RICHMOND, Va., Sept. 29, 2006
Guess Who's Mad At George Allen Now?
Confederate Group Slams Va. Senator For Demeaning Rebel Flag
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The Battle In Virginia
Virginia Senator George Allen looked set to be reelected this fall, until a series of high-profile gaffes narrowed the gap for his Democratic challenger. Joie Chen reports from Alexandria.
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Sen. George Allen (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)
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On Thursday, the furor came full circle when the Sons of Confederate Veterans turned on Allen.
The organization criticized the Republican for saying he had been slow to grasp the pain that Old South symbols like the Confederate flag cause black people.
"The denunciation of the flag to score political points is anathema to our organization," Brag Bowling, immediate past state commander of the SCV, told reporters near the state Capitol, once the Confederacy's seat of government.
Allen campaign manager Dick Wadhams said Allen stands by his comments.
What had been a warm-up race for a 2008 presidential bid has become the fight of Allen's political life. He had been a strong favorite over Democrat Jim Webb, a decorated combat veteran who once served as President Reagan's Navy secretary.
"Before the Macaca incident, this race was over. George Allen had a 16-point lead in the polls and had a huge financial advantage over his opponent, who had no money. In one moment, he took a race that was essentially won and turned it competitive overnight," said Robert D. Holsworth, a political science professor at Virginia Commonwealth University.
Since Aug. 11, when Allen singled out Webb campaign volunteer S.R. Sidarth at a mostly white rally and called him "macaca" — a term considered by some to be a racial slur — the senator has been beset by damaging claims from his past. Allen's campaign gave conflicting accounts of how he came up with the word.
College-era acquaintances then claimed he used a common racial slur for blacks. Stories about how the Confederate flag he kept in his home and a hangman's noose in his law office have gained new currency. At a debate, Allen was startled and irritated by a question about whether his grandfather was Jewish, then confirmed it a day later.
Allen now has even Republicans publicly questioning what has gone wrong with a candidate known for disciplined, surefooted campaigns in two convincing statewide triumphs the past 13 years.
"Allen's mistake is he's taken his re-election for granted and he's been getting his nice presidential team together," conservative commentator Bay Buchanan said last week on CNN.
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Unfortunately, you are unintentionally ironic in accusing Democrats of the tired tactics of the Republican 'right,' the same smear and fear playbook employed by the GOP.
Oh yeah, I almost forgot - that and its all Clinton's fault!
Pathetic.
The troubling thing about Allen is that, while many of us strive to embrace other ethnicities and overcome our personal bias, he appears to have not changed his views at all since then. His 'macaca' comment shows that this otherwise polished politician still harbors racists beliefs that are bubbling just below the surface.
This isn't about political affiliation. It's about a man whose core beliefs directly contradict his obligations to his constituents.
For Liberals, the end justifies any means.
The Democratic Party was vehemently opposed to freeing black slaves, and the Klu Klux Klan was made up primarily of these southern Democrats.
This story is really funny! Its just so much fun when the Radical Right snipes its own kind for a change.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9DGPbLl4V6g
Good for him that, now he finds out his Jews roots, he's been forced to run away from his bigoted past, and from the kind of associates who may want to lynch his Jewish behind just as they would Blacks. LOL.
According to biblical myth, Allen's awakening would be like that of the biblical Saul who got awakened to Paul after persecuting his own kind for some time. LOL
The South lost the d*** war years ago, and the veterans and all southern groups should get a life, get on with it and get over it. As to his past language usage, again so what! Who of us is perfect in what we thought or said in the past?
Time to move on.....
You stupid liberal. Keep posting your propaganda, you worthless pile of garbage.
Not content, the Democrats then ask him why he's hiding his Jewish past. Then they trick Sen. Allen into denying a Jewish past. Then they trick him into admitting it.
*** Democrats. So devious. But they aren't done yet.
Then the Democracts have the gall to bring up his history of racism, as if his character were an issue! I mean, he's only running for Senator, not Pope. Does he have to be honest or non-racist? Of course not. He's a Republican. Why, if he were in the House he could have concealed the most recent paedophile *** scandal quite facilely, along with the rest of the Republican leadership. Way to go, Hastert! Protect those paedophiles to keep the Republican majority.
Leadership. Yes. That's what we need. Not some devious Democrats, duping us all into believing that Sen. Allen really mean what he said, when he said it.
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by plangloss2
October 1, 2006 3:33 AM PDT
- Isn't it great that we have two Jewish cowboys running for public office. Kinky Freidman and
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Reply to this comment
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See all 26 CommentsGeorge Allen. Only difference is that Kinky is
running as a Jewish cowboy, and George Allen just as an cowboy. Shame that only Allen has a chance of winning.