| Submit your comments on this article |
| Home Front: Politix |
| Sen. Jim Webb may be the guy who derails Obamacare |
| 2009-12-19 |
| Robert Costa, National Review In Congress's upper chamber, a Virginia fox may be the one to deliver the knock-out uppercut to Obamacare. Quiet, cunning, and independent, Sen. Jim Webb (D., Va.) has been on the sidelines for much of the Senate's health-care debate. Instead of ranting, like Bernie Sanders, Webb has been mulling legislative language in his office for weeks. Neighboring Senate staffers whisper that Team Webb is having a real tough time shuffling the senator out of the office to make appearances on the glad-handing circuit. It seems the man just wants to sit, study, read, and think -- strange priorities in the U.S. Senate. That's because, deep down, the man is a writer, not a lawyer. Yet now, with Harry Reid's health-care bill on the ropes, Democrats are getting nervous about the brooding one. They're right to be worried. Webb -- not Ben Nelson, Blanche Lincoln, or Evan Bayh -- is the real wildcard in the Democratic caucus. Where he'll vote, no one knows. Larry Sabato, director of the Center for Politics at the University of Virginia, is a longtime Webb watcher. He tells National Review Online that when it comes to Webb, "anything is possible." "He's one of the most unusual high-level politicians I've ever observed," says Sabato. "He's unpredictable and chafes at party strictures. If things were left up to him, he'd cross party lines more often than he does. If you listen closely to what he says, you can tell he's not nearly as political as most senators."... That's because, deep down, the man is a writer, not a lawyer. If you live in Virginia, please call Senator Webb's office (202-224-4024) and politely ask that he not vote to end debate on Harry Reid's "manager's amendment." Give a reasoned argument, and keep it brief and to the point. In situations like this, constituent phone calls can be enormously persuasive. Anything that we can do to encourage Webb to assert his independence is worth doing. |
| Posted by:Mike |
| #1 Yeah, right. He's just mulling over his price, like the rest of that scurvy lot. |
| Posted by: Cornsilk Blondie 2009-12-19 18:48 |