Allen: from both sides now

Local, National, Politics, Virginia 1 Minute

From The Shad Plank:

Sen. George Allen must be looking for a friend about now.

After a couple of weeks of issuing apologies for the now-infamous “macaca” incident, Allen today gets taken to the woodshed by one of his own — the conservative magazine National Review, which in its online version today accuses the senator of “some serious race-pandering.”

And from the National Review article linked above:

Apparently Senator Allen has decided—perhaps after consulting with Senator Lott—to make up for his macaca moment by doing some serious race-pandering, according to a news account of a speech he gave today at Hampton University.

[…]

Now, Webb is wrong to have backed off from his categorical opposition to racial preferences, but even his current position is less “outrageous” than Allen’s, if Allen thinks that African Americans AND Latinos AND Native Americans are all entitled to preferences (as his science infrastructure bill suggests).

Ouch. Any wonder why Allen is having such a hard time in the polls?

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14 thoughts on “Allen: from both sides now”

  1. I understand that Allen is to be presented with Thurgood Marshall Award for his apparent support of historically black colleges. Do you think this will give Allen any bump in the polls? Do you think it will help mend his image? No doubt it will be marketed that way by his campaign, but I wonder how geniune it will appear.
    I think I’ve heard that the NAACP is coming out against Allen receiving the award. I wonder if the event on Sept. 7th at the press club will be protested.

  2. A bump? No. Mend his image? Hardly. Not with folks like the National Review banging on him for pandering.

    Raising Kaine has all the info on the award, including some background on the ties of Republicans to the Thurgood Marshall Scholarship Foundation.

  3. Conrad Burns is a pretty good friend.

    Asked “Conrad, how can you live back there with all those niggers?” in DC, he responded, “It’s a hell of a challenge.”

    Then Sen. Felix Allen Macaca gave him a high-five and probably said they should go after all those women. Women are dangerous.
    wonderful guys right?

    http://www.dscc.org/news/roundup/20051026_burns/

    And This Guy George Allen want to be the President of the USA!! What a joke.

  4. I think that the Webb campaign is in terrible shape to use an idiotic campaign to make an issue out of the election. If anyone has had a chance to read the paper this morning you will see my opinion of the Allen-Webb race.

    Now, Mr Webb has done the “race pandering” with his flyer in the Miller campaign and his statement against affirmative action. i feel that Allen will not be hurt too bad. This state went to Bush in 2000 by 11 points and 8 in 04…. It’s also one of the most conservative, if not the most conservative on the Eastern coast. The last Democrat to win a national race here was Lyndon Johnson. Now, not too long ago we had a staunch segragationist as our senator, Harry Byrd.

    Webb is overplaying his hand, besides that Allen has a superior team with Dick Wadhams managing his campaign. As a professed conservative Democrat, I am turned off by Mr. Webb’s campaign and is analogous to John Kerry’s 04 campaign. That’s discouraging. I wish that this campaign could be about constructive ideas and a vision for the future.

  6. Eric – are you the same person who worked on Sherry Battle’s campaign? And is it true that you were affliated with the Harris Miller campaign?

  8. Well I just heard that Allen is declining the award. I guess it would have just kept the story(s) he’d rather not have publicized any longer alive.

  10. “it has come to my attention that there are some during this election year who plan to exploit my selection”
    He just still doesn’t get it that it was his actions that led to this.

  11. Well vivian, I wasn’t “affiliated” with either campaign. I know Sherry and I liked Harris Miller and I was getting disgusted with the Democratic party, I like to get involved. I never actually worked for her campaign but she was a friend of mine. I used to be a Dem until I saw the establishment running everything. I am a conservative Democrat and I feel that there is no place for them anymore. I like someone who comes out and says what they mean. And both campaigns were discouraging from point of view.

  12. Eric – such statements as “the establishment running everything” are pretty broad. Care to be more specific?

    And considering how conservative Virginia Democrats are, I’m having some difficulty understanding why you think “there is no place for them anymore.” Heck, Webb was a Republican!

    I guess the only thing more conservative than a conservative Democrat is a Republican.

  13. I only dabbled in the Miller campaign. I also worked the Bush 2004 and Warner 2002 campaigns and much more extensively. I considered supporting Webb but I didn’t like him being so vague on Iraq and security. I just see the Dems as being weak on national security, immigration, and core values (flag burning etc). The past few years I have seen some really outrageous stuff from them. The downfall of the Democrats nearly happened in 2004. They seem to be diverging toward the McGovern wing of the party. I feel George Allen is closer to my views on lower taxes, restrictions on abortions, welfare reform, and the less government the better. I am also convinced that Jim Webb will be another tax-and-spender. Webb advocates increased funding for education, heath care, and more roads. Mr Webb forget to tell us where he’s getting the money. I think that people who earn more should get to keep more; why should success be penalized? This campaign needs to be about taxes. Webb takes the same the positions as Allen on foreign policy and immigration. The only difference is in taxing people in which Webb and Kaine are ready to do.

  14. I’m sorry – did you say “conservative Democrat”? So far, everything you have written have been Republican sound bites. Honestly – Webb on roads? I’d like a link on that one 🙂

    Oh – and this is not a trick question – but which president ushered in welfare reform?

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