RK ARCHIVE - The Honorable Owen B. Pickett For Webb!

The Honorable Owen B. Pickett, former Congressman from the Second District, and former Chair of the Democratic Party of Virginia, will soon endorse Jim Webb for the United States Senate.

Now, I was born and raised in Virginia Beach. I+óGé¼Gäóve learned that when you+óGé¼Gäóre a Democrat in this area, you listen carefully to what Owen Pickett has to say. He was a very popular Democrat, even amongst Republicans, in a conservative district. How popular? In 1994, able to survive the Republican "takeover" of the Congress relatively unharmed, even though he served a relatively conservative constituency. In 1996, only two years later, he won with 65% of the vote. In 1998, he ran unopposed. Remember, Virginia Beach has a Republican State Senator, Republican Delegates, and a Republican Congresswoman. It takes a hell of a candidate to scare Republicans so bad in Virginia Beach that they don't run anybody. He knows the area, and if he thinks Webb will do better than Miller in Hampton Roads, then I+óGé¼Gäóll trust him on this one.

Anybody who questions Webb+óGé¼Gäós credibility and loyalty to the Democratic Party can give that one up now. Webb is the only candidate so far to have the public endorsement of a former Party Chair. That means that the whole +óGé¼+ôMiller is the Real Democrat+óGé¼-¥ argument is pretty farcical at this point. Webb has the endorsements (and therefore trust) of a Former Congresswoman and Lt. Governor Candidate(the first Woman to serve in the US Congress from Virginia, I might add), a Minority Whip, a former Presidential Primary Candidate, and now a former Congressman/Chair of the Party. Not to mention all kinds of other important endorsements.

Stay tuned for the public statement, and we+óGé¼Gäóll learn more about why Owen Pickett thinks Jim Webb is the man for the job. I, personally, can't wait. I'm a big fan of the "Congressman for the Navy", and I want to see why he supports Jim Webb.

Comments

This is a great endorsement. (Josh - 4/15/2006 4:25:08 PM)

Webb wins the insiders and the outsiders.

Harris who?

Webb wins the people who recognise integrity (Info_Tech_Guy - 4/15/2006 6:38:31 PM)

... and these people are often known for their own personal integrity.

Millery is all pretense and no substance.

I wonder how many people who endorsed Miller now regret it and suspect that they didn't give James Webb a fair chance to defend himself against ill-founded accusations...

John Warner will retire soon. (DanG - 4/15/2006 6:38:13 PM)

Even if he runs again in 2008, it will be his last term. Who will look after the Navy once he's gone? We need Jim Webb to bring some military credibility to the Democratic Party.

Great news (Craig - 4/15/2006 6:59:30 PM)

I would have given Webb the edge anyhow in Hampton Roads, given his Navy background, but this pretty well clinches it. Pickett ran many times in a district that, back in the 90s, was considerably more Republican than it is today. So it's probably a safe bet that this'll really help, particularly in VA Beach proper, which definitely can't hurt.

Will Pickett be doing any stumping for Kellam? That's be even sweeter.

I'm sure Pickett will help Kellam (DanG - 4/15/2006 7:16:09 PM)

Hell, wouldn't you love to see a rally in Virginia Beach that had Kellam, Pickett, Webb, and a couple of other military voices (Clark, Cleland, etc.) speaking in front of a Carrier at Nauticus? Brilliant. Absolutely brilliant.

Wow, Militaripalooza (Josh - 4/15/2006 7:20:03 PM)

Webb, Kellam, Pickett, Clark, Cleland, Bob Kerry...
That would be some show!

See, we already have a name for it... (DanG - 4/15/2006 7:25:01 PM)

Webb, Pickett, Clark, Cleland, and Kerrey all have backgrounds of service to the military, through combat, politics, or both. That's the only area that keeps Kellam from being the perfect candidate for the Second. But if he's seen there, and gets the support of all of them, Kellam is suddenly credible.

At the Hampton neet and greet today, (summercat - 4/15/2006 7:12:37 PM)

Webb mentioned this endorsement--which was very well received. He also expects endorsements from a number of military figures, including General Zinni. Jim did a fantastic job today, imo--addressed the affirmative action thing very well, answered a number of questions with great clarity and skill. He seems totally comfortable speaking, projects himself well, has a nice sense of humor. He said his campaign will take him all over the state--sounds like it will involve a lot of personal interaction, which is great.
In short--he da man!!