Thursday, June 15, 2006

Jim Webb Won't Stop Calling Me

Talked to Ginger. Kids got haircuts today. And they also went to the mall that has an outdoor fountain area that kids can run through (which they did). I hear tomorrow they're going to get up early and go watch doughnuts being made ("Time to make the doughnuts"). They're going to the Krispy Kreme place since that's one of the few doughnuts places where they don't have the possibility of peanut contamination. Then Ginger surprised me by telling me they might be coming home tomorrow. Which is good because I've missed having Ginger and the little buggers around. It's bad though in that I thought they were coming back on Saturday, so there was this "Honey Do" list of things Ginger wanted me to do that I was planning on putting off until tomorrow.

I had this one other issue I wanted to blog about, but didn't do it yet because I didn't want to turn this into a political blog. I held off until after Tuesday (which was the day to vote in the VA democratic primaries, right?). Some background first, there's this guy trying to run for Senate here called Jim Webb. He was apparently "Born Fighting". Not exactly sure what that means. Do you think that's literal? Did he punch his way out when he was born or something? Anyway, here's the deal, I don't know anything about the guy. It could be he's a great choice for Senate, then again, maybe not. Like I said, I don't know. But he was telephone bombing my house.

Back on Sunday John "Can't Win In Ohio" Kerry called me. It obviously wasn't him personally, but a recorded message (there's strike one against the campaign already in my book). Kerry wanted to tell me about Jim Webb. About how Jim Webb would make a difference. About how Jim Webb would fight George Bush (Really? How? Fisticuffs?). About how he normally doesn't like to take sides in democratic elections, but really felt that Jim Webb would be an instrument of change in the Senate and how Jim Webb could beat George Allen. And that Jim Webb had opposed the war in IRAQ, and Jim Webb would continue to do so. That we needed the leadership of Jim Webb. That Jim Webb could make a difference. That I should cast my vote for Jim Webb. And Jim Webb Jim Webb Jim Webb Jim Webb. Here's the thing. This was like a 2 plus minute phone message. And afterwards, I realized I still don't know jack about this guy other than he somehow opposed the IRAQ war. The only thing I'm absolutely positive of now is I do know the guy's name, Jim Webb. Kerry must have said the dude's name in every single sentence of the message, sometimes more than once in a sentence. I guess it worked, since I now know the name "Jim Webb". But at the same time, I found the method of driving home the name obnoxious as all get out. Although it kind of boggles my mind about why you would want John Kerry out there stumping for you, especially here in Virginia.

So Monday after I get home from work. I get another phone call. This time it's from a previously recorded message from Leslie Byrne. Lesile's message pretty much mimics Kerry's in that it's all about saying Jim Webb's name every sentence and not so much about telling me anything useful about the guy. This goes on for about the same amount of time. And I can even make out how it's practically the same message, with some stuff rearranged and other parts slightly reworded.

Then Tuesday morning rolls around, and guess who calls and wakes me up. None other than a recorded message from the man, Jim Webb himself. Again, the message didn't tell me anything about what he stands for. And yet he let's me know he'll be there fighting for me. Gee Whiz Mr Webb, don't you think you should ask what it is I want before you start promising to fight for it?

The whole ordeal annoyed the crap out of me. I get the impression this guy is running solely on the "Iraq was a mistake" ticket. Yea, we get that. I think even the folks on the right at this point realize the way IRAQ was handled was a mistake. However, I personally don't feel a candidate's position on that one issue is something that's going to sway my vote one way or the other. So before the final elections come around Mr Webb, let's hear you talk about some real issues versus just getting your name brand out there.

5 comments:

BullBunky said...

It sounds to me like Mr. Webb is running on the "bar room brawl" platform: you don't know anything about the guy who bumped into you, but he sure as hell won't make THAT mistake again :)

Curt Sawyer said...

From the American Moderate Party Web site:

Jim Webb, a Reagan Democrat, seemingly is a fiscal conservative who is more socially permissive than the sitting Senator and a good match for the ideals of AMP. Webb served as Reagan's Secretary of the Navy and fairs slightly better than his primary opposition in defeating Allen.

Harris Miller, has a lot of traction but is thought not to be the best candidate because he will not be able to fare well against Allen. Though more liberal than Webb, his nomination has been described by those at Kos as "a mistake of such historic magnitude."

The American Moderate Party supported Webb, FYI.

BullBunky said...

Isn't it funny how our "leaders" are chosen? We rarely have the chance to choose the best, just those who meets a short-term need.

Ken Church said...

You do realize that the primary election was this last Tuesday, and the Jim Webb won?

JamesF said...

Yes, I know he won and I knew the elections were Tuesday. Hence the comment I made about waiting until after the primaries to blog about it.

"I held off until after Tuesday (which was the day to vote in the VA democratic primaries, right?)."