bizarre George Allen "macaca" incident

[Virginian87]

I was at the Webb campaign office when I heard about this, so of course many of our minority campaign workers were outraged.  The person he called a "macaca" was S.R. Sidarth, a University of Virginia student who was videotaping Allen's statements for the Webb campaign.  It wasn't just the comment that Allen made that made this act in bad taste.  It was because he was speaking to an all-white audience in a backwoods town (Breaks, Va.) and purposely singled Sidarth out because of his minority status and ridiculed him for working with Webb.  He said, "Lets give a welcome to Macaca, here. Welcome to America and the real world of Virginia." 

The comment was totally uncalled for, and it also shows how much of an idiot George Allen can be at times.  Unfortunately, depending on how the media covers this incident, it's not likely to affect Allen's lead by much.

[Virginian87]

It seems it has gotten a lot of coverage.  Hannity and Colmes is showing the clip.  I think George Allen is stupid, racist, hateful and incompetent to serve in the US Senate - he deserves to lose for this remark alone and its sad that what many suspect is true; racism hasn't really gone away in America.

Do you know what other politicians are saying behind minority groups backs? No, neither do I, so I wouldn't go off just condemning one man for an insult (against a UVA student of all things ). How many of those rich folks either Republican or Democrat want to deal with lowly blacks, blue collar whites are any group they aren't "as good as them"?

I'm sorry States, but I find that statement to be ridiculous.  I believe that some, repeat some, minority-rights groups go too far (especially whenever any African American groups praise Black Panther and Malcolm X-style rhetoric), but that doesn't mean that rich politicians (like Allen) don't want to deal with them. 

Furthermore, I don't see how your argument is valid since you included "blue collar whites" as a group that rich politicians don't want to deal with.  When Allen made these remarks, he was in Breaks, Va., a small town literally tucked away in the mountains by the Kentucky border.  The small group of Virginians that Allen was speaking to was decidedly working class and white.  In fact, this area of Virginia has been hit hardest economically in recent decades.  It really makes no sense why these people would possibly support Allen, even if you take the gun issue into account, since Webb is an ardent advocate of 2nd Amendment rights.  But I'll leave that to those voters to decide.

And come on, let's leave the UVA-VPI football rivalry out of this.

[Virginian87]

I was at the Webb campaign office when I heard about this, so of course many of our minority campaign workers were outraged.

Thanks for volunteering, bro. Webb is a helluva candidate. I like him a lot.

Thank you, and I agree fully that Webb is a fantastic candidate for Virginia.  Unfortunately, Allen has nearly twelve times as much cash on hand.  I'm hoping this incident will snowball (it was on the front page of the Washington Post and Richmond Times-Dispatch) so maybe Webb can get a chance to pull up with his opponent. 

An interesting sidenote is that here in the Webb campaign it's become popular to bring out George Allen's hitherto little-known middle name.  Almost every public announcement or campaign message refers to Webb's opponent as George Felix Allen.

[Virginian87]

What does the term "macaca" actually mean? A shady definition like "a french ethnic slur" isn't good enough for me.

It's a Belgian/French ethnic slur for people of dark-skinned North African descent.  Allen probably heard the word from his mother, who is an immigrant from French colonial Tunisia (she is of French descent).  What's funny is that Sidarth (I've actually met this guy) isn't even North African at all, but Indian instead.

[Virginian87]

Well, if the latest Rasmussen poll is any indication, then this incident is great news for the Webb campaign.  After Labor Day, expect to see the race get much closer as Webb barnstorms the state.  He'll be in Norfolk later this month, and then the Eastern Shore before hitting a few stops in Richmond and Fredericksburg in September.  Hopefully the DSCC will realize the error of their ways and start pumping money into this race.  More than any other state, Virginia has the chance to become the Democrats' sixth Senate pickup.