Shortly after Jim Webb announced his intention to form a 2016 exploratory committee, it appears the Clinton machine wasted little time in beginning an opposition research dump on the former Virginia Senator.
Report from USNews:
While they aren’t acknowledging Webb publicly, Clinton loyalists are keeping an eye on him privately. [Emphasis added] The week before Thanksgiving, staffers of Philippe Reines, Clinton’s longtime communications guru, pitched talk radio producers on the racy, sexually charged writings in Webb’s novels, according to a source. Webb was forced to fend off a similar attack in 2006, when Allen accused him of “demeaning women.”
Webb also has previously apologized for writing that a Naval Academy dorm was a “horny woman’s dream” in a 1979 Washingtonian magazine piece titled “Jim Webb: Women Can’t Fight.”
The piece’s central argument was against allowing women to take combat positions in the military. If Webb were to ever attain traction, Clinton’s allies would certainly lob the rhetoric back at him.
The entire article is worth a read if you’re looking for some background on Webb. These two paragraphs were buried but they’re worth noting since it could indicate that Hillary supporters see Webb’s potential candidacy as a threat and would like to toss cold water on the notion sooner rather than later.