Tack on the proposed constitutional amendment to ban civil protections for same-sex unions, and the sensible Virginia where I've lived my whole life has turned into a pit of ugliness and idiocy. Definitely enough to make me consider moving to Maryland -- sorry, DC, I like my Congressional representation -- for the first time ever.

Raw Fisher is my favorite piece on the post.com! Hi-larious!

As insipid as the D.C. mayor's race is, at least our candidates aren't resorting to what Marc rightly notes is junior high school level politics.

"As insipid as the D.C. mayor's race is, at least our candidates aren't resorting to what Marc rightly notes is junior high school level politics."

There's still time!

Sorry, hate to break it to you, but this idiocy wouldn't be out there _if it didn't work_.

Look at all the twits who swooned over el Chimpizente, with his faked up "swagger", etc...yadda yadda. And by twits I mean your fellow Posties who wrote all those breathless articles included.

Sadly, the average citizen never mentally graduates from HS. They still want to chum around with the Quarterback (aka the insipid "get a beer with" test), date a cheerleader, etc... We just change markers as to what qualifies (rich vs big muscles, etc...).

I don't suppose Baltimore Sun sports columnist Peter Schmuck was in your 8th-grade class...

So George Allen is a Junior, too? Of all the silly insults to choose if that's the case!

Webb's camp is right to counter everything that comes their way. For too long, the Va GOP has gone unchallenged when they toss names and then cry about how no one wants an ugly election. Well, they're getting challenged now, and they won't be able to rely on the usual cheap shots. Allen's backbencher record and statement about being "bored" in the Senate render him completely vulnerable.

A few years ago I would have agreed whole hardedly with your observations, and laughed out loud. However, more recently I have struggled to understand why the information about politicians that is reported by the news media consists almost exclusively of the type of discourse that you have tried to make light of in your piece. I think it may be because that is the only way politicians can get into news reports. I have never heard a reporter ask a politician why they believe it is more beneficial to political discourse to hurl insults rather than address the issues. I wish I could laugh, but what you say is much too serious.

I suppose I'd find it all less entertaining if I lived in Virginia... Here in Maryland we still have William Donald Schaefer, but once he's gone we'll be stuck with politicians like Duncan, who act like grown-ups. Sigh.

Yeah, but Marc . . . they got you to print it didn't they? After all, your column wasn't about their stand on global warming or off shore oil drilling, was it?

Both candidates may be "juniors" but only one is a certified draft-dodging doofus.

This post points inescapably to one logical conclusion: Former Toronto Blue Jays outfielder Junior Felix needs to enter the Virginia Senate race as an independent.

http://www.baseball-reference.com/f/felixju01.shtml

Junior Felix: He's a uniter, not a divider.

Felix is Roman for happy, lucky.

Question: If all our worst fears are realized, and GFA Jr. is re-elected to the boring old Senate, then runs for prez in 2008 and wins, what happens to his Senate seat? Does the Guv appoint? Is there a special election?

Follow up question: Do they have an ample supply of spittoons in the White House?

For the life of me, I don't understand how anyone thinks this guy has a chance.

The only reason Kilgore and Earley lost is that they lost the race - not that Warner and little Timmy Kaine won it.

VA = Red state

From today's _Post_ article about women at the Naval Academy:

"That complaint [about women being accepted and taking jobs/slots from men] grew louder in 1979, when Washingtonian magazine published an article, 'Women Can't Fight,' by James Webb, a much-heralded academy graduate and Marine war hero who is now the Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate in Virginia. He wrote then that the presence of women poisoned the academy's mission and that the academy's massive dormitory was 'a horny woman's dream.'"

I think someone ought to take him to task for suggesting that women only want to join the service because of hot guys - yeah, right.

"The only reason Kilgore and Earley lost is that they lost the race - not that Warner and little Timmy Kaine won it."

Wow, that's not incoherent at all. They lost because a) they lost, and b) the other guys won. To think that these are mutually exclusive events is beyond idiotic.

And thank god KillGore isn't the governor today.

Not coherent?

Let me break it down for you:
Virginia is the Republicans' state to lose in any given statewide election.

I was using sarcasm, or hyperbole, if you will. But you're a Repub, so I don't expect you to pick up on these things too quickly.

Peace

That's right, because I share a different political philosophy, I'm a lesser thinker. Thanks for making it personal.

I'd be surprised if George Allen's campaign came up with any pronouncement of substance. Allen's style is, and always has been, that of the arrogant frat boy bully, a la Biff in "Back to the Future."

Read about the first wife Georgie Boy never mentions, plus the tales of his abuse of his siblings and his embrace of the Confederate Flag and Pat Robertson at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Allen_(politician)

Yep, we got a real weiner, err winner in George Felix Allen, NOT Junior. Dad, aka "Richard Nixon with a Whistle" was Former Rams and Redskins Coach George Herbert Allen.

The best thing that the Junior Senator from Virginia could do would be to heed the advice that Vice President Dick Cheney gave to Senator Pat Leahy.

I have 4 things to say, well really to repeat, from wikipedia, which is written by everyday people.

"He was not in student government at Palos Verdes High, though he claimed to be in the 1970 yearbook listing of his accomplishments."

"George said he saw dentistry as a perfect profession--getting paid to make people suffer."(from his sister)

"In 2000, when a voter told Allen, "Long live the Confederate flag!" Allen replied, "You got it!""

"In 2004, the Washingtonian, a cultural magazine which serves as a guide to entertainment, politics, events, etc. of Washington D.C. featured an article entitled "The Best and Worst of Congress." It consisted of a poll of top Capitol Hill staff (administrative assistants, press secretaries, legislative directors, and chiefs of committee staffs) to attempt to break through the manufactured positive public image of public officials by asking their aides. In the poll for "No Rocket Scientist," the congressional aides voted George Allen as the third Senator most likely to be "no rocket scientist," suggesting his ineptitude and lack of intelligence."

So let me get this straight, there are people that think I'm supposed to vote for a guy who started lying about things he did while in high school, who loves the Confederate flag, and who is either disliked or deemed as stupid by both his family and those that work with him? I think not.

george felix allen reaps what he sows. he has no right to complain about anything jim webb says, because he's said as much and worse. he's not some innocent angel. just ask his sister about that. he also, on a slightly tangential point, has the absolute rudest office staff of any representative in the commonwealth. i will enjoy watching jim webb walk off with his senate seat.

good luck in the iowa primaries, felix.

Let me further clarify... We're supposed to vote for someone based on ANYTHING they did in High School? Or what their middle name is? Good lord, are these actually arguements real people are having?

I don't know about y'all, but I'd like to find answers to the following questions (in no particular order), and then vote based on what the candidate answers.

Why should DC residents be denied congressional representation?

To what extent do you think a right to privacy exists in the Fourth Amendment?

Why has the current Congress been so candy-[expletive deleted] in their oversight responsibilities, and what would you do to change that?

The list goes on, but if a candidate named "Josiah Englebert Wingelton the Third, Esq." has the most reasonable answers, then that's who gets my vote. Even if he lied about getting beaten up for truancy every day in High School.

Let's keep our eyes on the prize, folks.

As for this being a "Red State," that's been historically true as far as the presidency goes. But elections have a funny tendency to be decided on the strength of the candidates (and money, if you're a pessimist). And with the influx of "Blue Staters" to NoVA lately, it's anyone's guess who wins this one. Personally, I'm leaning toward the first one who takes the high road and uses a campaign slogan my 5 year old nephew couldn't come up with.

Sometimes I'm glad that my wife and I left Republican Virginia for Democratic Maryland; I'd love to vote against that boorish swine who takes up space as Virginia's junior senator.
He and other chickenhawk Republicans who never served in the military really should stop impugning the patriotism of people like Jim Webb and Max Cleland. The strategy of attacking highly decorated veterans sickens me to the point that I couldn't vote for anyone who did it. What really bothers me is that people who claim to be patriotic apparently do support Republicans who use this strategy.

One would think Democrats would have learned that you can't just run on a "I was in the military" platform and win.

I guess John Kerry is a distant memory.

No, Mr. Webb, it's the philosophy you're going to tout that will get you elected, not yours or anyone's military resume.

Now it's a factor, but it's akin to the tomatoes in a taco - nice to have, but not necessary to enjoy the taco.

I hadn't noticed Allen having any philosophy on anything. Is it "All taxation is theft," which seriously harmed Virginia's higher education system, or is it "I'll do whatever Bush and Rove tell me"? Or is it "If you have no ideas, claim that your opponent, who has demonstrated courage in ways you'll never understand, is not as patriotic as you are"?
Or maybe "Federal judges are a greater threat to the United States than al Quaeda"?
If it's philosophy and policy that's in question, then Allen needs to point out what's wrong with refusal to support a flag burning amendment and what's right with Congress considering such an amendment at a time when there are far more serious issues that need attention. He should also explain how granting honosexual people the right to some sort of civil union is going to weaken heterosexual marriage. Allen is the incumbent. He's the one who sets the tone. Why isn't he talking about his wonderful record instead of saying, in effect, "My opponent is a bad person because he agrees with people who disagree with me"?

Question.

At the time that Virginia began accepting out of state trash to be transported to our dumps, was George Allen our governor?

I hadn't noticed Allen having any philosophy on anything. Is it "All taxation is theft," which seriously harmed Virginia's higher education system, or is it "I'll do whatever Bush and Rove tell me"?

-Most folks think the government taxes them too much. But if you think otherwise, then you should rejoice, for Allen has supported the President with the tax cuts which have resulted in record tax collections by the IRS.

-As for the other point, Allen is no maverick Republican; he and the President think very similarly. What is wrong with that? You didn't see Sen. Robb openly disagree with Clinton either.

Or is it "If you have no ideas, claim that your opponent, who has demonstrated courage in ways you'll never understand, is not as patriotic as you are"?

-Ways you'll never understand? Well, I agree that his military service is laudible but it's not the whole enchilada.

Or maybe "Federal judges are a greater threat to the United States than al Quaeda"?

-It may surprise you, but the Supreme Court is not very popular, particularly among conservative voters when the notion of a "living Constitution" is invoked. There's a real difference in philosophy.

If it's philosophy and policy that's in question, then Allen needs to point out what's wrong with refusal to support a flag burning amendment and what's right with Congress considering such an amendment at a time when there are far more serious issues that need attention.

-Look, Congress considers hundreds of issues in any given week. This issue, while you don't agree with it clearly, is important to some folks just like price supports are important to others.

He should also explain how granting honosexual people the right to some sort of civil union is going to weaken heterosexual marriage.

-For many conservatives, marriage is a holy institution. Others think that encouraging homosexual marriage or some facsimile could be dangerous to child rearing. I myself have trouble believing a child doesn't need a mom or a dad. The bottom line on which all conservatives agree is that the traditional notion of family is the fundamental building block. I understand that some folks disagree, but it's simply a difference of opinion.

-The bottom line is that Allen's record, aside from importing trash into Virginia, is solid as far as conservatives are concerned. The trash importation is indefensible, but remember Vintage, the end of parole and the beginning of Project Exile was hugely positive for Virginia and continues to be so today.

Okay. To a conservative voter, Allen is about as close to perfect as anybody could get. I don't question that. I might regret it, but I don't question it.
What I do question is this: If George Allen has been a great governor and great senator, it seems to me that his campaign would point to a list of accomplishments so lengthy and substantive that even his supporters probably couldn't remember all of them. Given that list of accomplishments, why would he stoop to the kind of fluff that he's been using in his TV ads and in attacking Webb for opposing a measure that has repeatedly failed--even in Republican controlled Congresses? Does Allen's campaign, at this point, give anyone a reason to vote for him?

As to your inquiry on Allen's early campaigning, I don't know that his campaign is doing anything different than any other campaign right now.

I will be glad to join you for some bashing of the election process we go through in this country. Gone are the days in which we had an open dialogue where candidates tried to appeal to the middle. All we see now is campaigning designed to rally the core constituencies. It's the product of 12 years of Dick Morris triangulation and the sequel by Mr. Rove. The "middle" seems to have either disengaged or picked a side in all of this.

Now, that said, I managed a successful race a few years ago at the state level using this same strategy. Pot, kettle, black, you know the story.

Now you ask if the camp. gives any reason for anyone to vote for him? Well, honestly I havent seen a whole lot of campaigning out of them yet, so it's hard to say.

I imagine they've been busy trying to figure out the wedge issues that will most efficaciously separate Allen from Webb. Allen certainly wants to define Webb before Webb can do so and he certainly has the economic resources to do so.

All I can say is let's wait and see. I think Allen can run a fairly positive race and win because it is Webb who really has to make his case to moderate conservatives who would otherwise vote for Allen.

We'll see I guess.

"Virginia Republicans have for some years made a habit of campaigning on a 'Quien es mas macho' theme."

And now the Democrats are sadly resorting to the same "prove my manhood" tactics. To this Prince William resident, it's exasperating.

You backward southerners.

Yes, Conservative One, PROJECT EXILE was Allen's signature accomplishment, and I sometimes wonder why, as soon as his term was over, the next administration took down the warning signs placed at our state borders.

As to the Commonwealth being second only to Pennsylvannia as trashiest state (drummed by every media outlet from time to time) it is indefensible. Your good description. It is something we are stuck with, Interstate Commerce Commissionwise.

I have enjoyed reading your well thought out comments, thank you.

amstphd--He's running fluff in the DC market because the accomplishments that he can run on won't necessarily be palatable to the increasingly Dem-leaning voters in Fairfax. If Webb is going to win this race, he has to absolutely dominate Fairfax (Alexandria and Arlington are a given, obviously), and run significantly ahead in Loudoun and Prince William. If Allen can cast himself as a regular, nice guy next door (as he's trying to do in the ads where he's wearing the red shirt), instead of a conservative warrior, that'll help him in NoVa big time. Needless to say that his ads in Hampton Roads and Richmond will be significantly different (at least, eventually) from the ones you see here.

Personally, I hope Jim Webb stomps Allen. But it's not bad strategy on Allen's part.

On the other hand, I think Webb's campaign has been pretty impressive so far. They've baited Allen and Wadhams (who ran John Thune's campaign that unseated Tom Daschle, BTW), they've had the upper hand in most of the exchanges between the campaigns, and have been successful in bringing a whole lot of national attention to a Virginia race that a lot of Dems thought was unwinnable even 3 months ago. If they keep the momentum, people will start considering this a winnable seat...and then watch the money start pouring in.

It'll be an interesting rest-of-the-year.