"Value of free speech"
"If you liked Andy Jackson, you'll love Jim Webb's straight and sensible philosophy"
"Allen has made a terrible mess in Washington"
"Webb Is All Mouth And No Action"
(LYNCHBURG) NEWS & ADVANCE (July 7)
"Politicians answer to business, not people"
For many years, all have known that the Grand Old Party, the Republican Party, has represented the interests of the wealthy and corporations or industries. On the one hand, Reps. Virgil Goode and Bob Goodlatte and Sen. George Allen each try to give the impression that they are just an average Joe, one of us. They talk with a twang or tobacco in their mouths and strut around in cowboy boots.
However, time after time their votes are consistently in the interests of wealthy individuals and the corporate and special interests and lobbyists who buy them off with campaign funds, junkets and other special privileges.
Recent votes in Congress illustrate this situation most clearly. First, our representatives voted to repeal or reduce the estate tax because it adversely affects the interest of those poor and unfortunate multimillionaires.
In doing so, they increase the already obscene deficit that they have created with no benefits for the country - the war on terrorism hasn+óGé¼Gäót been won, Iraq is in shambles, and there is no money for decent health care, education, housing and food. At the same time, Allen, Goode and Goodlatte voted against a humane and badly needed increase in the minimum wage that would benefit working adults. In other words, our representatives don+óGé¼Gäót care a bit about the needs and interests of us, the masses. Instead, they exploit us simply to get our votes so that they can return to Washington and continue to serve as the errand boys of their special interests. Let+óGé¼Gäós use our superior intelligence and ethics to turn these people out of office and restore some balance between the needs and interests of the masses and those of the wealthy.
Christopher Millson-Martula
Lynchburg
(NEWPORT NEWS) DAILY PRESS (July 7)
"Value of free speech"
Kudos to Jim Webb on his stand against the misguided, failed constitutional amendment to prohibit flag burning. We love and revere our flag as a symbol of all the freedoms we enjoy as Americans. We fly it proudly on holidays and are careful to observe all guidelines in regard to respectful display.
However, recently, in an ABC store we noted the Stars and Stripes in the Absolut vodka and bourbon displays. Some wear it on clothing and sweat on it, buy paper plates adorned with the flag, eat off of it and then throw it in the garbage, put in on their cars and fly it until it is faded and tattered and falls in the gutter. We have stopped and picked up flags in ditches that have blown off so-called patriots' cars. Some of these individuals are the very ones who are most incensed about people who burn it. We fail to see the difference. As a symbol of our country, the flag is often conflated with our government. We submit that patriots who love their country often disagree with the policies of our current government. Webb is a true patriot who has laid his life on the line in military service for the freedoms, including freedom of speech, for which our country and flag stand. George Allen, who co-sponsored the amendment against flag burning, can talk about patriotism but has never demonstrated it in battle.
Let's elect a statesman in November instead of just another callous politician. Webb deserves the support of every Virginian who loves not only our flag, but the freedoms for which it stands.
Kaaren and Jay Ancarrow
Carrollton
(FREDERICKSBURG) FREE-LANCE STAR (July 7)
"If you liked Andy Jackson, you'll love Jim Webb's straight and sensible philosophy"
Dennis Lister explained why he will not support James Webb, the Democratic nominee for the U.S. Senate seat from Virginia ["Why I won't support James Webb for Senate, despite deep respect," July 3].
Is it really so surprising that the vice chairman of the Republican Committee of Fredericksburg will not support the Democratic nominee?
Of course not. But what I did find odd was some of his rationale. His tactic appeared to be an attempt to trivialize Webb's outstanding record of public service by misrepresenting Webb's positions on narrowly defined "issues."
Jim Webb brings a straightforward philosophy of populism and traditional Jacksonian democracy that emphasizes fairness for all Americans, as opposed to the corrupt cronyism and breathtaking corporate greed implemented by the current crop of Republican leaders, like George Allen.
Mr. Webb supports personal independence and responsibility and opposes interference by a busybody government in our private lives, yet Mr. Lister chooses to attack this viewpoint by trotting out shopworn stereotypes on abortion and what he terms "homosexual marriage."
He warns fellow conservatives that they must not stay home on Election Day out of distaste for what "some" Republican leaders have done, thus inadvertently admitting that today's Republicans have indeed betrayed their constituents and the country with their costly mistakes.
Mr. Lister wants America to continue on what even he indirectly acknowledges is the wrong path by re-electing Allen, who is part of the problem, not part of the solution, having voted at least 95 percent of the time with that mistaken Republican leadership.
I support Jim Webb for Senate not because of this or that issue, but because he is a man of principle and leadership who can change the terms of debate, get us out of the partisan rut in which we are mired, and help to take America in a new direction.
Mr. Lister should wake up and turn his back on the tired past--and face the future by supporting Mr. Webb.
Teddy Goodson
Fairfax
THE ROANOKE TIMES (July 2):
"Allen has made a terrible mess in Washington"
Democratic Senate candidate Jim Webb stated that he would oppose a deadline for troop withdrawals from Iraq and is lambasted by the Allen strategists as "incapable of telling us what he thinks we can do from here forward." (June 24 news article, "Webb questions Senate proposals.")
The statement then continues with a typical Republican position that since Webb opposes Sen. George Allen, he is a liberal.
Allen has a lot to account for. Since he and George Bush's election in 2000, a solvent budget has been shattered by skyrocketing deficits, fueled a lot by a tax policy that is very questionable.
While corporate profits are higher than ever, average Americans fight to keep their heads above water, and the best we can do for a worker in the greatest country on Earth is guarantee they will earn $5.15 per hour.
The number of impoverished Americans declined during the 1990s (did somebody say liberal?) and has now begun a steady rise under the tutelage of the Republicans.
Real corruption is on the rise in Washington, while mismanagement of government agencies continues.
While they bandy about the word "liberal," can the Allen people please tell us why all of this is going on?
Arthur F. Horn
Roanoke
(And to be fair, even if this guy doesn't know what he's talking about)
TIMES-DISPATCH (July 7)
"Webb Is All Mouth And No Action"
After reading about Democrat Jim Webb's recall of his father working as a missile squadron commander, and that we were all safe because he was on duty, I had to chuckle. Webb should know that very few commanders work at night. They are at home in their warm, cozy beds. Who is on duty are a bunch of enlisted men and some junior officers making sure that everyone sleeps safely at night.
I don't think military policy has changed since I retired from the Air Force. So Webb needs to think before he speaks.
I know that, like a good liberal, "he supports the troops but not the war." Yet I really have a problem with that statement. How can someone support one without consideration for the other? Are not our troops waging war, and did Congress not authorize it?
How do Webb and his cohort support the troops? For that matter, I wonder how anyone supports the troops -- by their actions or by their mere words.
Webb mirrors John Kerry in so many ways. We have seen him vacillating from one political party to another. He calls George Allen a coward because he is not a Vietnam veteran. Would he call Thomas Jefferson a coward for not fighting in the Revolutionary War?
Webb is all mouth and no action. He has been so entrenched in the Washington suburbs for so long a time, he is out of touch with true Virginians. Anyone who says he supports the troops but not the war needs an attitude adjustment.
George Cranford
Richmond
(Naturally this guy must not know Webb's son is a Marine who'll be going to Iraq and the Webb camp attacked Felix as a coward because they attacked Webb's patriotism on the flag amendment, not entirely because he didn't serve. He must also not know Webb didn't support Kerry's plan for withdraw)