Daily Whackjob

Just now on Meet The Press, Jim Webb took it to Lindsey Graham for the tired old line that the troops support the Republican president’s failed war policy. Instead, Webb says, they love their country and do not appreciate politicians twisting their dedication into an endorsement of the failed Iraq war.

I’ll post a link to the video when it’s available.

Update: As promised, here’s the video.

I received the following comment on this post about Jim Webb’s Post-9/11 Veterans Educational Assistance Act. I think it speaks for itself and it speaks for Jim Webb.

I am a veteran that is retiring from the military after 23 years in. I have served in Iraq and Afghanistan and I would still stay in to serve my country if it were not for High Year Tenure limits that say that I can not serve past 24 years. I also came into the military at a time when there was no GI bill and I have no resource to continue education after I leave next month. This bill would help me with my goal to continue to serve the community as a teacher in urban Philadelphia. This bill will increase morale, retention and recruiting in the military, and I am happy to support Senator Webb and any other politician that realizes and supports the far reaching effects that this bill will improve in our society.

Please contact your Senator and ask them to pass S. 22, the Webb Post-9/11 Veterans Educational Assistance Act. We owe this to our Veterans.

Allen in the Senate and Wolf in the House have put forward a destructive piece of pork called the “Journey Through Hallowed Ground National Heritage Area Act,” which on its surface is just pork to dump money in the state for a so called corridor of protected historical area.

Since Republicans are supposed to stand for property rights, I find it hard to believe that the Rhinestone Cowboy and Grandpa Wolf would put forward a bill that would so blatantly take away the rights of property owners along this corridor.

From Human Events Online:

The Allen-Wolf initiative seems harmless at first glance, save for the wasteful spending. It appears to only divert federal dollars to a local special-interest group for the stated purpose of promoting heritage tourism, thereby allowing politicians like Allen and Wolf to boast about the project in their stump speeches.

If only it were that simple.

For those who may be unfamilar with them, national heritage areas are federally-designated, heavily-regulated land areas over which special interest groups and federal employees are given special powers and federal resources to help them steer land-use decisions. Property rights frequently are curtailed.

Allen’s bill, which would create a new national heritage area covering large parts of Pennsylvania, Maryland and Virginia, would create a “management entity” for the region comprised of federal employees and preservationist interest groups—many of the latter having a history of anti-property rights agendas. This new management entity would be required to create an “inventory” of all property to be “preserved,” “managed,” or “acquired.” The new management entity would be granted the authority to disburse federal funds to encourage restrictions on local land use and the acquisition of private property.

The article uses an example about Yuma Crossing Heritage Area in Arizona:

When the Yuma Crossing Heritage Area was authorized in 2000, the public in Yuma County did not understand the scope of the project and was surprised by the size of the designation… Concerns were raised by citizens about the size of the designation and the potential for additional Federal oversight. The fear of adverse impacts on private property rights were realized when local government agencies began to use the immense heritage area boundary to determine zoning restrictions.

So, for you who live along 15 in Virginia/Maryland/Pennsylvania, good luck with that. Or you might think about voting for Judy Feder or Jim Webb.

Over at Raising Kaine, Lowell has broken the story that several Miller endorsements are actually working for Jim Webb behind the scenes:

In addition, I would point out that I personally know of several Miller “endorsers” who did so very early on, before Webb was in the race, and are now de facto backing Webb. In at least one case, this has been a HUGE help to Webb, as it’s one of the most prominent people on Miller’s list of “endorsers.” In contrast, I am not aware of anyone who has backed off from their endorsement of Jim Webb. Interesting, eh?

This is awesome news. I wonder when it will be made public officially. Way to go, Lowell.

Update:

What’s your guess for the endorsers that switched? Since Lowell says one is really influential, I’m going with Jim Moran, Don Beyer, and Janet Howell. Anyone else got a good guess? I wonder if NLS will have the answer.

Update 2:

Teacherken at RK knows of two, and also knows that some people close to an endorser are supporting Webb:

but I know of at least two and in one case people close to the public official are actively working on behalf of Webb with the knowledge and blessing of the public official.  I doubt that Lowell can say more, although I’d be delighted if he could. I know of no PUBLIC switches by endorsers.

Reading the WAPO article this morning on Miller (hat tip to the boys over at RK), I started wondering about a part in the article:

“Taxes. We gotta cut ‘em, but we gotta make sure that we cut ‘em in a way that we can pay for them,” Miller told Virginia Beach resident Virgil Kilpatrick at the Norfolk AFR’AM Festival last month.

“So you’re all about changing the tax system?” Kilpatrick asked.

“Absolutely. I’m a business guy,” Miller said. “I’m all about doing things in a businesslike way.”

One of Miller’s biggest negatives is that he’s a lobbyist, and with MZM/Abramhoff, that’s a dirty word. What I want to question is the idea of running government like a business. I don’t think that’s a bad idea. I’ve said many times that if you ran a business like the US Government, you wouldn’t last very long.

No one likes taxes; the Republican party would have you believe that the Democratic party drinks the blood of the innocent in order to raise taxes. I don’t like the idea of higher taxes to pay for a war, but I like even less the idea of cutting taxes and still paying for a war. The pay as you go program was a great plan, which Miller brought up at the Flag Day Celebration on Sunday.

Now, it’s no secret that I have a beef with people who take Miller’s point out of context that Bush’s tax cuts are “a good idea” without talking about finding a way to pay for them. Especially when these people attack the Miller mailers for taking Jim Webb’s words out of context. It’s hypocrisy. I believe there should be a law banning ellipses in campaign literature. Print the whole thing.
But I wonder, what would happen if all the Senators and Congresspeople got to Washington DC, sat down with business persons (or even gave attention to the members who are from business, or people like Mark Warner) and said, “Lets run this place like we (and the IRS) expect a business to be run. Quarterly filings, operate in the black, etc.

This could be one advantage to Harris Miller. While I think the lobbyist scarlet letter still hangs, in a day when people are worried about the national debt, do you accept the lobbyist title to further the businessman title? Is this a wise strategy? There is no way the VA blogs are going to let the lobbyist title slide, so why not play up the businessman role as a strength?

I welcome discussion on the point, but not personal attacks on Miller or Webb. Argue the point not the man.

The Flickr Photoset it here.
The Sully Dems hosted their Flag Day fundraiser yesterday and it was a major success. In attendance were (in no particular order):

• Judy Feder
• Chuck Caputo
• Mark Herring
• Brian Moran
• Gerry Connolly
• Leslie and Larry Byrne
• Harris Miller
• Jim Webb
• Ken Longmyer
• Chuck Waddell

Harris Miller and Jim Webb both performed wonderfully at the event. Both speeches were well done and very much made me proud to be a Dem. No matter which wins, I think we’re going to be a better party and a better Virginia for it. I saw two candidates focus very much on the issues, both applauded (genuine applause) when the other made a good point, and both were supportive of the other in their remarks, and after the speeches.

Harris Miller said, as he has a couple of times before, that he will support Jim Webb if he wins the nominee. What made me feel all warm and tingly was that Jim Webb said that if Harris wins, he would stand beside him in the fight against George Allen. I hadn’t heard that from Webb before, and it made the room thaw a lot.

One attendee asked Harris Miller about his latest campaign flyer, even showing the flyer and reading it, and Miller simply stated that “those are Jim Webb’s words.” Harris Miller held firm to his points, and no one could argue. Those are Jim Webb’s words. Jim Webb addressed that saying that he’s a writer and has “two million words out there.” I still need to review and see if these points are out of context.
When it was over, both candidates shook hands and chatted briefly. Neither looked uncomfortable or upset, and for just a moment, the primary was put on hold in respect for party unity.

To answer the question of the day, both candidates were surrounded by people through the entire event. These people weren’t groupies, but intelligent, informed Democrats who asked hard questions of both candidates.

At the end of Jim Webb’s speech, he took questions and I asked him about his support of DADT. He wasn’t able to answer since I asked in the last 10 seconds of his allotted time. After he talked with Harris Miller for a moment (where I was taking pictures of them), he came over to me and wanted to continue to answer my question. Someone was making an announcement and Jim Webb said, “If you’ll step outside with me, we can talk more.” However, the announcement was finished as soon as Webb said that, and we spent a few minutes talking about it. His views on DADT are complicated (and none of the blogs have explained it correctly yet). I’m not sure I’ve even fully got my head around it, but it does make sense in some ways. I kept asking if it’s a logistical issue, and Jim kept trying to explain it further. This is going to be a tough sell to gay and lesbian voters, who don’t have the opportunity to spend 5-10 minutes with Jim Webb. I hope the campaign can write some sort of position paper on this, to give some of us some talking points with friends and neighbors.

After Jim Webb left, I got to speak with Harris Miller for a while. We talked about the upcoming primary, about transportation, GLBT issues, and Iraq.
While both Miller and Webb speak well, neither one compares to Judy Feder. Jim and Harris both got 3-4 rounds of applause each in their 15 minute allotted time, Judy got 16 rounds of applause in 10 minutes. The room was electrified as always and the small chatter that persisted during other speeches was absent, all eyes locked on her.

An interesting note. On Union Mills road, there were tons of Webb and Miller signs at the start of the event, including a 4 x 8 Webb sign. After the event, someone had taken down all these signs. My autographed copy of Born Fighting after the jump.

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Apologies for the delay in posting, it was a busy day today.

Last nights LCDC Jefferson-Jackson Dinner was a wild success, kicked off by opening speaker Judy Feder. Judy was picked to open the dinner for the express purpose of firing up the crowd; and that she did. The applause for 300 people was quite mild when she took the stage, and by the time she left, the venue was thundering.

The turnout was amazing, including Bruce Roemmelt, Mark Herring, Dave Poisson, Brian Moran, Charles Waddell, Harris Miller, Jim Webb, and Leslie Byrne. After Judy Feder fired up the crowd, Mark Herring, Brian Moran, and Dave Poisson gave strong speeches about the need to continue the wonderful momentum from the Jan 31st special election. The excitement was incredible. It was quite possibly the greatest sense of accomplishment and hope the Lansdowne Resort ballroom had seen since the last high school prom.

Sadly, no Bruce Roemmelt bear hugs were observed, but there were good speeches from both Miller and Webb. Harris made a funny about his wife missing the dinner because the campaign got her a job flipping burgers to pay for the gas to get back home.

Webb asked all the veterans in the crowd to stand and be recognized. He was wearing the famed combat boots, and he spoke about the needs of our country in a very passionate way. He’s still not very polished, but I think that’s what endears people to him.

Flickr album is here. I apologize in an advance for many of the speech pictures. The wallpaper in the room as well as the horrid spotlight made it close to impossible to shoot. There was a professional photographer there (member of LCDC), and even he was muttering about it, so I don’t feel so bad.

[Ed Note: Does Mark Herring look like a grown up Richie Rich to anyone else?]

What the hell is this?

Harris’ daughter Alexis will attend Jane Vitray’s Good Old Girls brunch.

Jim Webb is showing up, but Miller sends his daughter? Why is he sending a stand-in?

On another note, I wonder if Webb and Miller are sticking around for dinner at the Hunter Mills Lasagna dinner on Sunday, or will I need to buy a patron ticket to get pictures. Anyone know? Lowell? Lowell? Lowell? (Google Ben Stein and Ferris Bueller if you don’t get that joke).

I wrote to both the Webb and Miller campaigns about the Cumberland school expulsion of a gay student. Specifically, I ask:

Does the Miller/Webb campaign have a comment on the student who was expelled from Cumberland University for being gay? Also, what is Harris Miller’s/James Webb’s position on providing public funds and allowing participation in the federal student aid and loan program for schools who discriminate based on sexual orientation?

So far, I’ve gotten a response from the Miller campaign:

“I deplore discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation. I support extending federal non-discrimination laws to include sexual orientation, and I would oppose letting schools that discriminate against gays and lesbians have access to federal funds.”

The Miller campaign also informed me that Harris Miller “has a non-discrimination clause for his campaign and will have one in his Senate office that includes sexual orientation.

I will update once I hear back from the Webb campaign.

It’s true.

Being new to politics, and political blogging, I am going to make mistakes. I was having dinner one night last week with Ben Tribbett and Josh Chernila (my mom pays them to hang out with me so I will have friends), and we had a discussion about polling. Wanting to get more involved with the process, I decided to put my own poll in the field. It seems that the phone list I got my hands on wasn’t the Young Democrats list; it was the Old Democrats list.

Ben, I’m sorry.

From RK, comes this inspiration:

Contrary to popular Raising Kaine belief, I did not dine with Josh Chernila and a certain Larry Sabato fan at a certain Firehouse Grill in a certain city of Fairfax last night. I did not meet to discuss politics and I did not learn a ton of information of Virginia politics or what actions will not make a difference in Virginia politics over the next four years. I did not discuss the fact that Jim Webb needs to lose the leather jacket.

I also do not need the advice of a web developers with some spare time, nor some programming college interns with some spare time.

I’m not sure who is spreading these malicious rumors, but I object to this and am upset and plan to write comments on blogs that are personal attacks on people who advocate Jim Webb or Harris Miller. I will find you, oh yes I will, and you will pay. We will not stand idly by while the axis of evil accumulates weapons of mass distraction. If we want you to have nukes, we will give them to you. Be warned Iran, until you offer us an overeducated workforce to outsource to, we will never give you nukes. You either scratch the back of our rich corporations, or you will suffer the consequences of invasion and civil war Democracy.
I am, however, selling tickets to Harris Miller and Jim Webb ass kicking contest, hosted by Mudcat Industries.

I’m done now, back to writing a business plan.

This was my first political event, and I was nervous, but it went well. Not well enough that more than three pictures to come out well, but better than two pictures to come out ok. While RK has the boring details, I thought I would mention some items of interest from the event (in random order):

• Teddy Goodson is the hottest piece of politics since G. Gordon Liddy started waxing instead of shaving.
• If you’re going to ask a question, ASK THE FUCKING QUESTION! Don’t spend 48 seconds showing us you read “Liberal Weekly” before getting to the “this is my question” part.
• Always  sit next to the catty bitch in the crowd, especially if you’re both chanting “ask the question already” over and over.
• Jim Webb is shorter than I thought, but he’s buff. Buff I tell you. That guy is ripped.
• If a candidate, refreshingly, admits that he doesn’t know something instead of giving you a bullshit answer, telling people that he needs to learn what he doesn’t know doesn’t make you smart, it makes you an ass.
• Democrats spend a lot of time trying to impress each other with who has the most anger toward the Iraq war.

Tomorrow is the Judy Feder event and I promise more pictures and a better write up (maybe something almost as good as Lowell’s).

J.C. Wilmore has officially declared that our unofficial Jim Webb theme song is Johnny Horton’s “The Battle of New Orleans“.

I officially declare the unofficial slogan to be “Remember the SuperDome!”

Unofficial declerations are wanted for any noun, verb, adjecting, or adverb for the Jim Webb campaign.

Update:

Per Josh, the official endorsment is “George Allen: Dumb as a post”.

This will be cross posted over at DFA-Fairfax and in the future, I’l just link to events there, since we hope to have an events clearinghouse there.
Welcome to Campagin Season. We hever several upcoming events this weekend for several Fairfax County Caondidates:

Sat:

• Meet Senate Democratic Candidate Jim Webb from 12:00 to 12:30 at the Capital City Brewery in Arlingon.

Sun:

• 10th District Candidate Judy Feder is holding a house party in Herndon from 3:30 to 5:00. I’m told the party is Democratic Casual (translation: last years Prada, not this season’s Dolce and Gabanna). RSVP here.
• Andrew Hurst well attend (run in?) the Burke Lake 12k. Details are sketchy, e-mail the campaign for more details.

And as always, if you know of any upcoming fairfax events, drop us a line

Ok, so some of these “bloggers” use these “Blog Roundups” to point out other interesting “posts” on other “blogs” that they “read”. So I thought I would give it a shot and see if it works. BTW, I’m still trying to compile some good Virginia Blogs (using Leftyblogs mostly) so if any other “bloggers” happen to have some suggested “blogs”, please let me know.

• Richmond Report does Gay Marries Webb and Harris. Wonder what the kids would look like.
• Virginia Bell: “All you Harris Haters STFU“–Actually, it’s a well written response to Lowells post on the Kennedy Assasination Attempt.
• Not Larry Sabato asks Webb, “Are you going to respect me in the morning?”–The better question would be, “Does Webb wear Dolce and Gabbana or does he prefer Prada?”
• Dubai throws in the towel…or do they?

Over at Not Larry Sabato, there’s a comment debate over women in the military, sparked by a comment Jim Webb made before I was born. I’m not going to hash the debate of what Jim Webb said (it’s covered enough on the VA blogs), but my take on it is he held an honest opinion and worked toward making it a better situation.

How about gays in the military?

Q: What is your view of don’t ask/don’t tell as a policy and how it has worked?
A: I think it’s a good policy for the basic reason that when you look at the confined quarters that people live in, I think you would have some extremely difficult problems if there were more overt lifestyle issues at play. I think there have always been gays in the military and there always will be. Young people living in cramped quarters need to have zones of privacy. And that’s a practical issue the way that I look at it.

As a gay man, I have no problem with that view of it. You have to be practical and honest. Sitting in a world of “this is the way it should be” rather than “this is the way it is, what can we do about it” is bullshit. Women in the military didn’t change over night, it happened slowly, with periods of advancement like when Webb was the Sec Navy.

My favorite position on this matter (also very practical) comes from comedian Larry the Cable Guy (quit groaning you snob Democrats):

They can’t get along in the military no more… That’s irritating.. Everybody fightin’. If I was president I’ll tell ya what I’d do… Everybody needs to train separate.. Ya know what I’m saying? Ya know what I mean? I mean God love, I love all folks, I don’t care if you’re a female in there…I don’t care if you’re gay in there…Queer in there… Don’t care if you’re a feller in there. It’s no big deal but get along. Here’s what they oughta do..They oughta train separate and fight together. Ya know what I mean? War break out..send the fellers in there.. Kick some tail. Every 28 days send in a platoon of pissed off women in there to kick ass. Ya know what I’m saying? Then when it’s all over with send in the gay feller’s to clean everything up and put curtains everywhere.

AWESOME! What more can you say about his first showing? I love when Colbert said “George Allen is as dumb as a post.” It was a good showing. DFV is going to be a good source for tracking events for Webb and Miller. Bookmark it.

You know your opponent is a little worried when they start slinging mud before you’ve been around a week. And what’s worse is that they don’t have the balls to do it themselves, they send someone out to “swiftboat” you. This post at DailyKos (it’s cross posted on Raising Kaine, a site you should check out at least once) from Lowell Feld fires back, making it almost unnecessary for Webb’s team to respond.

With PACs like Raising Kaine and people like Feld, Webb’s campaign won’t have to hire someone to take Kennedy out back and beat her with a garden hose filled with sand. Strangly enough, I submitted my name for such a position (take note Kristian Denny-Todd).

To the Miller Campaign, from a concerned progressive Democrat (who likes Prada and Irish Men), please stop swift boating Webb and focus on the issues. Or at least get the facts straight if you are going to swift boat him.