Former Virginia Senator Jim Webb launches exploratory committee!

[Southern Senator North Carolina Yankee]

Webb can have some appeal but he is going to have to deal with a couple of issues. One is that he voted against the Comprehensive Immigration Reform Act of 2007, essentially being the deciding vote killing the Bill (which puts him to the right of GW Bush). The other is that he has spoken out against affirmative action.

Deciding vote?
http://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_lists/roll_call_vote_cfm.cfm?congress=110&session=1&vote=00235

Vote Counts: YEAs 46
 NAYs 53
 Not Voting 1

It couldn't even get a majority.

And Webb was hardly alone amongs Democrats:
Baucus (D-MT), Nay
Bayh (D-IN), Nay
Bingaman (D-NM), Nay
Brown (D-OH), Nay
Byrd (D-WV), Nay
Dorgan (D-ND), Nay
Harkin (D-IA), Nay
Landrieu (D-LA), Nay
McCaskill (D-MO), Nay
Nelson (D-NE), Nay
Pryor (D-AR), Nay
Rockefeller (D-WV), Nay
Sanders (I-VT), Nay
Stabenow (D-MI), Nay
Tester (D-MT), Nay
Webb (D-VA), Nay

[Southern Senator North Carolina Yankee]

I want to like Webb, but I'm not sure I can vote for him.  I can post a link later if anyone's interested, but I believe I once read that he's written some pretty sketchy stuff about the the run-up to the Civil War and the Confederacy (including that he was at least somewhat supportive of "popular sovergnity" and implying that the South had a right to secede, IIRC).  I hope it was distorted or taken out-of-context somehow because as I said earlier, there is a lot to like about Webb.  However, if the article was right, then that's a deal-breaker as far as I'm concerned.

Yes I do recall that as well regarding the right to secede.

[Southern Senator North Carolina Yankee]

I want to like Webb, but I'm not sure I can vote for him.  I can post a link later if anyone's interested, but I believe I once read that he's written some pretty sketchy stuff about the the run-up to the Civil War and the Confederacy (including that he was at least somewhat supportive of "popular sovergnity" and implying that the South had a right to secede, IIRC).  I hope it was distorted or taken out-of-context somehow because as I said earlier, there is a lot to like about Webb.  However, if the article was right, then that's a deal-breaker as far as I'm concerned.

Yes I do recall that as well regarding the right to secede.

What do you think of Webb? He seems like a Democrat you would like and respect, if not necessarily ote for.

Why, in your opinion, does he seem that way? What makes him seem to be someone I would respect? Not that I am expressing doubt, just genuinely curious here.

[Southern Senator North Carolina Yankee]

Two more Webb nuggets: He apparently refused to "shake John Kerry's hand for 20 years" because of Kerry's anti-Vietnam War activities, though did end up voting for him in 2004:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/04/28/AR2006042801994.html

And on climate change:

http://grist.org/politics/jim-webb-sucks-on-climate-change/

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Considering we had $4.00 a gallon gas, persuing anything other then investment in efficiency and alterantives was a mistake and the focus should have been to short term to alleviate that cost by boosting production (which in hindsight was not the impossibility people thought it was then), with efficiency in the pipeline medium term and alternatives ready to be deployed when such regulations came to be long term.

[Southern Senator North Carolina Yankee]

I am reminded of something Babara Boxer said last week about the Keystone bill in a manner of trying to say something nice but instead managing to insult Mary Landrieu.


Paraphrasing, "The Democrats are a big tent, we have people who represent the 'big-oil agenda', people who are all of the above, and people who fighting for alternative energy..."

[Southern Senator North Carolina Yankee]

Why, in your opinion, does he seem that way? What makes him seem to be someone I would respect? Not that I am expressing doubt, just genuinely curious here.

Intuition? He is one of the very few prominent politicians in either party who is a genuine product of white working-class culture and his values reflect that.

90% of such politicians are corrupt filth and/or populist demogogues. I have zero interest in a campaign who caters WWC culture, I am interested in a politician that understands economics and implements policies in the context of how best to aid working and middle class people of all racial and ethnic backgrounds.

I am also interested in seeing the Democratic Party return to its roots, at least to some extent when it comes to advocating for the interest of the common man against the elites, as opposed to a party of out of touch elitists whose only answer to poor people voting against them is that they must be too dumb to realize how awesome they are meanwhile they try to outbid Republicans in sucking up to Wall Street so they will fill Hillary's coffers.

Even though I would like this to ocme to pass, I am a Republican would likely remain such unless something extremely crazy were to happen, even if the Democrats went this route.

[Southern Senator North Carolina Yankee]

Even though I would like this to ocme to pass, I am a Republican would likely remain such unless something extremely crazy were to happen, even if the Democrats went this route.

So you like and respect Webb, although you will not necessarily vote for him?

Look, man, I am also a product of the white working class. "White trash," if you want to be less charitable, and I'm not one of these sheltered upper-middle-class white kids telling others how the world works because they're taking sociology courses and OMG #MindBLOWN. All I'm saying is, Webb speaks to me in a way I'e seen very few prominent politicians do.

EDIT: and , I agree, "white working-class" needs to stop being code for "racist homophobe who's kinda dumb." This gets old.

I have issues with some of Webb's statements actually both on secession and a few other matters. I am still a Pennsylvanian at heart and that kind of Southernist call back makes me sick. I didn't like it about Allen and was kind of glad when Allen was knocked out of contention in 2008 by losing to Webb, yet Webb as basically a 1980's Republican from VA and is not much better on that front.

I would vote Webb over Jeb Bush or Ted Cruz possibly, like I said something crazy happening and nominating another Bush would be crazy. I would have voted for Hagan over Tillis if she had shown some true independence on a key issue or two.