Da Bears: 41-10

Adewale Ogunleye

"It was kind of funny, honestly. What do you do? You say there's two halves, but 41-0 at halftime, you just have to work on fundamentals again or something, I don't know. That's pretty amazing."

Indeed.

Ten-Sen: Ideological Acrobatics & Boundless Charm

A New-Model Ford

While militant God-talk has long been a staple of Republican campaigns, shooting ads inside the "Lord's house" has been considered off-limits. But that wasn't the biggest source of surprise when Tennesseans started seeing the now-famous "church ad" in September. The candidate exploiting his faith was a Democrat--Harold Ford Jr., the 36-year-old Congressman from Memphis. Once considered a quixotic long shot to fill the US Senate seat left vacant by Republican majority leader Bill Frist, Ford has risen from a double-digit deficit in the polls to draw even with former Chattanooga Mayor Bob Corker, a moderately conservative multimillionaire with all the charisma of a tree stump. Ford could deliver the Democrats a majority in the Senate by becoming just the fourth African-American ever elected to that chamber by popular vote, and the first from the South. [..]

Rocketing back and forth across the green hills of Tennessee with unflagging energy, Ford has wooed white conservatives with an exuberant mash-up of high-voltage star power, earthy eloquence and a contrarian right-wingery that never fails to surprise and delight. "I get in trouble with Democrats," he confessed not long ago to the Rotary Club in the town of Cleveland, "because I like President Bush." In a year when most Republican candidates won't touch their Commander in Chief with a ten-foot pole, Ford hugs him tight. "They say I don't look like you," he recently assured a crowd of Caucasians at the Catfish Place in Camden, "but I share your values." [..]

It is anything but clear what kind of senator Ford will make if he can break that old curse. Some Democrats hope he'll edge back toward his original centrism; many expect him to join the small band of Congressional DINOs (Democrats in Name Only) led by Senator Joe Lieberman, whom Ford recently endorsed over Democrat Ned Lamont. But there is no question that Tennessee voters' verdict on November 7 will send a loud and lasting message about the viability of black Democrats in statewide (not to mention national) races. If Ford's ideological acrobatics and boundless charm can't make white voters look past the color of his skin, what will?

Nothing will.

In a year in when rubber stamp Republicans are running away from President Bush and Democratic Senate candidates are running winning populist campaigns, Harold Ford Jr. is running as a better kind of ‘Conservative’. Even with all this political acrobatics and this charm Harold Ford Jr. at the end of the day is still a Black Democrat running in the Old South. The GOP is using their standard playbook appealing to racist voters. The Southern Strategy is out in full force for Republican Bob Corker, which might give him boost he needs to become the next Senator of Tennessee. Hopefully one day the Republican Southern Strategy will die, but that day might not come soon enough for Democrat Harold Ford Jr.

Yelling Nancy Pelosi Name …

… over and over won’t work.

Richard A. Viguerie, Chairman of ConservativeHQ.com, warned Republicans that scare tactics against Democrats will not succeed in increasing social or economic conservative voters on Election Day.

“The big-spending, high-deficit, morally-deficient Republican Party hasn’t anything to offer conservatives except Halloween scare tactics about the Democrats. But since the GOP majority in Congress has engaged in an unprecedented spending spree, conservatives know that Democrats cannot be any worse and that divided government may lead to less spending,” Viguerie said.

“And conservatives have learned that, while Republicans sometimes provide significant symbolism on social issues, in truth, many of them have a disdain for values voters,” he added.

“Trying to frighten conservatives by yelling ‘Nancy Pelosi’ and ‘Harry Reid’ won’t work this time."

But, Republicans like Peter Roskam running in 6th Congressional District of Illinois is still going to try to scare voters by yelling Nacy Pelois name rather than offer anything positive. Fear and lies is all Republicans have left to run on.

Sports Illustrated: Most Overrated Player

Can you guess what Chicago Bear made the list?

Brian Urlacher finished second to Terrell Owens as the "most overrated player" in a Sports Illustrated poll of 361 NFL players. Owens was the "winner" at 10 percent to Urlacher's 8 percent, followed by Ray Lewis and Michael Vick (7) and Eli Manning and Keyshawn Johnson (4.1).

Don't try selling that to the Bears.

"Bunch of haters, in my opinion," said defensive coordinator Ron Rivera, who wondered why players would participate in a survey trashing each other. Coach Lovie Smith simply dismissed the results.

"I'll just say I was watching Monday night [against Arizona] and I saw a pretty good football player," Smith said.

Ridiculous.

Brian Urlacher is the best middle linebacker in NFL. Almost every single football team will exchange their linebacker for Urlacher, even for Ray Lewis who is a few years past his prime. Urlacher might not get all the sacks or interceptions but, he makes every single play which is ask of him. Urlacher put his team on his back and will the Chicago Bears to victory on Monday Night versus the Cardinals. This poll is worthless.

Stay the Course

A vote for any Republican is a vote for more of the same in Iraq.



Had enough? If so, vote for Democratic Party in '06.

IL-6: Embryonic Stem Cell Research

Celebrity and controversy mark 6th race

In a day on the 6th Congressional District campaign trail that accentuated their divergent strategies, Democrat Tammy Duckworth rallied with actor Michael J. Fox to push for federal funding for embryonic stem cell research while Republican Peter Roskam toured four towns to discuss local transportation needs. [..]

Before a crowd of about 200 Duckworth supporters at a Wheaton country club, Fox called the promise that embryonic stem cell research holds "the greatest positive there could be" during a political season focused heavily on negatives.

Duckworth pledged to support federal funding of embryonic stem cell research in Congress, saying: "We need someone in Washington who will put science above politics.

"Unfortunately hope is something that is in shorter supply today than it should be because there are some who instead of supporting these advances have put in place road blocks and hurdles."

This is a big issue for me, I'm a paraplegic due to a spinal cord injury. Embryonic stem cell research gives people like Michael J. Fox and I hope for a cure. It might not happen in my life time but, research should not be stop by politicians in the cause of being "pro-life". It is very unfortunate that this has become a partisan issue by Republicans which lead Rush Limbaugh to mock Michael J. Fox then later apologize for this attacks. It has become clear one party (Democratic Party) will fully support embryonic stem cell research while the other party (GOP) will not. It's an other reason to support Democratic candidates in the upcoming elections.

Check out this hard hitting ad.



Correction : Rush Limbaugh did not apologized for this attacks on Michael J. Fox.

You Play Four Complete Quarters

Bears Coach Lovie Smith after hearing Cardinals coach Dennis Green's tirade.

Complete game: During Dennis Green’s now-infamous post-game tirade, the Arizona head coach lamented that the Cardinals “let the Bears off the hook.”

“Of course, I see it a little bit differently than that,” Smith said. “I think you have to win the football game and that’s what we were able to do. As I’ve talked about not getting championships after five games into the season, you don’t get a victory until you play four complete quarters. And that’s just what we were able to do. We were able to finish the football game and we’ll just leave it at that.”

Indeed.

IL-Gov: Green Party

SurveyUSA poll

In the Illinois gubernatorial race, a new SurveyUSA poll shows the support of both Gov. Rod Blagojevich (D) and challenger Judy Baar Topinka (R) down, with Green Party candidate Rich Whitney surging.

Blogojevich leads with 44%, while Topinka gets 34% and Whitney pulls an astonishing 14%.

Key finding: "Among Illinois independents, the candidates are effectively tied: Topinka gets 31%, Whitney 29%, Blagojevich 27%."

Wow, Rich Whitney is pulling 14% of the vote and 29% of independents. I guess I'm not alone with my dislike of Illinois Democrat Rod Blogojevich. The Illinois GOP continue to make mistakes, they should have ran a conservative candidate rather than a middle of the road Republican Judy Baar Topinka. I'm not in the business of giving advise to the GOP but, outsider conservative will have given Illinois voters a clear choice between an ethically troubled Democrat incumbent who is bleeding support to a Green Party candidate. Judy Baar Topinka needed to win independent vote big over Rod Blogojevich in order to win the election, but the Republican is only up by 2% points to Rich Whitney of the Green Party. Not good. 2006 will be a bad year for Republicans, but this was a winable race due to the fault of Rod Blogojevich.

I think Rich Whitney will at the end only pull at the most 8% of the total vote and Rod Blogojevich will pull at a victory, a hollow victory for Illinois Democratic Party if Blogojevich troubles continue.

Unhinged Republicans: Rep. Barbara Cubin

WY AL: CUBIN THREATENS DISABLED MAN.

Rankin, who has multiple sclerosis and uses an electric wheelchair, said Monday night in a telephone interview with The Associated Press that the confrontation occurred immediately after the debate.

"My aide and I were packing up to leave the debate, and Barbara walked over to me and said, 'If you weren't sitting in that chair, I'd slap you across the face.' That's quote-unquote," Rankin said.

What's wrong with these people?

2006 Elections: Republicans

Click on the links to get information on GOP candidates running in 2006.

--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

Karl Rove Wet Dream: A GOP Long-Lasting Majority

Karl Rove dream was built on increasing their support among Hispanics and decreasing Blacks support for Democratic Party.

Latino and black voters reassessing ties to GOP

WASHINGTON - A major effort to draw Latinos and blacks into the Republican Party, a central element of the GOP plan to build a long-lasting majority, is in danger of collapse amid anger over the immigration debate and claims that Republican leaders have not delivered on promises to direct more money to church-based social services.

President Bush, strategist Karl Rove and other top Republicans have wooed Latino and black leaders, many of them evangelical clergy who lead large congregations, in hopes of peeling away the traditional Democratic base. But now some of the leaders who helped Bush win in 2004 are revisiting their loyalty to the Republican Party and, in some cases, abandoning it.

Reality has finally shined on Karl Rove plans. The uglier side of consertavism does not match President Bush rhetoric of compassion. Immigrant bashing (specially Mexicans bashing) and spreading fear as a central part of Republican campaigns will not endear Hispanics to the GOP. Talking a good game might work on conservative base, but Hispanics and Black want action rather than hollow promises of change.

Share the Wealth John Kerry

New York Times:

Senator John Kerry of Massachusetts, the Democratic presidential nominee in 2004, came under fire last week when it was pointed out that he had contributed only $15,000 this year to the party’s senatorial committee. Heyjohn.org, whose creator has remained anonymous, highlights the fact that Mr. Kerry has $14 million in his campaign accounts.

Dismissing the criticism, his spokesman, David Wade, said Mr. Kerry had contributed $2.8 million to campaign committees, state parties and individual candidates in this election cycle. And in appearances across the country and in Internet appeals, Mr. Wade said, the senator has helped raise about $7 million for candidates.

“Cowards can hide behind anonymous Web sites,” Mr. Wade said, “but Democrats out in the country, party leaders and real net-roots activists know how hard John Kerry has fought to win these elections.”

Insulting loyal Democrats who funding your '04 Presidential run is not a bright idea for a Senator who lost and is going to run again in '08. Democrats across the county will remember Democratic politicaians who sat on thier big warchest while Democratic candidates stuggle to fight off negative GOP attacks ads and GOTV efforts by the Repubicans. If those Democratic candidates lose due to the lack of funds, people like John Kerry will have a pice to pay.

IL: Bill Clinton On the Campaign Trail

Clinton Stumps Monday For Bean, Duckworth

CHICAGO -- Former President Bill Clinton is in Chicago Monday to raise money and offer support for Illinois Democratic candidates Tammy Duckworth and Melissa Bean.

Both are running in high-profile races.

Rep. Bean, who represents the traditionally Republican district in Chicago's northwest suburbs, is expected to face a tough challenge from Republican investment banker David McSweeney.

With GOP Rep. Henry Hyde retiring after 31 years in Congress, there's an open seat in the west suburban 6th congressional district, which Duckworth hopes to fill. She was an Army helicopter pilot until November 2004, when a rocket-propelled grenade hit the Blackhawk she was piloting. She lost both her legs in the attack and uses prosthetics.

Barack Obama '08

Did the junior Senator from Illinois just flip flop?

In a decided and unequivocal shift, Sen. Barack Obama said Sunday he is seriously considering a run for the White House in 2008, affirming the stunningly rapid trajectory of a political career that saw him in the Illinois legislature just two years ago.

In an interview on NBC's "Meet the Press," the same program where he categorically ruled out a run just last January, Obama went further than ever in discussing his Oval Office ambitions, and left clear the impression that he could well run, a move that would fundamentally reshape the contest for the Democratic nomination. [..]

When asked if he was ready to be president, Obama said, "Well, I'm not sure anybody is ready to be president before they're president. You know, ultimately, I trust the judgment of the American people that in any election they sort it through. We have a long and rigorous process, and, you know, should I decide to run, if I ever did decide to run, I'm confident that I'd be run through the paces pretty good, including on `Meet the Press.'"

Silver Lining for Conservatives?

The Prince of Darkness Robert Novak looks on the bright side of Demcorats winning control of the House.

Right gains

The House will be less Republican and perhaps Democratic-controlled because of the Nov. 7 elections, but it may be more conservative. The Republican Study Committee, the conservative caucus, will gain a higher percentage of House Republicans.

Three committee members are leaving the House to run for higher office, while eight more are seriously threatened for re-election, though some may survive. Against that, seven new Republican candidates who are heavily favored to win and five with a good chance are conservatives who probably will join the committee. In addition, several non-committee moderate Republicans may lose, possibly including all three GOP members from Connecticut.

IL-8: Open Thread

Tribune/WGN-TV poll:

In the northwest suburban 8th Congressional District, the survey found strong re-election support for freshman Democrat Melissa Bean, suggesting that her 2004 upset of 35-year Republican U.S. Rep. Phil Crane was no fluke. [..]

Crane's undoing two years ago was largely his own. Voters turned to Bean because they were fed up with being represented by a veteran lawmaker who increasingly seemed out of touch with the district and suffered a well-publicized alcohol problem.

Now Bean is enjoying the advantage of incumbency, which helps raise her profile and ability to raise campaign money. That, in part, can account for the survey finding Bean holding a commanding 19-point lead over McSweeney.

Illinois 8th Congressional District was one of the Republicans best hopes of knocking of a Democratic House member, now rubber stamp Bush Republican is down by 19-points to a Democrat in a seat that Republicans were winning by large margins in pass elections if this poll is to be believed.

It is going to be an ugly night on Nov. 7th for the GOP.

Da Bears: 24-23

Cardinals coach Dennis Green,

"They are what we thought they were," Green said. "We played them in preseason. Who the hell picks a third game in preseason like it's [meaningless]? We played them in the third [exhibition] game. Everybody played three quarters. The Bears are who we thought they were. That's why we took the damn field. If you want to crown them, just crown their ass. We let them off the hook."

With that, Green stormed out of the room.

It was a game the Bears should have lost 30+ to 3, but the Bears pull off Monday night miracle. I'm still shocked, what a game. Go Bears.

The Wire

HBO 'The Wire' is one of the best shows on television. It continues to be a hard hitting show even without Avon Barksdale (locked up) and Stringer Bell (Killed). In the 4th season Marlo battles Omar, the police and anybody else in this way and Carcetti faces off against Royce to become the Mayor. One of the great thing about the show is goes in detail about the uglier side of local politics in a big city and how it affects police department. The main focus of this season deals with 'corner kids ' in and out of school, which is different from past seasons. Unlike the Sopranos, The Wire has not miss a beat in it's story telling. Any predictions on how the show is going to end this season?

The Wire: Stringer Bell Gets Blasted

Monday Night Football: Da Bears!

The 5-0 Chicago Bears vs. 1-4 Arizona Cardinals. Check out Chicago Bears highlights thru week five.

IL-14: Tony Snow & $175-a-plate fund-raiser

Hastert and Snow steer away from controversy

ST. CHARLES -- At Denny Hastert's 19th annual "Mega Event" -- the $175-a-plate fund-raiser at the Q Center Saturday night -- Republicans talked about pulling together during this time of adversity.

"Every time we've faced a crisis like this, we've whomped 'em," said guest speaker Tony Snow, the White House press secretary and former Fox News anchor.

But Snow and Hastert weren't talking about the congressional page scandal about which the speaker has answered endless questions for two weeks.

Both Hastert and Snow skirted the sensational questions about Hastert's knowledge of the scandal and focused on GOP election issues: the economy, the war on terror and, of course, Sept. 11.

Tony Snow continues..

Snow talked about Bush's attitudes on North Korea ("We made offers they couldn't refuse ,and somehow they did. They behaved like brats"); the oil crisis ("The president believes in innovating his way out of it"); and his hopes for building a democracy in Iraq ("It's tough. Everybody knows it's tough. But the benefits are unbelievable").

Snow said that contrary to popular opinion, Bush is a big, brash thinker, who always is the smartest guy in the room.

"He's not a guy who sits around thinking: What's going to be my legacy?" Snow said. "People call him a poker player, but it's more like a chess player."

Who is he kidding?

A President Bush has made a career on not being the smartest guy in the room. A permanent Republican majority was Karl Rove main goal of the Bush Presidency, it was suppose to be their legacy. Tony Snow is laying it on pretty thick for this boss. The President Bush and this Republican party legacy might come done to one word, failure.

Fear, lies and rhetoric is all they have left.

John Laesch (D) for Congress!

Voter Disillusionment in Illinois

Voters face unhappy choice

Illinois voters are unhappy with Democratic Gov. Rod Blagojevich, but they like Republican challenger Judy Baar Topinka even less, giving the incumbent the advantage less than a month before the election, a new Tribune/WGN-TV poll shows.

The poll reveals widespread voter disillusionment even before the latest allegations of corruption, setting the stage for a lackluster turnout in the Nov. 7 election. And as the election moves closer, voters are becoming increasingly unsure about where to turn. [...]

The survey showed Blagojevich with the support of 43 percent of the voters polled, while Topinka had 29 percent and Green Party candidate Rich Whitney had 9 percent. Another 17 percent were undecided, and 2 percent offered choices for governor not among the names appearing on the Nov. 7 ballot.

The poll, conducted Oct. 8 to Wednesday among 600 likely voters, has an error margin of 4 percentage points.

Blagojevich's 14 percentage point advantage over Topinka represents an incremental increase from the 12 percentage point lead he held in a Tribune poll conducted almost a month ago.

Add me to the list of unhappy Illinois voters. Blagojevich has been a big disappointment. He will win again, but it might it a costly victory for Illinois Democrats if Blagojevich does not overcome this ethics troubles.

Before The Next Teardrop Falls

Country Singer Freddy Fender Dies at 69

Three-time Grammy-winning country musician Freddy Fender, best known for his '70s country hit "Before the Next Teardrop Falls," died at noon Saturday at his Corpus Christi home with his family at his bedside, according to a spokesman. He was 69.

IL-14: John Laesch (D) for Congress!

Democrat John Laesch campaign for Congress is no longer flying under the national media radar. With his appearance on CNN, NBC, Fox News, Univision, National Public Radio, Chris Matthews’ Hardball and scandals of Republican Foley & House Speaker J. Dennis Hastert and the rest of the GOP leadership his Yorkville, Illinois headquarters is much more of an energized place.

.. phones at Laesch’s Yorkville, Illinois headquarters have been ringing so often that he’s installing two new lines. Emails fly in faster than his volunteers can read them. People mob his office with $100 checks and requests for yard signs. Some $20,000 streamed in over the weekend alone and Laesch’s handful of staff hasn’t had time to tally the rest. They’ve brought on so many new volunteers over the past four days that they’re having a hard time keeping track of them. “I called the office a couple of minutes ago looking for a staffer and talked to someone I’ve never spoken to in my life,” Laesch spokeswoman Lisa Bennett said yesterday. “It was like, ‘Oh, who are you, and can you find me someone I recognize?’”

Josh Harkinson of Mother Jones profiles Democratic John Laesch campaign to unseat House Speaker J. Dennis Hastert. The article gives a brief history John Laesch, what lead him to the Democratic Party and why he is running against the number third Republican in the Nation.

Looking for adventure and a challenge, Laesch joined the Navy in 1995 and rose to a post in Bahrain as an intelligence analyst. His job included monitoring video footage from Iran. At the time, a popular parade route in Iran had been painted with American and Israeli flags so that soldiers could trample them when they marched past. But after Iran’s moderate president Mohammad Khatami came to power, Laesch noticed the flags were removed. He saw the move as an opportunity for rapprochement which was later dashed when President Bush dubbed the country part of the Axis of Evil. “Our actions create an equal and opposite reaction on their side,” he says. “And this is why terrorism is growing.”

Honorably discharged in 1999, Laesch studied history and political science at Illinois State University and was drawn to politics. In 2004 he talked with men who worked at a Maytag factory that was shuttering in the town of Galesburg and moving to Mexico. “That bothered me,” he says. That year Laesch managed the congressional race of Democrat David Gill, a doctor running for the 15th district of Illinois on a health care platform. He felt under qualified for the job, but even so, Gill turned in a strong showing. The next year, when Laesch’s brother, Pete, was sent to Iraq a week after his wife gave birth to a child, the munitions sergeant urged his brother to run against Hastert. “It hadn’t even realistically crossed my mind,” Leasch says, “But when Pete got his orders to Iraq, I said, ‘I’m gonna do it.’”

Go read the article.

John Laesch (D) for Congress!

If you're reading this, you know that it's time. It's time for government to represent the real values of the American people. It's time for government to put the American Dream back within reach of all Americans.

I believe strongly that America is a country based on mutual responsibility: our government must serve the interests of the people, and we must in turn let government know when we are dissatisfied.

It is our responsibility to our families and our fellow Americans to ensure that our elected representatives share our civic duty, both to support our great nation and question its leaders on decisions and actions that conflict with our moral values.

It is our responsibility to our nation to ensure that American families are put first. For many Americans, working hard at one full-time job is no longer enough to pay the rent and feed their families. Access to a living wage, quality health care, education, and a healthy environment should be enjoyed by all Americans that work hard to support their families. It is not solely a question of economics: it is a moral priority that all hard-working Americans are provided access to the tools with which we can build the American Dream.

I am running for Congress to put American families first. I am running for congress to give true representation to the people of the 14th district. I am running for congress to re-open the doors of opportunity so that every American can achieve the American Dream.

Standing together as Americans, we can achieve anything!

Sincerely,

John Laesch
Democratic Congressional Candidate (IL-14)

VA-Sen: Jim Webb the People's Candidate

… vs. George Felix Allen in ten-gallon hat on horse called Bubba.

For a lot of Virginians, it's been looking like that ever since Labor Day. The holiday doubles as the state's annual kickoff for election seasons, and it's long been obligatory for politicians running statewide to appear in the big Laborfest Parade in Buena Vista, not far from the Blue Ridge Parkway. This year was a little different. Jimmy Webb was about to ship out to Iraq and his dad, the antiwar candidate, decided to skip the biggest political day of the year to say goodbye.

"Everybody had heard where Webb was that day, and why," recalls Charley Conrad. "So people are standing there watching the parade, and what do they see coming down the street but George Felix Allen, in a big white ten-gallon hat and those fancy boots he always wears, grinning and waving from atop a brown-and-white horse called--I'm not kidding--Bubba. And all I could think was, I sure hope people are paying attention."

Bob Moser in the Nation magazine profiles the Virginia Senate race; the article goes in-depth about Democrat Jim Webb campaign and this political views.

I would like to point out a few details of the article which I find significant.

Perched in a lawn chair nearby and clutching his cane, Robert Ervin--who left the mines in 1979 after thirty-eight years--doesn't mince words. "George Allen? He's the nearest nothing ever been in this country. He's a big old fake, that's all." If enough Virginians end up agreeing with that assessment, Allen will be in a heap of trouble on November 7. And for all his lack of political panache--in fact, partly because of it--Webb will have pulled off something few thought possible: making the Republican in a Southern race look like the one who's unreal, elitist and out of touch with regular folks.

Republican George Allen with this political charm of President Reagan and southern faux appeal is candidate who is out of touch with the regular people of the ‘South’ and Democrat Jim Webb with his foreign policy "realism" with an old-fashioned dose of economic populism is on this way to the Senate.

With his mix of "foreign policy realism, economic populism and social moderation"--Webb is prochoice and staunchly opposed to the anti-gay marriage amendment on the Virginia ballot this November--he aims to put a crack in the Republicans' recent dominance of federal elections in the South. His challenge is not only to the GOP but to national Democrats and "Yankee liberals" who have increasingly abandoned hope of competing in the South. "This race is a test," Webb says. "If we can get a number of these people to come back to the Democratic Party based on economic populism and fairness, rather than the way they've been maneuvered on issues like flag-burning, God, guts, guns, gays--if they can be reached out to with respect, and in terms of fundamental fairness, I think a lot of them will come back to the Democratic Party."

I agree, fundamental fairness rather than moving to the right. Economic populism and foreign policy realism is a winning issue in many Democratic candidates platform this fall. Jim Webb would be a great addition Democratic Senate caucus.

Go read the article.