PeachCare vote continues to dog Chambliss

More and more, Georgia Sen. Saxby Chambliss is having to defend his vote against re-authorizing the State Children's Health Insurance Program or S-CHIP for short.

In recent days, Sen. Chambliss posted a video on YouTube explaining why he cast a "no" vote against the bill:



And today, the Moultrie Observer is reporting that Chambliss is reacting to an article ran in their paper on October 5th that characterized his vote as a "fight against expansion of PeachCare."

The staff of Sen. Saxby Chambliss’ office called The Observer Thursday to set the record straight regarding a front page headline that appeared in last Friday’s newspaper.

In the Associated Press article, Chambliss’ opponent criticized him for voting against a $35 billion expansion of the State Children’s Health Insurance Program, an umbrella program that includes Georgia’s PeachCare. The subhead read "Moultrie senator fights expansion of PeachCare."

"Senator Chambliss has never opposed nor fought against an expansion of PeachCare, the program funded through the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP)," a press release from Chambliss’ office said. [Source: 10/12/2007 Moultrie Observer article "Chambliss reacts to PeachCare allegation"]

Interestingly enough, while Sen. Chambliss may not have actually "fought" against expanding PeachCare and its parent program S-CHIP, he did vote against the bill that was ultimately vetoed by President Bush. As many Georgians continue to question the Chambliss vote against S-CHIP, I'm reminded of what he said to a meeting of the Carrolton Rotary Club in August:

"...from what I’ve heard today I’m beginning to understand it - the number one concern for Georgians, according to this poll, is health care."