VA 2006: James Webb announces Senate bid

Former Navy Secretary James Webb formally declared his Democratic candidacy for the U Senate on Tuesday, characterizing incumbent George Allen as a cog in an extremist national Republican Party.


"The Republican Party of George W. Bush is not the Republican Party of Ronald Reagan," Webb said during a news conference in the General Assembly Building.


A Secretary of the Navy under Reagan, Webb criticized the GOP for moving to the "extreme" on social issues and espousing a foreign policy that is "an attempt to export our ideology at the point of a gun."Webb, then a Republican, served as Reagan's Navy secretary in 1987 and 1988. He said he voted for Allen and George W. Bush in 2000. Webb, 60, said he switched to the Democratic Party several years ago when he was writing a history book and was impressed with the Democratic Party's working-class traditions.



My take: Although I'm sure he would be a great senator, it would be better to let George Allen win this one. If Allen wins re-election, it gives him momentum to launch his presidential bid. Any Democrat liberal or moderate can trounce Allen in the general election in 2008 and take back the White House!!

Source: http://home.hamptonroads.com/stories/story.cfm?story=100760&ran=170754