BlackFive

I was one of Webb's supporters in his run for the Senate, but I must admit that I now must seriously question the judgment either of him or of a member of his staff.  I am of course speaking of this incident:

Sen. Jim Webb, facing a barrage of questions about the arrest of an aide who tried to take a loaded handgun into a Senate office building, said Tuesday that the move was "inadvertent."

At a news conference, Mr. Webb, D-Va., denied reports that he had given the weapon to his aide, but he otherwise deflected questions from a crush of reporters seeking answers about the specifics of the case, and instead used the opportunity to declare his right to bear arms and "defend myself and my family."

The aide, Phillip Thompson, 45, was arrested Monday morning when he put a bag with a 9mm handgun and two clips of ammunition into the X-ray machine at the entrance to the Russell Senate Office Building, where Mr. Webb's office is located. Mr. Thompson, whom Mr. Webb described as a "longtime friend and fine individual," pleaded not guilty to felony gun charges on Tuesday and was released on his own recognizance.

My concern isn't so much Captain Ed's:  why Webb is apparently hanging a longtime friend and fellow former Marine out to dry.  I have a more basic concern in mind.

One or another of these gentlemen has directly violated Rule 24.  Violating the law in D.C., that's one thing -- it's a bad law and one might argue, at least in some circumstances, that breaking it is a show of good judgment. 

There can be no such justification for violating the Rules.  Learn it, live it, love it.