Jim Webb Vs. George Allen Vs. Wilbur?
September 14, 2006 at 10:38 am
From today’s Washington Post story: “Va. Senate Race Goes Negative on 1979 Essay; Women Didn’t Belong At Annapolis, Webb Said” comes this gem:
“It’s probably a good time to break out the Disney tapes for the kids, because the TV ads aren’t going to be pretty,” said Charlie Cook, an independent political analyst who edits the Cook Political Report.
So, since the story focuses on male chauvinism, perhaps the kiddies could watch, ahem, Charlotte’s Webb?
The Post, meanwhile, runs excerpts from “Women Can’t Fight,” by James Webb, in the November 1979 issue of the Washingtonian magazine, including this doozy:
Lest I be understood too quickly
Huh? Double huh? Say, what did Webb teach at the Naval Academy? Oh that’s right, English.
hazmaq said,
September 14, 2006 @ 12:26 pm
As a woman what I find much more disgusting than Webb not not believing women should fight in the military, as millions of other men including my own father believed 30 years ago, is that another woman, Allen’s own younger sister wrote a book called Fifth Quarter about growing up with George and their football coach father. She alleges that the future Governor and Senator of Virginia threw their brother through a sliding glass door for breaking bedtime curfew. He later broke the same brother’s collarbone for the same offense, and dragged his sister up a staircase by her hair when she failed to make curfew.
Dragged a woman by the hair up a flight of stairs, his own sister, and you compare, excuse me, deliberately forget to mention that??
I.Publius said,
September 15, 2006 @ 8:54 am
First of all, hazmaq, you’re referring to allegations, which may (or may not) be true. Did Senator Allen write an article espousing the virtues of dragging little sisters around by their hair?
Secondly, if the account is true — how old was he? Did you do anything before reaching adulthood that you shouldn’t have? Mr. Webb was an assistant professor, or lecturer, at the U.S. Naval Academy when he inspired the WUBA Klux Klan, suggested that female cadets were sexually perverted lesbians, and called one “thunder thighs” — besides the troubling enough issue of ridiculing their very existence at Annapolis.
How would you feel if your daughter had been a cadet there, and Mr. Webb was teaching this attitude to the boys at the school?
David Sherman said,
September 15, 2006 @ 12:34 pm
Its a shame the Allenites have to dredge up 30 year old quotes and provide them out of context. I guess this is the start of the promised wave of negative advertising promised by the GOP. Webb’s military record is fairly extaordinary and we should listen to what he says about current military matters. Allen, on the other hand is simply a child of privilege. Kind of like a certain ex-Air National Guard guy who can’t talk in complete in sentences and is the current leader of the free world.
Spank That Donkey said,
September 16, 2006 @ 7:40 pm
I think you touched a nerve Mortman!
Wulf said,
September 17, 2006 @ 8:29 am
Sherman, you hypocrite, does the past matter, or doesn’t it?
If it does for Allen, Bush, and other Republicans, then quit complaining about this “30-year old quote”, as it was not some off-the-cuff misrepresentative casual comment, and it had context and implications.
Walt Bennett said,
September 27, 2006 @ 9:43 pm
As a male former USAF MSgt (retired over 20 years ago), I find it absolutely amazing how folks get so strange about how the military was back when I was serving. Mr. Webb’s article was really very tame for what went on back then, both written and unwritten. I personally recieved some of the typical discrimination myself when attempting to provide training to a new female technician. My superviser interupted me and told me it was a wast of time, since she was only looking for a husband and would get pregnant within a few months (at that time women who became pregnant were discharged). When I attempted to continue the training, he ordered me to stop. This all happened in the totally integrated military force of 1976, the same year I believe Mr. Webb published his article. In today’s world, what he wrote was wrong, but back then, it was far from it.
Bottom line to me is what each of the candidates has to say about the economy, how we will more effectively fight terror, how to get corruption out of Capitol Hill, and about twenty other things. I’m not at all interested in negative ads, mud slinging, or scripted quotes from other sources. Thus far, Mr. Allen hasn’t said anything original and seems to be behind the curve.