What Jim Webb Needs To Do Next

Phew! After a hard fought contest, Jim Webb has earned the right to challenge incumbent Senator George Allen this fall. The good news is that Webb matches up well against Allen. The bad news is that Webb has a LOT of work to do in a fairly short amount of time to mount a serious challenge to the popular and well-financed Allen.

Here's what Webb needs to do now:

1. Raise a lot of money. The best way to do that is (a) to prove he can raise money on his own, and (2) get some poll results showing that Allen is, indeed, vulnerable. (Good news on that score already--a Rasmussen Poll shows Webb behind Allen by only 10 points, which is fantastic at this point.) If he can do both those things, money will flow in from around the country from Democrats eager to take back the Senate.

How much money does Webb need? Probably at least $5 million, which will be about half to a third what Allen will be able to raise and spend.

It's likely that Tim Kaine and Mark Warner will help out--that's big time support!

2. Continue to grow as a campaigner. Webb is a novice politician and it shows. Fortunately, this is a double-edged sword. On the one hand, he can be a bit awkward in public appearances, particularly when it comes to just mingling with folks. (That's never been a problem for Allen.) On the other hand, he can be refreshingly candid and direct, a trait that appeals in particular to independent voters.

Because Webb is so candid, however, he occasionally alienates this or that interest group that wants him to toe their particular party line. The Curmdugeon's recommendation: ignore most of those little interest groups. Their leaders love to get in the limelight, but remarkably few voters have such narrow views, and in any event those on the left aren't going to vote for Allen (although they might stay home, or vote for the Green candidate [gee, that worked out well for Naderites in 2000]).

3. Issues. In the primary, many Miller supporters, including the Washington Post, criticized Webb for being shallow on the issues other than Iraq. The criticism was not undeserved. Webb needs to broaden his issue base considerably, something he conceded in a telephonic press conference yesterday.

What should be his key issues, besides Iraq? For starters, the three E's: energy, environment and education. We don't have room, at least today, to flesh out positions on all of these, but here's a nutshell. Energy--we have a serious problem that will only get worse; we need to encourage conservation, invest in new technology and get realistic about domestic drilling. Environment: global warming is here, the issues are difficult, we need to start dealing with them. Education: Virginia has some fine public schools that can serve as models for good education; we need to invest in our public schools.

The fourth E is, of course, the Economy. Webb should support an increase in the minimum wage--we haven't had one in years. He should also stress fiscal responsibility--attack earmarks (hear that, Jim Moran?); support a balanced budget; adjust the most egregious tax cuts for the rich; and it's time to get serious about entitlements--call for bipartisan solutions to the social security/medicare problems we'll soon face.

Finally, Iraq. It's great that Webb opposed the war for all the right reasons, but we went to war nonetheless, so the question now is what do we do? Webb opposes setting a date for a pullout, which is fine. But he needs to articulate a more proactive position, otherwise he just plays into Allen's hands.

3. Campaign focus. Don't spend too much time in Northern Virginia, where his support is solid; recruit some key African-American leaders to help his standing in the black community, but don't expect a big turnout there (it won't happen, no matter who runs). Concentrate on Norfolk and southwest Virginia, where he has a good chance to sway voters only weakly committed to Allen.

4. Born Fighting. Attack Allen mercilessly, especially for being a Bush stooge.

If you want to make a campaign contribution, go to WebbforSenate.com.