George:

I will be voting for Jim Webb in the primary next week. I think that only Jim Webb has a chance to beat George Allen.

I have been impressed with Jim Webb as someone who has a worldview that we in the Democratic Party will recognize. He is against the war in Iraq, and has been since before we went in. He wants a strong defense that is to be used more sparingly and more wisely. He professes to be a moderate on most social issues, a libertarian on issues like guns, God and gays, and a populist on economic issues.

He is pro-choice as a matter of personal liberty. He is against the gay marriage amendment as a matter of personal liberty. His views on the economy and tax policy are simple -- we need to balance the budget, help those who need help, and stop giving tax cuts to the rich.

Those who oppose Webb complain that he has not been a Democrat all of his life. That does not concern me, for one very simple reason. When Jim Webb left the Democratic Party (saying that it had left him), he left with about 15% of the American people. He left as our majority disappeared in 1980. If we want to get our majority back, we need to bring home those who had been with us until 1980. Historically, the Democratic coalition was held together by a populist economic message -- that when things get tough, government will be there to help. It was that spirit -- forged in the New Deal -- that helped us bring African-Americans and the rural poor together. Jim Webb can talk that talk. I don't see Harris Miller being able to deliver a message of "government will stick up for the little guy."

How can we beat George Allen? It will undoubtedly be tough, but one thing is clear -- it will only happen if we can go after Allen's base in rural Virginia. There simply aren't enough voters in Northern Virginia to offset Allen's base. So how do we go after the rural vote? By fielding a candidate whom they will respect. Rural Virginia practically reveres the military; when Webb talks about his own service, about how his son is in Iraq, and about how he is wearing not some cowboy boots but his son's military combat boots, they will listen. When Webb talks about how foolish leaders got our military into a disastrous war, he can deliver that message in a way that Miller can't. When he says, "I am against the government coming through your front door, either to take your gun or to regulate your sex life," that's an attitude that rural Virginia will relate to.

Jim Webb's campaign brags that he will be George Allen's worst nightmare. I hope he is right. And more importantly, I think he may be right. It is that chance that causes me to support him on June 13.

Lloyd Snook (electronic mail, June 7, 2006)