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Webb Spends His Capital Wisely

A week or so ago I mentioned that I pay attention to where politicians are willing to spend political capital, not just what their stated policy positions are. By this metric, Jim Webb just jumped a ton of positions in the Senatorial Badass Rankings. To take a pro-prison-reform stance that can be caricatured easily by law and order demagogues is quite impressive, especially when there’s no readily apparent political payoff. Seeing a freshman senator like Webb take political risks in this manner means I’m much more likely to give him the benefit of the doubt the next time he takes a stance I disagree with.