Swift Boating

Paid Jim Webb mouthpiece Lowell Feld is crying about the criticism of his candidate. Lowell chooses to call the criticisms "Swift Boating." The resurfacing of a NY Times article from 1988 is swift boating? I am confused. Let's look at what Thomas Jefferson had to say about Jim Webb's hero Andrew Jackson. Is this Swift Boating? Thomas Jefferson in retirement said of Jackson in 1824:

"I feel much alarmed at the prospect of seeing General Jackson President. He is one of the most unfit men I know of for such a place. He has had very little respect for laws or constitutions, and is, in fact, an able military chief. His passions are terrible. When I was President of the Senate he was a Senator; and he could never speak on account of the rashness of his feelings. I have seen him attempt it repeatedly, and as often choke with rage. His passions are no doubt cooler now; he has been much tried since I knew him, but he is a dangerous man."(LINK)

Some share these same feelings about Jim Webb. Is this swift boating?

While I salute James Webb for his service and patriotism, as a veteran and father of a serving serviceman, I cannot and will not support his candidacy for the U.S. Senate.

Webb may feel that the Republican Party is off-course, but there's a reason the electorate has chosen Republicans over Democrats the past quarter-century. It's simply that Democrats are no longer the party of Roosevelt or JFK. As Ronald Reagan and Zell Miller stated, the current Democratic Party has left them.

Today the face of the Democratic Party is Harry Reid, Nancy Pelosi, and Howard Dean. They are the party of doom and gloom, of far-left, cut-and-run diplomacy, and a party that does everything in its power to undermine the Bush administration.

Their actions and motivations while the U.S. has been at war have been, at times, borderline subversive and always thoroughly despicable.

Don't be tricked by a few decorated Vietnam veterans who have chosen rhetoric over action. A clear majority of veterans know that to defeat terrorism, we must act now rather than wait until the terrorists or the countries that support them get nuclear weapons--a very real near-term threat.

Sen. George Allen may not have served in the military, but he knows and supports the values I look for in a U.S. senator. Most veterans will vote for him because we cannot and should not cut and run, appease terrorists, or vote for a man who will caucus with those who will take these actions.

Russ Duenow

Spotsylvania

Russ Duenow is retired from the Marine Corps.(LINK)

What about this?

Re: "Debate - or lesson in geography?" July 23. The debate in Hot Springs defines the real problem with James Webb in the Senate race - he's not a Virginian. His entire candidacy is based on being a mercenary for the Democratic Party. The national Democratic power structure gave Virginia Democrats a vote of no confidence on their ability to unseat the Republican Sen. George Allen. The idiocy that he is somehow more "electable" was laid bare during the debate.

No Virginia politician would have come up short on the Craney Island issue; Virginians are keenly aware of the importance of this site as a major port in the future. The economic impact of Craney Island will have long-lasting repercussions for all of Hampton Roads and Virginia alike. A real candidate with Virginia's best interests at heart would have known that and had a plan to navigate our future.

For the U.S. Senate, are we looking for a representative of Virginia or a representative of the Democratic Party? And whose interest does that serve?

Bryan C. Burge

Yorktown(LINK)

Lowell is tender because his candidate has people confused. He says he is a Democrat yet Reagan is his model president. The same man he abandoned as Sec of the Navy. His hero is Andrew Jackson? That is very troubling to me. Jackson's Indian Wars, his want to abolish the electoral college, there are many things to consider. Lowell-If this is swift boating then you better get ready to ride.

Update: Be sure to read the two comments !!

Technorati : George Allen, Jim Webb, Lowell Feld, Virginia Politics