Del, Bob Brink "Live Blogs": Jim Webb's "not playing dress-up"

By: Lowell
Published On: 7/31/2006 2:29:25 PM

Del. Bob Brink (D-48) will be live blogging here on Tuesday (today) at 2 PM.  Below are his thoughts.  Please feel free to comment or leave questions for Del. Brink. (bolding added by me for emphasis)

Along with 99% of the people who read this blog, I know why I support Jim Webb for the Senate, and I know why he+óGé¼Gäóll represent us in Washington so well.  Jim is the kind of leader that we deserve in the Senate -- in contrast to his opponent, who+óGé¼Gäós strayed from the party line only 3% of the time, Jim will be an independent voice who puts Virginia first.

Jim will fight for us to meet the challenges our nation faces +óGé¼GÇ£ challenges that too often have been made even more difficult by the Bush Administration+óGé¼Gäós neglect and incompetence. He+óGé¼Gäóll fight for world-class education and research that will help America compete in the global economy.  As gasoline prices soar above $3 a gallon, he+óGé¼Gäóll fight for energy policies that reduce our dependence on foreign oil.  He+óGé¼Gäóll fight to ensure that all Americans have access to the health care they need.

Above all, Jim Webb is the real deal.  When he puts on his combat boots in the morning, he+óGé¼Gäós not playing dress-up: he+óGé¼Gäós showing a commitment to our country that reflects a lifetime of service.  From the Naval Academy to OCS at Quantico to Vietnam to the office of Secretary of the Navy, Jim+óGé¼Gäós distinguished career is a patriot+óGé¼Gäós story that we can be proud of.


So for you and me, that+óGé¼Gäós the Jim Webb we want to put in the Senate.  But what do the vast majority of Virginia voters know about Jim Webb?  Right now, not much.  For them, Jim Webb is a story waiting to be told.

There are two campaigns that are interested in telling that story.  One is ours: if we have the resources to get the word out, we can make sure that Virginians get to know Jim Webb as we do.  But the Allen campaign wants to tell its own version of the Jim Webb story.  George Allen has stocked his campaign staff with some of the nation+óGé¼Gäós worst practitioners of the black art of political character assassination.  They+óGé¼Gäóre masters at taking a war hero and dragging him through the mud.  They+óGé¼Gäóve done it before, and they+óGé¼Gäóre ready to do it again.

And they will, if we let them.  Face it: most Virginians aren+óGé¼Gäót as obsessed with politics and campaigns as we are.  They+óGé¼Gäóre just barely tuning into the Senate race.  Jim needs to introduce himself to those folks so that they+óGé¼Gäóll listen to his common-sense ideas for leadership. We have just a couple of weeks to make sure Jim has a chance to do that.

Much of the hard work falls on Jim+óGé¼Gäós shoulders: nobody but the candidate can take the lead in the hard job of asking other people for money.  It takes determination to spend hour after hour in the gritty job of +óGé¼+ôdialing for dollars.+óGé¼-¥  There+óGé¼Gäós hardly a candidate who doesn+óGé¼Gäót hate it +óGé¼GÇ£ I know I do +óGé¼GÇ£ but it+óGé¼Gäós a job that has to be done.

The blogosphere can play its role as well.  If you are engaged in the ideas you read about here, you can show your commitment to the values that we share with Jim Webb by making a contribution to his campaign +óGé¼GÇ£ now.  If you haven+óGé¼Gäót given before, this is the time to start.  If you have given before, do it again.

I look forward to talking with you about Jim and why his election is so important to all of us.


Comments



As a strong environmenalist (Lowell - 7/31/2006 4:13:48 PM)
What do you think of the compromise agreement reached today on menahden harvesting in the Chesapeake Bay?  In general, how do you feel Virginia's doing on protecting the Bay?


RB Response: (bob brink - 8/1/2006 1:45:46 PM)
From news reports it sounds like Governor Kaine reached an agreement that addresses the real concerns of the Federal government and environmentalists about overfishing of menhaden.  The deal should give some breathing room to the fishery (though I don’t think that, strictly speaking, fish breathe) and enable additional scientific research on how to preserve it.

This is just a small part of the work we need to do to preserve Chesapeake Bay and to protect it from effects of the region’s growing population.  We took some steps in that direction during the last session – including allocation of $200 million and additional deposits into the Water Quality Improvement Fund – but a lot more needs to be done to keep pollutants out of the Bay. 

As a side note, in one of its final acts, the Republican majority in the House rejected the Governor’s proposal to help upgrade the City of Lynchburg’s antiquated sewer system to keep raw sewage from flowing into the James River (and thus into the Chesapeake) during heavy rains.  This action was petty and shortsighted.



Yeah, what was the deal with that sewage thing? (Lowell - 8/1/2006 1:58:33 PM)
Maybe appropriate for right-wing Republicans, I dunno, but is that unbelievable or what?!?


Just curious what you think about Craney Island (Lowell - 7/31/2006 4:15:25 PM)
I presume you saw the Virginian-Pilot editorial that slammed Allen for backing Craney, but not any "roads for getting trucks in and the cargo out."


RB's Response: (bob brink - 8/1/2006 1:47:53 PM)
Senator Allen’s “Craney Ploy†at the debate shows his interest in showboating instead of addressing the real issues we face.  The Virginian-Pilot editorial points out that in Hampton Roads and across the Commonwealth, an adequate transportation network is vital to our continued economic growth.  Hampton Roads has the singular challenge of being bounded and bisected by waterways that commuters and commerce have to traverse.  Both the state and Federal governments need to pitch in. I hope that the representatives of the region in the General Assembly will get behind a comprehensive transportation plan that addresses the needs of their region as well as the Commonwealth as a whole.


Do you realize how much more intelligent (Lowell - 8/1/2006 1:59:18 PM)
and knowledgeable you are than George Allen?  Just sayin' :)


Your stance on universal Healthcare (thaddaeus toad - 7/31/2006 5:53:25 PM)
I don't need a specific plan, I don't need a blueprint, I just want to know whether or not you feel every American deserves this "right to life" as I have taken to calling it.


RB's Response: (bob brink - 8/1/2006 1:49:07 PM)
One of the most important issues Jim Webb and the Congress will face is assuring adequate, affordable health care for all Americans.  And Jim can look to Virginia leadership to see how it’s done.  Governor Warner showed dedication and commitment to expanding health care opportunity in reinvigorating the children’s health insurance program (FAMIS) that had been shamefully neglected under his Republican predecessor.  By the time he left office, 98% of eligible kids were signed up.  Now, the Republican Congress is threatening to cut back on this Federal-state partnership.  Jim Webb needs to make sure that doesn’t happen.

For his part, Governor Kaine is working hard to encourage small businesses to offer health insurance to their employees.  This is one important way to reach the goal of a reliable medical home for all.



Why is this race (VA-Sen) (phriendlyjaime - 7/31/2006 6:11:31 PM)
important for the country as a whole?


RB's Response: (bob brink - 8/1/2006 1:50:12 PM)
Think of the message a Democratic win in Virginia will send! Jim Webb’s campaign is important because his victory will show that Virginians, like the nation as a whole, are concerned about the course the country is on and want a new direction.  His opponent has been a cheerleader for the incompetence, arrogance, and shortsightedness that have gotten us into the fix we’re in at home and abroad.  The choice is either Change or More of the Same, and Jim Webb represents Change.


Red Light Cameras (Eric - 7/31/2006 6:26:16 PM)
Hi Bob, thanks for coming on to chat with RK!

This is my favorite pet issue with the VA goverment right now. 

Those red light cameras, the little buggers that everyone loves to hate but are good for safety, are currently banned at the state level.  So my questions are:

1. Do you have any info on exactly where things stand in terms of changing the laws so that local jurisdictions can govern themselves in the way they see fit with regard to the cameras?

2. Why do you think the allowance of red light cameras was not extended?

3. What is your position?

Thanks in advance.



RB's Response: (bob brink - 8/1/2006 1:51:33 PM)
Ah, photo red. . . .

As you probably know, Arlington and a number of other communities around the Commonwealth were given limited permission a few years ago to install these valuable accident-prevention devices.  When time came to renew this permission, it was rejected on the basis that photo-red constituted an infringement on personal liberties (this concern being voiced by many of the same folks who have been so enthusiastic about intruding on citizens’ medical decisions and personal lives).  I’m thoroughly convinced of the need for these devices in congested areas such as Northern Virginia, and of their worth in preventing dangerous side-impact collisions.



RB Additional Thought: (bob brink - 8/1/2006 2:25:36 PM)
I should add that the leader in the fight to preserve photo red was Republican Delegate Michelle McQuigg of Prince William.  She was tenacious in her efforts, and deserves a lot of credit.  If we're able to reinstate photo red in the future, it'll be due to her.


Immigration question (Ingrid - 7/31/2006 10:33:53 PM)
Bob:

I realize that this is a weighty issue, and not always easy to address: What is your opinion about foreign guest workers and non-immigrant visa programs and its effects on the Commonwealth and on Arlington County in particular?

Thanks for liveblogging!



RB's Response: (bob brink - 8/1/2006 1:52:28 PM)
Hi, Ingrid.

This is one of the most important domestic issues we face.  Immigration reform needs to recognize what we in Northern Virginia know – that the overwhelming number of people who come into the US from other countries do so for economic opportunities – jobs and a better life for themselves and their families – they can’t find at home.  In many cases, over time they’ve become part of our communities – its workforce, its schools, its social and cultural life – paying taxes and accepting other responsibilities of community participation.  Immigration reform should provide a path to citizenship for them.



Jim Webb's populist message (phriendlyjaime - 8/1/2006 11:41:50 AM)
What are your ideas for bringing back the importance of the middle class?  And do you have any ideas on how to raise awareness and financial status re: lower class?


RB's Response: (bob brink - 8/1/2006 1:53:28 PM)
A few years ago, the Bush Administration’s slogan-of-the-week was what it called the “Ownership Society.† We soon learned what they meant by that: “Sorry, buddy, you’re on your own†– with plans to privatize Social Security, cutbacks on economic opportunity, and fiscal mismanagement that mortgages our children’s future.

I think the key to preserving the vital middle class and helping people achieve that status is education – a strong K-12 public school system and access to higher education as well.  We face this challenge in Virginia – population growth is increasing the number of kids in elementary and secondary schools, and we’ll have thousands more college-bound students in the coming years.  We need to be sure we’re ready for them – and both state and Federal governments have a role in meeting that challenge.



Ah, yes; Bush's "base" (phriendlyjaime - 8/1/2006 2:34:44 PM)
the "haves" and the "have mores."

Ugh, what are people THINKING when they vote?

Thanks for your insight and your time today, sir.  :)

Jaime



General Assembly (DukieDem - 8/1/2006 12:21:24 PM)
What is your take on how supportive members of the Democratic Caucus are for Webb? Almost all of them endorsed Miller, but do you think they're enthusiastic about Webb now? Thanks for coming on here and taking questions, and keep up your good work in the House.


RB's Response: (bob brink - 8/1/2006 1:56:49 PM)
Along with all my Democratic colleagues in Richmond, I’ll do whatever I can to help Jim Webb get elected.  Look over some of my comments above: in so many areas – education, health care, immigration, transportation, to name a few – both the Federal and state governments have a role to play in finding common-sense solutions to the challenges we face.  With Jim Webb in the Senate, we’ll have a thoughtful, responsive, committed partner.

I like your Clinton quotation.  Nice to have a President who can put subject, verb, and object together in the proper order.



Howdy, everybody . . . (bob brink - 8/1/2006 1:44:13 PM)
I'm kind of technologically challenged, but I'm going to try to drop my responses to the first 8 questions in under "Reply" --

And while I have you -- I hope you'll check out Kris Amundson's and my General Assembly-oriented blog: "7 West" -- www.7-west.org.

RB



Transportation (Rob - 8/1/2006 1:51:02 PM)
any thoughts on the ongoing transportation debate?


RB's Response: (bob brink - 8/1/2006 2:06:36 PM)
Back in March, I wrote a post on our "Extra Innings" blog

http://www.vaextrain...

that outlined the five things we need in a comprehensive transportation package:

  * A package big enough to make a real dent in the Commonwealth’s multi-billion dollar transportation needs.
  * A plan based on funding sources that are reliable, sustainable, and long-term.
  * A plan that addresses the needs of all regions of the Commonwealth.
  * A plan that doesn’t fund transportation by shortchanging education, health care, public safety, and other vital government services.
  * A plan that is fiscally responsible and doesn’t rely too heavily on borrowing.

The need is even more urgent now. We failed to address transportation in the spring and summer; I hope we'll face up to our long-range responsibilities in the fall.  And we need to come up with more than a fig leaf that just provides political cover and pushes the problem off to another day.



Do you think it's fair to describe the GOP as the (Lowell - 8/1/2006 2:00:31 PM)
"I've got mine, so f*** you" party?  Seems like it in every action they take.


RB's Response: (bob brink - 8/1/2006 2:12:14 PM)
See my response above to phriendlyjaime's earlier post: being the genteel guy I am, I'd prefer to characterize them as the "You're on your own" party.  Bottom line is the same, though. Just talking about economic opportunity isn't enough.


arlington (Rob - 8/1/2006 2:11:02 PM)
arlington has a strong local chapter of Democrats - how can this group get involved with not only local activities but with shoring up other local Democratic chapters throughout the Commonwealth?


RB's Response: (bob brink - 8/1/2006 2:17:58 PM)
Going back at least as far as when Larry Roberts was Arlington Democratic chair, we've done a tremendous job in reaching out to Democratic committees across the state, telling them how we do what we do up here, and learning a lot from them in the process.  Give Peter Rousselot at ACDC a call if you want to pitch in.


Thanks for doing this Bob! (Lowell - 8/1/2006 6:07:00 PM)
I really appreciate the time you took and the thoughtfulness of your answers.  You are a blogger in the best sense of the word! :)