Jim Webb's Very Bad Day
A very bad day indeed.
By Chad Dotson Posted in 2006 — Comments (22) / Email this page » / Leave a comment »
More on this ad in a moment....
I missed most of the fun today, as I had more important things to attend to (namely, I was in court all day), but you can't escape the fact that Virginia's Democratic candidate for US Senate, Jim Webb, had a very bad day on Thursday. If you haven't seen this WaPo story by now (buried in the Metro section, rather than on the front page, where the WaPo always finds room for negative stories about Allen), go check it out:
Cragg, 67, who lives in Fairfax County, said on Wednesday that Webb described taking drives through the black neighborhood of Watts, where he and members of his ROTC unit used racial epithets and pointed fake guns at blacks to scare them.
"They would hop into their cars, and would go down to Watts with these buddies of his," Cragg said Webb told him. "They would take the rifles down there. They would call them [epithets], point the rifles at them, pull the triggers and then drive off laughing. One night, some guys caught them and beat . . . them. And that was the end of that."
Read on...
Cragg said Webb told him the Watts story during a 1983 interview for a Vietnam veterans magazine. Cragg, who described himself as a Republican who would vote for Allen, did not include the story in his article. He provided a transcript of the interview, but the transcript does not contain the ROTC story. He said he still remembers the exchange vividly more than 20 years later.
Webb, who is in Texas for fundraising events, did not respond to repeated requests for comment.
In Texas? With just over a month until Election Day?
Anyway, this is the same type of crap that the Webbites have been slinging at George Allen for weeks. I expect the same breathless coverage of this allegation -- which, it must be said, is far worse than anything Allen has been accused of -- from the left, but I won't be holding my breath.
Mason Conservative has more, as does Two Conservatives.
But that's not all. On Jim Webb's very bad day, the ad you see above was released. Very powerful stuff. Check out Webb Against Women for more.
So, what was the Webb campaign's response to the ad? Typically disgraceful:
“[Webb spokeswoman Kristian Denny Todd said] These women need to re-examine their priorities.“
Looks like Webb is continuing a decades-long habit of attacking these women and what they stand for. Very classy.
Oh, and to top off Webb's very bad day...George Allen continues to lead in the polls, even after all the despicable smears that have been tossed his way.
Yes, a very bad day indeed.
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Jim Webb's Very Bad Day 22 Comments (0 topical, 22 editorial, 0 hidden) Post a comment »
Webb did attend USC and was on a ROTC scholarship. He must have graduated High School early.
This is prefaced with I do not want Webb to beat Allen. This campaign has been so bizarre. The racist taunting to me seems so out of character as Webb did have a distinguished time at Annapolis even serving as the Brigade Honor Chairman.
There was an incident with Webb being accused of exhibiting some anti semitism against his primary opponent.
Webb could very well have been at USC for 3 or more years (with ROTC scholarship)or even Graduated (with said schol)before going to the Academy. He may have been turned down several times or put on a waiting list before being accepted. ROTC or even enlisting does not prevent, and in many cases will actually aid, attending a Military Academy.
"Always be honest with yourself even if you are honest with no one else...
...It helps you keep track of your lies..."
--Myself
When did this campaign become a contest of "Can we actually discuss the pointless all the way up to election day?" We'll spend hours talking about Macaca and who rememembers what about what happened 20 years ago, but nary a word usefully spent on policy. Sigh.
When all else fails, simply revel in the absurdity of it all.
Allen's Policy. He has made his campaign promises and, in the past, has followed through on every one possible. He has a record that we know and that Virginians (even Northern Virginians) appreciate and support. Allen can afford to talk about the pointless as long as Webb wants to waste time doing so.
It is Webb that must prove his fitness for the position and how he would bebetter than Allen. Webb seems unwilling to even try. Just means that Allen doesn't have to work so hard this year.
"Always be honest with yourself even if you are honest with no one else...
...It helps you keep track of your lies..."
--Myself
If the WAPO buries it in the Metro Section?
It's as if Chuckie identified him, told him to run for Senate because he's a vet, and set him up to be humiliated. Yes, he ultimately did it to himself, but he's also a victim of the Democrats' desperation.
As Senator Robert Byrd (d)KKK demonstrates, racism is not a democrat issue. It only counts when Republicans are alleged to be racist, and then no proof is required, and hearsay is gospel.
Of course the WaPO is perfectly correct in noting that Webb is a racist in their Metro section and ignoring it in their editorial policy. Afterall, one cannot let facts, truth or ethics get in the way of a democrat and the votes he or she needs to take office. Heck, I bet the team from Washington state is even now in Virginia and elsewhere to teach dems how to register non-existant people to cast false-but-democrat ballots.
It only counts when Republicans are alleged to be racist, and then no proof is required, and hearsay is gospel.
The burden is on the Republican to prove it didn't happen. There is of course no way he can do this, therefore he's guilty.
It will be interesting if it brings any kind of a shift in the race.
The man identified in the Washington Post article as Webb's "friend" said, "I do not think Webb is a racist anymore than George Allen is."
I would agree with that statement. Now can we move on to some real issues in this campaign...
This whole race has descended into a mud-slinging battle because Webb wants to go negative. He's actually shown himself to be very disrespectful in many respects. For instance, he declines to honor Nancy Reagan's wishes regarding her late husband. Revelations that he disregarded women in a most chauvinistic way in the military is really the last straw.
While George Allen is a bit underwhelming, this guy doesn't belong anywhere near the US Senate.
Neither one of these guys are racist. That's absurd. They have both led public lives of achievement and if they were racist, they probably wouldn't have achieved what they have and the evidence of same would be days old, not decades old.
I am for Allen, but I like Webb's "Born Fighting" book.
http://devine-gamecock.townhall.com and www.race42008.com
"The trouble with our liberal friends is not that they're ignorant; it's just that they know so much that isn't so." - Ronald Reagan
Pretty devastating ad. It is nice to see Allen fighting back. I hope he stays on the offense and not defense the rest of the way.
he's giving us Scots-Irish-Americans a bad name. Last year it seemed like a good idea to get my mother Born Fighting as a gift but now it seems he really carries a lot of the worst prejudices of our forebears.
I watched this ad and have followed the story. It's sad to have to go this route, but it's clear that's what Jim Webb wants. They want to dig up George Allen's past, so let's have a look at Jim Webb's past.
This sounds far more incendiary than anything I've heard about Allen. If you want to be rough, you got to be tough!
Jim Webb is a lot of things, to be sure. And it looks like he may have some "Slick Willie" problems coming up...
Check out this blog:
http://vamdpoliticalmuddle.blogspot.com
The author says Webb was dating a midshipman while he was married and while he was teaching at the US Naval Academy. Real class guy, that Webb. Any ideas who the woman in question may be?
More bad days for Webb equals a George Allen victory!
LHLuke, I linked to the blog you mentioned, and I've got to tell you - that's just the tip of the iceberg!
In the mid 90's, Webb was pretty much harassing a Princeton (my alma mater, thank you very much!) grad student named Dorothy Tran. Dorothy was working in DC at the time for some Vietnam trade association. Though Dorothy would kill me for doing so, I'm going to comment about this on the blog you referenced. Webb is a total jerk and everyone needs to know it.
Why did Allen or at least his supporters wait so long to return slime? Dems likely will pull off the Virginia race in the next few days and start to dump more money into Tennessee and Missouri.
if Allen didn't make the Macaca commment--it was definitely a stupid mistake, and GOP Senators can't afford stupid mistakes this year.
Allen knew that the Indian man was a Democrat operative, saw that he had a video camera, and knew (or should have known) that anything he said could be used against him. Allen should have just called him a spy (which would have been factually accurate) and told everyone there to talk only about the issues, to avoid giving Democrats any ammunition. Instead, the Indian man with the camera baited his trap, and Allen fell into it.
So, instead of Allen sitting on a 10-point lead and discussing issues, he has to dig up dirt on Webb to save his seat. He's probably strong enough to win in a state like Virginia, and Webb is no angel, but Allen's "Trent Lott moment" probably cost him any chance at the Presidency in 2008.
The bad news: Conservatism is hard to sell. The good news is that it works.
LHLuke,According to an updated comment at
http://vamdpoliticalmuddle.blogspot.com
the name of the midshipman you referenced that Webb was dating while teaching at the Naval Academy is Melissa Harrington. As promised, I brought forth the Dorothy Tran story. Women, Democrat women in particular, need to know what a vile individual Jim Webb is!
Uh, there's a lot to ping Webb on. Webb as far as I know was never in the ROTC as he was a USNA grad. Let's be careful with this stuff.