Jim Webb for Senate

Virginia Democrats face an interesting primary election to select a challenger to incumbent Republican Senator George Allen.

Longtime Democratic Party insider and stalwart Harris Miller (below), one of the legions of lawyers residing in Northern Virginia, is squaring off against former Reagan administration Secretary of the Navy James Webb (left), an independent running as a Democrat.

For my money, this one's easy: Webb is the right choice if Democrats want any chance of unseating the popular Allen, Virginia's junior Senator, who has Presidential ambitions.

Miller is a fine man--like many stalwart Democrats I know, he's done all the right things, supported all the right positions, worked hard for the party, etc. But, he has NO CHANCE of beating Allen, precisely because he is such a typical Democrat. (For example, Miller was recently endorsed by the Virginia Partisans Gay and Lesbian Democratic Club--NOT HELPFUL, FOLKS).

Miller's background--he's a D.C. lawyer who became head of a trade association--is so inside-the-beltway as to be painful. (Miller says he has the experience to "fix Washington"--RIGHT--try selling that in Danville, Virginia.) For the typical Virginia swing-voter, who surely will be key to the fall election, Miller will bring nothing new to the table.

Webb, in contrast, is a colorful candidate who can truly appeal to independents, because he really is one. Much as voters in general are angry at the Republican led Congress, they aren't ready to vote in Democrats just for a change. Indeed, many voters still see Democrats--for good reason--as part of the problem. So Webb is just what the Democrats need.

Webb's campaign slogan is "born fighting". He's against the Iraq war, and was fortunate enough to put his position in writing (in an op-ed piece) BEFORE the war, while W was lying to the country about the rationale for the war. Webb also has a son who is scheduled to be deployed to Iraq shortly. Imagine--a member of Congress with a child actually in the war!

I support Webb because he has a shot at winning. As a former Marine and military leader in the Reagan administration, Webb can appeal to disaffected Democrats who despise the Republican economic agenda but are uncomfortable with the Democratic social agenda. Virginia has a lot of swing voters, as evidenced by recent elections in which moderate, practical Democrats Mark Warner and Tim Kaine won the gubernatorial race while Republicans won other key statewide offices such as Attorney General. Harris Miller has little chance of attracting enough swing votes to tip a close general election his way if it comes to that.

Meanwhile, George Allen (below--he was something of a football star), who many believe is the leading Republican alternative to John McCain for the '08 presidential nomination, is more vulnerable than many think. Unlike Virginia's senior Republican Senator--John Warner--Allen has done little to distance himself from W or appear in any way independent of the straight Republican party line. Allen is such a cheerleader for President Bush that he's like Bush-lite. Think of it--that's saying something. (At my kids' elementary school auction last weekend, an Allen-autographed football fetched all of $20.)

While Allen is very personable, a guy like Webb could get under his skin where it counts. And Allen won't be able to get away with labelling Webb as a "liberal" or "soft on defense" (as he easily could with Miller). Indeed, if Webb gets the nomination and the race starts to show the slightest sign of tightening, it will instantly draw massive media attention precisely because of Allen's presidential ambitions and the implications for Republican control of the Senate.

My only fear is that Webb will turn out to be too colorful; or that he'll give way to the urge to pander (case in point: last week Webb called for a 5% income tax rebate for veterans, a blatant appeal to the many retired military personnel around the state, but not necessarily good policy).

So let's nominate Webb and let the real fight begin!