Jim Webb: Liberal or Conservative Populist?

By Scott Galindez, Reader Supported News

21 April 15

 

im Webb is a populist, but what kind of populist? Rand Paul is a populist, without a doubt a conservative populist. With Webb, it’s not as easy to figure out. Maybe it’s a good thing that Jim Webb can’t be put in a neat box, kind of like my favorite musical artists.

Jim Webb has a very complicated record. He served as Secretary of the Navy under Ronald Reagan and was registered as a Republican. He resigned in protest because he refused to reduce the size of the Navy. Not a progressive reason for quitting, but he has evolved over the years. Webb became a Republican out of his disgust with the George McGovern Democrats and the counterculture. He returned to the Democrats when the neocons pushed the party too far to the other extreme. He did oppose the Iraq War, both Iraq wars, but not because he is a dove. He thought both wars were strategic errors. He was right, but don’t expect him to be an anti-war candidate. Webb refused to support John Kerry because of Kerry’s opposition to the Vietnam war. He even refused to shake his hand. We are talking about the former Secretary of the Navy, so it is safe to say that he is a hawk – but then so are Hillary Clinton and all of the Republican candidates.

So let’s take a further look at Jim Webb. On economic issues he may be more progressive than Clinton, or maybe not.

When Webb announced his exploratory committee, he said: “Walk into some of our inner cities if you dare, and see the stagnation, poverty, crime and lack of opportunity that still affects so many African Americans. Or travel to the Appalachian Mountains, where my own ancestors settled and whose cultural values I still share, and view the poorest counties in America – who happen to be more than 90 percent white, and who live in the reality that ‘if you’re poor and white you’re out of sight.’ The Democratic Party used to be the place where people like these could come not for a handout but for an honest handshake, good full-time jobs, quality education, health care they can afford and the vital, overriding belief that we’re all in this together and the system is not rigged.”

One thing I like about Webb is that he is willing to talk about the poor. I’m tired of the broken record about the shrinking middle class. Neither party talks about helping the poor, and the reason is that polls show the poor don’t vote. I guess a growing middle class would mean the poor are doing better, but I’d rather hear what candidates are going to do to fight poverty than always hear how they are are going to protect the middle class.

Lets look deeper at the issues.

THE GOOD:

Prison Reform

One of Webb’s signature issues is prison reform. He even acknowledges that the Republicans are doing more on this issue than the Democrats. There is a recent shift, with Van Jones and Newt Gingrich involved in building a bipartisan coalition for prison reform.

Webb became an advocate of prison reform through an experience as a reporter. He was working on an article about Ed Arnett, an American who had spent two years in a Japanese Prison for marijuana possession. In a magazine article, Webb described the conditions imposed on Arnett, who had frostbite and sometimes labored in solitary confinement making paper bags. Surprisingly, Arnett would rather face the Japanese legal system again than our own. Webb wrote that Arnettt believes the Japanese system is fairer than the American system. He studied the Japanese system and spent his time in the Senate fighting for prison reform. As we know, nothing gets done in our broken Congress. The House passed Webb’s legislation while the Senate Republicans filibustered it.

Economic Inequality

Webb talks a good game, but I’m having trouble finding examples where he voted the right way on these issues. He blames the tax code for salary inequality but he voted against a Democratic Party effort to raise income tax rates on those earning more than $250,000. He opposed Obama’s jobs bill and opposes affirmative action. We will give him points for seeing the problem and look forward to hearing his proposals for helping the poor.

Veteran’s Issues

Webb was awarded the Navy Cross for heroism in Vietnam, the second highest decoration in the Navy and Marine Corps. Webb also was awarded the Silver Star, two Bronze Stars, and two Purple Hearts. He later served as Secretary of the Navy, and Assistant Secretary of Defense. So veterans’ issues are important to him, and he delivered while in the Senate, starting with the passage of his Post-9/11 GI Bill, which provides our newest generation of Iraq and Afghanistan veterans the same educational benefits that our veterans received after World War II. The bill offers new economic opportunities to hundreds of thousands of Americans and helps to strengthen the U.S. economy. He also passed his TRICARE Affirmation Act to protect military health programs for service members, veterans, and their families.

Health Care

Here is an example of where Webb voted as a liberal. As a wounded veteran, he has benefited from the military healthcare system, and he believes all Americans deserve access to quality healthcare. He was critical of Obamacare and argued that the Democrats should have compromised more with the Republicans to develop a more bipartisan bill. He voted for Obamacare in the end, but he was not a staunch supporter, and his concerns were not progressive.

THE BAD:

Education and Student Debt

In 2012, Jim Webb was the only Democrat to vote against extending reduced interest rates for student loans. This is a deal breaker for me. I will ask him to explain this vote the next time he comes to Iowa.

Confederacy Apologist

In his 2004 book, “Born Fighting,” Webb wrote: “The venerable Robert E. Lee has taken some vicious hits, as dishonest or misinformed advocates among political interest groups and in academia attempt to twist yesterday’s America into a fantasy that might better service the political issues of today. The greatest disservice on this count has been the attempt by these revisionist politicians and academics to defame the entire Confederate Army in a move that can only be termed the Nazification of the Confederacy.”

Gun Control

Jim Webb is pro-gun, not pro-gun control. His aide was arrested when carrying Webb’s gun into the Senate. When asked if he follows the District of Columbia’s ban on handguns Webb evades the question and changes the subject. He earned an A rating from the NRA, need we say more?

Affirmative Action

Webb is an outspoken critic of affirmative action. In a column in The Wall Street Journal, Webb wrote: “Those who came to this country in recent decades from Asia, Latin America and Africa did not suffer discrimination from our government, and in fact have frequently been the beneficiaries of special government programs. The same cannot be said of many hard-working white Americans, including those whose roots in America go back more than 200 years.”

I could pile on here, but without a doubt Jim Webb is looking a lot more like Rand Paul than Elizabeth Warren. In my next article, I will look at Martin O’Malley. We all know that Bernie Sanders is a true progressive, and we now know that Jim Webb is not, but what about O’Malley?

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Scott Galindez attended Syracuse University, where he first became politically active. The writings of El Salvador's slain archbishop Oscar Romero and the on-campus South Africa divestment movement converted him from a Reagan supporter to an activist for Peace and Justice. Over the years he has been influenced by the likes of Philip Berrigan, William Thomas, Mitch Snyder, Don White, Lisa Fithian, and Paul Wellstone. Scott met Marc Ash while organizing counterinaugural events after George W. Bush's first stolen election. Scott will be spending a year covering the presidential election from Iowa.

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