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Warner is in. Hooray.

By Tom | September 13, 2007

I don’t know what kind of Senator Mark Warner will be. When Jim Webb was elected, I expected he would do things and say things I wouldn’t like much — from time to time anyway. That certainly turned out to be true.

And I suspect I’ll feel the same way about Warner. I’m not one who expects my elected officials to toe some kind of artificial line. Political behavior always is relative.

Is Webb the best Senator ever? No. Is he better than the man he replaced? Of course.

Will Mark Warner be the best Senator ever? No, at least not for a die-hard progressive like me. Will Virginia and the country be better off if he goes to the Senate? Without a doubt.

There are some who tie their own identity up in the candidates they support, or the positions they support, to the point of being personally insulted when someone else dares to criticize the positions or the candidates. Seems like a waste of emotional energy to me.

I’m going to vote for Mark Warner. I’m going to work my keister off for him, as I did for Mr. Webb. And when he disappoints me, I’m going to let him and the world know about it, as I did when Jim Webb voted for that God-awful FISA bill.

It’s going to take many elections to put the country on the right track again. Probably more than I’ll live to see, alas. Mark Warner is a big step in that direction.

A Warner victory (or, more properly, a good prospect for one) combined with some solid gains in this year’s legislative elections will put Virginia in play for the presidential primaries and the presidential election next fall. For those of us partisans who relish the opportunity to make our case to the largest audience and the most influential politicians, it’s going to be very exciting and very rewarding.

Topics: Virginia Politics, Politics |

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