Jim Webb's Sexist Past

Regrettably, it's pretty bad:

In the Washingtonian magazine article, "Women Can't Fight," the ex-Marine Webb wrote of the brutal conditions during the Vietnam War and argued against letting women into combat...Webb described one of the academy's coed dorms as "a horny woman's dream" and said that he had never met a woman he "would trust to provide . . . combat leadership."

Yeah, not cool. I was thinking about this though. If Webb had defended segregation in the 60s, or opposed school busing in the 70s, but I felt he was right on the issues today, I think I'd still be for him. For the record, Webb is pro-choice. It's hard for me to believe that with Roe v Wade hanging in the balance, Obama won't do well among women. That said, I can see why this would make some people uncomfortable.

Comments

zak May 24, 2008 10:25 PM

Yeah, this kind of stuff really risks further alienating the Clinton supporters who feel that sexism has been the major factor in her defeat. Edwards seems to hit a lot of the same positives without so many negatives.

ed May 25, 2008 12:55 AM

Obama/Clark '08!!

Warren Terra May 25, 2008 4:58 AM

If it weren't for this stuff, which also came up in '06, I think I might be somewhat rabidly enthusiastic about Webb as a veep nominee, because I think he does an excellent job of communicating a national security/foreign policy viewpoint compatible with Obama's (against dumb wars, strong enough to negotiate, etc.), and he's done a great job of helpinf the Dems to own the 'support-the-troops' issue in the Senate. And of course Webb seems to connect on a visceral level with the working-class white folks Obama's supposed to have trouble with. I really wish Webb had spent the last two years visibly working towards trying to clean the slate on women's issues - spearheading the Ledbetter fix in the Senate, for example.

On the other hand, Edwards just strikes me as a complete nonstarter. We should install the veep off the last losing ticket? I have my own problems with Edwards - somehow a DLC democrat went into a phone booth in early 2005 and out came an alleged Progressive Superhero, and we're all supposed to believe it despite his actual, y'know, voting record and his sponsoring the AUMF in the Senate - but on a more subtantive level the guy just does not impress as a campaigner. He can get the a fair number of Democrats in the primary (or could in 2004), but he seemed to have no positive impact on the Kerry ticket and his performance in the Veep debate was a huge disappointment - altohugh perhaps not a surprise, because it was the same marshmellow impression he's almost always given.

BillW May 25, 2008 5:04 AM

I put in countless hours canvassing and making phone calls working for the Webb campaign in 06. It was a very tough campaign and quite frankly, we only won it because of George Allen's macaca moment. Even though Webb's beliefs in "Women Can't Fight" were absolutely the norm in the military's top brass at the time and he did apologize for them, they would have doomed his campaign had it not been for the flood of more racist revelations about Allen that followed his YouTubed racial slur. Even after all that the final result was very very close.

This is exactly why Webb will not be Obama's VP choice. He just can't be. Webb will do much better to keep his senate seat anyway.

stonetools May 25, 2008 12:37 PM

These statements were made back in 1979-28 years ago. If we know anything from history, its that people's political beliefs can change. Harry Truman grew up a segregationist yet issued the order de-segregregrating the military. Robert Byrd began his political career in the KKK, but recently endorsed Obama. People change, and the American people know this.
Besides in 1979, it was very much unknown territory whether women could function in any combat role. Today, after the Iraq and Afghan conflicts, I see a role for women in combat in certain areas-the navy and aviation. I don't really see them doing well in front-line infantry, artillery, or tank combat. But that's a small part of the armed forces. Women are doing well in all areas of logistics and support-including semi-combat roles like corpsman and military police.

Webb can overcome this, I think, by saying that he was wrong then but that he is OK with women in limited combat roles today-which is where the military is at now.

Breukelyne May 25, 2008 7:22 PM

Bleahhhh.

Well, that answers that. Obama would be foolish to pick Webb for Veep. Too bad. He seemed a strong choice otherwise. That would certainly alienate Clinton supporters.

I don't think Mr. O has to pick a woman, but not someone who said stuff like this, and can't honestly give a full repudiation of his former views (I don't think saying women can now be in the military just not in combat is going to go over well). I know it's typical of military thinking, but I think it's a ridiculous position anyway. What precisely is encoded in the genetic gender difference that would make a woman incapable of holding a gun and thinking on her feet in a combat zone?

@ Warren Terra: ditto your post. That's exactly what I think of Edwards too. It still amazes me that he was able to fully reinvent himself as a progressive in such a short time span, and that so many people bought it. I do give him props for pushing a populist platform on the campaign trail -- it did take chutzpah -- but I have no idea who the real John Edwards is. I don't trust him.