How Could Webb Have Won This Year?

[White Trash]

He couldn't have won but he could have done way better. Rather than flip flop on affirmative action (which pleased no one), he should have stuck to his guns, opposed affirmative action, talked about poor White people, said All Lives Matter, and been the anti-political correctness candidate. He would have at least broke 10% in the polls and probably won Oklahoma, come in second in Florida, and stand a good chance of winning West Virginia. Again, he wouldn't win the nomination but he would be more famous. Maybe people would actually take his threat of a third party run seriously (not that he'd win there either, but he could break 5%, maybe get Trumps endorsement if Cruz wins the GOP nom). Then he could write books, get a talk show. Which would all be pretty good, compared to reality where he is a total non-entity.

This. Also, run heavily in states like OK, FL, SC, and etc. A combination of the Schweitzer western vote and the conservadem/centrist vote in the South and Midwest would have been enough, especially if he only campaigned heavily in South Carolina and did OK there.

He could've afforded to lightly contest Iowa, concede New Hampshire and set up camp in South Carolina.

[White Trash]

Hypothetically, had Clinton not run or been indicted and the rest of the Democratic field remained the same I think Webb would've had a chance.

No way would the rest of the field have remained the same if Clinton hadn't run.  At least a half dozen additional candidates would have been in the race without her.

And there is no way they would've done any better than the rest of the field. The only people I could see jumping in would be either Tammy Baldwin or Evan Bayh. Maybe Tim Kaine. Maybe. But they would've done as well as the Republican establishment in the GOP primary. 1% or 2% with maybe a little support in their home states.

Plenty of additional candidates would have gotten more than 1 or 2% in a Clinton-less field.  Both Gillibrand and Klobuchar, for example, were laying the groundwork for a run back when Clinton looked more uncertain about whether she'd pull the trigger.  You don't think the "it's time for a woman" sentiment among many Dem. primary voters would have been worth more than a few percent?

I'm sure it would've. But let's say McCaskill, Warren, Gillibrand AND Klobuchar run. What is there to set them apart? I'm not saying that they are identical, far from it. But they will run into the same problems the GOP establishment ran into. They will all seem like minor variations of the same flavor. Voters will flock to people like Sanders, or Webb, or Trump because they have something that makes them stick out from the rest.

[Figueira]

Maybe if he had run as an actual Democrat. I don't think Webb is actually that right-wing; he just played that part in this election for some reason.

This is incorrect. He actually tried to become more of a generic Democrat for the sake of this election. That's why when he was asked about his past opposition to affirmative action (while he was a Democratic Senator) he flip flopped and said he was for it now/tried to explain away his past opposition as "only opposition to Asians using it!" The fact that you and a lot of other people had a hard time understanding that shows just how odd the position was. He should have just gone hard to Hillary's left or hard to Hillary's right. I think the right would have would have made more sense since he would have had it all to himself, unlike the left where he'd be battling with O'Malley, Sanders, and Chafee.

You might be right, I don't know, but sometimes it's hard to tell which are a politicians' "real" views and which are views that they adopted for political gain.

One thing that's interesting about Webb is that he was actually rising in the polls when he dropped out. I don't think he could have won or anything if he had stayed in, but I think he would have had a stronger third-place finish than O'Malley.

Also, Tammy Baldwin was mentioned earlier. If she runs, Sanders stays out.

[Famous Mortimer]

He was rising in the polls because people were calling him a racist. Whenever a US politician gets called a racist, their poll numbers go up. Either because of the country's entrenched racism or because of a backlash against political correctness (probably a combination of both). Regardless, Webb wasn't trying to be racist (he was trying really hard to go the other direction) and he didn't like being called a racist, so he dropped out instead.

[White Trash]

He was rising in the polls because people were calling him a racist. Whenever a US politician gets called a racist, their poll numbers go up. Either because of the country's entrenched racism or because of a backlash against political correctness (probably a combination of both). Regardless, Webb wasn't trying to be racist (he was trying really hard to go the other direction) and he didn't like being called a racist, so he dropped out instead.

I do think it's funny that Webb was called a racist. He's married to a woman of another race. I'm confident that the people calling him that also defend some of Bill Clinton's more unsavory comments.

[Figueira]

He was rising in the polls because people were calling him a racist. Whenever a US politician gets called a racist, their poll numbers go up. Either because of the country's entrenched racism or because of a backlash against political correctness (probably a combination of both). Regardless, Webb wasn't trying to be racist (he was trying really hard to go the other direction) and he didn't like being called a racist, so he dropped out instead.

No, he was rising in the polls because the debate happened, and people realized that there were other candidates besides Clinton and Sanders, and that one of these people wasn't either an incompetent joke or a random former governor.

He was rising in the polls because people were calling him a racist. Whenever a US politician gets called a racist, their poll numbers go up. Either because of the country's entrenched racism or because of a backlash against political correctness (probably a combination of both). Regardless, Webb wasn't trying to be racist (he was trying really hard to go the other direction) and he didn't like being called a racist, so he dropped out instead.

I do think it's funny that Webb was called a racist. He's married to a woman of another race. I'm confident that the people calling him that also defend some of Bill Clinton's more unsavory comments.

I'm sure he has several black friends as well.

This idea that doing one non-racist thing absolves one of being racist stems from the idea that being a racist means you're a neo-Nazi member of the KKK who wants to torture and kill everyone who isn't a white Anglo-Saxon Protestant. That's not what the word "racist" means.

I'm not necessarily saying Webb was racist though; I don't really know that much about him.

[White Trash]

He was rising in the polls because people were calling him a racist. Whenever a US politician gets called a racist, their poll numbers go up. Either because of the country's entrenched racism or because of a backlash against political correctness (probably a combination of both). Regardless, Webb wasn't trying to be racist (he was trying really hard to go the other direction) and he didn't like being called a racist, so he dropped out instead.

No, he was rising in the polls because the debate happened, and people realized that there were other candidates besides Clinton and Sanders, and that one of these people wasn't either an incompetent joke or a random former governor.

He was rising in the polls because people were calling him a racist. Whenever a US politician gets called a racist, their poll numbers go up. Either because of the country's entrenched racism or because of a backlash against political correctness (probably a combination of both). Regardless, Webb wasn't trying to be racist (he was trying really hard to go the other direction) and he didn't like being called a racist, so he dropped out instead.

I do think it's funny that Webb was called a racist. He's married to a woman of another race. I'm confident that the people calling him that also defend some of Bill Clinton's more unsavory comments.

I'm sure he had several black friends as well.

This idea that doing one non-racist thing absolves one of being racist stems from the idea that being a racist means you're a neo-Nazi member of the KKK who wants to torture and kill everyone who isn't a white Anglo-Saxon Protestant. That's not what the word "racist" means.

I'm not necessarily saying Webb was racist though; I don't really know that much about him.

This isn't comparable to the whole "My best friend is black" cover. He committed his domestic life to someone of another race, lives with someone of another race, sees them every single day of his life. Of course that doesn't absolve him of any possible racism, but it does lend credence to those saying he isn't racist. I imagine it would be very difficult to be bigoted and concerned about the cultural future of the white race, when you yourself are race mixing. I'm not saying that just because he married an Asian women it is now impossible for him to be racist, it's just a hell of a lot more difficult.

That's just my two cents on the subject.

[Figueira]

He was rising in the polls because people were calling him a racist. Whenever a US politician gets called a racist, their poll numbers go up. Either because of the country's entrenched racism or because of a backlash against political correctness (probably a combination of both). Regardless, Webb wasn't trying to be racist (he was trying really hard to go the other direction) and he didn't like being called a racist, so he dropped out instead.

No, he was rising in the polls because the debate happened, and people realized that there were other candidates besides Clinton and Sanders, and that one of these people wasn't either an incompetent joke or a random former governor.

He was rising in the polls because people were calling him a racist. Whenever a US politician gets called a racist, their poll numbers go up. Either because of the country's entrenched racism or because of a backlash against political correctness (probably a combination of both). Regardless, Webb wasn't trying to be racist (he was trying really hard to go the other direction) and he didn't like being called a racist, so he dropped out instead.

I do think it's funny that Webb was called a racist. He's married to a woman of another race. I'm confident that the people calling him that also defend some of Bill Clinton's more unsavory comments.

I'm sure he had several black friends as well.

This idea that doing one non-racist thing absolves one of being racist stems from the idea that being a racist means you're a neo-Nazi member of the KKK who wants to torture and kill everyone who isn't a white Anglo-Saxon Protestant. That's not what the word "racist" means.

I'm not necessarily saying Webb was racist though; I don't really know that much about him.

This isn't comparable to the whole "My best friend is black" cover. He committed his domestic life to someone of another race, lives with someone of another race, sees them every single day of his life. Of course that doesn't absolve him of any possible racism, but it does lend credence to those saying he isn't racist. I imagine it would be very difficult to be bigoted and concerned about the cultural future of the white race, when you yourself are race mixing. I'm not saying that just because he married an Asian women it is now impossible for him to be racist, it's just a hell of a lot more difficult.

That's just my two cents on the subject.

First of all, most people AFAIK are accusing him of being racist against black people, not Asians. It's possible to be racist against one group but not another.

Second of all, yes, being married to an Asian does prove that he's not a horrible white supremacist who wants to murder all Asians. But it doesn't necessarily mean that he doesn't have some unfortunate views regarding race.

[Famous Mortimer]

While having an Asian wife doesn't prove he's not racist, there's very little proof he IS racist either. The only reason because think he is is because he went on TV and said "hey, some White people are poor".

That's more a reflection on the insane levels of White guilt in among the Democratic base than evidence of anything Webb believes.

[Figueira]

While having an Asian wife doesn't prove he's not racist, there's very little proof he IS racist either. The only reason because think he is is because he went on TV and said "hey, some White people are poor".

That's more a reflection on the insane levels of White guilt in among the Democratic base than evidence of anything Webb believes.

He did defend the Confederate flag at a time when no one else was doing that.

[YaBoyNY]

Maybe if he had run as an actual Democrat. I don't think Webb is actually that right-wing; he just played that part in this election for some reason.

He's not right-wing at all.

[Santander]

ACORN

[VPH]

I think Webb could have done well in a race without Hillary. I don't think he would have won, but as media exposure increased, he might have done well in Southern states. For example, the Appalachian belt where Bernie got 40%+, Webb would have won some counties and he certarinly would have kept Bernie's percentages down. He might have come second in some states, including Oklahoma, which he might have even won!