Senator Jim Webb has one last mission in the Senate:
Webb announced this week that he had reintroduced the National Criminal Justice Commission Act to create a panel to review the system and make reform recommendations. He noted that the measure had bipartisan support last year, clearing the Senate Judiciary Committee and passing the full House of Representatives.
The senator's announcement Wednesday that he would not seek re-election set off a scramble among Democrats to field a candidate who could hold the seat for the party in 2012. Many Democrats hope to recruit former Virginia Gov. Tim Kaine, chairman of the Democratic National Committee, to run. The move could further imperil Democrats' hopes of maintaining their narrow Senate majority.
With a Republican majority in the House, this will test is how far the reformist instinct has penetrated the Republican Party, and how many elected Republicans are still operating on "tough on crime" ideological autopilot.
