Multimillionaire Sen. Tom Coburn [net worth between $1M and $4.6M] really has a lot of damned nerve talking about "government fat", since his own plan, released this week, would privatize student loans for 15 million college students -- you know, the very wasteful and expensive thing we successfully stopped last year? Instead, he wants to put it back in the greedy hands of campaign contributors - and even fewer students will get the loans they need.

"Sucking off the programs"? Look in a mirror, fat cat:

This week, the so-called Gang of Six — composed of Sens. Tom Coburn (R-OK), Saxby Chambliss (R-GA) [worth less than $446K], [multimillionaire] Mark Warner (D-VA) [net work between $65-284M], Dick Durbin (D-IL) [net worth $258,038 to $1,700,998], Mike Crapo (R-ID) [net worth -$245,427 to $988,566], and [millionaire] Kent Conrad (D-ND) [net worth $1,456,035 to $3,376,000] — released the outline of a plan that would reduce deficits by about $3.7 trillion over the next 10 years, with about $3 trillion of that coming from spending cuts. The plan closely mirrors that of the Bowles-Simpson fiscal commission.

The plan includes many odious measures, including changes to Social Security that would cut benefits by $1,300 per year. It would institute caps on discretionary spending through 2015, and lays out the amount by which individual agencies need to reduce their budgets (without identifying particular programs).

But according to Coburn, it doesn’t really matter which programs get cut, because, as he told Al-Jazeera English, it’s only people who are “sucking off the program” that are going to feel any change:

COBURN: The point is, where’s the efficiency in that? The actual service going to people isn’t going to decline, the people sucking off the program are going to be the ones that lose.

*All net worth information from OpenSecrets. As I've stated previously, we sometimes forget that the agendas of the very wealthy members of Congress may not intersect with our own.

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You can't go wrong doing the opposite of almost anything Sen. Saxby "Toy Soldier" Chambliss, the man who specializes in smearing real soldiers like Max Cleland, proposes. And Dianne Feinstein, the woman who's never met a war or black-box op she didn't like? Rep. Jim McGovern, on the other hand, is a rare voice of reason:

A roundtable discussion on Afghanistan strategy from This Week with George Stephanopoulous:

STEPHANOPOULOS:There's a report in Newsweek this morning -- it's actually on the cover of Newsweek, where the vice president is pointing out that this year we're going to spend about $65 billion in Afghanistan, about $2.25 billion in Pakistan. And according to the report in Newsweek, this is what the vice president went on to say in the National Security Council meeting: "By my calculations, that's a 30-to-1 ratio in favor of Afghanistan. So I have a question: Al Qaida is almost all in Pakistan, and Pakistan has nuclear weapons. And yet for every dollar we're spending in Pakistan, we're spending $30 in Afghanistan. Does that make strategic sense?"

What's the answer?

FEINSTEIN: Well, this whole situation is a bit of a conundrum. I basically agree with Senator Chambliss in what he said. I think reconciliation -- the first thing has to be to stop the violence. It has to be security. The Taliban has to know it cannot take over all of Afghanistan because the next step in Pakistan. And that's very serious.

And the Pakistanis are only recently beginning to show, I think, their mettle. I think Swat was a big wake-up call for them. I listened to the Pakistani foreign minister yesterday, and they -- they seemed to have much more get-up-and-go, to really be -- be able to work with us in securing some of the FATA areas and other -- other areas. So I think that -- that's really critical.

This is not an easy situation. Nothing is straightforward. Our allies have 39,000 troops. That's a lot of people over there. They, I gather, will continue their involvement on that level. I think we ought to press for them to increase it.

STEPHANOPOULOS: That's not going to happen.

FEINSTEIN: I think obviously -- I know it's not, but financially, we ought to have more financing from the rest of the world community. We cannot be everyone's gatekeeper, everyone's policeman, and I think what's lacking in the world is some universality of putting together movements which can change the dynamics in difficult situations.

STEPHANOPOULOS: General Keane, what do we do now in Pakistan? Three major attacks in the last week. Yesterday, the most brazen attack yet, the insurgents take over their army headquarters. It would be like coming in to the Pentagon. And how do you see the interrelationship between putting more troops in Afghanistan and putting more pressure on the situation in -- in Pakistan?

KEANE: Yes, the elephant in the room with Pakistan -- and, also, to a certain degree, with Afghanistan -- has always been, their lack of understanding that we're going to stay in that region. They -- they're not sure we are.

And -- and given our track record in Afghanistan and also in Pakistan, there's reason for that skepticism. That's why Musharraf and this regime to this day has a hedging strategy with the Taliban. We have to convince them that we're there, that Pakistan's stability is in our national interest. And we also have to prove that, as well, by stabilizing Afghanistan.

I agree with the senators. If we ever lost in Afghanistan, that contributes directly to destabilizing Pakistan. So our actions in Afghanistan relate clearly to Pakistan.

KEANE: The other thing, to get specifically to your point, we're starting to make some headway with Kiyani and the generals in Pakistan, to pull forces away from the Indian front, so to speak. We have great difficulty convincing them that the major threat to the nation-state is, in fact, the ranging insurgency inside the nation- state and not the external threat of India. To us, it's self-evident, but to them it's not.

STEPHANOPOULOS: It's not.

KEANE: And that's the reality of it.

STEPHANOPOULOS: We're just about out of time. I want to go once around the table with this question: What's the one thing you want President Obama to have in mind as he makes these decisions?

CHAMBLISS: Our troops and the stability of our troops and -- and the fact that we're giving our troops what they need. And I mean, from the top down, we've got to make a decision from the leadership standpoint whether we're giving more troops, but we've still got to make that commitment of making sure that we're enforcing and reinforcing them like we need to.

MCGOVERN: I would urge them to keep in mind that stabilizing Afghanistan should not mean and does not mean enlarging our military footprint there. I think it would be counterproductive.

I also think we're going bankrupt. We have wars in Iraq, in Afghanistan, hundreds of billions of dollars that are all going on to our credit card. Our kids and our grandkids are paying for this. You know, we need to be smarter about where we deploy our -- our resources. And I think enlarging our military footprint in Afghanistan would be a mistake.

We need to come up with a strategy that includes an exit strategy because it'll also put pressure on the government of Afghanistan to step up to the plate, which it has not done so far.

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Well, there goes Democrats' chances of getting 60 seats:

ATLANTA - Georgia Sen. Saxby Chambliss won re-election Tuesday in a runoff, dashing Democrats' hopes of capturing enough seats in the U.S. Senate to thwart Republican filibusters.

Chambliss' election to a second term gives the GOP a firewall against Democrats eager to flex their newfound political muscle in Washington. The monthlong runoff battle against Democrat Jim Martin captured the national limelight, drawing political luminaries from both parties to the state and flooding the airwaves with fresh attack ads.

Minnesota — where a recount is under way — now remains the only unresolved Senate contest in the country. With 92 percent of the recount completed, the Minneapolis Star Tribune’s tally had Republican Norm Coleman leading Democrat Al Franken by 340 votes, with nearly 6,000 ballots challenged.

The worst aspect of this is that Sarah Palin gets to claim some credit for the win. Sigh.

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Sarah Palin's out in Georgia today, ostensibly campaigning for the execrable Saxby Chambliss with her usual brand of right-wing populism that plays especially well in places like Gwinnett and Forsyth counties.

I say ostensibly, because who she's really campaigning for is Sarah Palin in 2012. These campaign stops are all about Palin positioning herself to become the leading figurehead of the Republican Party. Lotsa luck with that, of course. (You betcha!) [Wink]

But in the meantime, the fine folks back in Alaska are wondering what became of their governor. The Alaska Democratic Party's chairman, Patti Higgins, held a press conference a little earlier today raising that question. From their press release:

Palin has been back in Alaska at work for only a few days since running for vice president.

"Alaskans need our Governor here earning her salary and working on key problems facing Alaska families," said Alaska Democratic Party Chair Patti Higgins.

Alaska is facing significant challenges, Higgins said, including:

• Oil prices have dropped dramatically to about $45/bbl from the peak of $144/bbl in July, which threatens the state budget.
• Alaskans are paying some of the highest prices for gas in the nation, averaging $2.87 per gallon, while the national average is $1.91.
• The state's oil production continues to decline, due to falling prices and mature fields.
• The global credit crunch and falling natural gas prices threaten the Alaska gas line.
• The State is failing to meet its constitutional obligation to take care of public education as shown by the high drop out rates and the low graduation rates.
• Many Medicare patients cannot find doctors.
• There is continued flight from rural villages.
• Alaska faces the prospect of reduced federal dollars from Washington, D.C.

"Alaska's challenges are significant, and there is much that needs to be done right now. Our Governor should remember that her primary job is to work on behalf of the citizens of Alaska, not engage in partisan politics in other states," Higgins said. "Governing is more than creating photo ops. We'd like a commitment that the Governor is working, not just scheduling media appearances."

In a way, though, there's a certain symmetry about Palin gallivanting off to campaign for Chambliss. It makes clear she really doesn't give a rat's hindquarters about her actual constituents.

And as Senate Guru explains, neither does Saxby Chambliss. Two peas in a pod.

They really don't come much scummier than Freedom's Watch, the wretched excuses for human beings who smeared Democratic candidates this past campaign with lying robo-calls. The DCCC's anti-FW site has the goods on their deep GOP ties.

Supposedly they're about to go out of business. But evidently -- like the dying sting of a scorpion -- they're taking one last stab.

Now they're running truly vicious ads attacking Jim Martin, the Democratic challenger to Republican Sen. Saxby Chambliss of Georgia currently facing a runoff election:

Yesterday, the struggling Freedom’s Watch released an attack ad against Georgia’s Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Jim Martin, saying that he “failed to look out for Georgia’s families.” “First he actually helped block stiffer penalties for drunk drivers,” warns the voice in the ad, which echoes previous GOP ads. “And then, Martin voted against tougher sentences for domestic abuse.”

As it happens, Martin built much of his political reputation as an effective advocate for protecting children from criminals -- no doubt a product of having his then-8-year-old daughter kidnapped. So he made an ad responding to the Freedom's Watch ad by pointing this out. As you can see, it's incredibly effective.

Of course, this is all too reminiscent of the way Chambliss won in 2002 -- with Republican operatives assailing the patriotism of Max Cleland, a decorated war veteran who left limbs on the battlefield.

It may have worked in 2002. In 2008, though, the national mood is different. Recall what happened to Elizabeth Dole when she tried pulling similarly nasty tactics near the end of her campaign against Kay Hagan in North Carolina -- she was spanked by an even wider margin than polls had indicated.

Most people are tired of this nonsense -- they want serious people who will go to work to solve the nation's problems. Hopefully, the voters of Georgia will be thinking likewise.

Will he challenge Jim Martin to a duel also?

This happened after his speech at the 2004 Republican Convention, Zell Miller went ballistic and challenged Chris Matthews to a duel.

VetVoice:

The ad features Peter Granato, Iraq War Veteran. In the ad, Granato fires shots from an AK-47 through the kind of flak jacket troops were given early on in the war, and modern Body Armor, featuring (Stand Alone Protective Insert (SAPI) plates. The shots go through the older vest, but are stopped by the newer armor. Granato explains that Chambliss voted against funding to give American troops the newer armor.

Chambliss did so twice, voting against an amendment offered by Senator Christopher Dodd in 2003 (S.Amdt. 1817), which would have appropriated $300 million more for needed equipment for the troops, including proper Body Armor, to make up for a funding shortfall that did not meet the request of the US Army. He also voted against an amendment by Senator Mary Landrieu ( S.Amdt. 452) in the same year that would have appropriated $1 billion for equipment on a list of priorities from the Marines, also including Body Armor, as Landrieu made clear in her press release on the amendment at the time.

"Senator Chambliss should be held accountable for these votes, and troops and veterans are doing just that," said Jon Soltz, Iraq War Veteran and Chairman of VoteVets.org.

Chambliss, the man who smeared triple amputee Max Cleland to win his seat in 2002 is now locked in a really close race against Democrat Jim Martin -- in fact, the state of Georgia is now a swing state -- and with your help, his seat could be part of our filibuster-proof 60 seat Democratic majority.

You can help Jim Martin at Act Blue. Do it for Max.

CNN is the latest to jump on Obama's name. As Eric says: "It makes you wonder if the ad man for GOP Senator Saxby Chambliss — who unseated Max Cleland with ads linking him to the two — is working for CNN now."

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They also put him in a picture with Saddam as well.

CNN did include my Ed Rogers post about his slimy entry into the name game. (without credit of course) Meanwhile, Jeff Greenfield is playing the Fashon game with Obama:

Jeff Greenfield protests that his comparison of Barack Obama's fashion sense to that of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was just a joke.

Lamar Alexander
Robert Bennett
Christopher Bond
Jim Bunning
Conrad Burns
Saxby Chambliss
Thad Cochran
Kent Conrad-(Democrat)
John Cornyn
Michael Crapo
Michael Enzi
Chuck Grassley
Judd Gregg
Orrin Hatch
Trent Lott
Lisa Murkowski
Richard Shelby
John Sununu
Craig Thomas
George Voinovich

Find your Senators' phone number here, and call them:

What should we call this group? Give me some names. One Democrat, the rest Republicans. That's not surprising. The Party of the _ _ _ _ I'm reminded of a certain Clint Eastwood movie.

AmericaBlog says: That would be 27% of the Republican Senators who refused to oppose lynching, vs. 2% of the Democrats. Enough said.

Atrios says : Pro Lynching

Daily Kos says: Who didn't sign lynching bill?

The Carpetbagger says: Good news, bad news on the lynching apology.

Law Dork says: Dirty Dozen? (Or, uh, 21?)

Orcinus says: Failing in the present. It's an excellent read about the history of the non-anti-lynching bill

The Right wing is mostly silent on this so far today: Al Franken's speech from the Talker's Magazine Party was very popular.

Instapundit links to two others who say- the Supreme Court which owes the apology. And of course a note about Robert Byrd

Update-Kos is reporting that Kent Conrad added his name today to the anti-lynching resolution passed yesterday, making the holdouts an all-GOP cast.

Watch the end of this Saxby Chambliss commercial, and keep a close eye on Sexby's -- I mean Saxby's -- right hand at the end:

He totally goes all second-base on that pre-pubescent girl. And at the very end he looks down at, errrm, something. I don't want to speculate as to what the hell he's doing, but I challenge you not to be weirded out by the creepiness of it.

(Cross posted at BobCesca.com)