Letters to the Editor
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Salon Gives Allen Too Much Credit
To call Allen a "front-runner for the 2008 Republican presidential nomination" two years out means next to nothing. He was not well-known outside the DC/Virgina region until his Macaca moment, and even if he did mount a campaign people would have seen him for the racist bully he is fairly quickly.
Still, it's always nice to watch someone like that crash and burn the way he did.
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Allen was a frontrunner...
Allen may have lacked McCain or Guiliani"s name recognition, but he was the darling of the Right Wing political insider establishment. He had the religious code words. He'd run a homophobic race for governor 10 years ago. He'd convinced people to vote for him because his Daddy coached the Deadkins (what non-native DCers call the local, somewhat phony football team that considers the thoroughly phony Dallas "America's Team" Cowboys its main rival). He'd been a lackluster governor who foisted deficits off on his successor. Allen had a certain cunning. but like a good many recent Virginia Seanators (Robb & Warner, in particular), he was basically ineffective, with the added bonus of being somewhat dumb and very lazy as a legislator. In otherwords, he was the second coming of W. The "Macaca" moment set in motion an examination of this empty suit that the local media (e.g., Washington Post) had managed to avoid through multiple election cycles as Allen moved to the statehouse and then the Senate.
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Enjoyed, because I agreed with, the article and 1st 2 letters...
I scour the net constantly for information. I try to filter out biases and non-facts, etc. I am a liberal. The things I read in this article are encouraging. I am not very couth nor glib but I want to state that the view that things 'may' be swinging toward the idea of real and candid personal comments, real personal situations (uncensored and unfiltered) deciding elections instead of manufactured moments (propoganda) is fascinating. This isn't a new idea but as the article points out it is much more likely to happen in this age. And what could be better, in the bitter end, than for 'real' views to decide things? And real voters deciding thier vote based on those views? And I know the bad and good goes to both sides, for all of us. I hope all our 'leaders' can stand the test.
behind the curtain, after all, at last...oz
(just dreaming)
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Uh, Mike...
Call me crazy, but ol' Sid didn't really do jack crap. Last time I checked, having a racial slur thrown at you doesn't mean you're a hero.
This is ridiculous anyway. I saw the video, and Allen doesn't even say "macaca". It's more like "mecaycay" or something stupid. I can't believe anyone (i.e., democrats, liberals, and the like) would stoop so low as to exploit a nonsense word that just so happened to sound similar to a racial slur used on the other side of the world. Question to ponder (be careful, THIS MAY BLOW YOUR MINDS): if Allen really knew what "macaca" meant, would he really have said it? IT'S POLITICAL SUICIDE. Allen's dumb, but he's not that dumb. That would be the political equivalent of calling a black reporter the n-word. Politicians just don't do that; they're politicians, and Allen is quite the experienced politician.
Seriously people, think it through. Alot of Americans have that problem nowadays; they don't like to think things through (that's why Salon is so mildly successful!). It's not that hard. I'm 19. If I can do it, I'm sure you older, more experienced people can too!
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Sorry, Richard...
George Allen is that dumb. I've met him. One of the porch lights ain't on.
What happened to him was that looking out upon a sea of friendly white farmin' faces, he was just overcome with Walton-y waves of fantasy, for the other life he'd come to wish he'd lived, back when white boys really ran things, when a swagger and a bully fist just got you the fear of your peers and the respect of your daddy, a crowd full of fathers, strong farming fathers, a lot of them, who might have subconsciously reminded him of his tough screaming daddy who was never home and never cared...and ol' George would've said anything, just anything, to form some bond with them.
That sort of "let's pick on that different guy, over there" is just the oldest male bonding response in the book.
In high school it wouldn't even be noticed.
Poor George.
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"Macaca and Ching Chong"
Thank god we've already established that the 'n' word is unacceptable. It seems like we might need to go race by race to eradicate outdated stereotypes and slurs, completely unfit for the 21st century.
I'm not a 20-year old idealistic college kid - but I'd like to think we've at least begun this purging from our vocabulary. Looks like it'll take a while - especially when we still have high-profile people like Rosie O'Donnell, not only giving half-assed apologies for mimicking a would-be Chinese reporter using the words "Ching Chong" but then letting the world know how acceptable this kind of thing still is to her by stating that it will happen again because "that's just her." She wouldn't dare to say that if she were talking about the 'n' word because that one's out. And now, so is "macaca."
It's a slow road, but by golly, we're on our way.
Thanks Sidarth for your footage and your voice.
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Congratulations...
to Sidarth for helping make history....
and to Salon for the fine choice to honor Mr Sidarth.
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he's got a great story to tell
In September 1998, Tom Vilsack was 19 points behind the Republican candidate for governor, Jim Ross Lightfoot. Then Lightfoot appeared at a political event at Temple B'nai Jeshurun in Des Moines. He made gaffe after gaffe in front of this audience. The number of voters swayed was minimal (Jews vote heavily Democratic in Des Moines, as everywhere), but the press was there and the statements showed Lightfoot's most unflattering side. Vilsack, appearing before the same audience that day, was poised and articulate.
Vilsack gained steadily on Lightfoot for six weeks and became the first Democrat to win an Iowan gubernatorial election in 30 years.
Some of my fellow congregants at Temple B'nai Jeshurun still like to brag about how our event turned the tide against Lightfoot in 1998. They drag out the stories about Lightfoot's idiotic comments (e.g. advocating prayer in public schools if the overwhelming majority in a community shares one religion) and laugh.
Days after the macaca news broke, I thought to myself that if Allen loses, S.R. Sidarth is going to savor telling his story again and again over the decades.
Great choice for person of the year, Salon.