Two-term U.S. Sen. Saxby Chambliss seems like the kind of lawmaker most American voters say they want: A politician willing to put partisanship and even principle aside for the greater good of the country.
In 2011 as part of the "Gang of Six," Chambliss showed a willingness to compromise on his conservative principles to help broker a bipartisan deal on the U.S. government's debt ceiling, with the plan calling for spending cuts and tax code reform. Tea Party activists and other leaders in Georgia's Republican Party base have criticized him ever since, and he was certain to face a stiff primary election challenge from the right in 2014.
In Friday's announcement about his plan to retire, Chambliss took some well-aimed parting shots at Congress:
“I have no doubt that had I decided to be a candidate, I would have won re-election. In these difficult political times, I am fortunate to have actually broadened my support around the state and the nation due to the stances I have taken.
“Instead, this is about frustration, both at a lack of leadership from the White House and at the dearth of meaningful action from Congress, especially on issues that are the foundation of our nation’s economic health. The debt-ceiling debacle of 2011 and the recent fiscal-cliff vote showed Congress at its worst and, sadly, I don’t see the legislative gridlock and partisan posturing improving anytime soon. For our nation to be strong, for our country to prosper, we cannot continue to play politics with the American economy.”
Chambliss sounds a lot like former U.S. Sen. Olympia Snowe, R-Maine, who wrote a March 2012 opinion piece in The Washington Post explaining her reasons for retiring from politics:
"I have spoken on the floor of the Senate for years about the dysfunction and political polarization in the institution. Simply put, the Senate is not living up to what the Founding Fathers envisioned. ...
"The Senate of today routinely jettisons regular order, as evidenced by the body’s failure to pass a budget for more than 1,000 days; serially legislates by political brinkmanship, as demonstrated by the debt-ceiling debacle of August (2011) that should have been addressed the previous January; and habitually eschews full debate and an open amendment process in favor of competing, up-or-down, take-it-or-leave-it proposals. ...
"One difficulty in making the Senate work the way it was intended is that America’s electorate is increasingly divided into red and blue states, with lawmakers representing just one color or the other. Before the 1994 election, 34 senators came from states that voted for a presidential nominee of the opposing party. That number has dropped to just 25 senators in 2012. The result is that there is no practical incentive for 75 percent of the senators to work across party lines.
"The great challenge is to create a system that gives our elected officials reasons to look past their differences and find common ground if their initial party positions fail to garner sufficient support. In a politically diverse nation, only by finding that common ground can we achieve results for the common good. That is not happening today and, frankly, I do not see it happening in the near future."
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