Campaign Strategery

The Senate runoff in the great state of Jaw, I say Jawjuh, should be mighty entertaining. Seat-filler Saxby Chambliss' effort to keep his job promises to be a functional preview of the hobbled elephant's strategy next time around.

With the Senate race in Georgia headed for a run-off, Sen. Saxby Chambliss’ campaign has been in touch with a fleet of prominent Republicans -- including Sarah Palin, Mitt Romney, Mike Huckabee, Newt Gingrich, and Rudy Giuliani -- to have them campaign for the senator’s reelection over the next four weeks.

“We’re bringing in all the superstars,” said Michelle Grasso, the Chambliss campaign’s communications director. “We’re in the process of reaching out to everyone. And it’s not just us reaching out, people are contacting us to ask how they can be helpful.”

Yeah, I hear Joe (not really named Joe!) the Plumber (not really a plumber!) has offered to perform a benefit concert as well, but Chambliss' people aren't sure of the upside in watching Mr. Plumber fumble Toby Keith covers for half an hour.

But hey, look at what they're staking their immediate future on, whom they consider their stars right now -- Palin, Romney, Huckabee, Gingrich, Giuliani. The hapless Raiders have a deeper bench. Romney may have a future simply because he's loaded and the corporate wing likes him. Huckabee's amiable working-class populism is enough to sway some swing voters in the South, but they'd be swayed by a farm animal with a bell around its neck.

But the other three are done politically, though Palin has an outside chance of either poaching one of the Alaska senate seats or rehabilitating her image with a boudoir spread in Vanity Fair. They may pick up some coin on the wingnut rubber-chicken circuit, or the next Corner cruise. What fun that must be, to jostle for position with a bunch of blue-haired dowagers and ofay closet cases for a martini-side Newt lecture. All that and strip shuffleboard on the Lido deck. Where do I sign up?

One Republican operative with ties to Chambliss said that with the Democrats controlling at least 57 seats in the new Senate, any Republican who wants to be in the mix for 2012 will want to stop by Georgia.

“It’s the first move on the chessboard for 2012,” he said.

Romney spokesman Eric Fehrnstrom said the former Massachusetts governor is happy to help any way he can.

He even offered to let ol' Sax borrow some lucky magic underwear, except Chambliss goes commando even on the Senate floor. I doubt Chambliss has lost a wink of sleep over what he and his did to Max Cleland, but I would hope that Jim Martin and whoever he can bring down to Cooter's Gulch might mix it into the equation.

But overall, the GOP strategy is nothing more than stoking fear of a Democratic majority. Um, assholes, that's what people voted for. "Yeah I drove you into a ditch, and yeah that other guy can get you out, but fairness demands that you let me drive some more" is not a strategy, it's a cry for help.