Sen. George Allen (R-VA) is accused
By on Aug 14th, 2006 at 4:20 pm
Sen. George Allen (R-VA) is accused
of possibly calling a 20-year-old volunteer of Indian descent on his opponent’s campaign a “monkey” (macaca). “This fellow here over here with the yellow shirt, Macaca, or whatever his name is. He’s with my opponent. … Lets give a welcome to Macaca, here. Welcome to America and the real world of Virginia.” The volunteer, S.R. Sidarth, was born and raised in Virginia. (Video here.)
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Until it can be sorted out what Allen meant by Macaca, I don’t know what to say. At best maybe he just had the guys named confused? Possible, but still a little wierd.
August 14th, 2006 at 4:26 pmI can’t decide who’s the bigger blowhard and yet clueless, simpering twit at the same time; Frist or Allen? Both have less depth than your basic hotel lobby groupie.
August 14th, 2006 at 4:27 pmOh. My. God.
August 14th, 2006 at 4:27 pmF*&k Allen! and the winnegago he rode in on. If we continue to elect assh*les like this our country is doomed.
August 14th, 2006 at 4:28 pmHere’s the money quote of this encounter: In an interview, Sidarth said he suspects Allen singled him out because he was the only non-white face in the audience, which he estimated included about 100 Republican supporters.
August 14th, 2006 at 4:30 pmIt just gets funnier: (Allen campaign manager) Wadhams said Allen campaign staffers had begun calling Sidarth “mohawk” because of a haircut Wadhams said the Webb staffer has. “Macaca was just a variation of that,” Wadhams said. Who’s buying . . .anyone?
August 14th, 2006 at 4:33 pmthis guy is not just breathtakingly racist but stupid as well…he keeps on saying “this macaca’a opponent wont visit these towns and is meeting with hollywood moguls. WELL is mr Sirdath’s opponent actually George Allen ..himself…is he stupid confused or just both?
August 14th, 2006 at 4:40 pmThat’s No Mohawk
August 14th, 2006 at 4:43 pmhttp://www.raisingkaine.com/showDiary.do?diaryId=3917
Allen is a racist piece of @#$%
August 14th, 2006 at 4:43 pmGeorge Allen has a long history of racism. Check out his college days. Old habits seem hard to break. This one is very gross.
August 14th, 2006 at 4:44 pmGod what an idiotic explanation. “We nicknamed him Mohwak”….Is that because Tar Baby was already taken?
“Let’s welcome this brown skinned feller to America” because most browns skinned folks aint American, right George?
Hey George, break out the rebel flag and get your hood ready, the meeting is behind old man Johnson’s shed. Bring your ten foot cross and some gas too.
-GSD
August 14th, 2006 at 4:45 pmI really doubt it was just a misunderstanding. But that was definitely a cheap blow. A man that resorts to politically incorrect name calling has very little integrity, if any.
August 14th, 2006 at 4:48 pmGeorge Allen is a known racist and crazy too.
August 14th, 2006 at 4:48 pmHere is a liberal site denouncing him
http://www.brendan-nyhan.com/blog/2005/05/george_allens_h.html
Mohawk my ass! The only Mohawk around will be the one that Webb gives Allen in November.
August 14th, 2006 at 4:49 pmCheck out this dictionary of racial slurs.
Oh Georgie—–can I call you a cracker assed douchebag if I am white?
http://dictionary.laborlawtalk.com/ethnic_slur#M
-GSD
August 14th, 2006 at 4:52 pm“and the real world of Virginia.†???
August 14th, 2006 at 4:52 pmas opposed to what? …shows an amazing lack of tact…
OMG, what an idiot!
August 14th, 2006 at 4:53 pmA racist idiot.
To make matters even worse, the explanation given was as bad as the original comment.
Comments like this, were they made by a Democrat, would be headlined everywhere – how will the MSM handle Allen? Will they even print the story? Will they accept his lame excuses?
What a moron!
Oh wait, this is Bush’s party – they encourage morons.
unless there was a macaque featured in a ‘dukes of hazzard’ or ‘f troop’ episode, i’d bet that george allen had no idea what a macaque was when he made that comment.
August 14th, 2006 at 4:55 pmUntil it can be sorted out what Allen meant by Macaca, I don’t know what to say. At best maybe he just had the guys named confused? Possible, but still a little wierd.
Comment by Krazny — August 14, 2006 @ 4:26 pm
Well, he didnt call him AndhrÃmnir, Baldr, Borr, Bragi, Búri, Dagr, Delling, Forseti, Heimdall, Hermóðr, Höðr, HÅ“nir, Kvasir, Lóðurr, Loki, Móði and Magni, Óðr, Odin, RÃg, Thor, Tyr, Váli, Ve, Vidar, Vili, for example. He called him Macaca…or whatever his name is.
August 14th, 2006 at 4:57 pmThe key is for this story to get out into the MSM, onto such programs as Countdown. This should, hopefully make Olbermann’s top five stories. The MSM has to shine their light upon Allen’s racist behavior, otherwise he continues to skate on this issue. This should be George Allen’s version of Willie Horton, which should, theoretically, be enough to contribute to his downfall.
August 14th, 2006 at 4:57 pmSTUNNING!
August 14th, 2006 at 4:57 pmSad thing is it will play well with his base.
August 14th, 2006 at 4:59 pmYou guys remember what happened to Howard Cossell after his ‘monkey’ comment, and his was absolutely inncocent… he consistently referred to his kids, nieces, and nephews ‘little monkeys’.
Hopefully this will stick.
August 14th, 2006 at 5:01 pmWow. I know where that tracker is coming from, after doign some myself in NC, and all I can say is wow.
If I were the Webb camp I would have to make a campaign issue out of this. Ads, debates, and everything. Allen is a piece of low life political scum for this. (Not to mention other things)
What a slimeball.
August 14th, 2006 at 5:02 pmSadly, this sort of openly racist act will no doubt appeal to many of Allen’s supporters. After all, they’re Republicans!
August 14th, 2006 at 5:05 pmNice. “or wherever you’re from” and “welcome to the real world…of Virginia…”?
Virginians should be ashamed.
August 14th, 2006 at 5:07 pmNo one has ever accused Allen of having more than a single-digit IQ … or having the least bit of self-awareness of his own atavistic tendencies.
Cheers,
August 14th, 2006 at 5:11 pmAh, the Olde Dominion … part of the reason I moved from DC to NYC – I was far too close.
August 14th, 2006 at 5:15 pmMaybe he thought Sidarth looked like Paul McCartney and tried to call him Macca, but accidentally added another syllable.
August 14th, 2006 at 5:24 pm#20
I hereby nominate George Allen for Olbermann’s “Worst Person In The World”.
It appears that the Republicans are just suddenly discovering campaign “trackers”, which is interesting since they’ve been using them to video tape their opponents for years now. I don’t recall seeing Democrats get all freaked out over it, though.
I’m guessing that Mr. Sidarth never expected to get anything that juicy out of Allen. Thanks for the video, Georgie!
August 14th, 2006 at 5:36 pmAllen will probably win this race by 10 to 12 points, so Democrats really are wasting their time on it. Santorum is shaky. That would be a better place to put resources, than here.
It’s pretty obvious that Allen was referring to the Webb volunteer’s mohawk.
August 14th, 2006 at 5:37 pmGeorge Allen is one of the many, many republicats drunks in the senate. Check into his liquor bill why dont you.
He is also one of the more bigger elite assholes in the senate.
I wonder how he got out of bed long enought to make a campaign stop. AlkaSeltzer helps I guess.
August 14th, 2006 at 5:41 pmHmmmm. Guy with French North African mother uses French North African word for “n____r.”
I’m sure it’s just a coincidence.
Oh, btw: there was no mohawd. As if “macaca” could even be a variation on “mohawk.”
August 14th, 2006 at 5:43 pm.
How freakin stupid CAN YOU BE? The guy is holding a camera. What was he thinking?
I mean the only non white in the group… How do you get what he called him confused with S.R. Sidarth. That was intentional… PERIOD.
I can’t wait to hear the explanation for this one. Thats if the MSM picks it up…
August 14th, 2006 at 5:44 pmThis is a comment that is unforgiveable coming from anyone holding public office.
August 14th, 2006 at 5:52 pmMy guess is that George Allen will be wearing his Dixie Flag to his next Klan meeting.
August 14th, 2006 at 5:59 pmMy guess is that George Allen will be wearing his Dixie Flag to his next Klan meeting.
No, but Robert Byrd will be wearing his white hood at his.
August 14th, 2006 at 6:05 pmAs one poster just noted, the word that sounds like “macaca” is essentially the french colonialists’ equivalent of the “N” word in North Africa. Very blatant racism, when viewed in this context. Or maybe he meant to call him a “monkey,” or the color of “poo.” However this is construed, there is no escape. It is the netroots’ responsibility to emphasize Allen’s racism until the matter is addressed in mainstream, prime time news. He has abdicated his right to hold one of the top 100 positions of power in this country.
August 14th, 2006 at 6:19 pmSen. Joe Biden made insensitive stereotypical remarks to the Indian community, but I view them as ignorant and just plain stupid. It should be condemned. But Biden can be educated on this matter. Basically this is what he said according to some news reports:
“I’ve had a great relationship (with Indian Americans). In Delaware, the largest growth in population is Indian-Americans moving from India. You cannot go to a 7-Eleven or a Dunkin’ Donuts unless you have a slight Indian accent. I’m not joking,” Biden had said.
What Sen. Allen allegedly did was mocking an Indian person’s heritage. He was being deliberately racist and I’m assuming playing up to his white constituents. I’m sure the right wing nuts will say the liberal blogosphere only condemns Republicans on insensitive remarks.
I’ll counter that here. Yes Biden should be criticized and he should apologize if he hasn’t done so already. The difference is is Allen will likely not apologize for what he has apparently said. He’s probably proud he said it.
August 14th, 2006 at 6:25 pmDid ThinkProgress start a thread when Sen. Joe Biden said:
“You CANNOT go into a 7-11 or a Dunkin Donuts without an Indian accent.”
Posted at 08:23 AM
VIDEO HERE:
August 14th, 2006 at 6:26 pmhttp://www.realclearpolitics.com/blog/2006/07/political_video_of_the_day_6.html
“Look at that monkey run!”
or
“They were bred to be big!”
Yep. We got another racist catch phrase!
August 14th, 2006 at 6:27 pmVincennes…Biden did not apologize per se. He offered an explanation of his remarks:
Biden’s office said the senator admires, supports and respects the Indian-American community — and also sought to explain his gaffe.
“The point Sen. Biden was making is that there has been a vibrant Indian-American community in Delaware for decades. It has primarily been made up of engineers, scientists and physicians, but more recently, middle-class families are moving into Delaware and purchasing family-run small businesses,” said Margaret Aitken, a Biden spokeswoman.
“These families have greatly contributed to the vibrancy of the Indian-American community in Delaware and are making a significant contribution to the national economy as well,” she said.
Earlier Friday on MSNBC, Biden added, “It was meant as a compliment.”
Apparently at least one Indian group took a “No offense taken” attitude. Kind of refreshing actually…
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2006/07/07/politics/main1785303.shtml
August 14th, 2006 at 6:34 pmExley, do you condemn Allen’s obvious mocking of a person’s heritage?
August 14th, 2006 at 6:40 pmThe excuses that commenters are making for Allen are as ridiculous but not quite as racist as the original comments. Allen deliverately mocked, ridiculed and included racist comments to receive applause and laughter from the crowd. How sick. We are better than this as a nation and we should all be appalled.
August 14th, 2006 at 6:45 pmI am initially adopting Krazny’s wait-and-see attitude and the attitude taken by the U.S.-India Political Action Committee (USINPAC) during the Biden incident…I have never heard of “Macaca” used as an epithet, which is not to say that it isn’t. If it is determined that it is an epithet and that Allen knew that, then, of course, I would condemn it.
August 14th, 2006 at 6:46 pmSo now we have the usual Bush Coulter Republican dodge…LOK AT JOE BIDEN!
Nope LOOK AT GEORGE ALLEN.
Read this post. Allen had better explain himself. Joe Biden didn’t refer to Indians as “dot heads” . But Allen used an ethnic slur that is found in much of the world.
http://jeffrey-feldman.typepad.com/frameshop/2006/08/frameshop_macac.html
-GSD
August 14th, 2006 at 6:47 pmRobert Byrd has apologized for his racist past. He has said it was a shameful event in his history some 50 years ago. Perhaps a little Christian forgivness.
Allen is accused of using a term for Ni**er in the past month.
-GSD
August 14th, 2006 at 6:50 pmIf what GSD found is accurate, that is pretty awful stuff and Sen. Allen has some explaining to do. Biden explained himself. Allen must do the same.
August 14th, 2006 at 6:50 pmSo Exley, if you were brown – I’m assuming you’re white – and you were called a monkey or a gorilla, you wouldn’t take offense?
August 14th, 2006 at 6:51 pm#49…Vincennes, Of course I would. See my posting at #48.
August 14th, 2006 at 6:58 pmI note George has the cajones to make fun of the Indian, I’d love to see him do it to the African American on the staff – Oh , yeah that’s right CHICKENhawk.
August 14th, 2006 at 7:04 pmAllens’ mother is reported a French Tunisian. Colonial Tunisia is just the place where such a racist term would be used.
Spin like a top Georgie.
Besides his press flack claimed that the young man was nicknamed “Mohawk” because of his hair.
I found this pic that is reportedly the young man in question. Ten bucks says he has never worn a “Mohawk” hairdo in his life.
http://www.dailykos.com/comments/2006/8/14/73153/3090/301#c301
$100.oo says that the Allen staffers and most likely Allen himself thought that referring to an Asian Indian as “Mohawk” was the funniest thing in the world to them at the time.
-GSD
August 14th, 2006 at 7:13 pmWhy Is Clyde STILL Banished??????
I wrote TP on Saturday! As of today, 4 computers and NOTHING!
He never insults anyone, yet he is banned?
Sorry to have to call you out on the carpet, TP, but I was nice and you didn’t do anything.
Please let TP know to fix their error. Use the contact button.
August 14th, 2006 at 8:18 pmThanks,
NORMA RAE
Yeah, exley, wait and see until people forget about it you mean. Partisan hack.
August 14th, 2006 at 8:35 pmThat guy is not wearing a Mohawk.
August 14th, 2006 at 9:11 pm“Makaka” down here in the South is an obscure racial slur for Black. It’s not Portugese. I do not know the origin of the term, something with regards to their origin. But I’ve heard before and used in that context.
Given Allen’s fondness for Civil War re-enactment, the liklihood that he is familiar with obscure outdated racial slurs makes it more than slight a possibility.
August 14th, 2006 at 10:21 pmRobert Byrd has apologized for his racist past.
Well, as late as 2001, he was still using the N-word. He said the term “white n****R,” twice to Tony Snow in an interview.
August 14th, 2006 at 10:30 pmMr. Big, he was using the N-word as an all-inclusive swear word. Now, do you think that makes it ok for Allen to call an Indian a monkey? I notice you don’t actually address this point. You just deflect attention.
August 14th, 2006 at 11:16 pm#32: Allen will probably win this race by 10 to 12 points, so Democrats really are wasting their time on it.
In some corners of the world, there are people who care more about human decency than poll numbers. Allen’s comment was an egregious racial slur and should be condemned, no matter how much his Republican supporters like him.
It’s pretty obvious that Allen was referring to the Webb volunteer’s mohawk.
It’s “pretty obvious” in exactly what way? What does “macaca” have to do with a mohawk?
August 15th, 2006 at 12:35 amSen. George Allen must either be voted out of office, or forced to resign, for his blatent bigotry and racist slurs > shame on him!
August 15th, 2006 at 1:12 amIt’s pretty obvious that Allen was referring to the Webb volunteer’s mohawk.
Comment by Mr. Big — August 14, 2006 @ 5:37 pm
It’s pretty obvious you didn’t follow the link and listen to Sen Allen in the video. He said something like “this guy in the yellow shirt… macaque, or whatever his name is…”
It’s pretty obvious it sounds like “macaque”. And it’s obvious he wanted to demean the “guy in the yellow shirt” because he used the word twice.
It’s pretty obvious he wasn’t talking about a hairstyle but about a name.
August 15th, 2006 at 1:19 amI find it curious that the original post says that Allen “possibly” used this racial epithet. Allen’s words crystal clear in the video. Why the qualifier?
August 15th, 2006 at 2:51 amOkay, this is beyond obnoxious – I totally agree. Can I just point out, though, that Sidarth openly admitted to having a mullet? :)
(too soon on this for being jovial?)
August 15th, 2006 at 12:30 pmFor more background on George Allen’s ugly neo-Confederate history, see:
“George Allen’s Flag Desecration.”
For more on how Allen fits into a larger pattern of Republican nostalgia for the Confederacy, see:
August 15th, 2006 at 12:36 pm“Confederacy of Dunces.”
People seem to forget, people say things all the time that can be misconstrued. What if Senator Allen really wasn’t trying to make a slur. What if he really didnt know this kid’s name and just mouthed some word that he heard someone else say, and thought it was the kids name, or nickname. Heck, I never heard of a macaca. Quite frankly I think this whoe story is caca. Find some news to report on. What are the issues the candidates are addressing, and how do the plan on dealing with them. I am interested in issues, and how they are going to act on them. This kind of story is just plain hooey caca.
Next, I really want to address that DIXIE flag crack that was made. I foyu know ANYTHING about history, then you know there WAS NO SUCH THING as a Confederate flag. What everyone calls the Confederate flag, was the Battle Flag of Northern Virginia. You can thank Robert E. Lee for making that flag so visible to the Northern Army, that they thought it was the confederate flag. And to add fule to that fire, the Emanciaption Proclamation ONLY freed slaves int he confederacy, slavery was alive and well in the northern states, (Including Ulysses S. Gran’ts family, a General for the north) up to 2 years after the end of the Civil War. Of course if you knew your history, you would not have made that DIXIE flag crack, would you?
August 15th, 2006 at 3:45 pmSenator Allen calling the man a monkey is nothing new for the GOP. They are running a woman bashing, race baiting campaign against the Democratic house members.
August 15th, 2006 at 11:26 pmRunning against Pelosi is nothing but woman bashing. Telling voters that Charles Rangel will be chaiman of the ways & means committee and Conyers will be Judiciary committee chairman if the Democrats with the house is a national disgrace when they went out of their way to recruit balck men for important positions as Govenor and us senator.
This is very familure ground for the GOP.
George Allen Only Pretending To Be Stupid …
Using an apparent racial slur against his opponent’s operative actually shows how smart George Allen really is. …
August 16th, 2006 at 7:55 amWe need more heros like Sidarth to show America what kind of idiots are in the Senate. Allen is the “Ugly American”. And Sidarth deserves a medal. Keep up the good work Sidarth. Allen should drop trou and take it in the behind since he obviously doesn’t know how to use his mouth.
August 16th, 2006 at 1:26 pmAllen, whose comments were indeed racist, was expressing his true feelings about people of color regardless of their nationality He. like many white Americans, still considers this country a white man’s country. Deep in his mind, he still harbors the Confederacy mentality. As a “man thinketh, so is he”.
August 17th, 2006 at 11:18 amWhile I don’t believe all Republican’s are racisist idiots, I do believe that Sen. Allen KNEW what he was saying; he made it a point to single out the only person at that rally that wasn’t white; with the general mood of this country regarding people that even remotely look like they could be a terriorist (i.e., Indian, Pakistani, Dark Latinos, etc., etc.), Sen. Allen put Sidarth in a very dangerous position, and could have gotten the young man seriously hurt. No one knows how others will react these days, and for Sen. Allen not to take this into consideration is beyond being an idiot, it is actually putting someone’s life in danger.
August 17th, 2006 at 7:13 pm[...] Let’s play a game. See if you can name the political slant the people who made the comments below have. “Blacks are not good swimmers.”, “Terrorists are waiting for the Democrats to take control.”, “It’s time to have a Muslims check point line in American airports and have Muslims be scrutinized. You better believe it.â€, “The best policy regarding global warming is to neglect it — and let capitalism continue to make us healthier and wealthier.”, “I never said drop a nuclear bomb… It could have. They could obliterate them.â€, “Lets give a welcome to Macaca [racial slur], here. Welcome to America and the real world of Virginia.â€, “Weeks before September 11th, this is going to play big.”, “Without affirmative action [Rep. Maxine Waters] (an African American) would not have a job that didn’t involve wearing a paper hat.†[...]
August 17th, 2006 at 7:56 pmI have seen the video. It did seem that Mr. Allen was seething in anger on the inside while he was smiling on the outside.
Why pick on somebody so obviously. He does not deserve to be a candidate that represents a political party for this country that is based on progressive principles.
we are making a big deal out of similar feelings in other parts of the world, then we should remove these guys out of public life as they are weeds in the lawn.
we have plenty of nice people who want to represent our country and they should get the chance.
this is not a mis reading of a statement. He is bad for us.
thank you for the opportunity.
August 22nd, 2006 at 4:20 pmFormer (to be soon) Senator,
It is high time for you to retire and lead a peaceful non-controversial life, without having to face the controversy of being branded and having to defend for your racist thoughts and beliefs!!!
The next generation, with redemption from God, will hopefully fare better.
AG
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