Webb stumps in Woodbridge for fellow Dems
{Submitted photo}
Jim Webb, Virginia’s senior U.S. senator, left, encouraged patrons at Dixie Bones in Woodbridge on Friday to vote for Del. Paul F. Nichols, middle, and the Rev. Luke Torian.
Published: October 24, 2009
If any tourists came to Woodbridge's famed Dixie Bones at lunchtime Friday, they got an unexpected side of politics with their barbecue.
That's because Jim Webb, Virginia's senior U.S. senator, was there to stump for two fellow Democrats, Luke Torian and Del. Paul F. Nichols.
Nichols, a Lake Ridge lawyer, is in a tough race with GOP challenger Rich Anderson in the House of Delegates' 51st District. Torian, pastor of First Mount Zion Baptist Church near Montclair, faces Republican Rafael Lopez in the 52nd District.
Webb said it's crucial that Democrats continue to work hard for Nichols and Torian as Election Day approaches.
Volunteer efforts were a big factor in his defeat of then-U.S. senator and GOP star George Allen in 2006, he said.
"We have two candidates here that I'm standing here supporting," he told the crowd, which filled the eatery off of U.S. 1, "and I would like to urge you to support them and make the calls and do all the sorts of things that it takes, all the sorts of things it took in my race."
A few minutes afterward, Nichols used a short speech to again push his major initiative: extending Metrorail south to Prince William County.
The lawmaker said he can envision a rail system running along U.S. 1, past Marumsco and over to Potomac Mills.
"And not only will we have a real transit solution on board, but we will have economic development that we've never seen in this county," Nichols said.
Having Metro in Woodbridge could attract companies that employ upward of 1,000 workers and jobs that pay more than $100,000 annually, he said.
"We will put north Woodbridge on the map," Nichols said, "and we will have a place where we will be proud to go to."
Torian, for his part, encouraged supporters to vote absentee if they can't cast a ballot the old-fashioned way Nov. 3.
He said he was campaigning door to door Thursday when a woman called out his name.
"She said, 'I want you to know that I just voted for you. I'm going to be out of town, and I voted early,'" he said. "So if you plan to be out of town, please vote early. We'd like to get your votes early."
Staff writer Jonathan Hunley can be reached at 703-369-5738.<p>
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Reader Reactions
I have always been an anarchist, if you were paying attention, i never claimed otherwise. Do yo have a problem with me being an atheist also, i guess you probably do because i don’t fit your opinion of what everybody should be, nice little fascist you are. Torian and Nichols are trailing according to informal polls. Is it my fault that more people don’t support your angelic <haha> do no wrong candidates.
Now Liberalised clains he is an anarchist. I can see how that fits in with the Republicans, whom he praises so warmly on this website. But I still say “mentally ill” is more fitting.
Sorry i don’t subscribe to your socialist or fascist viewpoints, i am an anarchist and i don’t believe in your puppets. Unfortunately Republicans are the better choice this election. Who is Beck??? Of course illegal voters voting is a problem because before all you needed was a license at least that loophole was recently closed. With no change in control of the HOD and McDonnell being the new Governor, i am sure that will have a positive change on the Va. Senate. I do believe when Allen left office his support was even with Webb. Of course with Webb’s admitted disapproval of women in the military i guess that puts him on an even par with McDonnell.
Charles:
sour grapes.
Shame on you guys for picking on Liberalised.
I keep telling all of you he is mentally ill. I also get the feelinghe is into the booze.
To illustrate my point, compare this article to the article on October 23rd, about McDonnell’s visit to our county.
In that article, the same reporter did not provide a single quote from the republican candidate, or provide the candidate’s view on the topics he discussed. The reporter simply said that McDonnell spoke ABOUT his views.
Only a single position was mentioned—a reporter summmary of a statement by the campaign spokeswoman about high-speed train service.
The report even says he took questions, but didn’t provide a single question or a quoted answer.
It seems from the report that the reporter didn’t even attend the event, but had to ask the campaign what happened.
Whereas it sounds like the reporter did attend this Democratic event. And provided multiple quotes from the candidates, without any mention of the opposition viewpoint.
Note that the reporter could have gotten Creigh Deed’s position on high-speed rail, to put in the 10/23/2009 McDonnell news story—but that story did seem mosly about the fact that he was here, not about what he SAID while he was here, while this article sounds like a free advertisement for two candidates the paper has endorsed.
Business-minded:
The article really said nothing about the republicans at all; it seems that the reporter may not have spoken to the republicans, or anybody who might have a different side to the issues raised in the article.
If the article was about the occurance of the event, that would make sense. But when a NEWS article provides political speech by one side, most reporters would call a representative of the other side for a quote, in order to provide a fair and balanced view to the readers.
The Republicans have a chair in the county whose e-mail and phone number is known, and could easily be asked for comment about the political assertions of the opposing party. Or the two republican candidate campaigns could have been called for a quote to respond to the political statements made.
This “news” story was more like a society page story, unfortunately, and gives little help to readers who want to know what both sides think about the issues.
Liberaliesd: You said we have ...“a weak national Senator”...???? I guess you don’t realize George Allen is no longer the Senator from Virginia.
You also said “I believe the state Senate will change hands once again.“ That would be incredible, since we won’t have a state senate election for another 2 years. You either have an amazing ability to see into the future, or no ability at all to understand the present.
Liberaliesd - your rabid spittle flecked diatribe about the Nichols-Anderson race illustrates better than anything anyone else could write that you do not care for fact or ethics or even common decency in campaigning. Your xenophobic rantings about illegal votes reveals your hate based philosophy that views everything outside your narrow little world view as somehow corrupted.
Your utter disregard for the facts of the case reflect your nearly fascist obedience to authority. Do you honestly believe that every arrest is justified and every person convicted is guilty? Do you really believe the police can do no wrong - ever? It’s people like you that enabled the police states of the old eastern Europe with the attitude that “he must have done something wrong or they wouldn’t have arrested him”. You are the kind of person who in Russia longed for a return of Stalin because then things were stable. Yes safe and stable if you weren’t on his hit list.
The real threat to American Democracy is not illegal aliens voting, it’s people like you who would sell our freedoms to the Bush’s of the world out of fear of “those others”. The people who believe Cheny hit squads, the use of troops to arrest Americans and their utter disregard for the constitution are what truly threaten us. You, Glen Beck and the other bile dispensing fringe elements of the GOP are the best thing to happen to the Democratic party and the worst of things to happen to civility and decency in this country.
We already have a rail system that is doing well it is called VRE and it is expanding. Torian is not a very good candidate and to stump with a weak national Senator who has 51% approval although supposedly he cares and is a war hero is beyond me. Of course a portion of the population that isn’t entitled to anything from the US will illegally vote and support him. Nichols just needs to apologize for trying to hide his arrest, i fail to see why a friend of Ebert’s is investigating a legally released criminal incident. It will come down to the wire and 1 will lose minimum, maybe 2 because of the bad political environment. I believe the state Senate will change hands once again. No change in the HOD. If you are for METRO now you are for massive tax increases that’s all i can say about that. We can barely feed, clothe or house the most needed in our area and some are talking about throwing more money at METRO which is in the red as usual. Won’t be as many jobs as suggested by these spendthrifts, there will be however an exponential jump in crime for sure as D.C. and Md. and Fairfax’s crime problems migrate to the south.
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