Webb actually got a lot of grief over the FISA vote and a few other votes where he went against the netroots position. On the other hand, he gets a certain amount of credit for being on the right side of the infamous Iran vote, for his bill to give our troops the R&R time they deserve, and similar items.
One of the things I dislike about certain quarters of the netroots is the refusal to evaluate individuals on their whole body of work. I'm sure you know what I'm talking about; you can have the progressive resume of a Russ Feingold, but cast one "bad" vote and commentors start ranting about finding a primary opponent for you.
So if Webb isn't getting as much grief over that bad vote as he could, I'm fine with that, because it exemplifies a healthier attitude in the long run. He's certainly voting a lot better than George Allen would, and no other Democrat was winning that seat for us this cycle.
... we'll never pass a single progressive bill if we give our elected Democrats a pass for voting against us 50% of the time.
every elected Democrat should always live in fear of a progressive primary. it does wonders for their voting records - just look at Al Wynn, proud co-sponsor of Kucinich's impeach Cheney bill, H. Res. 333 http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z? d110:HE00333:@@@P
But can't we stipulate that there's a big difference between Al Wynn and Russ Feingold?
but Feingold needs to be smacked occasionally just like the others - remember he was the deciding vote that let John Ashcroft's AG nomination out of the Judiciary Committee in 2001, because Ashcroft once gave him a ride home in the rain.
Of course he is voting better than George Allen would have, that goes without saying. I was referring specifically to his netroots appeal, which is a bit odd, considering his stances on FISA and also non-progressive stances on several progressive domestic issues.
