I thought this was well put:

For national security in general, the Democrats’ plan is so according-to-type that you cringe with embarrassment: It’s mostly about new cash benefits for veterans. Regarding Iraq specifically, the Democrats’ plan has two parts. First, they want Iraqis to take on “primary responsibility for securing and governing their country.” Then they want “responsible redeployment” (great euphemism) of American forces.

Older readers may recognize this formula. It’s Vietnamization — the Nixon-Kissinger plan for extracting us from a previous mistake. But Vietnamization was not a plan for victory. It was a plan for what was called “peace with honor” and is now known as “defeat.” [Boldface mine.]

Right on the money, I’d say. That goes for both Feder and Webb. I hope enough Northern Virginia voters will understand that too. We shall see.

And I will make sure to enact laws so that you will live the way I think you should… because, you know, I am a dean at Georgetown University, an influential and powerful inside-the-Beltway institution.

More seriously, some of us at NoVaPolitics are at times troubled by the Republican incumbent Congressman Frank Wolf’s proclivities, including his fondness for government spending. But as the saying goes, “Don’t make perfect the enemy of good.”

On the whole, I find Wolf to be far from perfect, but certainly a better choice for my district than his challenger Democrat Judy Feder by a wide margin. Let me repeat my earlier observation of her after I heard her in person — I found Feder to be “a bespectacled, nasal-sounding political commissar long on left-wing ideology and criticism of Bush, but short on credible, coherent plans to make things better.”

Had the Democrats chosen someone more “centrist” and “down-to-earth,” they might have had a better shot at Wolf given the anti-incumbent and anti-GOP mood this year. But they did not, and I expect Wolf to win the contest if by an uncomfortably close margin.

A close-run thing, as the Duke of Wellington said.

Conservatives are supposedly returning home to the GOP, kicking, screaming and whining. Paul Weyrich captures it best:

“It’ll all come down to conservatives,” he said. “For a long time, I’ve heard nothing but ‘I’m not going to vote for these jerks.’ Now I’m hearing ‘Well, I suppose we’ll have to vote the jerks back in and see what we can do.’ “

I share the sentiment. I have always recognized that politics is frequently about the lesser of two evils. Still, “vote for us, because we are not quite as bad as our opponents” is not exactly inspiring.

Of course, experts say people are several times more motivated by fear than by prospect of gain, so maybe there is something to that strategy. Perhaps that explains why the Democrats have been critizing the Bush administration without offering any concrete, workable alternatives of their own on Iraq.

As I mentioned earlier I attended the debate among the candidates for the 10th Congressional District, sponsored by the League of Women Voters (of both Loudoun and Fairfax) on Tuesday, October 17th.

Usually, such debates are not particularly good for analyzing detailed policy positions. Candidates generally stick to talking points without specifics. However, such occasions are somewhat useful for evaluating how candidates look, sound and “feel” to audiences. Since Congressman Wolf is well-known to his constituents, the onus was on Judy Feder, the Democrat challenger, to make an impression.

First the incumbent: Congressman Frank Wolf (R-VA) is surely an experienced campaigner and speaker, but he struck me — visually — as seemingly defensive and somewhat stodgy. There was a palpable lack of energy on his part (with one exception — more on that below). He appeared to be almost irritated, perhaps even distressed to be at the debate.

In response to most questions, he rattled off what legislations and commissions he sponsored and how much money he brought to the district. These are surely noteworthy achievements, but I wish he had spoken more forcefully about his principles and political views and contrasted them sharply with Judy Feder, rather than sounding like a bureaucrat ticking off checklists of “have done’s.”

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I was at the debate among Congressman Wolf (R-VA), his Democrat challenger, Judy Feder, and two other less known candidates last night. I’ll write my impressions of the debate and of the contestants a little later. Please stay tuned.

As many Virginia conservatives know, one of our most urgent objectives today is to keep the Organized Left from winning control of the U. S. House of Representatives.

But when our own Tenth District incumbent Frank Wolf develops chronic tin ear, it puts conservatives in a hard place.

On the one hand, Wolf-challenger Judy Feder would be a consistent and diligent advocate of big and intrusive government.

Whatever expansive government schemes Mr. Wolf might flirt with and nurture, we can be sure that Mrs. Feder would proceed in lock step with the House Democratic Caucus, systematically to rein in both our enterprise and our liberties.

On the other hand, conservatives must have the forebearance of a saint in coming to terms with Mr. Wolf’s unrevealed earmarks and his apparent indifference to our property rights.

A just-released Congressional scorecard under the auspices of the American Land Rights Association gives Mr. Wolf only a 68 per cent rating - - - compared with 100 per cent ratings for four other Virginia U. S. Representatives (Eric Cantor, Thelma Drake, Virgil Goode, and Bob Goodlatte).

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The Good: Last week, all sorts and conditions of Virginia House Republicans came together to support the Federal Election Integrity Act, H.R. 4844, requiring photo-identification to vote in Federal elections and proof of citizenship to register for Federal elections.

And, as a bonus to fiscal conservatives, Virginia Representative Eric Cantor teamed up with Indiana Representative Mike Pence to offer legislation, H.R. 6057, eliminating the capital gains tax on inflation. Some tax authorities argue that the Administration could do this by executive order. (Full disclosure: your correspondent was one of 20 signers of a coalition letter to Congress urging an end to taxing inflation on capital gains.) The Club for Growth has made H. R. 6057 a priority. That pro-growth voice reports 67 co-sponsors of the measure last evening.

The Bad: In a time of porous U.S. borders, one would think members of all parties would be eager to secure the US voting system. Lamentably, Virginia U.S. Representatives Robert Scott, Rick Boucher, and James Moran voted not to do so.

And Tenth District challenger for the U.S. House Judy Feder crows:

People in this district—indeed, all across Virginia and across America—are desperate for change and accountability in Washington, DC.”

But apparently that promised accountability does not extend to explaining where she stands on securing our voting system. NoVaPolitics asked Ms. Feder for her views on the Federal Election Integrity Act. She failed to respond.

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Some Democrats are apparently hopeful that Northern Virginia is becoming more “creative class,” which supposedly translates to more votes for the political Left:

But there is a third, critical factor working against the Republicans that is unique to Northern Virginia, and that is the marked demographic shift in the region credited with providing Democratic Gov. Tim Kaine with almost his entire margin of victory in his statewide gubernatorial race last November.

Not only did Kaine carry all areas of the region, including the more outlying Loudoun and Prince William counties, but Democrats

The results were, in part, attributed to the rise of the high tech, government contracts industry in the region, creating the fastest-growing job creation numbers in the nation in the last three years. While the boom is the result of the Bush administration’s war on terror and related initiatives, it is ironically adding to a voter base in the region that overall is anything but supportive of Bush and especially conservative GOP politicians.

This “new demographic” corresponds to what George Mason University’s Dr. Richard Florida calls the “Creative Class,” composed of well-educated, pragmatic, younger scientifically-based folk ranging from engineers to artisans who are critical thinkers and, above all, believe in fairness and equal justice.

Gee, apparently “better looking,” “taller,” “thinner,” “healthier,” “more stylish” and “affluent” were left out. This is a set of ridiculously subjective (or dare I say, unscientific) descriptives smashed together to make the Left’s ideal vision of itself look hip and noble at the same time.

Nonetheless, I will go along with at least this much: Northern Virginia’s demographics have changed substantially in the last several years, as can be expected given the enormous population and job growth, particularly in the exurban (as opposed to closer-in D.C. suburban) parts of the region. And, indeed, this shift will pose challenges to both Republican and Democrat incumbents and their entrenched powerbrokers.

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