WP, Dionne: Senator Jim Webb: Reagan Democrat

[DeepModem Mom]

Reagan Democrat
By E. J. Dionne Jr.
Thursday, January 25, 2007; Page A25


Sen. Jim Webb giving the response to the State of the Union address. (Associated Press)

Like him or not, Ronald ("Tear Down This Wall") Reagan spoke in a clean, clear prose that almost always left listeners with a sense that he stood for something.

It may thus be no accident that Jim Webb, Virginia's new Democratic senator, was once a Reaganite.

In his reply to President Bush's State of the Union speech on Tuesday night, Webb defined the two central moral issues that animate most of the Democratic Party's rank and file: the mess in Iraq and the fact that the fruits of a growing economy are not being shared by all Americans.

Then Webb did something rather astonishing: He didn't fudge on his language or try to take the hard edge off his impatience with the status quo....Many Democrats tremble that they will be accused by some right-wing Web site or presidential spokesman of waging class warfare. Webb made clear that there is a class war going on and that the wrong side is winning it....

***

On Iraq, Webb did not mince his words about Bush's responsibility. "The president took us into this war recklessly," he declared....Webb's performance was a salutary sign that Democrats just might be getting over the battered party syndrome that has left so many of them terrified of saying exactly what's on their minds. Then again, maybe Webb was just speaking for himself. Having lived on the Republican side of politics during the Democrats' most traumatic years, he may have escaped the traumas associated with defeat.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/01/24/AR2007012401649.html

[ribrepin]

1. Thanks, good article

Webb was a republican during the Reagan years, but not a nut job. The one I am watching just now is Webb's fellow senator John Warner. He smacked Lieberman down for trying to label people who oppose the surge as unpatriotic. Then yesterday he was one of the few republicans to vote for raising the minimum wage.

Can Senator Warner be far behind Jim Webb in switching to the Democratic party. No, I am not that dumb, but it's fun to think about. Actually, if Senator Warner were to switch I'd run for the hills because something real bad would be coming down. My God, Warner been a republican longer that I've been alive.

Good night

[DeepModem Mom]

2. Good night, ribrepin! The Senators from Virginia are indeed giving stellar service...

to our nation just now.

[spooky3]

4. unfortunately, Sen. Warner's voting record as a whole is conservative

very conservative--not the old time moderate Republican. So while I applaud his occasional stances that are similar to Democrats', and his willingness to respond by mail to all (Felix Jr's staff never did) and behave in a gentlemanlike fashion, I'm afraid I see him as continuing to be a conservative Republican through and through. I do think that while he is probably Senator for as long as he chooses to be no matter what stances he takes on any issue, he is paying attention to the changes in the demographics of the voting population and the emergence of the metro centers in VA, which tend to be more liberal.

[ribrepin]

5. Actually I'd be worried if Warner suddenly changed sides

I'd start digging a fallout shelter. I'm just pretty amused @ Warner not hopping on the George Bush train to disaster. My memory of Warner is as a super war hawk. I still remember the firefight between him and his then wife Liz Taylor over women in combat. The american public was treated to the good senator and Liz in a arguing publicly over this issue. I can't remember but I think Warner told the world that women didn't know anything about combat. They were divorced shortly there after.

[spooky3]

6. I wonder what he thinks of Liz's $100K donation to H. Clinton?

I just saw this on Yahoo.com.

[salin]

7. How can Liz give $100k to any candidate - far supercedes

donation limits.

[spooky3]

9. here's a link to the story

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20070125/pl_nm/taylor_dc_3

[salin]

10. Shoddy reporting.

She can not give that much. It is law. There are strict limits on direct giving to a candidate. If she gave that much - than my bet would be that it is to a PAC - which does not have limits in terms of contributions - but the PAC is still limited in how much $ it can give to the candidate. Often candidate PACs are used to give $ to other candidates (and get their "loyalty".) The only other way to give so much, is not to give directly - but to bundle contributions (give to the limit -and get a number of other folks to give that same amount - and add the total of the other donors to get a final number of how much was given.

[enough]

3. k&r

[Cha]

8. I'm not holding that

against him. Senator James Webb has evolved unlike some neanderthals in the raygun, nixon, & bushI%II regimes.