RUMORED SHAKEUP IN WEBB CAMPAIGN

RUMOR CIRCULATING THAT JESSICA THE CAMPAIGN MANAGER IS GOING TO BE DEMOTED TO DEPUTY CAMPAIGN MANAGER

WEBB CONSULTANT STEVE JARDING TO TAKE OVER AS CAMPAIGN MANAGER.

QUESTIONS CIRCULATING ON HOW STEVE CAN DO THE CAMPAIGN WHILE TEACHING CLASSES FIVE DAYS A WEEK AT HARVARD THIS FALL.

DEVELOPING.....

Comments

[Greg Bouchillon]

Now you're just fishing you wanker.

The Harvard symbol- WAHAHAHAHAHAHAH

Did Webb fire Jarding?

[Roanoker]

I predict Jessica is fired (again)

If Jarding goes...Saunders will follow.

Seasoned pros need to be brought in.

[Lewis Armistead]

I really wonder how long it will take Saunders to have his meltdown?

This picture and article say it all...

http://www.raisingkaine.com/showDiary.do?diaryId=3050

Here's the one statement that really sticks out from this interview:"
For [Miller] to accuse of us of anti-Semitism, I take it personal...and I am offended."

Well, Dave, how in the hell do you think that Mr. Miller felt when he saw the cartoon with the hook nose depiction? Don't you think he took it personally.

He did and rightly so.

What a hypocrite!

Here's the bottom-line about Saunders, he is all bluster. He's a bully. He cusses. He threatens. He talks loud and never lets anyone else get a word in edgewise.

But, in the end, bullies always get exposed for being the little people that they really are.

Now that he is going against some seasoned operatives, he'll be stuck with his dick in his hand and wondering what in the hell just happened.

That's the deal.....

Do they have the men in white coats waiting for Jarding as he leaves?

Ah, memories:
http://notlarrysabato.typepad.com/doh/2006/02/james_webb_camp.html

Damn, I wonder if Webb fired Jarding?

[winconservative]

Positive changes in any campaign takes money. Has Webb's finances improved enough lately to be able to affort "A" team consultants and campaign management?

[George Templeton]

I feel like a dope for asking this, but I will ask. Who is this person with the flying toupee. What happened to the flying toupee Sabato?

[Lewis Armistead]

Win,
You bring up a good point regarding the fundraising.

What they really need is a good fundraiser. Let's face it, the candidate has to be willing to make the calls.

[Lewis Armistead]

The man with the toupee is one of the two men "behind the curtain." The great Oz himself....Steve Jarding -- the chief political consultant.

I'll feel like a dope for saying:

Bob Hope.

I'll feel like a moron if I am wrong.

[George Templeton]

Thank you Lewis. I guess it would be too much to assume that Jarding is the subject of this breaking news.

[Lewis Armistead]

At this point, who the hell knows? NLS knows. I'm sure he's just waiting to confirm.

Lewis Armistead is coward with an ax to grind. Maybe he got ticked at Yearly Kos?

Keep whistling Lewis.....

A few days after Mudcat and Wadhams were on Hardball, I was at a downtown news conference and I ran into an old college friend who works for one of the political think tanks.

What she said really shocked me: The Webb campaign was telling reporters that they (campaign) did not know that Mudcat was going on Hardball. I said I did not believe that, and I found that accusation just ridiculous.

I phoned a local reporter that afternoon. He was told mixed messages from the Webb campaign about Mudcat's appearance on Hardball. Never good.

While I would like to believe that Mudcat's appearance was probably not the best coordination from the Webb campaign, I also want to believe that the friction within the campaign would resolve quickly.

One thing is for sure: Us Dems know that life is not so great within the Webb campaign, and it is painfully evident that the MSM knows that life is not good within the campaign. They will pounce with print if the campaign becomes too weak to counter.

It is June 29th. We have no more time to mess around. A campaign cannot successfully fundraise if prospective contributors lack confidence in the campaign management. Period.

[Alarmed]

From the campanion thread on this topic:

A couple of obvious suggestions if 50% of this is true:

1. Get some gray hair in charge. Lots of it nearby with lots of experience. Amateur hour is way over if we expect to win.

2. Get over the kool aid primary attitude. The Miller team that we were talking about in February is starting to drift away out of state. Stupid.

The rest is fairly obvious to anyone who has ever run a serious campaign.

And a serious campaign is not one promoting a big effort to reach $100,000 when your opponent has $7mm in the bank, nor thinking that "blogging on Koz right now!" is actually campaigning.

[Virginia's Right Stuff]

It's obvious that a shake-up is needed; I just highly doubt that Webb knows enough about campaigning to reallize just how poorly his campaign is being run.

[DemTilDeath]

More rumors about a shakeup? There have been rumors of a shakeup within the Webb campaign for ages. Am I missing something?

Alarmed,

You are RIGHT ON.

[Alarmed]

Well, I was wrong: we've set our sights on another $15k and announced our new goal of reaching $115,000 by tomorrow. That's a couple of days of Allen's current ad buy.

This is as sad as the fact that we are having this discussion:

http://www.webbforsenate.org/blog/node/79

No more Jarding... Please!!!!

http://www.dailypress.com/news/opinion/dp-61831sy0jun29,0,2525935.story?coll=dp-opinion-editorials

Different spin that what our conservative buddies are weaving.

Yikes! That muse be some brutal deja vu for Jessica.

http://www.kennedyvmachine.com/?p=1413

[DemTilDeath]

Ben, is this the first you've heard of this? I heard this over 10 days ago. If it's true, why haven't we had more action yet?

It takes Ben 10 days to photoshop Jarding flipping his wig.

[Fan of Integrity]

Since I learned here that JVB had never had experience past a primary, sounds like a good move to me.
And I'm sure the GOPers love watching these recent exchanges while some Dems seem to want to "eat our own."

[Alarmed]

What "Questions circulating about 'how' Steve" could be a part-time or absentee campaign manager? He can't. Period. If such questions are actually "circulating," they are either a joke or this schtick is over.

[Fan of Integrity]

You mean like how it's hard for Allen to run for Senate and President at the same time? He can't. Period.
I'm sure Jarding is smart enough to do what needs to be done with his workload to make time for the biggest priority.

Is he tenured? If so, he probably doesn't do any work anyway and could easily take a sabatical.

"Teach 5 days a week". Pffft.

[Alarmed]

Fan - You can't be serious, so no response is warranted.

[Told you so]

Maybe they should hire the Miller campaign staff.

[Fan of Integrity]

Alarmed - I very seriously believe Jarding is responsible and smart enough to prioritize his workload. Period.

[Fan of Integrity]

Yeah the Miller campaign staff really had a winning strategy. Hahaha.

Miller was reduced to playing the victim card at the last minute and it backfired: not shining campaign work by any means.

[Webb Defeats Allen]

I respectfully disagree with you ona number of points 9:21. I think there were GREAT staffers in the Miller camp and that the campaign in general was very well run.

There's a lot of talent in that pool. If there's a need, I hope Jarding or Jessica consider them. Great folks over there.

Okay. Good sales staff. Bad product.

Yes, Fan at 9:11, but you also apparently believe that "globalist and interventionist forces (seek to) enslave us all in a New World Order on which the sun never sets."

Fascinating.

Would others describe you as a typical Webb Head?

9:34, wtf?

9:36 - http://www.antiwar.com/

The link from Fan of Integrity. Read.

That's wtf.

[winconservative]

Bottom Line: If Webb is able to raise enough money in the coming months, which he will need to be competitive both Jarding and Jessica will be replaced or take a backseat in a heartbeat to seasoned operatives with experience running national level campaigns. Folks, this isnt "minor league politics." All this being said the Democratic National Senatorial Committee will essentially be evaluating this race over the next month or so and if they feel this race is a longshot Webb will be essentially "hung out to dry" regarless of who is managing this campaign. Other states like MD,OH,PA,MO would be better places to spend money.

[Webb Defeats Allen]

I'm not sure about your assessment of staff changes, but I agree the DSCC will be watching the campaign over the next few weeks very closely, to determine where best to use their funds.

Nobody wants a Democratic Majority in the Senate more than Chuck Schumer and he's looking to invest in winners. That's why he personally endorsed Webb in the Primary.

tradesports.com has DEM at new high, offer now at $23. Race *is * moving Webb's way. Allen calling Webbies "thugs" means he's scared.

[Lynchburger]

Anyone else notice that Steve Jarding with the toupee on looks like a much older Ben Tribbett, say like 20 years older? Hahaha.

[Fan of Integrity]

I don't know if others would describe me as a typical Webb head?? What's typical?
Am I against the Iraq War? You betcha.

[Alarmed]

WDA -- Have you heard any talk of any Miller folks coming over? Finance? Call time? Issues? Anything? I agree with you points at 9:29

Miller's issues were "generic Democrat": not a winner in VA. Finance? The guy self financed and picked up back scratches from his outsourcing buddies. No gold mine for a populist there. The few Miller voters are or will be on board. Webb must get indie vote and a few Republicans.

Lord, please let Anon at 10:03 NOT be representative of the intellect of the Webb campaign.

ha ha.

[Told you so]

maybe take a look again... miller outraised webb

minus self financing? Remember, he was "IT lobbyist insider" and was in the race longer.

[Virginia's Right Stuff]

Webb himself just does not know enough about campaigns to reallize how poorly his is being run.
He needs a shakeup, but probably doesn't reallize it.

[Told you so]

what by like 3 weeks? Please remember that Webb had the support of the DSCC, Kerry, Clark and so many others. But little old Miller still outraised Webb minus self financing.

Allen appears to be the one off balance. Wadhams? LaCivita? Calling his opponents "thugs"? Dude's supposed to be confident but looks scared. Cancel the New Hampshire vacation this year.

[Virginia's Right Stuff]

Yeah, Miller raised more because he had a professional staff who knew what they were doing.

More than 1 occassional I would watch the Webb folds and wonder, "Do these guys have any clue as to what they are doing?"

"Told you so", seriosuly? You checked? What are the final numbers?

VRS, getting vertigo with that spin?

There will be group therapy sessions on Tues/Thurs for those newbies and out-of-staters who still want to replay the primary and your own special issue interests.

The need here is to professionally gather the cream and shape into a team for the general election, whether they previously worked for Miller or anyone else.

[Alarmed]

VRS -- You're a Repub. You're using up valuable white space.

[Vivian J. Paige]

"The few Miller voters are or will be on board."

Few? Are you talking about the 72,486 Miller voters (as opposed to th 83,298 Webb voters) in the primary? So far, I haven't seen anything from Webb that would constitute a reaching out to these voters.

[Virginia's Right Stuff]

If there is a shake-up, I wonder how it would happen? Publicly firing some people would create a poor image. But then how would you keep something like this quiet?

Alarmed-
I'm sorry, but I didn't see the "No Republicans Allowed" sign.

[Alarmed]

VRS -- You're right; funding for the "No Republicans Allowed" sign was deleted at the last moment by your distinguished mentors in the GA.

If Harris Miller had won the primary, the virginia blogosphere would be dead as doornails. No excitement. zzzziiiiiipppppo. quiet as a church mouse. the DSCC or DNC won't be bothered mentioning virginia at all.

Ben, you got your newsmaker in Webb. so stfu with your badmouthing jessica.

Sorry, Vivian (you count for like 500 extra votes ourself so add that). It's been like two weeks. Webb (and Miller has helped) has to regroup, plan, raise money, then execute. Webb needs like 1.5M votes. Miller's 70K (+500) IS relatively small component.

Vivian -- Haven't you heard? Webb doesn't need to reach out to those "few" Miller voters in VA-- he's been endorsed by Koz!

[Outside Observer]

Webb's late entry into the Senate race really screwed his campaign's abilty to get the cream of the crop. By that time most of the quality staffers were already signed on to other Virginia '06 races or went out of state.

He can try to reach out to Miller staffers if he wants, but I'm not sure any of them would sign onto this disaster.

Sour grapes? Disaster? Thugs?

How come Webb is exceeding short term income goals? Biggest Senate race story of the week nationally? Moving up in tradesports? Competitive in Zogby poll?

man!

Webb has/is/will kick ass.

what the hell happened to Alice Marsshall and IDNTW? They vanished into thin air? Les impossibleu.

Read thru the comments to spot the sour grapes on this thread.

It appears that the "sour grapes" are almost all signed by Republicans. So, perhaps a better term is appropriate.

Did a Webb staff dinner just let out?

belch.

Ugh, that was a Car Pool belch. Well, hope the beer was cold.

[SHAKIRA SHAKIRA]

OH BEN WHEN YOU TALK LIKE THAT
YOU MAKE A WEBBHEAD GO MAD
SO BE WISE
AND PLEASE STOP
FEEDING ALLEN PROPAGANDA

[Vivian J. Paige]

anon 10:37 - I know that to win Webb needs a lot more votes than he & Miller got in the primary. And I know that the time after the primary is to be used for regrouping, etc. But it's not the time to let hard D's slip thru the cracks, and that's what primary voters are. They are the activists, the ones who work in their communities. Webb needs those folks.

A simple email to Miller's list would suffice for me. His campaign surely can handle that - I've gotten several emails from them since the primary, asking for money (the Webb email list BTW).

July. August. September. October.

4 months

[I'm Not Emeril]

Who is Jarding and Jessica? I thought everybody knew it was Lowell that gained Webb's victory in the Primary.

new press : http://www.connectionnewspapers.com/article.asp?article=67992&paper=59&cat=104

"People are excited about [Webb's] prospects because they think his message will resonate with voters ..."

[DukieDem]

Uhh, this is frustrating. I hope whatever the campaign needs to do to get in order, they do it soon. There is no reason Webb shouldn't have the campaign around him to mop the floor with Allen. I don't want Allen to win this race by default. He has no record of accomplishment in the Senate, no vision of America, and no intergrity. Virginia deserves better.

Vivian, I guess you want to be bottlefed and coddled by the Webb campign. jeez. two weeks after the primary. there are many bruised feelings still with many Miller supporters. give it some rest.

Harris Miller has been very pleasant and gracious. in due time, I'm sure he'll release his email list to Webb.

[Not Albertis Harrison]

Hire NLS....he'll do for Webb what he did for Cooter. He knew so much then, he knows so much now. How can Webb not win??

[Karma calling!]

"Lewis Armistead | June 29, 2006 at 07:06 PM"

I think I love you!

[Not Wyclef]

Re: S-S 11:23pm...

He'll be gone in Novemba'
Gone in Novemba'
Yo tell George Allen, he'll be gone in Novemba'
January, February, March, April, May...
Webb campaign sucked but soon it'll be okay...

[this is sad]

Does anyone think that part of the problem might be the candidate and the fact that he has no idea about any issues besides the war? Here is his stand on economic policy: "We must reexamine our tax and trade policies and reinstitute notions of fairness, and also enforce our existing trade laws so that free trade becomes fair trade." The problem is that I think this statement is all Webb can say about the economy.

[Virginia's Right Stuff]

Webb talks about the more more than any issue, yet polls show that more people trust the GOP to handle the war on terror than the Democrats.

[Not Ben]

I have faith that the bloggers will bring it home. We never needed the campaign anyway. Bloggers are all-powerful.

"This is sad" has a point because Webb is starting to become Jimmy "One-Note."

The song is starting to become boring.

You know the Republican swiftboat coming: Webb is Rambo like psycho who freaked out in Nam. You can't trust him. He lost his brain and can't think about real issues.

jeesh.

[Southsider]

Here's my take for what it's worth. A "catch phrase" populist campaign (without a lot of meat on the bone) could be very successful if you the message is distributed widely enough. Heck, it took John Edwards a long way. The problem is, the MSM won't continue to report generalities. We either need to ramp up the money or ramp up the fundraising.

[Southsider]

Sorry, ramp up the money or ramp up the policy proposals.

The marginal voter only thinks in generalities.

The statement "We must reexamine our tax and trade policies and reinstitute notions of fairness, and also enforce our existing trade laws so that free trade becomes fair trade." is all Joe Voter is going to hear anyway.

[Southsider]

anon 10:03 - That's exactly my point. You absolutely can win with a populist campaign of "generalities" IF you can get the message out. The MSM media will quit repeating the generalities if there's no meat on the bone. Therefore, you either have to raise funds to get the generalities out there or you have to put enough meat on the bone to get ongoing MSM coverage.

[Josh]

SS:
Jarding made headlines nationwide by kicking dickwadm's ass up and down the block.

The messages will follow, but remember, Jim Webb is an iconic hero who is consistently proving, just as George Washington did, that a few dedicated patriots can fight a well-funded aristocrat, and kick his ass.

Since funding is a crisis and the candidate reportedly hates to dial for dollars but his primary opponent apparently had a call time system and a data base.....

"Hello, Fred, this is Harris Miller and I'm calling for my friend Jim Webb. Can we count on you to max-out in support of Jim right now? Super."

Next call...."Hello, Helen,..."

Now that would get some attention.

[Alice Marshall]

what the hell happened to Alice Marsshall and IDNTW? They vanished into thin air? Les impossibleu.

Read thru the comments to spot the sour grapes on this thread.

I always post under my name. Always. If anyone wants to know what I think they can read my blog or my occassional posting on FCDC blog.

[Southsider]

Josh - The problem is that we're 4 months out. The question is will the MSM media still give the Jarding/Webb/Wadhams pissing contest coverage when it matters. Highly unlikely. We either need a message worth reporting or some well done tight commercials with the populist appeal.

We all knew from day 1 this was gonna be a tough one but I think most thought money would come pouring in and not be a problem. Not time to panic but we need things to pick up soon.

[Vivian J. Paige]

Anon 12:38 said:
"Vivian, I guess you want to be bottlefed and coddled by the Webb campign. jeez. two weeks after the primary. there are many bruised feelings still with many Miller supporters. give it some rest."

I asked for an email, nothing more.

I don't get you guys. This is the very first time I've said ANYTHING about this since the primary. Give it a rest? I think I have.

I also understand - having run in a primary myself last year - how critical it is to get the other person's people on board as soon as possible. Miller sent out an email to his list on 6/14, asking his supporters to support Webb. Just how hard can it be for Webb to do that?

Southsider has pointed out the elephant in the room: the romantic notion that Webb is an iconic hero (like George Washington?) and that once he got through the primary money and talent would just pour in from the heavens and, if not, he would win through grassroots and blogs because, well, he's an iconic hero.

After all that insulting and attacking the Ms.Kristian Denny-Todd did on her fake blog:

perseverando.blogspot.com

HA!

Why would anyone want to jump on board after that?

There's enough whine on this thread to ferment a vintage batch of Chateux du Felix.