Jim Webb speech from 1990

Guest Column by Not Quintin Kidd

I've been doing some independent digging and reading through Webb's old articles. I found a rather remarkable passage from one of his old speeches (circa 1990):

"And I would also like to say a special thanks to my good friend Nelson Jones for sharing this day with us. Nelson is a fellow Marine, a fellow alumnus of both the Naval Academy and the Georgetown Law Center, and like so many others here a child of the South. The last twenty five years in this country have shown again and again that, despite the regrettable and well-publicized turmoil of the Civil Rights years, those Americans of African ancestry are the people with whom our history in this country most closely intertwines, whose struggles in an odd but compelling way most resemble our own, and whose rights as full citizens we above all should celebrate and insist upon."

Webb makes these kinds of statements all the time. His speeches and books are littered with them. And that's what makes Webb unique as a politician. He seems to be on a mission to unify African Americans and Whites. Over the past few decades, we've seen all types of politicians in both parties - Democrats and Republicans - playing games with race and trying to stew up trouble between blacks and whites in order to win elections. It's rare that you see one whose mission is to bring these two groups together rather than exploiting tensions between them.

Comments

[Ghost of Henry Howell]

Who is Quintin Kidd?

[J.C. Wilmore]

"It's rare that you see one whose mission is to bring these two groups together rather than exploiting tensions between them."

Hmmm, you mean the way Harris Miller has been trying to exploit them?

[Not Quintin Kidd]

Quintin Kidd is one of Virginia's top political scientists.

[Adam Malle]

JC it's not just Miller's ilk that are trying to use George Allen's Confederate flag to divide. Webbs campaign doesn't do it, but I have seen several webb participating in the rhetoric. The problem is that media of all types do not allow people to form their own opinions. Through the power of suggestion, such as in George Allen's flag, tensions are raised and people become divided. It's a lose, lose situation. If people are given the proper information about both candidates and we as Democrats do our job and defend our chosen candidates properly then people will make the right decision on their own, without coercion or divisiveness.

[Ghost of Henry Howell]

According to who: his mother?

[Melissa]

No, Dr. Kidd teaches at Christopher Newport University, in the political science department.

[Virginia Centrist]

He gets quoted in the paper a bunch. He's #3 on my quote-a-professor list.

[Dannyboy]

Yeah, I read a lot of his stuff. He's no Larry Sabato, but he's definitely a name I read a lot.