I just received the following e-mail from "Draft James Webb." Looks like the Draft James Webb effort is really starting to heat up in the cold early days of 2006. Meanwhile, I've been reading "The Nightingale's Song," an absolutely fascinating book in which author Robert Timberg "weaves together the lives of Annapolis graduates John McCain, James Webb, Oliver North, Robert McFarlane, and John Poindexter to reveal how the Vietnam War continues to haunt America." It's also about the Reagan years, Iran Contra, the integration of women into the military, the building of the Vietnam Veteran's Memorial on the Mall, and much else. The book is absolutely fascinating...makes me like and admire James Webb as a man of tremendous character, courage and integrity. George Allen wouldn't stand a chance.
Draft James Webb to be the next Senator from Virginia - www.draftjameswebb.comHello. We're barely into the election year of 2006, but things are already heating up. In the last 2 weeks, a group of Democratic grassroots activists from across Virginia has launched a drive to draft Democrat (and former Navy Secretary) James Webb to run against Republican Senator George Allen this coming November. We believe that James Webb would represent a compelling candidate for the United States Senate, for the Democratic Party, and for Virginia. We firmly believe that he is capable of defeating George Allen. Among other things, Webb is a war hero who has been speaking out against the war since 2002, when he publicly asked, "Do we really want to occupy for the next 30 years?" Our plan is to present Mr. Webb with the petition - signatures, pledges, etc. - within the next few weeks. Our goal is to demonstrate the strong financial and grassroots support that would be available to Webb if he decides to take on Sen. Allen. The idea is to help convince Webb - who is seriously thinking about running - to actually do pull the trigger and do so. Please visit http://draftjameswebb.com to read more and sign the petition. If you agree that James Webb is the right candidate for Virginia at this time, I would encourage you to forward this email to your personal email list, consider placing one of our ads on your website, and use our Tell a Friend function to help spread the word. We believe we can take back the US Senate this year, and it starts in Virginia with James Webb.
More on the campaign:
It's now 2006, an important national election year with every House seat and one-third of the Senate up for grabs. This will be a critically important chance to SEND A MESSAGE to George W. Bush, Dick Cheney, Don Rumsfeld, and the Republican-controlled Congress. That's right, come November 2006, YOU will have a chance to tell these people that we will not stand for their ruinous economic policies, their debacle in Iraq, their assault on our civil liberties, their unethical and illegal behavior, their cronyism, their ruinous fiscal policies, their assault on the environment, and their far-right-wing social agenda. Come November 2006, YOU will have a chance to restore some semblance of "checks and balances" in Washington, DC by turning Congress over to the Democrats. Finally, come November 2006, YOU will have a chance to set the stage for 2008, when we will choose a new President of the .
Right here in Virginia, we have a President wannabe named George Allen, a far-right extremist with ties to Jack Abramoff and a record almost devoid of accomplishments in the US Senate. Despite all that, Allen is considered a front-runner for the Republican Presidential nomination in 2008. We must STOP HIM NOW, or risk the chance of 4 more disastrous years in this country.
Luckily, there's a way we can stop Allen, right here, right now. His name is James Webb, the first Naval Academy graduate in history to serve in the military and then become Secretary of the Navy: In Vietnam, Webb won the Navy Cross, the Silver Star, two Bronze Star Medals and two Purple Hearts. Since , Webb earned his JD from Georgetown University, wrote six best-selling books, and won an Emmy Award for his work as a journalist. As a genealogist and author of "Born Fighting: How the Scots-Irish Shaped America," Webb is one of the leading experts and representatives of an important group of people who settled and greatly influence life throughout Virginia today, especially in the Shenandoah Valley.
James Webb has tremendous integrity and principle, speaking out against the war at least since September 2002, defending Chuck Robb against Ollie North's scurrilous attacks in the 1994 US Senate race. In addition, Webb was responsible for lobbying the government to place the statue of the three soldiers at the Vietnam Memorial. Additionally, Webb was the one who argued for inclusion of a black soldier in the statue. On race relations, Webb wrote in 2004: "the greatest realignment in modern politics would take place rather quickly if the right national leader found a way to bring the Scots-Irish and African Americans to the same table, and so to redefine a formula that has consciously set them apart for the past two centuries." James Webb can be that man, if we help him do so.
What do we need to do? Simple: persuade James Webb to run for US Senate from Virginia in 2006. We know that Webb, a former Republican turned Democrat, is seriously thinking about it. We know that he has responded to a "draft" before in his life. So why not now? Draft an old soldier for another chance to serve his country? Thats exactly what several of us intend to do - persuade James Webb to run against George Allen for Senate. That?s why we - a group of concerned citizens and political activists - have set up a petition to Draft James Webb for Senate. That?s why we?re asking you, if you want James Webb to take on Allen, to click "sign petition" and tell him how much you want him as your candidate next November.
Thank you very much.
- The Draft James Webb TeamVisit our blog: www.draftjameswebb.com/blog
Not affiliated with James Webb, any other candidate or organization.
P.S. As always, this effort is NOT a "Raising Kaine" effort per se, but one that includes several members of Raising Kaine plus numerous other people.