Jim Webb Defends Content of His Novels

[Catchawave]

Jim Webb Defends Content of His Novels
Oct 27th - 10:45am

WASHINGTON - Jim Webb says Sen. George Allen is trying to "affect the woman's vote" by targeting the graphic portions of novels he's written.
"This is a Karl Rove campaign," Webb said on Washington Post Radio's The Politics Program with WTOP's Mark Plotkin. "The Karl Rove campaigns are always divisive. They go after character assassination. They try to drive wedges among people on various issues."

Several conservative web sites, including The Drudge Report, have pointed out several sexually graphic excerpts found in some of the Virginia Senate candidate's novels, including "Lost Soldiers." The sites are raising concerns about Webb's own character and his attitude toward women. The information on the sites comes from a news release provided by Allen's campaign.

Webb defends his fiction, saying the novels illuminate cultures about which people may not be aware.

"If you want to show them how the world lives, you have to step forward and do this," he said.

"People should read my novels. A lot of the military novels are male novels," he says. "There are strong female characters in my novels."

Webb did take issue with Plotkin reading parts of one of his novels on the air, saying that doing so wasn't appropriate and that people choose to read his books.

http://www.wtopnews.com/?nid=25&sid=956260#

[blitzen]

1. better account of Webb's response here:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=364x2495313

[Catchawave]

4. A little too much info from a rw source?

I see they found some "cultural" experts to question the age of the child in the novel :shrug:

[blitzen]

5. yeah, but it includes Webb's remark that he actually saw such

a thing happen, as well as his good explanation that is not about sex but about illuminating cultural difference

[Sensitivity]

2. Only response that matters is big MONEY to create effective counter-attacks

Allen really needs to be ridiculed for the Rovian slimy tactics
he is using. Takes creativity and mucho bucks.

[KoKo]

3. It's not just the novels...

it's his three marriages waiting to come out. Macaca has had two. Of the two candidates...at least Webb has a brain and if one had to choose between the two...there's no doubt that Webb is the better candidate. His views on women should be open to question given the three marriages and some of the snips from his books that don't have to do with Vietnamese customs. A woman slicing a banana four ways with her vagina...and another sitting on the toilet eating chocolate while counting rosary beads might seem funny to a bunch of guys...(which is who he says he wrote the books for) but having that out there is kind of a turn off for some of us.

Webb's an intelligent candidate with excellent government and military experience. Macaca is a nobody put up by the Conservative Right. But BOTH Webb and Macaca's views on women might be something I would question if that was the ONLY issue that was at stake here. We are talking about having to sacrifice what might be Webb's views on women because overall he's just the superior candidate. Just saying...

[robcon]

6. Note to Webb: the "world doesn't live" this way...

The idea of spitting a banana with a vagina is a sicko thought, not the way the world lives.

I HATE what Webb has written. It doesn't make him a bad person, but I think it makes him unelectable in Virginia. I think there are a lot of working class women who will take offense at his portrayal of women.

[cali]

9. And I hate, and I mean really, really hate

ignorant posts like yours. Do you have any idea how many great works of literature have disturbing themes of sexuality, or reflect cultures vastly different from ours, or portray violence? Ever read the "Tim Drum"? How about "The Cement Garden?". You absolutely cannot judge a book by a few passages taken out of context.

[underpants]

7. You mean it was literature?

It isn't real? It is character development?

Amazing.

[mhatrw]

8. Republican Porn

http://www.newyorker.com/talk/content/articles/051107ta_talk_collins