Jim Webb is leaving the race for the Democratic presidential nomination and says he may run as an independent in the general election. It is often said that he is one of an extinct species of Democrat, which does not get it quite right: he’s unique. His Vietnam novel Fields of Fire is considered one of the best, perhaps the best, fiction to be based in that conflict, while his more recent Born Fighting is an interesting combination, a history of the Scots-Irish in America plus something in the nature of a family memoir.
Webb doesn’t fit in any convenient political category. He opposed U.S. military action in Iraq, and some of his comments suggest a resentment that some of those advocating that course did not serve (as Webb did, with great distinction) in the military in the Vietnam era. In 2006 he ran successfully against incumbent Virginia Sen. George Allen, who was then contemplating a presidential bid. There was a certain irony in Webb’s victory. He sees himself as the voice of the Scots-Irish, of people who may not have a college education but who answer their nation’s call to service and perform heroically when others, more privileged, find reason to busy themselves with other things. But Webb did not run particularly strongly along Virginia’s Appalachian chain or in southwest Virginia, where the Scots-Irish heritage is strong. In his 53 percent win in the Democratic primary against lobbyist Harris Miller and his 50 percent win in the general election against George Allen, Webb ran strongest in high-education Northern Virginia and ran behind in most of rural Virginia, including the Shenandoah Valley and southwest Virginia. In other words, he ran much like other Democratic statewide candidates in Virginia. His distinctive attitudes and issue positions made no particular impression on the political map.
Webb arguably had some significant achievements in his one term in the Senate, including a veterans’ health bill and rapprochement with Burma. He did not run for re-election and indeed has moved from one profession to another in his adult life, leaving the military involuntarily because of wounds, but otherwise moving on to different venues, in each of which he has had significant success. But there was something painful in his performance in the Democratic debate, even beyond his complaints that he wasn’t being given enough time; he just wasn’t making a connection with any significant constituency, certainly not with the groups in the identity politics of today’s Democratic party. Webb’s target was the ordinary citizens who support the Democratic Party as the alternative which does more for the little guy. His problem was that there just aren’t that many voters who fit that description or think of themselves that way any more.
For similar reasons, I suspect that he will not have much impact if he goes ahead and runs as an Independent. He speaks eloquently for a constituency that just doesn’t much exist any more.
