I feel sorry for Sen. George Allen (R-VA). He is running for re-election and I think he has a lot of potential as a presidential candidate . . . I've always thought he had "Charisma" which has become nigh unto essential on the national level.
But he is in the news today because of an off-handed remark that is being twisted to appear nativist or racist or just plain ol' mean-spirited.
He is being trailed at every campaign appearance--even to the boondockish towns and hamlets of the state, by an operative for his opponent. The operative happens to be dark-complected as he has Indian heritage, and Allen pointed him out at a rally with comments that are being spun as nativist (and I have to admit, out of context they sound that way). You need to read the whole article, but you know being trailed and constantly recorded would get annoying. And of course a freak dressing operative would acquire a nickname in the campaign. And you know it would be hard not to mock a lone operative for "crashing" every event you hosted . . . and you still have to control your tongue in a campaign. I think this is the downside of the folksy charm and swagger that generally accompanies "Charisma."
Here's a good report about it . . . be sure and read the whole thing.
UPDATE: Here's actual footage of the alleged racial/nativist/mean statement by Sen. George Allen. It is even more obvious after watching it that Allen is calling out the campaign tracker's boss for being out of touch with real Virginians. The tracker is following them around; they're going all over Virginia; places that Allen's opponent won't go; his opponent is from inside the Beltway and is currently at a fundraiser in Hollywood; the tracker should show the tapes to his boss to let him know what real Virginia is like, etc. Watch it yourself. What a non-scandal.
Hello world!
7 years ago
3 comments:
Gosh Ned, I never thought of it that way. Poor Allen, he was forced to make a racist comment by all the pressure of being followed with a camcorder when he went to events open to the public. Golly Gee...the Webb campaign ought to be ashamed of themselves for keeping poor Allen on his toes, to make sure he doesn't flip-flop.
Just out of curiosity, why did poor George Allen, the misunderstood Senator, call the evil camera man Macaca? Does he call all camera men macaca? Or is that some funny slang word you guys use for Democratic Cameramen in private?
Well, of course you don't feel sorry for Allen--you presumed he was a racist, bigoted, mean-spirited blahblahblah the moment you knew that he was a registered Republican.
But to prove your hypothesis, you've got to establish (a) that he knew what the word meant and (b) used it against someone while staring down the barrel of a video camera. Get to work, Sean, I'm open to persuasion.
Ned,
So if a guy goes up and calls a black person a "porch monkey", the burden of proof would be on me to prove he knew that "porch monkey" was a racist term? Great logic Ned.
At best, George Allen called this guy a monkey. Maybe thats a term of respect for him, I dunno. But is it your presumption that he just made up the term "macaca" off the top of his head? Just strung a couple vowels and syllables together, and poof! happened upon a word that is considered a racial slur?
I don't assume Republicans are racist, but Confederate Flag loving yokels like George Allen...yeah, its safe to say I assumed he was. This recent event was just the clincher. Perhaps next time Allen will stick to more common Republican lables like "Liberal" or "America Hater".
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