Webb Wins Democratic Senate Primary Race in Va.

[Robbien]

James Webb, a former Reagan administration Navy secretary who left the Republican Party over the Iraq war, won the Democratic nomination Tuesday to take on GOP Sen. George Allen in the fall.

Webb defeated lobbyist and longtime Democratic Party activist Harris Miller after a bruising primary in which voters decided between a traditional and unabashed liberal (Miller) and a former Republican (Webb) whose populist campaign was aimed at so-called Reagan Democrats _ namely, rural, white moderates.

With 80 percent of precincts reporting, Webb had 69,256 votes, or 54 percent, compared with 58,716 votes, or 46 percent, for Miller. Except for the Washington suburbs, turnout was paltry across Virginia, a state unaccustomed to primaries. The last Democratic Senate primary was in 1994.

Allen is seeking a second term and also pursuing a 2008 bid for president. He had no GOP challenger.

Four other states also held elections Tuesday, including primaries for governor in Maine and South Carolina; a Democratic runoff for the nomination for lieutenant governor in Arkansas; and referendums on constitutional amendments in North Dakota.

http://mcalesternews.com/opinion/feeds/apcontent/apstories/apstorysection/D8I7LOJ80.xml.txt/resources_apstoryview

[FSogol]

1. A couple in inaccuracies here.

1. Miller is far from an unabashed liberal, no matter what his campaign literature says. He is anti-union and pro-outsourcing.

2. A 3-4% turnout is exactly normal for a primary in Virginia. May someone can explain why the Repub turnout was .05%?

[Robbien]

5. Yes, A Miller win would have been bad news

for progressives. If one wants a candidate who would sell out the public to big corporations Miller would be your man.

Of course the corporate media would put Miller in a more favorable light and keep pushing the fact that Webb use to be a Pubbie. Webb is going to be a good choice to go against Allen.

[Duncan]

15. You got that right.

Harris was a diebold lobbiest.
"We oppose the idea of a voter-verified paper trail." — Harris Miller

http://www.bradblog.com/?p=2255

And Webb has opposed the invasion of iraq from the beginning.

Webb will defeat Allen.

[Olney Blue]

2. Virginians, is this good or bad? Can he beat Allen?

[FSogol]

3. Yes, he will whump Allen.

Webb = real
Allen = fake cowboy, real racist

[IndianaGreen]

4. I hope so!

I can't stand that smug asshole that Allen is.

[durrrty libby]

6. Well.... Chris Matthews says no one will beat Allen

I surely do hope he is wrong

[FSogol]

8. Mathews is a GOP cheerleader. He has as much cred as the WH these days.

[depakid]

9. Chris Mathews????

You can't be serious... citing him.

[LostinVA]

13. Matthews doesn't live in Virginia

Moderate conservatives will vote for Webb. Liberals will. Dems will. The NOVA, Central VA, and military East votes will swing it for Webb.

[yellowcanine]

7. I hope so. It would be sweet to whup Santorum and Allen - the two biggest

asshats in the Senate. And that is saying something.

[LostinVA]

12. I am a Democratic Socialist Virginian

And, I voted for Webb. Gawd, I didn't especially like doing it, but... here's why:

He will destroy Allen in the election.

He is NOT a liberal, but he is definitely less conservative than Allen.

He is NOT a liberal, but he is less conservative than Miller. Miller is far more insidious: someone who SAYS he's this huge liberal, when he sure as hell isn't -- he is extremely anti-worker, and is PROUD of that. Who knows what else he has up his frigging sleeve? At least Webb is a known entity.

Yes, he's the lesser of two evils... but Webb is better than Allen... it's a start.

[SquireJons]

16. From my view in Richmond, this looks good

Four weeks ago, I did not know who Harris Miller was. I knew who Jim Webb was, a republican and pentagon official from the Reagan administration. Oh, and I didn't know that we had a primary coming up. My oh my, what a difference three weeks can make, and I think I'm fairly representative of most Virginians.

I first received mailings from Miller, and while I didn't really like the content, I was glad to see an early presence by a Democrat in the fall elections. Then I received a call from the Webb campaign and after a half hour talk, I understood the parameters of the race. This is the first time that I can ever remember there being a primary for the democratic nomination that was contested. But my initial feelings were why should I support an avowed republican over a long time democratic activist... even if Webb is saying all the right things now.

Then came a barrage of Miller campaign material, all of which was negative and not directed at Allen, his republican opposition. So Miller began to fade in my book. Then Webb ran a really good, under funded, come from behind campaign that stayed on target (Allen and fellow republicans), stayed reasonably positive, stuck to important issues and used his clout as a Reagan Democrat with great success. I started to get interested in Webb.

Then I learned about Millers 'credentials.' If you went to his web page, he seemed like a man who never held a real job. No public service, no mention of any positions with any companies, vague references to businesses he ran, and a heavy reliance on his chairmanship of an IT lobbying firm. Initially, I thought that was ok, since I work in IT. Unfortunately, it turns out that Mr. Miller was lobbying against the interests of American IT workers by trying to increase the number of foreign visa's offered to IT workers who in turn work for lower wages. And he had been a strong advocate of outsourcing. Webb on the other hand advocates protections for American workers and the American economy. Miller fades even more and Webb starts to look pretty good.

Then this last weekend came the final straw. The Webb campaign sent out a political cartoon criticizing Millers stance on jobs and the Miller campaigns response was to try to play the race card. That showed me just what kind of man Miller was and what kind of campaign he would run. By then it was an easy choice of Webb. Now it remains to be seen if he can convince some of his fellow "Reagan Democrats" that it's not to late to avert driving over the cliff if we change drivers. Sanity can be a good thing. I wish him the best of luck.

If you consider how far Webb has come, with no money and a reputation to overcome, I think he has been pretty remarkable. He can beat Allen, absolutely.

[Olney Blue]

17. I learned so much from your post. Thank you!

[skipos]

10. This VA race is #7 on my "possible dem pickups" list

I think this is a long shot, but Allen is no longer the shoe in that everyone thought.

[LostinVA]

14. Webb will win

Dems don't want Allen to win again, and Webb is the lesser of two evils... although he will not vote b100% with the Dems in the Senate.

Moderate conservatives will vote for Webb.

Webb will hit Allen with some major fire. Allen will lose.

[Olney Blue]

18. I hope so. That would be wonderful!

[Judi Lynn]

11. Ex-Republican wins Democratic nomination (James Webb, Virginia!)

June 14, 2006, 2:19AM
Ex-Republican wins Democratic nomination

By BOB LEWIS
Associated Press

RICHMOND, VA. - James Webb, a former Reagan administration Navy secretary who left the Republican Party over the Iraq war, won the Democratic nomination Tuesday for the right to take on GOP Sen. George Allen in the fall.

Webb defeated longtime Democratic Party activist Harris Miller. Webb's campaign was aimed at so-called Reagan Democrats — namely, rural, white moderates.

With all but one precinct reporting, Webb had 83,002 votes, or 53.5 percent, compared with 72,263 votes, or 46.5 percent, for Miller.

Allen is seeking a second term and also pursuing a 2008 bid for president. He had no GOP challenger.
(snip/...)

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/politics/3967543.html

[brentspeak]

19. The GOP is probably readying a new batch of Smear Vets as we speak