Today was possibly the best day of the entire campaign for Jim Webb. Let us count the ways...
1) Dead Even: Mason-Dixon, one of the most respected polling firms around, is out with new numbers on the Webb-Allen race, and it is great news for Jim Webb. According to Mason-Dixon, this race is tied, 43%-43%, with just 39 days to go. Even better, if you're a Webb fan, is the fact that Allen is only at 43%, a truly horrendous number for an incumbent Senator just 5 1/2 weeks from Election Day.
What's not good about this poll for Allen? Let us count the ways! First, conventional political wisdom says that most undecided voters tend to break for the challenger, especially in an election cycle where voters want change. Well, voters certainly want change this year, with the vast majority saying that things are not "heading in the right direction" right now. Second, Allen has almost 100% name recognition, which means he doesn't have much "upside" potential. In other words, everyone knows Allen, so how does he change peoples' views of him? Third, the Webb campaign has barely advertised at all so far, but now that money is pouring in, that's going to change significantly in coming weeks. Finally, God only knows how many more people will come forward with stories of George Allen's outlandish behavior over the years.
The bottom line: this race is tied in the best poll available, but the miserable 43% number for George Allen has got to have George, Dick, Chris, and friends in a panic over at Allen for Senate HQ.
2) Legislative Black Caucus: Today, Virginia's Legislative Black Caucus endorsed Jim Webb for U.S. Senate. According to the Daily Press:
Del. Dwight C. Jones of Richmond, the caucus chairman, said the Webb endorsement had more to do with Allen's stands on Iraq and his loyalty to President Bush than recent allegations Allen showed racial insensitivity.
"It was George Allen's commitment to the president, voting with him 97 percent of the time and the bungling of this whole terror thing," Jones said in a telephone interview.
3) Military Women: Today, according to the Webb campaign:
A number of women who served in the U.S. armed forces--including a Naval Academy grad who formerly stood with Sen. George Allen--voiced their support of Jim Webb's candidacy for the U.S. Senate...
The women hailed Jim's commitment to advancing women's roles and broadening their responsibility in the United States military.
The military women included Linda Ponstenriender, "a 1982 Naval Academy grad who was recruited to speak at a press conference commandeered by the Allen campaign earlier this month." According to the Webb campaign's press release, Ponstenriender "said she has since heard from Jim Webb and liked what he has to say."
For more on this story, see here.
4) Money, Money, Money! As if all that's not good enough, the Daily Press reports the following:
[Webb] campaign spokeswoman Kristian Denny Todd said the campaign expects fundraising totals for the past three months would come to about $3 million, by far the best yield yet for Webb's cash-starved campaign.
Thanks for this tremendous result go in large part to YOU, the netroots, for your amazing support of Jim Webb the past few months in particular. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Oh, did I say "thank you?" LOL
5) Another Allen Teammate Goes on the Record: Oh yeah, I can't forget to mention that Salon magazine reported yet ANOTHER former teammate of George Allen's going on the record with reports about Allen using racist language. According to Salon:
Edward J. Sabornie, a special education professor at North Carolina State University, had previously spoken to Salon about Allen's behavior on the condition of anonymity, because he feared retribution from the Allen campaign. In a Salon story on Sunday, Sabornie was quoted as a "teammate" who remembered Allen using the word "nigger" to describe blacks. "It was so common with George when he was among his white friends. This is the terminology he used," Sabornie said in that article.
Sabornie also confirmed that he had heard the "deer head in a mailbox" story. And Sabornie says "he remembers Allen also referring to blacks as 'roaches,' and using the word 'wetback' to refer to Latinos." Lovely, huh?
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As I said, this was an amazing day for Jim Webb. Now, just 38 more of them and we'll have ourselves a new US Senator from Virginia! :)
Lowell Feld is Netroots Coordinator for the Jim Webb for US Senate Campaign. The ideas expressed here belong to Lowell Feld alone, and do not represent those of Jim Webb, his advisors, staff, or supporters.