It's a damn shame people are backing Miller, but it is what it is.

how Miller has used the race card, the sexism card, the anti-semitism card, and other mean-spirited ways to get nominated. Is this how he operates? And he calls himself a Democrat? Miller is a disgrace to the Dem Party. As a progressive Democrat, I cannot support someone who is anti-worker, anti-union, anti-foreigners, anti-Cesar Chavez, anti-brown people, anti-women, who calls President Hugo Chavez a dictator.

Jim Webb got into this race to make Virginia a better place for us. Miller is doing this for himself, since he has enough money. With Miller as the nominee, the working class will again be under attack, in the same way that he has attacked American and foreign workers when he was a LOBBYIST. Remember, 80,000 Virginians lost their jobs because of Miller's lobbying activities. And 80,000 foreign workers are being exploited because of Miller's lobbying activities.

IF Miller wins tomorrow, let him try to buy the election against Allen. I cannot ever support a creep like Miller. He doesn't need my help anyway. He's got Diebold.

What's this 80k # you're quoting?  I need to know so I can use it.

Not sure exactly what numbers the other post is about - and don't have handy statistics on Virginia jobs. 

I think the post comes from the number of H-1b visas issued.  Currently the cap is 65,000 +20,000 for exemptions (graduate degrees) = 85,000.  A portion of that is reserved for some free trade agreements.  Additionally there are occupations exempt entirely from the cap - like nurses.  The majority of H-1b visas under the cap go into a single occupation - software related jobs.

In 2001 the cap was 195,000 and of that 110,000 went into the software occupations.  Total software employment is 2.15 million so 110,000 in our occupation over a single year is a huge amount.  Additionally, many more arrive on the L1 visa.  During 2001 we lost 139,000 software jobs also - so when Americans were losing jobs they were being replaced with foreign guest workers.

These workers are exploited and paid on average $16,000 less than Americans with similar jobs each year.  During 2001 Harris Miller worked to retain the 195,000 cap and worked to prevent the H-1b program from being reformed.  We wanted it to protect immigrant workers and for it to not displace American workers.  Miller didn't think that such a good idea.

Harris Miller knew that exploited workers are good for technology corporations.  They serve as a labor arbitrage tool that suppress our own wages.  It harms BOTH American and foreign workers.  Because it puts corporations at an advantage, he essentially lied to Congress about our job situation. 

Data from the Department of Labor supports that claim - here is a study I did on this topic also supporting the numbers (I don't address Miller directly in this): http://www.freedomcast.com/h1b/NIVSolution2006.pdf

Here is a post from Sona Shah who is an American of Indian descent.  She is able to see both sides and how it harms all workers.  She is a much more elequent speaker and writer than I am so please read her post on this topic:  http://www.raisingkaine.com/showDiary.do?diaryId=3030

Josh

This is a wonderful post and I am very glad that you wrote it.  I am aware that you were calling for a Miller supporter early on but to tell yout he absolute truth, I was on the fence about this race until a couple of weeks ago. I tried very hard to present both sides of the argument to my readers. And even though I have endorsed Miller, I have not taken shots at Webb because at my core, I am a Democrat and truly have been disheartened by the negative attacks on and by the candidates.

Regardless of who wins tomorrow, I will be joining you in supporting the nominee.

This year politics aren't local, they're national.  A national referrendum on Bush, Allen, and the right-wing extremist conservatives who control the Republican party.

With Webb leading the charge, we'll win both Houses.

I started reading RK late and missed any call for a Miller supporter.  Not that I would have been able to do it, but it would have been nice to have a more civil campaign with more balance of info.  I have been volunteering for others in VA and many voters I telephoned and spoke with hung up after saying how disgusted they were with the meanness of the Senate race.  Folks involved with the Webb campaign may not have seen it from where they sit, but a good number of people who had voted often said they were sitting this one out because they were so disappointed that no candidate is unscathed by this campaign.  If the voters continue to sit out the General election, all the Democrats in the state will suffer.

I can't see anyone having the emotional wherewithal to withstand the vitriol on this site to take on the thankless job of defending Miller here.  It would have been futile, with this crowd, anyway and Miller wouldl have wanted them hitting other crowds. The person would have been troll-rated off by so many thin-skinned opponents anyway.  I am pretty certain I'll get some Zeros and some nasty responses for even this tame posting.

If the General were held this month I think Allen will win -- over 95% of incumbents do --  because we lost the chance for the best combination: the money and organization of the Miller campaign and the personality of Webb.  Instead of cooperating, the two likely have crippled each other.  I hope there's time to recover, because Allen is all the conservatism of his father and none of the character. However, the candidates have done it to themselves - and we've done it to us.  How sad.

In February and March, when we posted "help wanted" signs for any independent bloggers who might be willing to cover the Miller campaign, there were only Webb boosters. 

I personally wrote countless times that Harris Miller is a good Democrat who could surprise us in the General, but that Jim Webb is a unique candidate with immense crossover appeal and the opportunity to truly challenge George Allen.

Then Miller got desperate.  We had charges of sexism.  I stood tall through that one.  Then we had charges of racism, which I could not abide.  When Harris Miller introduced racism into this Democratic primary he showed that he had no interest in respectful discourse and deserved little respect.  It got so bad that national Democrats had to step in and tell Miller to cool it, but the compulsively competitive Miller had one more card to play.  Sure he'd played the race card, but then he brought anti-Semitism into the race.

I'm taking a ton of crap for this piece in certain circles.  There are those who think Harris Miller beneath contempt for brining sexism, racism and anti-Semitism into a Democratic primary.  I just feel bad for the guy.  He's out-classed.  Harris Miller is a lobbyist, Democratic activist, and the czar of outsourcing.  Jim Webb is a man of signficant historical impact.  Jim Webb will be to 2006 what Newt Gingrich was to 1994, and Harris Miller will be the guy who tried to smear him.

When we started this, we were all lambs.  We were working together to find the best candidate to fight against George Allen.  If anyone made this a lion's den it was Harris Miller himself.  I'm going to have a hard time supporting him, but I will.  It's the right thing to do.

once the blogosphere's minds were made up. However, I saw lots of troll ratings and downright nasty postings for newbies asking questions, wondering why Miller was so bad.  The responses were almost always directed toward his ITAA job.  Hell, my company asks me to do dumb things all the time.  I spend more time trying to get them to change their instructions than I do getting anything done.  I don't know anyone who has it much different that that, and I bet Webb and Miller have both been asked by superiors to do dumb stuff they didn't want to do.  What he does at work doesn't bother me all that much. I want to know whether what he does gave him the knowledge and ability to be a good Senator.

The FT Rhea post you mentioned seems to think this campaign is unproductive and nasty, too:

To that notion I say this: A pack of celebrity worshippers drunk on cheap passion, poured from a screw-top bottle, singing along with the radio, turned up way too loud, may have lots of fun at the party. Then comes the hangover ... the lost wallet... the trouble from what you said that you don’t remember.

Bloggers, if you really want to show your true passion about something, providing you have any, use your own words.... please turn down the volume. Rudeness and sincerity aren't the same thing. http://slantblog.blogspot.com/2006/06/cheap-passion-and-celebrity-worship.html

I just hope that the Dems haven't lost any voters, that the relatively young Webb campaign can mature and get organized, and that people are upset with Allen enough to send him packing.

FT Rea hasn't been out in the field doing the leg work--working the phones, contacting friends, etc, etc.  I believe he was also deeply offended by the insinuation by a Webb blogger that "blogs don't matter".  I don't see this statement as rude, so much as a point of view.  You can believe it or not.  There's no reason to take the matter personally.  FT Rea is welcome to his opinion.

As far as Miller's knowledge and ability go--the question, in my mind is that Miller hasn't used these abilities for the "greater good".  Yes, he's worked to get Democrats elected, and he's been politically involved, but he's also done work at ITAA that has been largely self-serving.  He wasn't so much interested in "bringing jobs" to Virginia, as he was in pleasing his board of directors.  He had a choice in this matter--he didn't have to do what his bosses told him to do if the actions contradicted his deep-felt convictions. 

As far as "working in the trenches" goes, there's a world of difference between 30 years of political involvement, and the kind of life and death situations that Webb was involved in.  Combat experience can give a person a degree of moral seriousness that just isn't found in the lower stakes of political life.  Political squables are generally pretty petty--and I think we've seen a lot of pettiness in this primary campaign--especially from Miller's campaign.  There's a reason why a lot of guys like Jim Webb don't waste their time running for political office. 

As far as the "celebrity" factor goes--if you feel this is the sole reason that Webb is getting support then you need to talk to people outside the blogosphere who are supporting Webb.  You'd benefit from taking time reading some of his writings on his website as well . . . 

"Paid staffers"--God I wish.  If you've been following the discussion here on RK you'd get a glimpse at what a little bit of idealism can do for a candidate.  A lot of folks have had to make sacrifices in time and money because they believe in Webb's candidacy on its merits.  A number of us have made sacrifices simply because we feel that genuine change in DC is needed and that Webb represents a real alternative to politics as usual. 

Miller's talking points are true--"Change is needed. And Washington is broken".  For those of us who follow politics closely though, it's a little bit odd for a Washington insider to be making these promises.  If Miller had resigned his job as a richly paid lobbyist and had used his knowledge to work with a shoe string non-profit lobbying operation for a few years, his claims would have had a little bit more legitimacy.  He didn't.  So his credentials on this front have to be taken on faith.  Miller's resume gives no indication that he is a man of his word, so this faith can't be deeply founded.  Those are just the facts. 

Many of the Democrats’ busiest bloggers this season haven’t really been dealing with ideas, so much as they have personalities. In this era they prefer seeing elected officials as celebrities. They want their favorite politicians, even their paid staffers, to be “rock stars.”

To that notion I say this: A pack of celebrity worshippers drunk on cheap passion, poured from a screw-top bottle, singing along with the radio, turned up way too loud, may have lots of fun at the party. Then comes the hangover ... the lost wallet... the trouble from what you said that you don’t remember.

Bloggers, if you really want to show your true passion about something, providing you have any, use your own words. And, if all you want to do is cut and paste, that’s fine. It’s a nice hobby, but please turn down the volume. Rudeness and sincerity aren't the same thing.

my real post is below

Consider the facts. Here is only one example.  It is a repeat of an earlier post.  I would be very interested in an explanation of this behavior.  I would like for someone to explain to my why I should support someone whose campaign is based on lashon hara.  That is not a political question.

A section in Harris Miller's mailer has this on the right

  Webb Dismissive of
  the Tailhook Sexual
  Harassment Scandal

And this with references on the left

  Regarding the convention where several dozen
  women were sexually assaulted, Webb said
  Tailhook was "spun up" and "should have been a
  three or maybe five-day story."

The "spun up" phrase comes from this paragraph in Webb's writings:

The Tailhook scandal has been "spun up," to borrow a service phrase, into a crisis that affects the Navy leadership's credibility on a wide range of issues. A botched internal investigation and the ongoing revelations of inexcusable harassment of women at a Las Vegas convention of naval aviators a year ago have also left in their wake a witch hunt that threatens to swamp the entire naval service.

And here is where the other quote is drawn from:

Tailhook should have been a three- or maybe a five-day story. Those who were to blame for outrageous conduct should have been disciplined, and those who were not to blame should have been vigorously defended, along with the culture and the mores of the naval service. Instead, we are now at four years and counting, and its casualty list reads like a Who's Who of naval aviation.

As has occurred repeatedly in the last few months, this reality-based comment has been up all day and been met with silence.  That silence can be reasonably interpreted by some as tacit approval of such swift boat tactics.  That silence may also lead those who find such tactics offensive to become even more outraged in their convictions that such behavior is indefensible.

The truth about the particular attack mentioned here - and many others - was neither negative nor vitriol.  The response to the baseness of these attacks was indeed negative and sometimes vitriolic to say the least.

Making analogies to passionate rock star fans, Kool-aid drinkers, and predatory felines when one has chosen silence on the actual facts that have provoked the anger and passion that one finds so offensive runs perilously close to elevating one's opinion to the level of enlightenment.

Many of us make this kind of mistake from time to time.  What's important is to recognize that kind of mistake and try to avoid making a similar mistake in the future.

And I say this as someone who once supported a candidate who later on was very disappointing.