Posted on 06/13/2006 10:25:44 PM PDT by ncountylee
For months, James Webb has dreaded the endless questions about his past support of Republican Sen. George Allen. But last night, after officially claiming the nomination to try to return that Virginia Senate seat to the Democratic Party, it was one of the first things Webb brought up.
"I supported George Allen six years ago because I thought he'd provide leadership," Webb told a cheering crowd in a Crystal City hotel. "I'm still waiting for the first concrete example."
With that, the man who cast his first vote for a Democratic presidential candidate only two years ago made it clear that, in the fall, he will try to turn to his advantage the positions and past alliances that dogged his primary campaign this spring.
He supported Allen and George W. Bush in 2000. He's proud of Ronald Reagan -- he was a prominent member of the administration -- and couldn't abide Jimmy Carter or Bill Clinton. He has questioned affirmative action and supports gun owners. But he also thinks that the war in Iraq was a mistake and that Congress is overwhelmed by special interests and doesn't do enough for the little guy. In all of these ways, he thinks he's like most Virginians.
His first appeal was to people like himself. "It's time to welcome home those Democrats who left for a time, the Reagan Democrats, the conservative Democrats, whatever labels we give them," Webb said. "It's time to welcome them home."
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtonpost.com ...
Front page effort to build name recognition for Webb in race against Allen. Lots more to follow from the Post, I'm sure.
Oops...Virginia.
Why am I calling to mind that "proverbial snowball in hell"? Give it up Mr. Webb. You don't have a chance.
I predict George Allen will get at least 53% of the vote.
He's right about one thing... Congress is overwhelmed by special interests, and most of those special interests pretend to represent the interests of the little guy.
Which is part of the problem. Somewhere, somehow - Congress got involved in the business of the little guy, rather than the business of running a country. A country that is made up of 50 distinctive, and supposedly sovereign states, and a few hopelessly entitled territories.
He lasted exactly one year as Secretary of the Navy under Reagan and makes that his claim to fame.
However, he didn't get his pro-abort politics from Ronald Reagan.
Allen's going to skate by this guy and move on to the White House in 2008.
Not in Howard Dean's Democratic Party.
No way. Romney runs rings around Allen as an intellect and an organizer. Romney is building a formidable machine. I predict he will be the guy to beat in the GOP.
I don't know anything about this guy--but I know that just listening to a list of his politics makes him dangerous in courting independents. It's also gonna be hard for Allen to argue that the GOP Congress is NOT sold out to special interests. Every Congress is.
I'd still prefer Allen to a Rat, even if I'm not sure I'd vote for him for President. Neither are trustworthy, but Rats are masters of the knife in the back.
The MSM said all the GOP candidates ran rings around Bush in 2000.
And I don't know how his religion will play in South Carolina.
Personally I think Romney and McCain split the more moderate votes between themselves and this leaves an opening for a more conservative candidate like Allen to grab the nomination.
That being said, Romney over McCain any day.
Romney is the only governor in a state in which gay marriage is legal. That is certainly not going to play well for his campaign.
Color me confused...
It's a "mitt." Every time I think of Gov. Romney, I always remember the Arby's Oven Mitt.
"Congress got involved in the business of the little guy"
Well, that's a brand new perspective to me. Here I thought the Senate, the White House, and a good part of the House were on some kind of outer space voyage.
The problem is mostly the Senate really. The House is supposed to try and represent their constituents, and the Senators are supposed to represent the state legislators.
Instead we have a bunch of Senators who are popularly and directly elected, meaning we now have two Congressional houses that purport to represent the little guy, instead of one House for the little guy, and one house for the States.
Correction: ... state legislatures.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.