Virginia 2006
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49 entries. 11,314 words.
2006-05
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Miller v. Webb.
2006-05-15.
In the Virginia Democratic primaries coming up on June 13, it’s Harris Miller vs. Jim Webb. One of those two will go on to challenge George Allen for VA Senate in November. (It’s sort of like American Idol, except it isn’t stupid.)
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More Miller v. Webb.
2006-05-17.
Didn’t get around to posting this yesterday: Following up on my post from Monday about Jim Webb and Harris Miller…
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Early Propaganda From The Miller v. Webb Debate.
2006-05-19.
Interesting post from The Richmond Democrat (aka. Jim Webb shill headquarters): Breaking! Disaster at debate for Harris Miller!
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My Review Of The Miller v. Webb Debate.
2006-05-20.
Disclaimer: I am not at all qualified to judge political debates.
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Miller v. Webb: Observations.
2006-05-23.
Back to Webb and Miller for a bit. I never did finish my review of the debate, but it’s old news now.
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Summary Of George Allen\’s Voting Record.
2006-05-24.
In my continuing effort to figure out what the heck to do with my votes in June and November, here is my home grown summary of some of George Allen’s Voting Record, as reported by Project Vote Smart. I just picked categories that seemed interesting to me.
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Deducing Webb\’s Platform.
2006-05-24.
Since Jim Webb and his supporters aren’t going to do it for me, I guess I’ll have to deduce his platform for myself.
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Miller\’s Agenda.
2006-05-24.
Just to be thorough, here is a link to Harris Miller’s Agenda page, complete with bullet points and detailed explanations. (It’s even available in Spanish.) Ahh, that was easy.
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Webb\’s Positive Campaign So Far.
2006-05-24.
To illustrate my “Webb supporters are just anti-Miller opponents” observation from yesterday, take a look at this sample.
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Rebellious George.
2006-05-25.
In case anyone was worried, I’m now convinced that George Allen is, in fact, the devil. On Hardball last night, the “aw shucks, I’m just a good ol’ Virginia boy” routine was particularly nauseauting. (By the way, do appearances on shows like Hardball during an election campaign count as election advertising?
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Yikes! A Strike Against Miller.
2006-05-25.
Much has been made of Harris Miller’s ITAA lobbying career. Since I’m a programmer, Information Technology is probably the single most important issue in any campaign for me, so I did a little browsing on their web site to get a sense of what the ITAA actually lobbies for. From all the negative press they were getting, I was bracing myself for something truly evil.
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H-1Bs And The Virginia Senate Race.
2006-05-28.
I saw some comments about me on another blog that made me laugh. Just for the record, I’m not in any way affiliated with Harris Miller, Jim Webb, or George Allen. I’m certainly not an “apologist” for any of them.
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Miller\’s Attack Ad.
2006-05-31.
I saw Harris Miller’s attack ad last night, which was described by Jim Webb’s campaign as “brutal, cynical, [and] negative.” (This from the people who always refer to Miller as “Corporate Lobbyist” Miller.) The first part of the ad talked about Miller’s platform (with specifics!) of firing Donald Rumsfeld and something else I can’t remember. And then as an after thought, it added that Jim Webb supported Republicans in 2000. Not exactly the cut-throat negative attack I was led to expect.
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2006-06
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The Fightin’ Seventh.
2006-06-02.
Well crap. Looks like I’ll have to start researching two more Congressional candidates. I had previously thought I wouldn’t have to worry about the 7th district because Eric Cantor didn’t have a challenger, but then I read this Breaking News about 7th CD on Virginia Centrist.
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It’s The End Of The World….
2006-06-06.
Since I have the good fortune to be working with a SQL query that takes about 15 minutes to execute, I have some spare writing time today. Sadly, just like yesterday, there is nothing particularly interesting to write about. Today’s trend in blogosphere conversation: D-Day and End Times.
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The Right Words For The Right Occasion.
2006-06-08.
Uh oh, the Virginia Democratic blogosphere is self-destructing again over the “jewbaiting” thing.
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WWJ[N]D?.
2006-06-09.
A quick note about our illustrious 7th district Rep. Eric Cantor: Last night, he voted against the Markey amendment protecting Net Neutrality (along with the majority of other Republicans). What Would James [Nachman] Do?
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Hardball Post-Mortem.
2006-06-09.
I didn’t have any new insights after the Webb/Miller Hardball “debate” last night. Not surprisingly, Webb won the charisma battle. Miller looked kind of shifty and nervous again.
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What To Watch In The Primary.
2006-06-11.
I won’t make a prediction on the Virginia Democratic primary Tuesday, because I don’t know anything about politics, and the outcome is relatively unimportant in the global scheme of things anyway. For me, the most interesting thing to observe about the primary results will be whether or not the Virginia Democratic blogosphere represents the typical Virginia Democratic voter. If Webb wins, the VD blogosphere (hyuk, hyuk) echoes the sentiments of “mainstream” Virginia Democrats.
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Mild Voter Apathy.
2006-06-13.
Democracy in action: At 5:30 PM, after the polls had been open for some 11 1/2 hours, Mrs. Krehbiel was voter #30 and I was voter #31 in our precinct.
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Post-Primary Pondering.
2006-06-14.
I’m pretty disappointed in the primary results, but probably not for reasons anyone would expect. Jim Webb is as good of a candidate as anyone else, and his Reagan Democrat status can only help him in the battle against George Allen.
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Post-Primary Partying.
2006-06-14.
Virginia bloggers are predictably taking credit for getting Jim Webb elected in the primary.
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Amateur Webb-Bashing Already Started.
2006-06-15.
Two days after the primary, Virginia conservative bloggers are already jumping into the mix with their own amateur campaigning, bashing Webb and telling us why Virginians shouldn’t vote for him.
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Virtucon Tries A Red Herring.
2006-06-16.
Here’s an example of the seedy underbelly lying beneath George Allen’s “good ol’ boy” exterior – an example of the kind of “common sense leadership” he inspires in his campaign workers: Webb Campaign Steals Marvel Comics “How-To” Art For Flyer. I suppose we’ll be seeing quite a bit more of this kind of rhetoric in the near future.
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The Senate Debate Wars, Episode I.
2006-06-20.
Sigh. Can’t politicians ever agree on anything?
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This Week In The Senate Race.
2006-06-23.
A new Zogby poll shows Allen leading Webb by a mere 5.3 points. Democrat blogs are validated, Republican blogs will talk about why political polls are irrelevant. (Isn’t it funny how opinion polls are so useful to support a position, but useless for opposing a position?) Anyway, don’t get too excited, because most people feel Zogby is not a very reliable poll.
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The Dullest Of Blog Entries.
2006-06-30.
They say the difference between a “real writer” and a “struggling writer” is in their ability to write when they don’t feel like writing. So in that spirit, I am now writing a blog entry even though I don’t particularly feel like it and there is nothing particularly interesting to write about.
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2006-07
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Last Week In The Virginia Senate Race.
2006-07-03.
Dick Wadhams, campaign manager for George Allen, and Steve Jarding, spokesman for Jim Webb, spent the week trading insults over the flag burning amendment (Allen is for it, Webb opposes it). The unfortunately-named Wadhams was trying to bait Webb into “blowing up” by deliberately pushing his buttons. As far as I can tell, nothing in the way of intelligent debate occurred.
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Weekend Senate Update.
2006-07-10.
I didn’t see Webb and Allen on Stephanopoulos yesterday, so I don’t have any comment about it. I’ve already made up my mind about the Senate race anyway. There’s no point in confusing the issue by listening to the candidates.
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Monday’s Informative Links.
2006-07-10.
Another in my new series of lazy blogging link-fests, otherwise known as “the things I didn’t have anything to add to.” Feel free to skip if you don’t care what I think is informative reading.
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Wednesday’s Informative Links.
2006-07-12.
I actually collected these yesterday and forgot to post them.
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2006-08
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What I’ve Learned From Allen’s Racial Slur.
2006-08-16.
I’ve learned… a new racial slur! Though I’m still not quite clear what ethnicity it’s supposed to demean. Indians?
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Webb Pulls Even… Somehow.
2006-08-22.
This is pretty amazing: Despite Webb’s under-funded non-campaign, a new SurveyUSA poll shows he’s now basically tied with Allen, 48-45. Not that I’m complaining, but how does he do it? He did the same thing to Harris Miller in the primary – no money, no advertising, no message – and he still won.
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2006-09
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George Allen On The Radio.
2006-09-11.
Oh… I heard George Allen briefly on the radio this morning (you can find the interview at WRVA’s site, if you have the slightest interest in anything a politician has to say). I don’t remember much of anything he said during the interview, except something about trying to be a father figure for one of his neighbor’s kids who had lost his father in the Pentagon attack on 9/11 (gag), but I explicitly remember the way he ended the interview.
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It’s Time For An Exciting Senate Update!.
2006-09-15.
In case you’re wondering what’s going on in the Virginia senate race, here’s a quick update: Jim Webb’s staffers made fun of something George Allen said, which was echoed and amplified in the Virginia liberal blogosphere. Then George Allen’s staffers made fun of something Jim Webb said, which was echoed and amplified in the Virginia conservative blogosphere. This process has repeated itself about seventy-three times.
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Debate Watched Successfully.
2006-09-18.
It was sometimes hard to hear the debate/dual-interview on Meet The Press over Mrs. Krehbiel’s virulent cursing whenever George Allen spoke, but I observed: George Allen is definitely a professional politician; that is, he failed to answer almost every single question directly. Instead, he recited Bush’s talking points almost word-for-word. I also happily noted that Jim Webb has made great progress in cutting the “ums” out of his speaking.
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Friday Wrap-up.
2006-09-22.
Let’s see, what’s been happening this week? I haven’t been paying much attention actually. Looks like a plan will be going forward to try the Gitmo detainees without having to re-write GC Article III.
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The Ethics Of Allen-Bashing.
2006-09-25.
Good news, everybody! According to former teammates, Allen used the “N-word” in college.
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More Lamentation On The State Of Democracy.
2006-09-29.
Here’s one good thing about researching the potential Senate candidates and making your voting decision early in the year: You don’t have to pay attention to the actual campaigning, which is really just a big playground fight between the opposing campaign managers and has little or nothing to do with the candidates themselves. The drawback, of course, is that you get to watch the quality of public discourse plummet to new lows during the time you’re waiting to vote, and you come to the inevitable realization that elections are decided not by issues, but by manipulation of mass media. The key to victory, it seems, is to ensure that the media spends more time covering an accusation than a refutation, and lean on the average voter’s lack of political knowledge.
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2006-10
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Recent Discourses In Politics.
2006-10-02.
I guess that old joke about incumbents having to be caught with a dead girl or a live boy to lose an election isn’t so funny anymore, in light of Mark Foley’s resignation following hinky emails to teen page boys.
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My First Activism.
2006-10-06.
I’ve never been much of a political activist, but this Marshall/Newman Amendment proposal here in Virginia annoys me. You know, the one that supposedly amends the Virginia constitution to define marriage as between one man and one woman.
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Book Burning Coming Soon.
2006-10-17.
There’s an attempt underway by some of the more desperate elements of the Virginia conservative blogosphere (aka. Allen’s A-Team and co.)–who not too long ago wrote, “let’s get back to the issues”–to focus on the campaign issue of racy content in Jim Webb’s novels. The gist of the argument is that Webb’s personal credibility as a Senator should be scrutinized because of the questionable conduct of fictional characters in his books.
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On Webb’s Novels.
2006-10-27.
My opinion about Allen’s people using Webb’s novels against him is the same as it was when it was just some silly blogs doing it. It’s borderline-fascist anti-art propaganda, but a predictable desperation smear tactic. (I’m sure if Allen wrote fiction, Webb’s people would be doing it too.)
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2006-11
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Allen’s Stalker.
2006-11-01.
I hate to complain when awkward situations come up for George Allen, but this security incident has all the markings of a setup. I mean, a left-wing blogger, inspired by Michael Moore’s stalker movie Roger and Me, tries to ask Allen an awkward question (by shouting at him) right in front of the press? Come on.
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Kerry’s Unfortunate Misstatement.
2006-11-02.
This is old news now (or should be, at least), but I couldn’t post yesterday.
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The Three Amendment Proposals.
2006-11-02.
Last week, I came across this: Did you know there is more than one ballot amendment? To my surprise, I didn’t know there was more than the minority-hating amendment on the ballot. There’s actually 3 amendments.
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The Big Game.
2006-11-07.
For people who enjoy the “game” of politics, today is like the Super Bowl. Pundits have spent months hyping the game, analyzing every possible matchup, and making learned predictions, and the coaches have drawn up elaborate plans and strategies for victory. Today the fans are packed into the stadium and everyone else is glued to their televisions.
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Freedom Is On The March… Away From Virginia.
2006-11-08.
In the harsh light of the morning after the political and media orgy known as Midterm Elections, we can now see that 57% of Virginia voters supported changing the constitution to make second class citizens out of unmarried couples. One has to wonder how many of those voters actually thought they were voting to prevent gay marriage. Idiots.
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Random Post-Election Thoughts.
2006-11-13.
Thank God it’s over.
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