Democrats: America Needs a New Course

Democrats go on the offense with their latest campaign ad:

Allen Attacks Webb’s Books | Marines Recommend Webb’s Books

Republican Senator George Allen, whom until recently was considered a serious GOP presidential hopeful for the upcoming 2008 cycle, that is, until his foot-in-mouth racist stumbles got in the way (ie, referring to a young Indian-American as "Macaca," and reports of his fondness for the confederate flag and for nooses), has launched a ridiculous attack against his Democratic challenger, Jim Webb, for Virginia’s Senate seat.

In George Allen’s conservative bizzaro world being a writer is a liability, and a disqualification to serving in the Senate. In a recently released statement, George Allen’s camp establishes that his opponent, Jim Webb, is a writer:

For Immediate Release:
October 29, 2006
Contact: Press Office
703.845.3689

ARLINGTON, VA – Throughout this campaign, Jim Webb has made it clear that one of his qualifications for running for Senate is the fact that he is an author and a novelist. Below is Webb in his own words once again:

Webb: “Writing has probably defined me more than any other thing that I’ve done.” (Dale Eisman, “Webb, a Decorated Hero of One War, Challenges the Wisdom of Another,” Virginian-Pilot; October 29, 2006.)

Webb: “I’m proud to be a writer.” (Jim Webb. WTOP Radio, The Politics Program; 27 Oct. 2006)

[...]

Webb Campaign: “Indeed, imagine a Senator who writes his own books.” (Webb Campaign Website, Accessed February 14, 2006 [subsequently removed]; “Imagine This Guy as Senator,” Orwell’s Grave (Blog); February 14, 2006; also Google results)

[...]

Mark Warner: “He’s been a teacher and an author.” (Webb campaign commercial with former Governor Mark Warner)

Washington Post: “And now the key to Webb: ‘In my mind, I am a writer…’ Webb has an apartment in Arlington that he uses only for writing. It is a Spartan little place, no TV, no books, no distractions, on a drab street with a deli where he can get hot soup. He sits at his word processor and writes 1,000 words a day, minimum. ‘Won’t let myself get up until I do it,’ he says. In the swirl of emotion that surrounds Webb the soldier, it is easy to overlook Webb the artist and the narrative power he marshals; his ability to extract raw beauty from even the most horrific scenes. He works hard at it. ‘Some scenes in Fields of Fire I massaged 25 or 30 times,’ he says. ‘There is not a word in that book that is out of place…There is nothing that gives me more pleasure than writing something that is good.’” (Lembley, Brad. “Never Give An Inch: James Webb’s Struggles with Pen and Sword.” Washington Post 8 Dec 1985)

Got it? Jim Webb is a writer.

Why is this important? Because, according to George Allen, "James Webb [has] writ[ten] inappropriate sex scenes and demeaning descriptions of women in his fictional books." And, "My opponent hasn’t been in public office," [George Allen] said. "But [Jim Webb] talks about the books he’s written and his creative writing, his novels. Those are some of his writings… People can make that judgment."

The same October 27, 2006, Washington Post article cited above mentions that "Webb’s books, including "Lost Soldiers," "Something to Die For" and "Fields of Fire," are historical novels that describe wartime horrors in Vietnam and people dealing with the aftermath of combat. Webb is a decorated Marine who served in Vietnam." And, "Webb said the graphic scenes in his novels, many of which are set in wartime, are taken out of context and do not accurately reflect the books or their content: combat. He said he has written about disturbing scenes that he witnessed on the battlefield or as a journalist in Southeast Asia."

Of course, in George Allen’s and his supporters’ conservative bizzaro world, fictional works of literature depicting the depravity of combat, and how it tears the human spirit, is pornography and an automatic disqualification to run for the Senate:

Allen’s attack on Webb’s novels occurred three weeks after the senator gave a two-minute speech pleading for a return to issues after having defended himself against personal-character scandals for months. "The negative personal attacks and baseless allegations have also pulled us away from what you expect and deserve," Allen told voters in the unusual paid television commercial.

By Friday morning, however, the new allegations unleashed by his campaign had become the highlight of morning talk-radio shows and cable news outlets. Conservative groups seized on the news, with one calling for Webb to withdraw for writing "Triple X" novels. Cable news shows debated the issue throughout the day. [Emphasis added.]

Webb’s camp did not hold back in their response:

Steve Jarding, a senior Webb adviser, said Allen’s lack of wartime experience disqualifies him from commenting on Webb’s novels.

"Senator, you have not earned the right to question Jim Webb’s wartime experiences," Jarding said. "Perhaps if you had gone to Vietnam and served as a company commander instead of serving as a [cattle] driver at a dude ranch… you would temper your feigned indignation."

While George Allen’s bizzaro world supporters see these attacks on Jim Webb’s novels as a substantive point of debate, others with FAR MORE authority to judge the merit of Jim Webb’s literary work and what it may contribute to the character development of our military leaders obviously disagree with Allen’s assessment and characterization of Webb’s novels.

I came across the following via TalkingPointsMemo.com.

The United States Marine Corps endorses Jim Webb’s "Fields of Fire," and lists the book in the USMC’s "Professional Reading Program." The Marine Corps University Website writes of the book:

Fields of Fire
The Classic Novel of the Vietnam War
Webb, James
Bantam Books, New York, NY © 1979
360 Pages

James Webb. a well-known Marine Corps Navy Cross recipient in Vietname and former Secretary of the Navy, conveys the experience of combat with rare lucidity through fiction. In fact, Fields of Fire is less fictional than most realize. It is the Vietnam War as the author lived it, and the reader sees and feels it through the eyes of the book’s main character, a platoon commander in Company D, 1st Battalion, 5th Marines.

The novel is about the reality of war that Marines must come to grips with today as we prepare for the future. Fields of Fire is the story of the young, enlisted Marines who fought under then Lieutenant Webb. The reader should note carefully their emotions, motivations, courage, and fears for they are the men who have served us best in every war. Their social backgrounds vary, and many of our best warriors came from the lowliest of stations. In terms of the brotherhood of those who bleed together and the nobility of sacrifices made for friends, the characters in Webb’s novel are timeless. He succeeds brilliantly in making them real. Webb creates a doctrine of combat leadership and a creed for the succeeding generation on how and why Marines fight. [Emphasis added.]

…

[Link]

There you have it folks. The Marine Corps recommends that its junior NCOs and junior officers read Jim Webb in preparation for positions of leadership within the corps; meanwhile, the occupiers of the bizzaro George Allen conservative world disparage Jim Webb’s works, call it pornography and attempt to use it as a weapon against the author. After George Allen’s desperate and ridiculous attacks against Jim Webb, not to mention his propensity for racist-foot-in-mouth disease, how can anyone continue to see George Allen as a serious politician, much less as a man of consequence?

Democratic Response to GOP Ad

This is the type of Democratic party response that we need more of in the closing moments of the 2006 election:

Just Doing My Bit

Just doing my part to collaborate on this project:

• AZ-Sen: Jon Kyl
• AZ-01: Rick Renzi
• AZ-05: J.D. Hayworth
• CA-04: John Doolittle
• CA-11: Richard Pombo
• CA-50: Brian Bilbray
• CO-04: Marilyn Musgrave
• CO-05: Doug Lamborn
• CO-07: Rick O’Donnell
• CT-04: Christopher Shays
• FL-13: Vernon Buchanan
• FL-16: Joe Negron
• FL-22: Clay Shaw
• ID-01: Bill Sali
• IL-06: Peter Roskam
• IL-10: Mark Kirk
• IL-14: Dennis Hastert
• IN-02: Chris Chocola
• IN-08: John Hostettler
• IA-01: Mike Whalen
• KS-02: Jim Ryun
• KY-03: Anne Northup
• KY-04: Geoff Davis
• MD-Sen: Michael Steele
• MN-01: Gil Gutknecht
• MN-06: Michele Bachmann
• MO-Sen: Jim Talent
• MT-Sen: Conrad Burns
• NV-03: Jon Porter
• NH-02: Charlie Bass
• NJ-07: Mike Ferguson
• NM-01: Heather Wilson
• NY-03: Peter King
• NY-20: John Sweeney
• NY-26: Tom Reynolds
• NY-29: Randy Kuhl
• NC-08: Robin Hayes
• NC-11: Charles Taylor
• OH-01: Steve Chabot
• OH-02: Jean Schmidt
• OH-15: Deborah Pryce
• OH-18: Joy Padgett
• PA-04: Melissa Hart
• PA-07: Curt Weldon
• PA-08: Mike Fitzpatrick
• PA-10: Don Sherwood
• RI-Sen: Lincoln Chafee
• TN-Sen: Bob Corker
• VA-Sen: George Allen
• VA-10: Frank Wolf
• WA-Sen: Mike McGavick
• WA-08: Dave Reichert

“Frat Boy”-in-Chief

That’s Paul Rieckhoff when he was a young lieutenant in the army. He went on to serve in Iraq, and since his return to the States he’s been working to bring his brothers and sisters in arms in Iraq back to their families.

Rieckhoff makes a great point here about our "Frat Boy" commander-in-chief:

Last week’s White House press conference was notable for a number of reasons. First, any time President Bush answers questions from the press is a noteworthy event, given that he has deigned to do so fewer times than almost any other modern President. It was also notable because mere hours earlier, North Korea claimed to have tested a nuclear weapon underground.

The press conference was also noteworthy because of what happened after the President left the podium. Just after he wrapped things up in the Rose Garden, top Pentagon officials held a press conference of their own to announce a new plan to maintain US Army strength in Iraq at current levels, roughly 140,000 Soldiers, through 2010. This was startling news, if only because it stands in such stark contrast to the initial war plans (or lack thereof), which called for reducing troop strength in Iraq to 30,000 by the end of 2003.

[...]

But there’s one more reason yesterday’s White House press conference was notable. In between questions on such topics as nuclear proliferation, an alleged child predator in Congress, and the death of untold thousands of innocent civilians in Iraq, our President found time to make wisecracks about the wardrobe of the White House press corps. And the press corps, for their part, indulged him. It’s all right there, in the official press conference transcript.

[...]

The next day, I read about how many US troops were killed and wounded in Iraq. I wonder if any of them died, or lost a limb, or were blinded at the same time our President was cracking jokes on national television.

His attitude at the press conference reminded me of his little performance back in 2004 at the White House Correspondents Dinner, when he cracked jokes about not being able to find WMD in Iraq. Here is the video if you missed it. That wasn’t funny either. Remember that?

As a veteran of this war in Iraq, I am sickened by the consistently flip nature of the President in the face of deadly serious issues. His ridiculous banter reflects poorly upon all Americans.

[...]

[W]ith nukes in North Korea, perverts in Congress and 140,000 of my brothers and sisters in uniform bound to serve another four years in Iraq, I’d rather have a statesman than a frat boy.

I agree, it’s about time we get some adults in congress so that they can supervise our "Frat Boy"-in-chief.

If you haven’t done so already, why not help get some adults elected this November… every little bit helps.