It seems that a lightbulb has gone off at the Jim Webb campaign headquarters. Webb is finally doing something to attract the black vote. His brief appearance at the Norfolk NAACP dinner was his first foray, as far as I can tell, into the community, although he did have other events planned for that day that were rained out. I understand he attended last weekend’s “Battle of the Bay” football game between HU and NSU. The latest copy of the New Journal & Guide, a local black weekly, features a full-page Webb ad. I see that 3rd district Congressman Bobby Scott endorsed Webb on Tuesday. His weekend schedule reflects appearances at the NAACP state convention, Delegate Lionell Spruill’s Pancake breakfast, and an NSU football game in the company of Spruill. (I’ll bet the Sunday morning schedule will include church attendance with Spruill.)
On November 7, we will know if this was too little, too late.
VIVIAN J. PAIGE | All Politics is Local 
Carla says it all for me.
And also? I won’t be taking the concern for treating the black vote with respect from anyone named 4theGipper with any sort of seriousness.
Vivian-
Funny you should mention that re: Wilder. Many people of all races and ethnicities in Richmond are disappointed with Wilder right now. It’s a good question you ask…
Why hasn’t Wilder endorsed Webb? If he hasn’t endorsed him by now, I can’t see him doing it. It really would be too little, too late. But one has to wonder why Wilder hasn’t endorsed a fellow democrat candidate.
Mosquito, you think Asians and women should be included in affirmative action, along with Blacks and Hispanics? Who then would not be included? White men? They are less than 25% of population. Doesn’t it make affirmative action rather meaningless if 75% of the population is covered and only white men are excluded? I can’t help but wonder what my young, white, sons have done to deserve this that my young, white, daughters, have not done. (Other than the girls do much better in school and are much more likely to go to better colleges and finish college.)
How would Webb even get to 14 Black churches on one Sunday? It doesn’t seem physically possible even if he stayed at each one only 30 minutes. Do some of them have services all day and evening? The largest black church in Tidewater has already endorsed Allen.
The marriage amendment will drive out the Black vote because they are the biggest group in support of it. The question is, who will they vote for when they come to vote for the marriage amendment. I’m guessing that most will vote for Webb. So perhaps Webb can take the Black vote for granted because something is already driving them to the polls. While they’re at the polls, they’ll pull the D lever.
One has to wonder why Webb hasn’t campaigned in Tidewater. I know that Allen has and I know that his wife was campaigning there last weekend. Has anyone in Jim’s family campaigned or him, anywhere in the state? Just wondering. Tidewater is certainly a large area to ignore. Many more votes there than in SW VA where Webb has campaigned several times.
Jane, what is the name of the “largest black church in Tidewater” that has endorsed Allen?
Eileen asked the question I had.
By the way, Jane. The candidates often hit that many churches on a single Sunday. (I hear the count is up to 15, BTW.) A lot of churches have two or even three services on Sunday. So 15 is not impossible. (I seem to recall Miller did almost 30 one Sunday with Delegate Spruill during the primary.)
I find this discussion about Webb and how he is courting the AA vote to be very interesting. I think before any AA decides to vote for Webb, one needs to ask themselves a very simple question. Who do I believe is more likely to have used the n-word and any other race insulting language, a surfer dude for southern california or a good ole boy from southwest virginia? The answer is obvious.
Also, if you need further proof of Webb’s racial and ethnic insensitivity, please consult the recent washington post article about webb. In this article Webb refers to the “towel-heads” as villians. I am patiently waiting for the uproar in the liberal media concerning this very offensive term Webb has used. Of course there will be none. And people say there is no liberal media bias.
I also viewed the pictures from Webb’s trip to a fundraiser in Washington, VA at Ben (cooter) Jones’ place. There were no AA’s in attendance at this event. This does not surprise me, since Mr. Jones runs a website that sells confederate flags for $15.00 a pop. If interested in a flag, please visit cooters place, type that into google to find the website.
The Tempature of the AA vote in this Senatorial race is best summarized by the following:
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The Richmond Voice, Central Virginia’s largest African-American newspaper, endorsed Senator George Allen’s reelection campaign this morning. The following is the text:
The Richmond Voice Endorsement
This has been an election year in which Black folks have had to listen to allegations about which U.S. Senate candidate is a racist, who said the n-word, and so forth. It is sad that when they talk about Black people, it¹s only in the context of these trivialities and not about the issues that affect the everyday lives of Black people.
There are myriad issues that should be dominating conversations; how to ensure that our children grow up in safe, drug free and crime free neighborhoods; how to guarantee an equal playing field for our small businesses when it comes to getting government contracts; how to change the schools in our neighborhoods so they can all pass benchmarks; how to fight the HIV/AIDS ravage of our community; and how to help single parents discontinue the cycle of poverty that governs their lives.
History has shown us that when we are out of sight, we are out of mind. When the elections are over, you just might be out of mind. And if only the campaign was dominated with real issues, at least you would know that you said your piece before you were out of mind.
It was refreshing to learn that state Sen. Benjamin Lambert III had stepped out of the box and was thinking for himself instead of letting his political affiliation think for him. Regardless of what you think, what he did was gigantic because the Democratic Party has always had a noose around Black folks’ necks.
Bishop Gerald O. Glenn of Chesterfield County also spoke out against race baiting, and this newspaper, always an independent thinker, is speaking out too.
We can’t live in the past forever, we must build new bridges and our first step across the bridge is to endorse Sen. George Allen, who is running for re-election. The past allows our slave masters to always tell us how to vote, and this newspaper is doing its part in breaking away from the slave shackles. Sen. Allen’s record with the Black community may have started out blotchy, but we feel that he has learned the most about what is important to the community. We don’t have to justify our endorsement, but we want to tell our readers that a new breeze is blowing and you can either join it or stay shackled in the past.
4theGipper,
The Richmond Voice, an African American Newspaper, has betrayed the community it purports to represent by endorsing an ignorant confederate for re-election. Ignoring multiple reports of Allen’s bigoted use of racist epithets toward African Americans from several white associates of Allen, even a report corroborated by two people of a hideously grotesque hate crime, the “voice” sinks to a new low of right-wing ventriloquism that is both nonsensical and unconscionable.
The truth of the matter is that Senator Allen hasn’t done a damn thing for the African American community except lie to our faces about his poorly concealed racial animus. He has ignored for the balance of his career, anything that would heal the wounds of institutionalized racism or close the economic, political, and social gaps it engendered.
Moreover, he has been a willing rubber stamp in Dubya’s war of imperialism that has nothing to do with terrorism or weapons of mass destruction. Allen has managed to do one thing well, I must say. He has performed his role as an Imperial fool and court jester in Dubya’s royal court to a T.
Vivian…I do agree so much with what you posted about gettng the vote out AND getting the Norfolk vote out.
Webb needs to do what he can…what do you suggest his campaign volunteers do to help make this happen?
Buzz…Buzz…Mosquito
Gipper…
It’s WELL established and not disputed that George Allen was not your typical California surfer boy….He wore a confederate flag in his lapel, got suspended for racist grafitti writing, and a former high school classmate said he used to have a baseball bat that he named N-slugger”N”-Hitter…(somthing to this effect). Add that to his confederate flag and the noose he hung in his law office and you have quite a character….He recently used a “racial slur” directed at a young man…plus folks have been coming out of the woodwork stating they were often uncomfortable with George Allen in all white crowds b//c of his frequent use of the “n” word…he is alleged to have referred to Jesse Jackson and Douglas Wilder using the N word.
Sorry but it all adds up…his picture with the neo confederate group with a hx of racism….and it appears that Allen did not embrace the California surfer boy image…..
He blocked Martin Luther King’s Holiday. Only when greasing his own Presidential ambitions did he finally throw some money to some black colleges (when he was governor Va’s black colleges took a bigger cut than the white colleges)…AND now that he’s in trouble…and He needs votes from anywhere he can get them…NOW he finally did a good thing…and the long time abused black farmer finally saw some long overdue funding….but I do not for one minute believe that Allen did this for any other reason then to get himself elected.
B/c I took an oath to never vote for someone with a racist mentality I can not vote for the likes of George Allen….so in my opinion Allen just doesn’t stack up as a white man I want to support.
Blackvirginian for Allen – as for which of them has used the n-word, I have to say that I think they both have. Given their ages, we have to be honest about the nature of America at the time of their youth. For either one to say that they never used the word is laughable because I simply don’t believe it. At least Webb had the guts to say that; Allen, on the other hand, denies ever using the word.
mosquito – what can be done? I’d say do some canvassing in black neighborhoods, do some lit drops at churches, send representatives to black civic leagues – all the GOTV stuff that every candidate does.
Or do some phonebanking. I did it for 2.5 hours today at Webb HQ in VB, but I also understand you can call from home. My call list was for voters in Norfolk for Webb and Bobby Scott. I think that’s where we are concentrating our calls at least for now. Go to http://www.webbgrassrootshamptonroads.com for contact info. Thanks!
Someone referred to the term “dance with the one who brung ya”. Well, it certainly wasn’t an “R” who brought the civil rights movement into law…
If you substitute the term “sand ni**er” every time you hear macacca referred to as a slur, and it doesn’t turn your stomach, then vote for Allen. And his excuse – well, excuse me, but he certainly didn’t make up that word! Call it what it actually means…
If you think we should “stay the course” and hang with Bush, just look at the color of the faces on TV who have lost their lives – the majority of them aren’t white! They’re minorities, or disadvantaged whites who have joined the military to better themselves. So they don’t need protective body armour. Thank you George Allen for voting with Bush. How many Republicans have you heard about bragging that THEIR sons/daughters are in harms way in Iraq? They’re all in college just like their Dads, only now they don’t have to play “dodge the draft”, or have Daddy buy them a dererrment!
How can we ever forget Katrina? A classic example that we’re not prepared for a national emergency! Still have that warm and fuzzy feeling that George will protect us? How many of those people do you think will vote Republican in future elections?
Webb started at a disadvantage and is having to play catch-up not onlu with raising money, but with campaigning. I can understand the AA community feeling snubbed, but this white guy could say the same thing! He hasn’t been to my church either, but I’ve gotten over it because I know he’ll do the right thing.
How long has it taken either George to finally show up at a NAACP
meeting? There’s your Republican support!
So if AA’s want to go Republican, Go for it – it’s your conscience you have to answer to. I just hope you can live with it… Again, ask yourselves: “What has either George or the Republicans done for you?
There’s no money for black colleges, etc – they’ve spent the surplus and given it away to big oil and the rich. That wrong must be righted, but all they can say is Democrats will raise taxes. Remember when the “death tax” was an estate tax for the rich!
Enough said!
But really, the GOP is doing such a fantastic job of outreach and showing AAs how very much they care . . .