Oh...It's On

So the race is now on. It will be Senator George Allen versus James Webb for the Senate. After watching this campaign during the primary season, there are a few thoughts that come to mind. First, Webb is going to need to do some kind of damage control in the state. Webb bloggers certainly had their own influence when it came to the election, but their harsh viciousness certainly put a lot of state Democrats off. In an election with only 3.3% of the voters in the state coming out, it is rather telling that about 1.7% of those people supported Webb. I think one of the things that will have to happen is that the Webb people will need to reach out and get the Miller people to help support their candidate.

While many will say Millerites will support Webb simply to beat Allen, that might not be the case. For a more detailed analysis, check out Mason Conservative and see how he breaks down the Senate Race. As for me, I am not sure a number of Democrats are going to be willing to support Webb. The reason I say this is because, in my opinion, Webb is a DINO: Democrat In Name Only. If you look at what he stands for, he basically stands for the same things Allen does and supports President Bush on a number of major issues. The biggest difference is in Iraq.
Webb is not a big fan of this, but all one person needs to point out is how Webb supported both Bush and Allen in 2000. Will we hear “I supported them before I decided to go against them.” Sounds reminiscent of the “I voted for the war before I voted against it” comment of John Kerry.

Webb supporters might think they will be able to push Iraq and get a victory in Virginia, but they seem to forget Allen isn’t some bush league kind of guy. This is a man who has won many state races, come back from impossible odds, and has done a lot for the state. In addition to this, Allen is coming into this race with some big guns on his side. His campaign manager is Dick Wadahams(sp?), who has won two major elections in Colorado and South Dakota. Added to this, Allen has Ed Gillespie on his team as Treasurer. Gillespie was the former RNC Chair in 2004. With this kind of support, Allen has a team ready to work and win this election.

Already in the bank for Allen is almost ten millions dollars. Webb will need to raise money in the state because the DNC will be looking to win other races across the country and will not be willing to spend most of their money on one race. Let us not forget that in 2002, Democrats made it their mission to try and defeat JEB Bush in Florida’s governor race. The end result was that Republicans were able to hold the line in Congress and make some gains.

As I said before, damage control and reconciliation is going to be needed for Webb. Also, watch how quickly Webb might distance himself from John Kerry’s endorsement. This should be an interesting race to watch. However, I am going to say Allen will win this one namely because he has the ability to communicate his message across the entire state and get the voters to go vote for him. Webb cannot assume for a minute that the all the Kaine voters (or as I called them, Kainenites) back in November ‘04 will come out to vote for him. So…

LLLLET’S GET READY TO RUMBLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!