1st comment.  :)

over JARDING supposedly going NUTS over....

ha.

I'm a "super-administrator" on this site. There's not much that Ben can do to me here at RK.  If he wants to kick my butt, he'll have to do it over on NLS. :)

Jarding's comeback was brilliant.  Perfect.

This, very simply, sent the signal to EVERYONE that Webb's campaign will NOT be F'd with (i.e. defined by Allen).

This is exactly what is necessary to make sure the Allen camps money and attempts to define (aka swiftboat) Webb will NOT be tolerated, unanswered, or at all effective.

Good move, fellow Mount Vernon resident Steve Jarding!

Ben, stick to the election returns, you're really good at that.

I agree Doug. Jarding replied in the way he should have.
Responses can not be sweet, sugary and soft in this campaign.

Great job Steve :)

I know this may sound a bit over the top, but stuff like this really gets me jacked up. I've got my Webb T-shirt and my car ready to flyer every neighborhood in Metro Richmond, but can this campaign please get some organization?

Either way I'm glad Jarding set the tone. Jim Webb is not to be treated lightly.

You are in Richmond?

email me nicholeherbig@gmail.com

We are having a meeting this week!!!!

His analysis was way, way off. Wadhams was inferring that Webb's opposition to the amendment was political. As if Webb can't take a principled position for himself.

I applaud the Webb campaigh for this swift, concise and intelligent response. Fight fire with fire. Wadhams is no angel.

Let's not talk about the war, or the budget deficit, or the Republican culture of corruption in Washington.  No, let's talk about flag burning and gay marriage.

Great strategy for George Allen.  But there is no gain in this debate for Webb.  Our Democratic Senate nominee needs to outline his positions on these issues succinctly and then move on to the real issues.

Webb cannot win by arguing about nonsensical issues created by the GOP to tie Democrats in knots and play to the Republican base.  Fighting over these trumped-up issues will not help Webb peel away independents and moderate Republicans from Allen.

And why, may I ask, do the Webb folks and the bloggers want to continue debating some alleged anti-Semetic cartoon that is ancient history?

Stop taking Wadham's bait. Stop doing Allen's work for him. Stop screaming at the drop of a hat.  Stop reacting on issues that don't gain Webb a single vote. Bring in some pros and party folks who know Virginia to help the Webb team do some strategic thinking about how to woo the voters he needs to win.

You can be certain that this is a love tap compared to the kind of crap (spell that Swiftboat) that will emanate from the backside of the Allen campaign in the coming months.

Webb may not be able to set the agenda in this campaign, but his campaign staff, his volunteers, and his bloggers need to get on message and stay on it.

My candidate's slogan is born fighting.

I find a receptive audience that see the Republican "flag amendment" for what it is.  A whore in a white dress.

See that big goofy grinning fool with the Confederate theater uniform?  That's George Allen and his idea of service - he fights battles that exist only inside his mind.  He's a Hollywood Patriot.  All hat, no blood.

I would gladly carry James Webb down the valley road on my shoulders - all the way to Bristol. Been working out, doing mileage, building stamina, getting lean!  Would anyone do the same for George Allen??

What has George Allen done for America lately? 

George Allen - Hollywood Patriot! All hat, no blood!

Way to go Bubby, you've hit pay dirt with this one.

The problem with Republicans is that they are essentially playground bullies. They've spent years and years attacking Democrats and branding them liberals as if they should be ashamed of their beliefs, making fun of true heroes like Ted Kennedy, John Kerry, and Max Cleland. Thus far they have been successful at negative branding them in the marketplace of ideas by linking their names with images and emotional concepts that are negative in the minds of the conservative base.

The problem with Democrats is that they have not fought back hard enough and we now have a situation where Democrats in Washington have been afraid to fight back on an equal level for the past six years.

Here is a warning to all Republicans: That all changes with this race. You've driven our country into a military, economic and constitutional ditch and Americans are sick of it. They are finally waking up and seeing the end result of all your hateful rhetoric and harmful ideas.

Jarding is absolutely right in nailing Allen and Wadhams to the wall before they get the chance to smear a man whose integrity and character is unimpeachable.

Webb has an army of volunteers who are ready to fight for him. Allen has a small corps of paid party consultants. In 100 days we rose up and defeated Miller and in 4 months we are going rise up and kick Allen's smarmy teeth down his cowardly, traitorous throat.

This election is not going to be like any other that Allen or the Republicans have ever fought. Republicans have always liked to get down in the mud and play dirty. Well this time they picked the wrong crowd. Virginia Democrats are no longer going to lie down and play nice. If you've ever had the opportunity to see a playground bully finally get punched in the face, what you usually see is a coward cringing away and claiming that it was an unfair fight.

I'm sure this will be their mantra this summer and all fall as Webb takes Allen to the woodshed for his continued lack of character and his poor voting record which has sold out American workers and American troops time and time again.

Jim Webb, American Hero. George Allen, California Zero!

It's Fine for the Campaign to go after Wadhams but Allen's staff had a comeback which was pretty much on point and shows that bluster opens one up to other critcisms. Better to be focused on a positive effective message of who Jim Webb is and why he is the best candidate any Virginian could and should vote for.

George Allen ran in 2000 on a platform that included a guarantee of full health benefits to all retirees.  The flag amendment was put into play for that election as well.  At the time, George Allen spoke of a "$ 50 billion increase in defense spending over the next five years to raise military pay, modernize weapons systems and guarantee full health benefits to all retirees."

But in 2005 George Allen voted NO on two veterans amendments.

George Allen voted NO on a motion to waive the Budget Act in order to adopt an amendment that appropriates $500 million annually from 2006-2010 for counseling, mental health, and rehabilitation services for veterans diagnosed with mental illness, post-traumatic stress disorder, or substance abuse.

And George Allen voted NO on an amendment to ensure that future funding for health care for former members of the Armed Forces takes into account changes in population and inflation.

In 2004 George Allen had a 0 percent rating for supporting the interests of the Disabled American Veterans.

And in 2004 George Allen had a 0 percent rating for supporting the interests of the Retired Enlisted Association.

In 2005 George Allen had a 50 percent rating for supporting the interests of the Disabled American Veterans.

In 2005 the much maligned Senators Kennedy, Kerry and Schumer had a 92 percent rating for supporting the interests of the Disabled American Veterans.

And what does Webb tell us he learned in the military?

You take care of your people.

That's right.  It's a real American value. It's a Democratic value. You don't just talk about it at election time.  You do it. The costumes won't conceal your pretense anymore.

You. Felix. George. Dick the mouth piece. You have not taken care of your people.  Quite the contrary. You've been riding ponies and playing dress up and getting richer and richer. And you have not been doing your job.

And we the people can take care of ourselves, thank you, by electing someone who is on our side.

It's clear Allen and his team are up to their old tricks.  If a team keeps calling the same play over and over, and keeps winning over and over, why not stick with it? 

I think this time the old tricks aren't going to work.  We've got a different candidate (the Webb team is not taking quietly the way Kerry did) and many people are growing tired of same Republican attack.  Only the true believers will buy it now.

Allen's playbook:

1. Use liberal.  Dick either brings it up directly or through association (DSCC et al), Allen's said it, they all say it. 

2. Use flip flop.  He threw in a new word in the latest: vacillation.  Wonder how many of their diehards will get that.

3. Attack veterans.  I'm still not sure how they get away with this one, but Webb is going to be different.

Boring.  Repeptitive.  Uninformative.  And most important - it's not true with Webb.

everytime Webb agrees with senior Democratic leaders, Dick Wad  will make it sound like Webb's at their beck and call.

Correlation <> causation.

This is a brilliant tactic (however false), because names like Kerry, Schumer, and Kennedy are mud amongst Virginia's conservative independents and pissed-off Republicans - votes both men need to win.

Webb has to assert his independence at every turn, and hit back with Allen's lapdog loyalty to a President who polls below 40% here (and probably lower among these independent/moderate republican swing voters.)

who thinks that ben was merely trying to get a rise out of people?

I may be wrong, but I just thought the post sounded a little sarcastic and satirical...and everyone bought it, and hence, NLS.com went NUTS!

What about the issues Tim Kaine ran on--quality of life issues for Virginians. What about transportation and the environment--Mark Warner had a brilliant letter a few weeks ago that tied gas prices, the economy, and the environment all together. He made it clear how all these things work together and how the current admin isn't seeing the big picture much less addressing it. Healthcare, etc.
He must be about something besides the military. Not everyone in Virginia is related to someone in the military. I know he gets asked a lot of questions because of his stance on the Iraq war which lead back to more military questions, but in the meantime, we are facing lots of issues here in this country and state that need to be addressed. These are our positive Democratic values and the need to be showcased by a candidate.

And I sure hope that the campaign (and the Progressive/Democratic blogoshpere) don't treat them way. 

The Iraq war and Webb's military service are going to be important, especially for winning over Republicans who have been hesitant to vote Democratic because they think Democrats are weak on security.  And it's important to show that Allen is a nobody compared to Webb on such matters.

But, to your point, I'd also love to see an equal effort focus on positives and how Webb will start moving Virginia, and the whole country, in the right direction for the economy, environment, health care, education, emergency preparedness, transportation, etc, etc.

It would be a great disservice to the effort to focus on only one aspect.