Credit to Ben Tribbett at Not Larry Sabato for the "scoop" on this story. I've known for several weeks now that Wes Clark - another former "Republican" (actually, neither Clark nor Webb were ever registered Republicans) who has "come home" to the Democratic Party - would be endorsing Jim Webb for US Senate. I've known for several days that it would be this Wednesday. However, I didn't want to "spill the beans," just as I'm not "spilling the beans" on other big endosrsements I know about that are in the hopper for Webb. (All I can say is, watch out Harris Miller, and watch out George Allen!)Anyway, there's definitely no stopping Ben Tribbett; is this guy an amazing super-sleuth or what?!? So, I guess I'll just keep letting him have the scoops on Webb-related stuff as long as I'm so heavily, if unofficially, involved with the campaign. Congratulations to Ben on getting this story out there, and congratulations to Jim Webb for winning the endorsement of Wes Clark!
By the way, for those of you who don't know, I strongly supported Clark for President in 2003 and 2004. I believed then, and I believe in more now, that Clark would have made a great President. I ran two grassroots websites - Environmentalists for Clark and Hispanics for Clark - and served on Clark's "Environmental Leadership Council." I also worked as a local "platoon leader" in the Arlington/DC area. I wrote a piece in July 2003 (reprinted in October 2003) called "Wesley Clark is Karl Rove's Worst Nightmare," which was the basis for my slogan, "Jim Webb is George Allen's Worst Nightmare."
And, most importantly, I got to know some great people in the Clark "movement," an extremely large and passionate group which continues to this day - gearing up for 2008. People like Chris Ambrose, Debby Burroughs, Sue Langley, and Kim Cogle, right here in Virginia. The national Clark 08 group has 496 members at present, and is both highly active - over 920 messages in February - and highly loyal to Wes Clark. If Clark says he supports someone, these people - and thousands more across the country - are likely to salute, shout "yes, SIR!" and support them as well. Here's a list of candidates Clark has endorsed so far in this cycle. A couple of highlights:
*Tammy Duckworth, the wounded "fighting Democrat" who just won the Democratic nomination for Congress from Henry Hyde's suburban Chicago district. Congratulations to Tammy!
*Eric Massa, another "fighting Dem" from New York's rural 29th district (spanning Allegany, Cattaraugus, Chemung, part of Monroe, part of Ontario, Schuyler, Steuben, and Yates counties). Eric's a great guy, who I've met on several occasions, and I believe will make a great Congressman. I strongly support Eric Massa for Congress, and urge everyone else to do the same. Massa is facing off against a right-wing Republican named Randy Kuhl who opposed a bipartisan amendment to provide full access to TRICARE - the military health program - to all members of the Guard and Reserves and their families. This is a big issue for Wes Clark as well, for Jim Webb, and for millions of veterans across the country - including tens of thousands right here in Virginia.
Now, you can add Jim Webb to the list of fantastic "Fighting Dems" endorsed by a great 4-star General, Wes Clark. This promises to be a powerful partnership, especially when said 4-star General is also a strong, fighting Progressive (like Leslie Byrne, who's also endorsed Webb). In my opinion, Wes Clark is a strong, Teddy Roosevelt/JFK/RFK Progressive who believes in expanding health care coverage to all Americans, protecting the environment, "treat[ing] all Americans equally no matter what their race, religion or sexual orientation," giving the District of Columbia voting rights and "Home Rule", balancing the budget while also investing in critical priorities, opposing infringements on our civil liberties and freeddoms, and only using American troops "as an absolute last resort."
This is the guy who will be endorsing Jim Webb tomorrow. Any more questions about Webb's - or Clark's - "Democratic credentials," boys and girls? Good, I didn't think so.
By the way, some will say that Wes Clark only finished third in the Virginia Presidential primary in February 2004. However, I would point out that John Kerry was de facto already the Democratic nominee at that time, so that Virginia's vote really meant little. Also, since 2004, Wes Clark's popularity has increased by leaps and bounds among the Democratic "netroots." As an illustration, I know numerous Clark supporters who got slammed on Daily Kos back in the summer of 2003 for backing this "Republican" General. Today, Wes Clark is one of the most popular politicians among "Kossacks." And Clark played a strong role in helping to elect Tim Kaine governor of Virginia. For that, we should all be grateful.
The bottom line here is this: endorsements don't win elections, but they can tell us something powerful about the person being endorsed (as the saying goes, "you don't choose your family, but you DO choose your friends!"). In this case, Clark's endoresement of Jim Webb says nothing but great things about Webb. And this is just the start. George Allen should be quaking in his Southern California "cowboy" boots if he has any brains at all. He should also stop running around to Iowa, New Hampshire, and South Carolina, and start thinking a bit more seriously about a race for Senate that he thought he had all sewn up before Jim Webb came along. On second thought, you know what: please, George, keep on ignoring Virginia, talking about how "bored" you are in the US Senate, and generally dissing our state by talking about how you would have much rather been born in Iowa or whatever. Meanwhile, give Jim Webb the time to create an unstoppable juggernaut that will sweep you from power in November, help take back the Senate for the Democratic Party, and carry a strong wind of much-needed reform into the "culture of corruption" known as "Congress" these days.
Go Clark, and Go Webb!
P.S. How about "Wes and Warner" 2008? Sounds like a winning ticket to me!
P.P.S. "Florence" writes on Ben's blog: "Webb's already been the beneficiary of Clark's donor list to some extent. This will open it wide up. Not only his donors, but his supporters. I know cause I'm one of them"
[UPDATE #1: There will be a supporter and press event with Wes Clark and Jim Webb on Wednesday (tomorrow) at 10:30 AM; suite #304, 1916 Wilson Blvd., Arlington, VA 22201]
[UPDATE #2: A new poll by Rasmussen shows what we're up against here - Allen leading Harris Miller by 29 points and Jim Webb by 24 points.]