Posted on 02/08/2006 7:55:26 AM PST by SDGOP
Former Navy Secretary James H. Webb Jr. said yesterday that he will file papers this week to seek the Democratic nomination to run for the U.S. Senate this year.
Webb, who lives in Arlington County, would join Harris N. Miller, a Fairfax County computer executive, in seeking the party's nomination.
(Excerpt) Read more at timesdispatch.com ...
Ping list time.
Richmond ping for Senator Allen.
Corin will probably ping his full Senator Allen ping list later.
I suspect webb will be stronger than harris miller, question is will harris miller sit there and just roll over for him?
Though to be correct, i remember the polls from a few months back and allen has a huge lead over webb, the only dem who came close (like 56-43) was byrne.
I've said it here all along that Webb is a candy ass and now he is a traitor to the conservative cause.
I think it's a sure bet
Which is why the dems are mostly having vets run for office in this election
Election 2006
Virginia Senator
George Allen (R) 62%
Affleck (D) 20%
Other 8%
RasmussenReports.com
I hope this strategy flies in their face, it didnt work with kerry. It didnt work with cleland, the only reason hackett stood a chance is becuase he ran around pretending to be a republican. Webb is clearly against the iraq war. The democrats think the electorate is stupid, they automatically go oh goodness, he served in the military. I'll just ignore all his wacko positions and vote for him because of that.
I remember reading a blog post somewhere a while back about some girl talking about how webb approached her and her friend clintonista style, anyone know much about this?
In the past, there were quite a few former Reagan Administration alumni had respect for Webb -- despite his straying off the reservation.
Now that he has announced his intention to seek office as a Democrat....the fit will hit the sham. This is an affront to Reagan himself.
Im not aware of webb's past, what exactly did he do to 'stray off the reservation', besides the now obvious running as a democrat.
Isn't it "rich" how the democrats criticize President Bush for misleading the American people about Iraq, how the U.S. military is in a quagmire, how soldiers are killing women and children and NOW they hold up a veteran as a potential candidate????
Especially from that evil war vietnam. I wonder if John warner, being a vet and a navy sec himself will come out and start slamming Webb. What'll the dems say then? Last i checked , even though warner is a bit of a rino at times, he won relection with 83% of the vote.. dems didnt even bother to really challenge him.
Just a little background.
James Webb and Ollie North -- both who served in the Reagan Administration. There has a been a longstanding feud between the two of them dating all the way back to their days at the Naval Academy in the 1960s.
In 1967, North and Webb fought in a boxing match for the Bridge Championship (which is a big deal at the Naval Academy). Webb had been considered to be the better boxer but North won that fight on that day. Webb has held a grudge since that time.
During Iran Contra, Webb was the U.S. Secretary of the Navy. He issued various broadsides at North -- eventually forcing North to resign from the Marine Corps.
Fast forward to 1994. Oliver North ran for the U.S. Senate seat in Virginia against Chuck Robb. To the chagrin of many Republicans and former Reagan Administration officials, Webb endorsed Robb. The press had a field day with it.
In recent times, Webb has been a strong critic against the war in Iraq and to an extent on the war against terror. He does not favor an aggressive use of force in the Middle East. He has gone soft.
I have no idea where he stands on the broad array of issues. However, I sense that he is becoming a lot like Wes Clark -- a sellout on his earlier held beliefs.
"what did he do..."
Well the schlep ran a Kerry ad bashing Bush saying "Kerry has a plan" all along flashing images of Himself (Webb) with Reagan
He masquaraded as a "conservative" in the Reagan Admin fooling many back then well before being appointed SecNav. Nobody seemed to notice his liberal leanings, a shallowly veiled contempt for the Reaganites, and instead all were treated to his self aggrandizement on how much of a hero he was, echoes of Murtha and Kerry.
At the time, how could anyone accuse such a hero of being anything but a conservative? He fooled them and they were well placed and ranking people he took in.
He never was "on the reservation", simply a legend in his own mind.
When I would see the real Marines, humble heros for sure, I would wince at the sight of this pretender.
That is an irresponsible statement -- and just what the Democrats want us to say in order to marginalize us to the kook fringe.
Jim Webb is many things, but "candy ass" is not among them. Webb's combat record as a Marine infantry officer in Vietnam is unsurpassed, and speaks for itself. If you were to read his award citations, you would understand that. Had Jim Webb been killed on July 10, 1969 instead of only seriously wounded, his Navy Cross would have been a Medal of Honor.
As for your second allegation -- that Webb is a traitor to the Conservative cause -- well, that might well be true. We'll see where he stands on other key issues. I share your frustration, but let's make sure our statements are accurate and don't do more harm than good. Semper Fidelis...
WEBB, JAMES H., JR.
First Lieutenant, U.S. Marine Corps
Company D, 1st Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division
Date of Action: July 10, 1969
Citation:
The Navy Cross is presented to James H. Webb, Jr., First Lieutenant, U.S. Marine Corps, for extraordinary heroism while serving as a Platoon Commander with Company D, First Battalion, Fifth Marines, First Marine Division in connection with combat operations against the enemy in the Republic of Vietnam. On 10 July 1969, while participating in a company-sized search and destroy operation deep in hostile territory, First Lieutenant Webb's platoon discovered a well-camouflaged bunker complex which appeared to be unoccupied. Deploying his men into defensive positions, First Lieutenant Webb was advancing to the first bunker when three enemy soldiers armed with hand grenades jumped out. Reacting instantly, he grabbed the closest man and, brandishing his .45 caliber pistol at the others, apprehended all three of the soldiers. Accompanied by one of his men, he then approached the second bunker and called for the enemy to surrender. When the hostile soldiers failed to answer him and threw a grenade which detonated dangerously close to him, First Lieutenant Webb detonated a claymore mine in the bunker aperture, accounting for two enemy casualties and disclosing the entrance to a tunnel. Despite the smoke and debris from the explosion and the possibility of enemy soldiers hiding in the tunnel, he then conducted a thorough search which yielded several items of equipment and numerous documents containing valuable intelligence data. Continuing the assault, he approached a third bunker and was preparing to fire into it when the enemy threw another grenade. Observing the grenade land dangerously close to his companion, First Lieutenant Webb simultaneously fired his weapon at the enemy, pushed the Marine away from the grenade, and shielded him from the explosion with his own body. Although sustaining painful fragmentation wounds from the explosion, he managed to throw a grenade into the aperture and completely destroy the remaining bunker. By his courage, aggressive leadership, and selfless devotion to duty, First Lieutenant Webb upheld the highest traditions of the Marine Corps and of the United States Naval Service.
[End of Citation]
I strongly recommend that we stick to the issues with regard to Webb versus Allen. Regardless of what we think of Webb's present -- and most important -- actions, we would be fools to inpugn one of the finest combat records of the Vietnam War. The Left owns the gutter; let's stick to the facts.
As you probably gather, I hold high respect for Marines, was in a different branch myself. Nevertheless, I have worked hard and closely with good friends who were career Marines, and have remained friends for decades so am not making an idle comment. Those I knew who also witnessed the antics of Webb agree with me. It has happened before, war heroes who have turned liberal after tasting politics, and who build on their heroics. The ones I knew as I said, were humble. Webb was not. He wore the heroics as a badge demanding respect.
He did have a contempt for true conservatives as I said. Being a hero in the war does not give him license to excuse later actions in my opinion.
I strongly recommend that we stick to the issues with regard to Webb versus Allen. Regardless of what we think of Webb's present -- and most important -- actions, we would be fools to inpugn one of the finest combat records of the Vietnam War. The Left owns the gutter; let's stick to the facts.
Webb has been against real conservatives for a long time, twenty years, I recall. Those are the facts. The left will use his heroics as they have done with others. He will be too "sacred" to impugn. Were you to have seen what we have seen, I venture that you, as a Marine, would have agreed with us, too. I can just see it coming, a fine candidate like Allen and the left using their secret "hero" weapon to smash him down. They tried it with Murtha. It should be a lesson.
They will count on the reaction of decent conservative people like you reacted when the time comes to defeat Allen. I hope you keep this in mind.
Go one better.
let Oliver North tee off on him, Col. North would love to give some payback to this guy.
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