Dear Sen. Allen:We know you're really bored with life in the Senate, and extremely busy running around Iowa and New Hampshire trying desperately to find another job. However, if on rare occasion you happen to stop and think about your long-suffering constituents in Virginia - where you wish you hadn't been born (and weren't, come to think of it!) - you should be afraid. VERY afraid, even.
Turns out, according to E.J. Dionne in today's Washington Post (I know,you only read the Washington Times, which is why I'm letting you know about this) that:
..the possibility of a Democratic tide that might sweep in second- or third-tier challengers is no longer mere fantasy talk among liberals at cocktail parties. It is a genuine Republican fear.
Even in Virginia, the state you moved to after growing up as a surfer dude in Southern California, your hero and role model, George W. Bush, is sporting a pitiful 37% approval, 60% disapproval rating. Ouch! As a result, according to Dionne, "Democrats are beginning to think that Sen. George Allen, who is up for reelection this year and considering a run at the presidency in 2008, may be vulnerable." I'd say drop the word "may," and Dionne has got it exactly right. You are EXTREMELY vulnerable, even if you don't believe it yet.
Another thing for you to be afraid about: according to FEC data released yesterday, the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC) now has $32.1 million in the bank - TWICE AS MUCH as its Republican counterpart, which has only $16.5 million. So, you thought you were going to romp in terms of money, eh? You've got $7 million in the bank, eh? Well, we Democrats are not happy with what you and your party are doing to our country, and we're opening up our wallets to make sure that you can't do it any longer. And right now, we've got $16 million more dollars than you in our main Senate campaign account. Gee, I wonder if some of that could be coming to Virginia to help Jim Webb equalize your money advantage - the only advantage you've got going for you, really. Hmmmm...
Oh, and just wait until Jim Webb wins the Democratic nomination; something tells me that you are going to see such a flood of money pouring in that you're going to think a Tsunami has hit Virginia. Surfs up, dude!
And wait until Mark Warner - remember him, the guy who polls showed would have defeated you for US Senate this year? - kicks in and starts raising money for Jim Webb; that's going to be fun. Wait until the veteran's community kicks in and supports the war hero (Webb) versus the phony cowboy (you). By the way, speaking of veterans, what were you doing during the Vietnam War, when Jim Webb was winning the Navy Cross, Silver Star, two Bronze Stars, and two Purple Hearts? Just asking.
One other point you might want to consider: your past electoral performance has been WILDLY overestimated. In 2000, for instance, you beat Chuck Robb - tarnished by scandals (one involving a former Miss Virginia, Tai Collins) and only half-heartedly campaigning for reelection - by just 4.6 percentage points, even though you outspent him 3:1 in a "red" state. You also ran well behind George W. Bush that year. That's right, Bush won Virginia by 8.1 points in 2000, you won by 4.6 points. Sorry, George, but that's not very impressive at all, no matter how you try to spin it.
So what about this year? Can a strong Democratic candidate - someone, let's just say, like Jim Webb - make up 4.6 percentage points against a guy who wishes he was born in Iowa, is tarnished by the Jack Abramoff "culture of corruption," and is led by a President with a NEGATIVE 23 POINT approval/disapproval rating? Can this happen in a state that just elected a supposed "liberal" (Tim Kaine) as Governor, and in which a real liberal (Leslie Byrne) lost by only 1 point in 2005? Can a strong Democratic candidate and American Hero - Jim Webb, just to throw out a random name - win in a state which is seeing continual Democratic inroads in traditional Republican areas, like Loudoun and Prince William counties?
Last but not least, can a strong Democratic candidate win in the context of a national Republican Party that finds itself in disarray, tarnished by scandal, mismanagement, incompetence, cronyism, an unpopular and costly war, and budget deficits as far as the eye can see? As your own fearless leader, George W. Bush, might say, "Bring it on!"
Are you afraid yet, George? If not, why not? Are you really "dumber than a post," as Stephen Colbert says? Or are you just the most arrogant huamn being on the face of the earth?
Anyway, good luck on the campaign trail - that would be Iowa, New Hampshire, South Carolina, and where else your 2008 Presidential ambitions steer you. Oh, and great seeing you at the Shad Planking. I sure hope none of that bony fish got caught in your whiny throat.
With all due respect (e.g., not much),
We remain,
Your friends...or is it enemies,
Raising Kaine
P.S. Can you pass this letter along to your friends Thelma Drake, Jo Ann Davis, Tom Davis, Virgil Goode, Eric Cantor and Frank Wolf as well? They might be interested to know that the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) has about as much money as the RCCC. Just thought that was worth mentioning.