Martin rallies dems

Democratic senatorial candidate Jim Martin appeared at a forum at GCSU on Oct. 23, only a day after his Republican opponent incumbent, Senator Saxby Chambliss, gave a speech in the same room. Martin, though he arrived 15 minutes late, started by giving a short speech, and then took questions from audience members on a variety of questions.
Martin criticized Senator Chambliss for engaging in negative attack ads, stating that he wanted an election based on issues. Martin defended his use of negative advertising, calling them “comparative ads” and labeling Chambliss’s ads “outrageous lies.”

He also spoke on economic issues, criticizing the approach taken by the Bush administration and particularly the $700 billion “bail-out” bill. Martin also called for the American people to “recognize that mistakes have been made.” He called the current economic crisis a sign of “the failure of top-down economics,” but praised Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke, saying the U.S. was “lucky to have him.”

Martin also urged comprehensive healthcare reform to make healthcare available to children and the employees of small businesses. He suggested that this might lead to a “renaissance” in small businesses, if they no longer had to pay for their employees’ insurance. Martin also dismissed Republican presidential candidate John McCain’s healthcare plan, calling it “silly.”

When asked? about education, Martin said that local school boards should have more control over education policy, but that the federal government should still play a role in education. He criticized current federal education policy by saying that the legislation currently in place is underfunded. Martin also criticized the current configuration of the No Child Left Behind Act, saying that it “assumes every school system fails for the same reasons.” Martin said that the role of the federal government in education policy should not be a punitive role.

Martin also fielded questions on abortion and gay marriage, which are issues that have caused much acrimony in the past. On abortion, Martin said that he was uncomfortable talking about women’s issues, but that his position has been consistently pro-choice, and that he has always supported exceptions for the mother’s health. When asked about gay marriage, Martin gave a relatively short answer, criticizing the military’s “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” policy.

Martin also criticized the lack of fiscal discipline in the government and the underfunding of federal obligations. He highlighted his role as head of the Department of Human Resources during a time of state budget cuts, claiming that he prioritized the department’s programs and cut some programs, while maintaining funding or even slightly increasing funding for several other programs.

Martin criticized the current immigration policy, calling it “a disaster.” He stated his support for “comprehensive immigration reform,” or immigration reform, that would include a path to citizenship for illegal immigrants already in the United States. Martin said that he favored giving companies access to tools to check the legality of employees.

Martin has faced an uphill battle in heavily Republican Georgia, although recent polls have shown the race narrowing to bring the two opponents nearly equal. Incumbent Senator Chambliss has heavily outraised Martin, although Martin claims to have raised more money than Chambliss in the third quarter.

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