Harumph. Apparently, the Post would prefer a series of Lincoln-Douglas debates on the issues between Jim "Born Fighting" Webb and George "California Cowboy" Allen. The problem is, how do we get Allen back from Iowa to participate in such debates? How do we get a guy who's "bored" with all this to show any interest in a serious debate on the issues? And how do we get a campaign team composed of pit bulls like Dick Wad(hams), Chris LaCivita and Mary Matalin to listen to sweet reason?
Not likely, given the Post's own diagnosis of the problem (bolding added):
The aggressor and prime offender is Mr. Allen, who, through his campaign manager, Dick Wadhams, attacked Mr. Webb for opposing the flag-burning amendment that failed in the Senate. By bashing Mr. Webb for not "protecting" the flag, the Allen campaign sneakily impugned his patriotism. That's rich, since Mr. Webb, a secretary of the Navy under President Ronald Reagan and a highly decorated former Marine, is one of the more celebrated veterans of the Vietnam War -- "a legendary fighting man," in the words of Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.).
That's right, the problem here is not Jim Webb, it's the fact that George Felix Allen has no record to run on (unless you count a 97% rubber stamp for George W. Bush as a "record"), and he knows it. That's why George Felix Allen has told his campaign pit bulls to attack attack ATTACK Webb, even though it's still only June. In other words, despite the Washington Post's wishes to the contrary, something tells me that the Allen team's "blather" is only going to get worse, not better, in coming months. Ain't politics grand? Ha.
When we speak of the "culture of corruption", we should certainly include the WaPo owners and editors among the guilty parties. Imagining that they are impartial journalists upholding the traditions of a free and independent press is belied by the facts. This is just another monied, economically-advantaged, "connected", elitist cabal with the superficial appearance of professionalism and integrity.
While individual journalists at the WaPo **may** earn readers respect if they display the sort of fairness, accuracy and impartiality one expects of journalists, the ownership and editorial board has proven itself unworthy of such respect. They are one component of the opposition and should be treated as such.
This article is well worth a read.
Early maneuvers
Webb sends Allen a message: He knows how to fight
June 29, 2006
Late last October, with a little more than a week left before the gubernatorial election, The Washington Post published a poll that showed Democrat Tim Kaine with a small, but significant lead over Republican Jerry Kilgore.In response, Kilgore campaign manager Ken Hutcheson ripped the Post poll as ridiculous and contemptible.
Kaine, of course, won the governor's race by a comfortable six-point margin, racking up wins in once reliably Republican enclaves in Hampton Roads and Northern Virginia.
There's another big race this year, this time between incumbent Republican Sen. George Allen and Democrat James Webb - and a poll just came out.
Conducted by pollster John Zogby for The Wall Street Journal, the survey suggests the Senate race will be a real contest, with Allen leading Webb by a narrower margin than anticipated, 48.8 percent to 43.5 percent.
Cue Allen's campaign manager: "The Wall Street Journal should be embarrassed to print this," said Dick Wadhams. "This poll is a joke ... Zogby has long ago been discredited."
What, not ridiculous and contemptible?
While Zogby has been criticized for his polls for special-interest groups, his work for media outlets, such as The Wall Street Journal, is well regarded. So it's no surprise that Wadhams didn't say where and when Zogby got discredited. What's really revealing, however, is the semi-hysterical tone that has been rushing forth from Republican campaign megaphones lately. The GOP's standard bag of tricks may be wearing thin in these parts, and that's got the operatives worried and whining.
Zogby thinks so. He's ready to put Virginia in the company of Ohio and Florida as highly competitive political terrain. Similarly, Robert Holsworth, director of the Center for Public Policy at Virginia Commonwealth University, says that the tightness of the Senate race "just shows the political dynamic in the country and [that] Virginia doesn't work quite so much to the GOP's advantage as it did 10 years ago."
This is not to say, let us quickly add, that Virginians are necessarily migrating over to the Democrats. More likely, voters have tired of the gormlessly awful nature of politics these days. Please, they could be saying, is there something else out there?
Webb is a perfect case in point. This guy was a Republican the last time anyone checked. Now he's the candidate of the Democrats, who may figure that the old-time religion just won't cut it anymore.
Allen's campaign, in fact, may only now be realizing what they face. Take this week, for instance.
With U.S. Senate Republicans doing a little "litmus test" demonstration project this week - they fell just short of passing a constitutional amendment aimed at banning flag-burning - Allen's folks apparently figure that if Webb didn't get in line, oh boy, they'd have him.
Webb (to his credit) declined to amend the Bill of Rights for the first time in history and, so, Allen's folks took aim and fired, saying that Webb, a former Navy secretary in the Reagan administration and highly decorated veteran of the Vietnam War, "continues to demonstrate he is totally beholden to the liberal Washington senators who dragged him across the line in the Democratic primary."
At this point in the proceedings - such political defining being all-too-familiar - the Democrat candidate normally goes weak in the knees and starts hemming and hawing, saying, no, no, he loves his country, too, and so forth.
Not Webb. His campaign packed in double canister and unloaded right back, pretty much telling Allen and his people to go stuff it. "George Felix Allen Jr. and his bush-league lap dog, Dick Wadhams, have not earned the right to challenge Jim Webb's position on free speech and flag burning."
Ouch.
Then, for good measure, another volley: "People who live in glass dude ranches (a reference to Allen's summer employment in Nevada during the Vietnam War years) should not question the patriotism of real soldiers who fought and bled for this country on a real battlefield."
This all harkens back - obviously - to the successful efforts of Republican campaign tacticians to undercut the likes of presidential candidate John Kerry and former Georgia Sen. Max Cleland. Even though their war records stood in sharp contrast to their opponents', they found their patriotism attacked.
Webb apparently doesn't want to make the same mistake of taking too much for granted and waiting too long to respond.
Even more important, perhaps, is the level of confidence Webb brought to this exchange. He has now effectively reminded voters that Allen, who has long courted support from veterans, never got around to being one himself. Score one for Webb, then, and wait to see if Allen brings up the subject again.
If he doesn't, it will be a tacit admission that the GOP playbook, long successful in Virginia, may be slated for revision.
It's a nice Friday so far.
Keep it up Dick.