to remove Chambliss as head of the terrorism subcommittee,Susan Percy, “Georgian Of The Year: Saxby Chambliss,” Georgia Trend magazine, January 2009.and Chambliss eventually apologized.

2002 Senate Race Controversy

In 2001, Georgia Democrats redrew the lines of the Macon-based congressional district Chambliss had represented eight years, forcing him into the district of another Republican veteran, Rep. Jack Kingston of Savannah. Rather than run against Kingston, however, Chambliss opted to seek incumbent Max Cleland’s (D) Senate seat. He ultimately defeated Cleland in a campaign Democrats would complain for the next six years was the nastiest they’d ever seen – and for which they would incessantly attack Chambliss.

For years, Democrats have skewered Chambliss for a television advertisement he ran late in the 2002 campaign that featured a photograph of Cleland, a Vietnam veteran who lost three limbs in the war, along with photos of Osama bin Laden and former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein. Critics charged that Chambliss, who avoided service in Vietnam with five student deferments and a knee injury he got playing football, was questioning Cleland’s patriotism.“Sikh Community Nationwide Responds to Representative Saxby Chambliss Bigoted Comments,” Exodus Online, Dec. 23, 2001.

At first, even Republicans expressed astonishment over Chambliss’ ad. Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz), a former Vietnam POW, called it “worse than disgraceful,” and “reprehensible.”Tom Robbins, "The Sunshine Patriots", Village Voice, August 17, 2004 Sen. Chuck Hagel, (R-Neb.), another Vietnam veteran, said the ad was “beyond offensive to me.”Larry Copeland, “McCain returns to campaign trail,” USA Today, Nov. 13, 2008.

But Chambliss defended the ad, saying it questioned Cleland’s judgment on national security matters, such as his opposition to President Bush’s plans for a Department of Homeland Security, not his patriotism. And while national Democrats continued to mention Chambliss and the ad in fundraising letters six years after the fact,James Boyce, “Saxby Chambliss Seeks Deferment From Runoff – Cites ‘Bum Knee,’” VetVoice.com, Nov. 11, 2008.it never reverberated with the same intensity among Georgia voters who knew Chambliss best.

U.S. Senate

Georgia Democrats tried to derail Chambliss’ political career by redrawing his congressional district in a way that lumped him into a district with Kingston, but it was a move they would regret. With his district gone, Chambliss opted to run for the Senate in 2002 instead, and it cost Democrats a Senate seat they haven’t regained.

In the Senate, Chambliss remained focused on agriculture and the military, and in January 2005, just two years into his freshman term, he was named chairman of the Senate Agriculture Committee, a position that made him a prominent player on farm subsidies and immigration reform, among other issues.

The chairmanship also put Chambliss in an awkward family situation. His son, Bo, is a registered lobbyist for the Chicago Mercantile Exchange and lobbies Congress on futures trading issues that are under the jurisdiction of his father’s committee. Chambliss’ office said it enacted a policy that prevents Bo from lobbying his dad or his dad’s staff.Andy Barr, “Cleland ad causes trouble for Chambliss,” Politico, Nov. 12, 2008.
Danielle Knight, “Democrats target Georgia’s Chambliss over son’s lobbying,” U.S. News and World Report, March 7, 2006.

Chambliss was a strong ally of President George W. Bush in the Senate, but he bucked the White House on farm subsidies and immigration reform. When Republicans tried to eliminate subsidies to the wealthiest farmers, those earning $750,000 a year or more, Chambliss opposed them.Dan Chapman, “Allies in the Fight: Subsidies Sow a Farming Divide,” Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Oct. 6, 2006. And when Bush pushed for comprehensive immigration reform, including the possibility of giving current illegal immigrants living in America a path to citizenship, Chambliss again balked. Chambliss supported making legal immigrant labor available to farmers, but called for tougher enforcement of the U.S.-Mexico border and denounced Bush’s citizenship plan as “amnesty” for illegal immigrants.Press Release, “Isakson, Chambliss Praise Senate’s Rejection of Amnesty Provision in Emergency War Supplemental Bill,” Sen. Saxby Chambliss’ office, May 21, 2008.

Favor for Campaign Contributor

In 2003, Chambliss was embarrassed when a New York Times magazine reporter overheard a phone call he made to then-Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-Tenn.) asking him to help a campaign donor become ambassador to an economic development organization. Though the article didn’t mention Chambliss by name, he was easy to identify.David Grann, “The Price of Power,” New York Times magazine, May 11, 2003.

“I don't even know what the hell it is, but he wants it,” Chambliss said during the call.

“He has lots of dollar figures down there?” Frist asks.

“That's exactly right,” Chambliss said. “And he did raise a chunk of money for me.”

“All right,” Frist said. “You're a good man.”David Grann, “The Price of Power,” New York Times magazine, May 11, 2003.

Despite Frist’s support, Chambliss’ campaign contributor didn’t get the job. The episode had no lasting impact on Chambliss’ political career.

Imperial Sugar

Two agribusiness disasters in Georgia in 2008 have put Chambliss, a pro-business conservative, in politically precarious positions. Chambliss was  forced to respond to a subpoena just days before the 2008 election from a lawyer representing families who lost loved ones in an explosion at a Georgia sugar refinery.Larry Peterson, “Chambliss subpoenaed in Imperial Sugar case,” Savannah (Ga.) Morning News, Oct. 24, 2008.

The subpoena came from Savannah attorney Mark Tate, a self-described “partisan Democrat,” who represented some of the families who lost loved ones in an explosion at the Imperial Sugar refinery in Savannah, Ga., on Feb. 27, 2008. Fourteen people were killed in the explosion and about 40 others were injured. Tate said he wants to question Chambliss about whether Imperial Sugar had asked the senator to help the company avoid blame for the explosion. Chambliss maintains that as a senator he has immunity and can not be compelled to testify in the case.Russ Bynum, “Chambliss challenges explosion subpoena,” Associated Press/Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Nov. 18, 2008.

When the Senate convened a hearing on the Imperial Sugar explosion, Chambliss was accused of badgering the whistle-blower who told federal authorities that he had warned plant management for some time about safety hazards that could cause an explosion. Twice during the hearing, Chambliss  questioned the sincerity of the whistle-blower.Larry Peterson, “Chambliss in sugar furor,” Savannah (Ga.) Morning News, July 31, 2008.

Chambliss’ comments created a backlash of charges that he was only trying to protect the plant’s owners.  Democrats used the incident in a television ad against Chambliss in the 2008 campaign. The ad ended with the question: “What are you trying to hide?”Jim Galloway, “Chambliss grills a sugar official, and is grilled in return,” Atlanta Journal-Constitution, July 31, 2008.
Jim Galloway, “Sugar executive defends Chambliss,” Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Nov. 20, 2008.

Chambliss shot back, denouncing the media’s “political cynicism” in reporting on the hearing. Chambliss said Imperial Sugar, which was fined nearly $9 million for work-place violations, “adhered to everyone of (the whistleblower’s) recommendations… so I wanted to know why he had not proposed to management to shut down the facility and make it safe.”Saxby Chambliss, “Chambliss: Tough Questions Regarding Imperial Sugar Tragedy were Necessary,” Savannah (Ga.) Morning News, Aug. 4, 2008.

Peanut Corporation of America

Chambliss is under critical scrutiny again after a salmonella outbreak that sickened more than 500 people in 44 states and was linked to at least eight deaths traced back to a Peanut Corporation of America plant in Blakely, Ga. Federal authorities say the company shipped its peanut products even though test results showed salmonella contamination. About 1,550 peanut products have been recalled and PCA has filed for bankruptcy.Brian Hartman and Kate Barrett, “How Could it Happen? Salmonella Timeline,” ABC News, Feb. 10, 2009.

Chambliss, now the top Republican on the Senate Agriculture Committee, was criticized for laying much of the blame for the outbreak on federal regulators rather than company officials even as Democrats on the committee were calling for criminal charges against PCA executives.Perry B. Goodfriend, “Chambliss says government, not peanut industry, the problem,” D.C. Examiner, Feb. 9, 2009.

Chambliss later said he, too, believed anyone who knowingly shipped contaminated peanuts “should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.”Dan Chapman, Jeffry Scott, Craig Schneider, “Insurer sues to limit peanut firm’s policy,” Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Feb. 5, 2009.

Fair Tax

Chambliss is the leading Senate sponsor of legislation that would abolish the federal income tax and the Internal Revenue Service and replace it with a national sales tax. The so-called “fair tax” enjoys such widespread support in Georgia that Chambliss’ Democratic opponent in  2008 publicly distanced himself from a television ad by national Democrats criticizing the Fair Tax.Jim Tharpe, “Martin backs off Fair Tax attack ad,” Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Oct. 19, 2008.

The fair tax has yet to win a hearing on Capitol Hill. Opponents call the tax unworkable, contending that the sales tax would be much higher than the 23 percent rate supporters say would suffice.Jim Tharpe, “Huckabee stumps for Fair Tax, Chambliss,” Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Nov. 16, 2008.It seems unlikely to get a hearing while Obama is in the White House and Democrats control Congress.

TARP/Economic Stimulus

In fall 2008, Chambliss supported Bush’s proposed $700 billion bailout for Wall Street and to allow the administration to spend the first half of the money, saying “If we had not passed that bill, I hate to think of the shape we’d be in today.”  But when President Obama sought the second half of the money, Chambliss opposed releasing it, saying that the bailout program was not doing enough to help smaller community banks.Blake Aued, “Chambliss: Fix housing market first,” Athens (Ga.) Banner-Herald, Feb. 16, 2009.

Chambliss joined with the majority of Senate Republicans in voting against Obama’s $800 billion economic stimulus bill in February 2009, deriding it as pork-barrel spending. “The majority in Congress has been in runaway mode when it comes to spending taxpayer dollars,” he said. “This legislation is yet another sign that Washington is more concerned with pet projects than with the welfare of taxpayers.”“Georgia Senators vote against stimulus bill,” Atlanta Business Chronicle, Feb. 10, 2009.

Health Care Reform

National Defense

Chambliss was a consistent supporter of George W. Bush’s management of the Iraq war. When no weapons of mass destruction were found, Chambliss laid the blame on U.S. intelligence agencies rather than the administration.“Saxby Chambliss on War & Peace,” OnTheIssues.org.

The Georgia Republican is also an aggressive champion of the Georgia-based F-22 fighter jet program that the Obama administration and Defense Secretary Robert Gates want to halt. Tiron, Roxana, The Hill, "Fighter Jet Program Fuels Tension Between GOP Sens," July 6, 2009