Saxby Chambliss to Retire

Saxby Chambliss has announced that he is going to retire from office.  At 69, he would be unusual to do so—there have been many congressmen and senators that nobody could seem to get rid of until they kicked the bucket.Kyle Trygstad of Roll Call writes:

In a statement, Chambliss denied that his decision had anything to do with the likelihood that he would draw a challenger from the right in 2014. Instead, he insisted that the partisan gridlock in Congress, particularly surrounding fiscal issues, was the reason for his retirement. Chambliss has been a key member of the bipartisan “gang of six,” which sought to forge a bipartisan solution to the nation’s debt and deficit problems.

Why is this important, you ask?  Because of this:

Some of the top prospects in the GOP primary were already considered potential Chambliss opponents: Reps. Tom Price, Paul Broun and Tom Graves. GOP Rep. Phil Gingrey, who has a substantial war chest but earlier said he would not challenge Chambliss, could also run.

Most of the names I do not recognize, but one leaped right off the page at me.  Paul Broun, if you will recall, said some alarming things a few months back:

Georgia Rep. Paul Broun said in videotaped remarks that evolution, embryology and the Big Bang theory are "lies straight from the pit of hell" meant to convince people that they do not need a savior.

The Republican lawmaker made those comments during a speech Sept. 27 at a sportsman's banquet at Liberty Baptist Church in Hartwell. Broun, a medical doctor, is running for re-election in November unopposed by Democrats.

"God's word is true," Broun said, according to a video posted on the church's website. "I've come to understand that. All that stuff I was taught about evolution and embryology and Big Bang theory, all that is lies straight from the pit of hell. And it's lies to try to keep me and all the folks who are taught that from understanding that they need a savior."

Broun also said that he believes the Earth is about 9,000 years old and that it was made in six days. Those beliefs are held by fundamentalist Christians who believe the creation accounts in the Bible to be literally true.

We do not need yet another scientifically illiterate GOP senator in office. It would be very bad news for Georgia science if this man were elected to Chambliss' seat. This is especially true since he has a post on the House Committee on Science, Space and Technology.  I do not know anything about the other candidates.  I do know that they can't possibly be this bad.