I was wrong, Allen's Dad was coach for Washington Redskins, not UVa football team.

oops

Please, enlighten me: What does James Webb stand for, exactly? Because I asked and asked and asked my friends who were supporting him, and all they could say was "He's not Allen, he's not great but he's better than Allen, he can defeat Allen."

I get that he's a distinguished Vietnam combat vet (so was one of my friends who was wavering between Webb and Miller--he's a Vietnam vet and gay too, I guess that renders him one of those "fringe elements" too). Well, John Kerry was a distinguished Vietnam combat vet. How far'd that get him? You err in assuming that a person can win a political campaign based on what he is, rather than what he stands for. And also, that courage on the battlefield equates to political courage in Washington. You think a fellow Vietnam vet won't sell you out once he gets to Washington because he's "been there"? Think again.

Did you see the televised debate between Miller and Webb that aired in the Hampton Roads area? Miller ran circles around him. Miller had well-thought-out positions on virtually every issue that came up. Webb mostly stared at his combat boots.

I'm amenable to being talked into supporting Webb, but I'm still waiting for someone to explain to me what's so exciting about him as a candidate.

At the risk of sounding ignorant (yet again), is "macaca" commonly used as a racial slur in Virginia? I never heard it before and wonder if Allen's audience was familiar with the term. If I had seen the clip without benefit of explanation, I would have thought that that idiot was trying to be "funny" by giving the kid a weird-sounding name. I also think that the "Welcome to America" comment is quite offensive in and of itself.

1)"He ran a gas station down in St. Louis." (Regarding Gandhi)

OR

2)“You cannot go to a 7-Eleven or a Dunkin Donuts unless you have a slight Indian accent ... I’m not joking.”

OR

3)"There are white niggers. I've seen a lot of white niggers in my time. I'm going to use that word."

OR

4) “You think the Republicans could get this many people of color in a single room? Only if they had the hotel staff in here.”

1)Hillary Clinton

2)Joe Biden

3)Robert Byrd

4)Howard Dean

>>At the risk of sounding ignorant (yet again), is "macaca" commonly used as a racial slur in Virginia? I never heard it before and wonder if Allen's audience was familiar with the term.>>

Just like a lot of derogetory terms, I don't know what they mean, but when I hear someone use it, it's clear they mean to be insulting.

I'm still waiting for you to explain to the rest of us why you think Jim Webb is a "homophobic mysogynist."

Of course, Allen's performance was snide and obnoxious. I was just curious if his audience understood the reference.

>>Of course, Allen's performance was snide and obnoxious. I was just curious if his audience understood the reference.>>

Yes, they understood the INTENTION. That's all that matters. Did they understand the etymological historic source of the word? Irrelevant. That's muddying the issue with nonissues to misdirect attention away from Allen's maliciousness.

It's absolutely true that the only way republikans get any people of color in a room with them is to hire them as menial labor. Have you watched the Allen ciip, dimbulb? None of the quotes, some unfortunate admittedly, are direct slurs or racist and condesceding. Like you. Now, back to Free Republik or Tush Fatblob, Drug Addict.

There's no need to pick a fight with someone who agrees with you.

I don't care if they thought he was talking about dancing the Macerena, it's not relevant to the issue.

My guess is my fellow Virginians to the southwest, like most of us, did not know the root source or current cultural meaning of the word before Allen enlightened us. But, again, they could dern well tell it was meant to single the young man out as an outsider.

If I answer your question about why Webb is homophobic and a mysogynist, will you tell me what he stands for as a candidate and why I should be excited about him?

Let me just take on the homophobia point first, rather than trying to write a magnum opus on the co-ed integration of the Navy in the 1980s as part of the same posting:

If you knew, as Jim Webb most likely knows (because there have been efforts to educate him), that the Don't Ask, Don't Tell policy has cost the taxpayers $363 million, that it has resulted in the loss of 11,000 highly skilled active duty servicemembers (including about 90 Arabic linguists), that it has contributed to sexual harassment of women (who are threatened with being tarred as "lesbians" if they report the harassment), that it has helped create an atmosphere of gay-baiting that in one instance led to a brutal murder in Ft. Campbell KY, undermines unit cohesion and morale by requiring servicemembers to lie about each other about who they're talking to and where they go on weekends, that every NATO member except Turkey allows gays to serve openly, that the Israeli, Canadian, Australian and British militaries have seen absolutely no impact on unit cohesion, military readiness or morale as a consequence of allowing gays to serve and be honest about their sexual orientation, that openly gay CIA agents, FBI agents, and a variety of defense contractors work along side our troops in Iraq with no impact on unit cohesion or morale, that Dick Cheney thought the gay ban was outdated way back in 1992 and is on record saying so, and yet still you think that "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" is a dandy idea and necessary because of the "close quarters" nature of military living, what conclusion should I draw but that you are homophobic?

Now, your turn. Tell me what's so great about Webb as a candidate. What does he stand for?