Will The Dems Be Caught In His Webb?

 
Paul Mirengoff over at Power Line thinks the Democrats might have unleashed a "monster" in electing Jim Webb to the Senate from Virginia.  I tend to agree.  Jim Webb is really a Republican who made what I believe was a strategic, opportunistic choice to run as a Democrat.  Sure, he claims to be against the Iraq War, but I highly doubt that, given his military background and patriotism, he would honestly be in favor of undercutting the mission.  I'm going to be watching Senator-elect Webb very, very closely.  He may turn out to be one of the more fascinating Senators in Washington.

By the way, his excellent book entitled, "Born Fighting:  How The Scots-Irish Shaped America" is a fascinating read.  I read it earlier this year, and the themes and traits he admires are not those that would comport with liberal ideology.  He has a populist streak to be sure, but I predict that he will be considered a "maverick" and loathed by the more liberal elements of the Democratic Party.  Somehow I don't think Chris Matthews will trip over himself fawning over this maverick.

Update:  Speaking of Chris Matthews, I came across an MSNBC article dated April 6, 2006 about Webb.  The article included the following about Webb, whom the headline proclaimed is a Reagan Democrat:

• Served as Secretary of the Navy under a president who most Democrats despised, Ronald Reagan?
• Has railed against “group identity politics,” as well as against “blatant, government-sponsored reverse discrimination”?
• Has denounced “the activist Left” with its “edicts of political correctness”?
• Has launched one scorching attack after another on Bill Clinton, the president most beloved by Democrats in the past 40 years?

Webb said five years ago, after Clinton’s pardon of fugitive financier Marc Rich, “It is a pleasurable experience to watch Bill Clinton finally being judged, even by his own party, for the ethical fraudulence that has characterized his entire political career.”

Webb added, “Bill Clinton will never live down the arrogance of his final departure.” In a 1999 interview, Webb told the magazine of the right-wing American Enterprise Institute, “I cannot conjure up an ounce of respect for Bill Clinton when it comes to the military. Every time I see him salute a Marine, it infuriates me.”

Later in the article Webb tried to soft-pedal his disgust with Clinton, which I interpreted as an attempt to smooth over any concerns that Democrat primary voters might have with his anti-Clinton rhetoric.  So, he likes Reagan but not Clinton.  I think we can work with this man on some issues.  It's just too bad that his defeat of George Allen gave the Senate to the Democrats.

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