Webb visits Virginia Beach

Webb gave what is becoming a well rounded stump speech. I heard him back in the beginning of the campaign and he has done a great job learning how to allow his real passion for his ideas show in the way he talks and interacts with people. And "We The People" were again his overarching theme. Helping the poor from all parts of VA, dealing with immigration, keeping fair trade a priority, the need for strong privacy rights, and protecting the lives of our troops were areas where his passion for strong government that empowers and respect people showed through.

He headed off any criticism of the recent Affirmative Action slander from the Miller camp by expressing powerful and heartfelt support for Affirmative Action used for it's intended purpose, which was removing the badge of slavery from African Americans. He said that he has been speaking with African American leaders about his full views on Affirmative Action, race and poverty and has gotten a great response.

Some of the things I liked were
- Dealing with raising people out of poverty as a whole.
- Helping reconcile the cost of health care against the outrageous profits of drug companies.
- Keeping Congress focused on how we are losing our manufacturing and production capabilities to off shoring and outsourcing and how that hurts real people's lives.  He discussed the recent very bad news of the closing of the Ford plant here.
- Breaking the immigration issue out and dealing with it as separate issues: border control, how to legally integrate the undocumented immigrants who have long, productive roots in our country, and how to ensure that incoming immigrants don't negatively impact the American workforce. He said that Congress keeps lumping these issues into omnibus bills that become paralyzed in Congress by disagreeing factions. The result is legislative gridlock and no solution.

He is of course still strongly against the war in Iraq and appalled with the very dangerous stances still being taken by the Bush administration in the Middle East. He believes that any discussion of the Middle East needs to include representatives of the governments of the Middle East as well as using the existing influence of Russia and China, both of whom have strong political and military ties in that region.

The audience really soaked up his enthusiasm, and I got the impression that there wasn't a single non supporter or fence rider by the time he finished. I can't speak for the entire Virginia Beach Democratic Committee, but the ones there were very fired up for Webb by the time he left.

TEASER:  Webb gave us two big names that are coming out in support of him in this area that I won't pop out, but I'm actually bursting to let you know. Suffice to say they are names that Hampton Roads knows and knows well.  These high profile endorsements are very big news for Webb.

Note: One of the lighter moments was when Webb was asked about the NASCAR vote.  His amusing answer included Mudcat, Jarding, and moonshine. 

Comments