"He said he was concerned that on foreign policy, the nation is now “bouncing from issue to issue without a clear articulation of what the national security interest of the United States actually is.” At the same time, he said, he is worried by the growing gap between the rich and poor, which he said could be addressed through better leadership in Washington. Webb’s comments took the political establishment in Virginia and beyond by surprise. Since declining to run for reelection to the Senate in 2012 after serving only a single term in office, Webb has largely disappeared from the political scene."
————————
My. My. He would be quite a president. He really was "born fighting." Is there a chance of this happening? I doubt it. Last time I heard he was still a Democrat. I suppose he could switch back to being a Republican and fight Hillary. That would be amusing. The mighty midgets who are Republican possibilities now might not be able to stop him. I don't include Jeb Bush in that crowd of non-entities but he is never going to get the nomination. Would he run as a Democrat and try to take the nomination away from her ladyship? He might do that and become the leading probability for VP, but he would not be a good VP. This man is a leader, not a Bidenesque cipher.
Would I support him? Yes, but that would be a handicap. pl
Jim Webb would be a nice fit for VP nominee in 2016 for either party!
Colonel: I don’t think HRC is anything like a lock to be the Democratic nominee. It is not a certainty that she will run. She is advancing in years. As much of a free pass as Obama gets from the press, so will any Clinton be shredded by that same press. Witness the explosion of chatter Sunday about Dr. Rove’s diagnosis. She is again unlikely to win the Iowa Caucuses if anyone else runs a credible campaign there. The Ready for Hillary people are trying to get Democrats to beg her to run and I get the impression she wants to be begged. Democrats who vote in primaries are very unlikely to do so.
Webb would be a good candidate but that
would disqualify him immediately. The Dems
have taken a page from the Repub playbook
IMO. The second place finisher from the pre-
vious winnowing process is now the front
runner,Hillary. At least that is the
current consensus.
The powers that be don’t want an independent
“leader.” A malleable person is all we are
going to get, witness that last two, “com-
passionate conservative” and “hope and change.”
We got neither. As Col Lang mentions Jeb might
not be in the midget category but W. made sure
he would not stand a chance.
The current battle between the establishment
Repubs and the tea party activists says a lot
about 2016 dynamics and a true indy leader
emerging. A person may not agree with every-
thing they say but at least they are trying
to bring back a grass roots effort to rectify
the corporatization of politics.
WRC
The election would be fun to watch with Webb for VP but most presidents would find him a very difficult VP. He’s a team player, but he wants to run the team and he is no more capable of shutting up than I am. pl
WRC
I think that Webb as a VP would be as miserable as LBJ was. He does not appear to have the temperament to sit in someone else’s shadow.
Webb in the mix would be a treat to watch but he has more baggage than Samsonite: multiple marriages, politically incorrect content in his novels, a temper. Like the colonel, tho, I’d vote for him in a heartbeat.
D
If HC does not run, Webb should. An interesting ticket would be Jim Webb/Elizabeth Warren. I don’t see her as a leftist so much as someone who does not like plutocrats of the shark variety. I don’t think Webb likes them much either. pl
Colonel: I would love to see Webb run. He already overturned the apple cart in Virginia Democratic politics when he was able to bypass the Party’s dull-as-dishwater-but-it’s-his-turn candidate Harris Miller in 2006. He has the demonstrated ability to appeal to a broad range of voters.
Warren has already said she will not run, but plans can change in politics. She understands the harm the plutocrats have done to the US economy as well as anyone does. These days, that makes her a “leftist” in our brain-dead national conversation, but I think your assessment is on the money.
IMO the nominal political spectrum – left-right-center – in the US has become meaningless. The last two presidents – one nominally “conservative” and one nominally “liberal” – have done such a rotten job for everyone except ‘plutocrats of the shark variety’ that I think most citizens would respond to candidates who were not intimidated by those plutocrats and their lobbyists. I can’t think of two possibles who fit that description better than Webb and Warren.
Colonel,
I’d vote for the both of you.
May be wrong but thinking events are likely to favor Webb being on a ticket for a party in 2016! I previously itemized some in prior comments. A Vietnamese American wife might be a help. See Robert D. Kaplan’s recent book ASIAN CAULDRON about conditions yesterday, today, and tomorrow in the SOUTH CHINA SEA.! A must read but not as strong as his BALKAN GHOSTS and THE ARABISTS!
Pat
Why do you believe that Webb will not be coopted by the DC groupthink and influence peddling racket?
He will need to raise a billion dollars to compete.
jack
He wasn’t as senator. pl
I agree,he would make a superb reformer president.
It will never be allowed. All sides of the economic/political establishment would fear him.
Do you remember how the MSM demonized former Navy SEAL democrat senator Kerry from Kansas. When he started making serious noise about running for President in 2004. At warp speed the MSM narrative took him from American hero to war criminal.
The media rulers would joyfully do the same to Webb the former Marine.
Highlander
I liked Bob Kerry (however spelt) but he had problems. Along the way he married a succulent young thing (then) from the New York libbo scene who explained to him the shame of what he must have done in VN. He then became the President of the New School University. The power of the p—y. He told me in a deli in the West Village how tormented he was by what he did or did not do as a SEAL. I told him that the path of honor then was to ask the Secretary of the Navy for a court of inquiry in the matter. That was our last contact. pl
Webb would have my vote. His biggest problem would be the general election, as campaign funding would be a challenge. I don’t see him swearing fealty to any monied, corporate or institutional interest, which is what is required these days in order to compete in politics.
While I can certainly see the appeal of a Webb/Warren ticket, presidential campaigns are VERY expensive these days and require heavy financial support from the wealthy elites. They would not be able to bite the hand that feeds them. In for them to be accepted by the elite they
would have to assimilate to some extent.
I spent few years watching politics up close to try and make sense of it all, and saw ‘how the sausage is made’. My realizations about the real nature of politics today coincided with realizations from my study of history combined with reflections on my spiritual philosophy and I became an ex-liberal, ex-utopian and political atheist (I am NOT an atheist in the religious/spiritual sense). Now I no longer believe that any president or any politician or political party can “save” me/us from the fact that the US has become an plutocratic oligarchy* (with some remaining trappings of democracy especially at the local level). I see both political parties as hopeless co-opted by Big Money for the coming future. When I became a realist, I went all the way 😉 I didn’t lose my natural optimism, just tempered it and have come to rely on my sense of humor about the absurdity of real life to get me through.
*A month ago there were numerous articles responding to a study that showed the US has become a plutocratic oligarchy. Here are 2 articles on that, and both have a link to the original research paper.
MSM post… Study: US is an oligarchy, not a democracy http://www.bbc.com/news/blogs-echochambers-27074746
Snarky post… The ‘Duh’ Report: Study says America is an Oligarchy, not a Democracy http://www.deathandtaxesmag.com/218858/the-duh-report-study-says-america-is-an-oligarchy-not-a-democracy/
Webb has a book out/coming out: “I Heard My Country Calling: A Memoir.” Doesn’t look like a campaign bio. But then neither does Elizabeth Warren’s “A Fighting Chance.” Interesting to think about.
I’d like to add Chas Freeman and Bill Black to the list. Americans for Americans. Screw the money worshippers!
A Webb-Warren ticket – oh, be still my heart!
I’ve fallen into the sin of despair so I don’t think Jim Webb would have a chance against the corporatists but one can dream.
If Webb were slurred as candidate, he would decline to play the sorry-apology game. As he recieved more hatred through the MSM, he might inspire people who are coming to doubt MSM narratives or MSM honesty.
Well hell’s bells Colonel….remind me to never confess all my many sins of comission and omission with you. The Corps might decide to dig up some long buried bodies and send me to a brig someplace.
Seriously however, if a Kerry type who worshiped at the feet of the establishment, was drawn and quartered by the MSM for the sin of military service. What would they do to an unrepentant Jim Webb?
Webb/Warren 2016-Webb/? 2016-Warren/? 2016…”Be still My Beating Heart”
“…he is no more capable of shutting up than I am. pl”
He could hire Typepad to be his spokesperson.
From positions Jim Webb has taken as a Democrat, I think he will run for president, if he does, as a Democrat. One reason he may do so is to challenge Hillary Clinton for the Democratic nomination. Somebody has to do it. My thought continues to be that unless a debilitating medical condition of Hillary Clinton becomes public and it is of the type that will be almost prohibitive politically, she will run for president.
Karl Rove recently “signaled” the issue of brain damage, but it got no traction, because he did not have his ducks lined up first. The long time Republican political operative Roger Stone says that Hillary will not run; I think he is wrong, unless a bad medical condition surfaces. She craves political authority, and already has an “enemies list”. If I remember correctly, when she ran in the 2008 Democratic primary for president against Barack Obama, not one member of Congress endorsed her. She is not worried about that, as much of the mass media will promote her, and will help her play the “gender card”.
Jim Webb would be a good candidate. He can write and is literate, which means he is capable of understanding the subtle and devious fraud on the public that the current financial system and central banking structure are, when someone explains it to him.
Hillary’s helpers will accuse Webb of being a sexist pig and an enemy of the “rights of women”. They will point to his excellent and accurate article from 1979, cited in the Wikipedia entry, called “Women Can’t Fight”.
Webb’s first hurdle is the Democratic primary, which is not the general election. It will be a tough one as he will have to appeal only to people of the Democratic party. Vice president Joe Biden will most likely also run. Perhaps Howard Dean will as well. Can Webb attract a large number of Democratic voters? I hope he tries; he and anyone else who will try to prevent Biden or Hillary from getting the nomination.
I would vote for him!!
D
IMO HRC will not run – and a Webb /Warren ticket would be a strong ticket . If HRC doesn’t run then the Democratic Primaries are an open field . I believe like you a majority of the voters would vote for a national slate that stands up for We the People against the US /international oligarchs . The added value of a President Webb is we would hae a much more rationale foreign policy – we would likely see a mitigation of the neocon embeds and their agenda.
Highlander
His angst was already in the news when he inflicted this story on me. I told him that if it bothered him that’s what he should do. I knew damned well that he was just showing off for the New York crowd. pl
I would enjoy a Webb ticket. The problem is that the Democrats have fully embraced racial/class/gender grievance politics. I will honestly be surprised if the Democrats ever run a white man again in light of how this sideshow distracts from the fact the Democrats are as much captive of Wall Street as the “establishment” Republicans.
Any Webb candidacy will have to deal with feminist “scholars” shrilly going on about how Webb renounce his stance on how women are a liability in combat. Mika and Joe and the rest of the morning cluck shows will go on about Webb’s “woman problem”, while the tumblr/twitter social justice warrior crowd will sit in their college dorms in between classes for their government subsidized Transgender Art in the Cordova Caliphate Masters and post about how MAD they are.
Its a sign of our decline that a man like Webb cannot run for President in this Republic.
All,
I’m not as impressed with Elizabeth Warren as many of you seem to be. She sounds good, but then so did Barack Obama. What has she actually done? She managed TARP, which hardly recommends her. She managed the Consumer Financial Protection Agency, but how much have we heard of the effectiveness of that bureau? She has served one term in the Senate where she sponsored precisely one bill.
Talk is easy, but other than two presidential appointments and one very vanilla term in the Senate I have not seen her actually DO anything. We just elected a president who sounded good because we believed that sounding good was more important than actually having done anything. How did that work out for us?
I’m rather optimistic after watching my fellow citizens flip the media the bird and contact their representatives to stay out of Syria. It would be great to see Webb poll well while the word jugglers try to sell us something we don’t need and franticly try to be relevant. Again.
Bill H,
I agree. What has she done? She’s put on a good PR show. I caught some of it on Colbert’s rerun yersterday.
I would most definitely support him.
That said, if he wins a major party nomination I believe he would be in extraordinary danger because the last thing the powers that be will tolerate is a president who is his own man. You can be sure that the operatives of the deep state will be combing thru their databases in hopes of dispatching a la Eliot Spitzer. If the search comes up empty the danger becomes physical.
PFC Chuck
This guy is not in the least PC so there would be lots of verbal ammunition. pl
Fred
What is your opinion of
Jennifer Granholm your
former Gov. I realize she
runs a PAC for Hillary but
if HRC does not run could
she be viable? Watched her
program a few times on cable.
Seemed more left of center
but not too controversial.
Webb can run for President. The most effective way would be as an independent so that instead of wasting time and energy on primaries the effort would be better spent with an initial round of on the ground campaigning and getting petitions filed to be placed on each state’s ballot.
The billon dollars needed to campaign we hear about seems to come from those political operatives who will charge you 2 million a week for internal polling. My theoretical budget would be 40 million for the Getting On the Ballot phase and 60 million for the General Election. As the popularity builds, the big money will come in as they don’t want to be left behind if he wins.
As for the MSM personal attack plan, their credibility is in tatters and their past stances on issues make them vulnerable to counterattacks.
His lack of concern with PCness will make it difficult if not impossible to get the Democratic nomination and you pointed out the obstacles that lie in the other direction. A third party run by him could really could really be a wild card although his lack of serious wealth would make that a very uphill endeavor. But considering the growing awareness that we don’t really have a two party system any more, and in fact don’t even have political parties but rather just two groups of legal stenographers who compete for the right to copy into law the desires of the rich and powerful, maybe the time is riper that we think for a third party challenge.
steve g
Granholm is foreign born. pl
Granholm is very charismatic, was fairly effective but was hamstrung by the legislature here in Michigan. I think she was hoping for an appointment to a cabinet post or the Supreme Court. Though a citizen she was born in Canada so no she’s not running for president.
I’d like to see President Webb and VP Warren.
Took the words right out of my mouth–Webb-Warren in my post above.
Great minds . . . . . . nevermind!
Bill Black would make a splendid attorney general, or perhaps chairman of the Fed.
Folks in lower Manhattan would be jumping off roofs if either one happened.
All, A lot of you have raised interesting points. I am not certain HRC will run, and I do not see any credible evidence that it would be related to health. However, nomination fights are physically exhausting and HRC is no spring chicken. Roger Stone’s opinion on Democrats is not to be taken seriously.
Warren managed neither TARP nor CFPA. She ran the Congressional Oversight Panel of TARP after it passed and suggested that the CFPA be founded. Geithner made sure she did not run the latter and was ineffective in the former position. Freshman Senators are not encouraged to sponsor legislation of any consequence.
The major problem I see in getting Webb the Democratic nomination has to do precisely with what pretty much all of us here like about him: his independence from the insiders. As I indicated above, I think the old spectrum description – left-center-right – has become pretty meaningless. Rather political distinctions have become more bi-modal: Insider or Outsider. As Larry Summers told Warren, ‘If you want to be an insider, you don’t criticize other insiders.’ I think neither Webb nor Warren is capable of that silence.
Consider the 1990’s so-called “Halloween Coalition” of Nader, Perot and Buchanan – left, center, right. All were slandered in the “responsible mainstream media” not so much for this ideological stance or that ideological stance, but for simply not keeping within the received boundaries of political discourse.
A ticket with Webb would have to fight through media persiflage akin to the accusations of anti-semitism against Buchanan for referring to AIPAC’s “amen corner’ on Capitol Hill, a thing which manifestly exists and has considerable power; to the Perot quote of “you people,” which was certifiably not a quote but which was used to portray him as a racist; to the media simply stripping out the crowd noises on the soundtrack to make Howard Dean sound like Hitler during “the Scream;” to finding a picture that gave Michele Bachmann an unwarranted crazy appearance; to various candidates never being heard in debate because the news media didn’t consider them a “serious candidate.”
Then there is the problem of fundraising. Presidential primary elections are incredibly expensive. However, a roll of the dice on the Iowa caucuses is not a bad strategy, as Obama showed in 2007-08, and Iowa media is not that expensive comparatively. If you win that, donors will begin to take you seriously. Webb is the kind of candidate that Iowa Democrats who go to their caucus might like. However, having won Iowa, Webb would then need to replenish his cash on hand and that is where the Big Money Boys would begin to move in and ask pointed questions about things like his attitude toward prosecuting Wall Street criminals, anti-trust, etc. I think at that point, if his answers were not pleasing, the BMB’s would quickly come up with someone – anyone – willing to play the Insiders’ game to stop him and throw mountains of cash and media garbage at him. Independent expenditures are absolutely unlimited and would not – indeed should not – be tied to any specific alternative candidate – i.e. they can be straight out attack tied to no one in particular.
I think the easiest part for a Webb or Webb-Warren ticket would be the general election. I cannot see any Republican on the horizon that could stop them. We are not the only ones craving independent voices in Washington. However, the system is currently set up precisely to prevent someone like Webb or Warren getting anywhere near a general election for president.
Without having any input into the electoral politics of the US, I respectfully submit that Mr. Web would be far better than any of the known [by me] possible runners. I would distinctly oppose any member of the WAR PARTY – If I had the opportunity; thus I would definitely not subscribe to Ms. Clinton, a servant of the money class, Israel firster and general war monger.
Thanks for these helpful links Valissa! The basic analysis rings true to me. Oligarchy and GLOBALIZATION seem strongly linked to me as bites and bytes undermine governance and democracy!
On reflection could 2016 be the first Presidential election
where FP knowledge and experience in the candidates be the deciding factor? Is NO WAR a possible campaign pledge?
Bill H
Elizabeth Warren wrote the Consumer Financial Protection Agency bill . The Republicans would not pass her nomination to be its director .She then ran for Senate , and won . Further by all accounts the CFPA is actually protecting consumers – especially with credit card fraud. I believe she would be a credible Vice President nominee to run with Webb.
Thomas
I share your optimism about an Independent Presidential Candidate. Webb would be a wonderful standard bearer.
D
I think Webb would raise enough grass roots money to counter act the BMB ‘s after Iowa – and yes he would win the general election .
“Insider” and “Outsider” that certainly describes the politics of France, Italy, and Spain – to a large degree.
You are either one of the “in” group or you are not; it matters not if your are conservative or socialists or even communist – as long as you are one of the “insiders”
The rest of the population are just spectators to the “Insiders” for whom the world in their oyster – regardless of their political doctrines that they publicly spouse.
Thomas: Ballot access is one problem. While that can be mostly overcome with a lot of hard work and some money, as Perot and the Reform Party demonstrated in 1992, I think the problem of political isolation cannot.
Think of Jesse Ventura in Minnesota: an independent who got almost nothing accomplished as Governor because there was no reason for either party to cooperate with him and who had no Reform Party members in the Legislature to help him. If good legislation had been passed with a combination of Republican and Democratic votes, Ventura would have gotten the credit and the two legacy parties would have gotten nothing.
However, the best tool a president has against the plutocrats would still be available – an active Justice Department. Obama has chosen not to make use of this. I suspect that is consequent to a campaign promise he made in private after Iowa and actually has kept.
As to the media, only a small percentage of voters pay any attention to politics on a regular basis until after Labor Day of an election year. Very few people have the time or expertise to bypass the MSM. A lot of Americans say they don’t believe the MSM, but rely on it nonetheless. Therefore, attacking the media, while it sometimes works for officeholders, is fairly suicidal for candidates.
D
“Think of Jesse Ventura of Minnesota.”
I lived throught his tenure. What you
left out was his bullying tactics to the
extreme. He wanted to eliminate the bi-
cameral legislature so he would only have
to fight one “body” instead of two. He
was at constant “war” with the media
jackels as he phrased it, nothwithstanding
the fact he was and is a media creation.
He talks good points and ideas but its his
way or the highway unlike his bud Arnold
from California who eventually had to com-
promise to get things done. He did not seek
a second term IMO because he would not have
been reelected. Have you ever seen him on
his constant book touring self promotion
media circus? If you push him too far he
looks like he is ready to put a choke hold
on you and not the WWE type either.
WRC,
Every time “no war” pledge is used. We seem to get a wing dinger of a war shortly there after.
Mr Lincoln, Wilson, and FDR come to mind in this regard.
You can only trust the power besotted bastards to raise your taxes one way or the other.
Arnold had a party behind him. Ventura didn’t. Do you think Ventura would have succeeded as Governor if he had played nice?
Re: Elizabeth Warren. My better half finds her on the school marmish side of political rhetoric. So I was happy to see her on Colbert the other night, sparring successfully with the Zielig of the Comedy Channel.
http://thecolbertreport.cc.com/guests/elizabeth-warren/79q9bs/elizabeth-warren
VP material…but she’d have to have a sense of humor to work with President Webb!
D
Politics is hardball of course
so he did not have to be nice.
My point was he was overly
confrontational. He also made
no attempt to help the reform
party promote new candidates
which eventually would have
given him or someone else a
base for their platform. After
his second year his approval
ratings started to tank. He
said he was a social liberal
and a fiscal conservative so
one might assume he could have
garnered support from both
sides of the aisle depending
on the issues.
Don’t think Webb would be a good fit with version 2014 of the GOP.
Edward Amame
I increasingly think that Webb should run as an independent. In that way he can avoid the primary follies and concentrate on raising money from dissidents like me. pl
Col. Lang,
I hate to the voice of dissent but I think Webb would be an awful candidate. He’s a good man, a principled man, but he’s no politician. That is certainly a compliment, a politician wouldn’t have resigned on a point of honor – as Webb did. To win the presidency though you need to do the glad handing. It isn’t optional.
I met Webb and Stephen Colbert (of all people) on the same day. It was late and both were in a hurry. Webb had a certain intensity to him and after curt pleasantries he was on his way. Colbert, if I knew nothing of the two men and you told me one was a politician – then I would have guessed Colbert. He walked into an empty room and a crowd formed around him. Well wishers streamed in to shake his hand and pose for photos. Colbert was clearly tired but he hid it well, smiling, laughing, and shaking hands. When he made his exit, he left the crowd feeling pleased – but still wanting more.
One of my friends was a low level staffer for Webb during his time in the senate. We talked about it last night and he was skeptical. Is this a push for a cabinet position, perhaps DOD? He pointed to Webbs performance on the campaign trail against Allen. The term workmanlike comes to mind.
I like the idea of Webb in government again. He has good ideas which is rare, and he’s the sort of person who listens and reasons through problems. We need more of that. I suspect he’ll always be at a disadvantage in the more political positions though. I can’t imagine him toppling the party candidate.
– Eliot
eliot
Aren’t you tired of politicians? I don’t think Webb would take a cabinet post. pl
D,
You are too pessimistic. Anyways it is a fight worth having and if the Oligarch’s Bought Bitches can win in 2016 then so be it.
A building wave for Webb could also encourage others to run as independents in their congressional districts setting up support with a a possible 20-40 seat block.
As for the MSM, I didn’t say attack them I said counterattack. For example, Bloody Billy the Neocon goes on the Sunday Shows and says “Webb can’t be President cause he won’t bomb Tyrant X’s country to itsy bitsy pieces of dust and ashes for the greater glory of the New American Century.” Then you hit back with using his past record of supporting failure after failure. The dirty tricks once used previously will not necessarily work again, especially if one has the sentient public behind them.
Don’t underestimate the discontent out there in our present days.
SAC Brat: A delicious thought. Let them reflect on how they create the reality while others react to it when they are far removed from power.
Thomas: I would very much like to see Webb try, either inside the Democratic Party or outside, or along a dual track for a while. The people’s failure to get back our sovereignty peacefully and legally – and soon – is not a pleasant prospect. Webb seems a good candidate to help do this.
But Webb or any outsiders hoping to crash the party should decide soon. If, for example, he is thinking of running as a Democrat, he should be in Iowa campaigning for 2014 candidates soon, developing his patter, shaking hands in Iowa living rooms. There are thousands of other things that are best begun very soon if the effort is to have any chance of success, either as a Democrat or as an independent.
D,
I agree.