Sen. Allen: People Don’t ‘Actually Care’ About ‘Macaca,’ It’s ‘Only The Media’
Sen. Allen: People Don’t ‘Actually Care’ About ‘Macaca,’ It’s ‘Only The Media’
At an August 11 event, Sen. George Allen (R-VA) ridiculed a South Asian-American man who worked for his political opponent. In front of a large audience, Allen called S.R. Sidarth “macaca” (a racial slur), and said to Sidarth, who was born and raised in Virginia, “Welcome to America and the real world of Virginia!”
First, Allen’s campaign manager referred “to the ‘macaca’ story with a barnyard epithet and insist that the senator had nothing to apologize for.” Then, as criticism mounted, Allen apologized.
But yesterday on Fox, Allen said that Virginians don’t “actually care” that he made the remarks and it’s “only the media” who thinks it’s an issue. Watch it:
Actually, according to a poll taken after Allen finally apologized, 67% of Virginians found Allen’s remarks “inappropriate” and a majority believe “he needs to say more” about the incident.
Transcript:
CAVUTO: And I’m wondering — and I know you have addressed this — if it goes back to your offensive comments to an opponent’s campaign worker that were deemed racist. Is — is that why you’re dropping? Is it a concern?
ALLEN: Oh, heck, I have been behind in polls. I was running for governor. I was 31 percent behind.
What matters to the people of Virginia is a record of performance, knowing Virginia, and somebody who’s going to lead with the values that are shared by Virginians, as well as their vision. And, for the last 20 years, I have been working for Virginians, making our commonwealth a — a safer and more prosperous place for people to live, learn, work, and to raise their families.
That remark I made was a mistake. I have apologized for it. But people care — only the media asks about it. The people care about high gas prices. They care about security, winning this war on terrorism, making sure that smaller businesses have access to more affordable health plans…
CAVUTO: OK.
ALLEN: .. and also improving education for all Americans.
CAVUTO: All right.
ALLEN: That’s what people actually care about.
CAVUTO: OK.
Well, I was forced to address it. It — it’s out there.
OK, Senator, good seeing you, as always — Senator George Allen.
ALLEN: Good being with you, Neil.
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the man is utterly clueless.
August 31st, 2006 at 12:39 pmas a physicist, I enjoy entropy.
August 31st, 2006 at 12:41 pmas a person, it is nice to see hatred displayed so that it can be used as an example to educate
Well if Virginians really don’t care, I now have another state to add to my “states to avoid” list. Texas was always first.l
August 31st, 2006 at 12:42 pmI care!
August 31st, 2006 at 12:43 pmI think the media should plaster that picture of Allen standing with the CCC hate group. Then see if it’s “only the media” that cares.
August 31st, 2006 at 12:44 pmKeep dreaming racist !!!
August 31st, 2006 at 12:44 pmLet’s hope the people in Virginia vote this nut out. He does not belong being a Senator. He was a governor of Virginia at one time? How could anyone vote for him.
August 31st, 2006 at 12:44 pmWhy does he feel the need to dismiss his own apology by saying nobody cares about his comment (but the media).
That sounds like his apology wasn’t sincere. “Well, I apologise but it doesn’t really matter what I’m apologising about anyway”
They just brush it off like it’s nothing, listen to (both) their tones of voice at the end.
August 31st, 2006 at 12:45 pm#3- don’t avoid Texas completely! Austin is a great place, I love it here. It’s an oasis of progressivism surrounded by a sea of red-neckery. The live music scene here is great too.
August 31st, 2006 at 12:46 pm#7 Mary Poplins,
Because democracy only works when the electorate is well-informed. (Which doesn’t mean the candidate has to be.)
August 31st, 2006 at 12:46 pmNo Sen. Allen, people don’t actually care about you.
August 31st, 2006 at 12:57 pmDon’t strain yourself, Neil.
You ‘addressed’ it, all right….you provided Allen with the opportunity to blow it off as something only the ‘media’ cares about, and by not challenging that assertion, you implicitly supported it.
BTW, Neil, when Allen dismissed his use of a perjorative and racist epithet by saying that ‘only the media cares’ and that what ‘people actually care about’ are other issues, he’s attacking the media. In what field do you make your living?
Congratulations, Neil…you’ve successfully lowered the bar of journalistic integrity yet again at Faux News.
August 31st, 2006 at 12:57 pmI live in VA, and Allen is (unfortunately) one of my Senators. I called his office just now and told the staffer who answered the phone “I’d like to correct the Senator’s mistaken impression that it’s just the media who cares about using the term ‘macaca’ to refer to someone who isn’t white and conservative.”
I can’t wait to defeat his racist ass this November. Go, Webb!
August 31st, 2006 at 1:00 pmHe should have said that Virginians that watch Faux News don’t care about what I said. That would have been more accurate.
August 31st, 2006 at 1:00 pmI did not view the vid, but as much as I detest the Repuglicans, in reading the transcript above I did not read that the Ham State Senator said People Don’t ‘Actually Care,’It’s ‘Only The Media.’ He indicated people care – only the media ASKS about it.
Please do not feed the feckless Right-Wing facists ammo in the form of mis-quotes.
BTW, I can’t stand intolerance.
August 31st, 2006 at 1:02 pmToo bad Neil Cavuto didn’t take the time to ask him about his connections to the CCC. Oh, wait. That would be too much like “journalism”, and we all know how much Ruppert Murdoch hates journalism.
August 31st, 2006 at 1:04 pmPeople care so little about it that he felt the need to make public apologies. You’d think he’d just call up NBC, ABC, and maybe NPR to apologize, if this is what he really thinks about the reaction to his using the word “macaca.”
August 31st, 2006 at 1:05 pmI am a Virginian and I care. Senator Allen might not be as embarressing as Senator Burns but I would happily trade George Allen for a dog.
August 31st, 2006 at 1:08 pmIs this another example of compassionate conservatism?
It’s so hard to tell these compassionate folks from old southern hick bias.
August 31st, 2006 at 1:10 pmMaybe Allen should dress as a Jedi knight and do the Obi-Wan Kanobi hand thing while he’s making excuses. (wave) “Virginian’s don’t care” (wave) “It was a mistake” (wave) “I meant to say mowhawk”
August 31st, 2006 at 1:12 pmBut really TP shouldn’t we also be talking about the bush wiretapping stuff? And the fact that Arlen Specter is writing Bill(s) for something (NSA) that he admits to knowing nothing of?
The Bush media are once again leading the public away from the bigger issues..
August 31st, 2006 at 1:13 pmI knew George Allen wasn’t sorry about his racially insensitive Macaca remark. He was sorry he got caught. This is the attitude of closet racists.
August 31st, 2006 at 1:19 pmI live in Virginia, too, and I will take great pleasure in showing Felix just what values Virginians really share. Sadly for him, they don’t involve the values of a stupid, abusive rascist with Klansmen buddies.
Go Jim!!
August 31st, 2006 at 1:20 pmI care about it and I am not the media.
What I care even more about is returning a balance to congress. Then I want everyone who lead us to war and stole from Americans go to jail.
August 31st, 2006 at 1:23 pmI also care about that fact that members of Allen’s own family think he is a bully and said so publicly.
This guy is estranged from his own family; I say forget about the senate much less the presidency.
August 31st, 2006 at 1:26 pmI fully believe he was being racist, but I am just wondering… Has he ever tried to make up an excuse for the word “macaca” itself? For instance, “I thought it was a name” or “I thought it meant ‘friend’ in Hindi” or something stupid like that?
August 31st, 2006 at 1:27 pm#10 Wayne That is so very true that the voter needs to be imformed. When it comes to young people raising a family I think they are more worried about taking care of their children and not politics. I know when I was a young person raising my children I did not worry about what the government was doing. I wish I would of been a more imformed person at that time.
I live in a town of about 8,000 people. We had a special election last year. I attended a meeting at the high school to meet the candidate that was running. Do you want to know how many attend this meeting? Four people out of 8,000. Needless to say I was shocked by this.
There was something going on at the high school in the stadium that night and that could be the reason that no one showed up.
I can say that I am more imform now. I do have one complaint about the candidates that are running. Sometimes they don’t send pamphlet out or have debates so you can make a decision on who to vote for. Thank goodness for the internet you can fine out about the candidates that are running if you have a computer.
August 31st, 2006 at 1:38 pmhe probably didn’t realize he was being filmed and thought that the only people who would know he said it were the other rednecks in the room.
August 31st, 2006 at 1:42 pmIf Virginians didn’t care, what happened to your sixteen-point lead, George?
August 31st, 2006 at 1:43 pmVirginians deserve better– and when we elect Jim Webb we’ll have one of the best.
Help George Felix Allen pick his new theme song.
August 31st, 2006 at 1:44 pm#26 Mary, I know what you mean about the lack of useful information coming from the candidates. Sue Kelly is my US Rep and when I went to her campaign website, I could nothing that would tell me where she’s going to be next. I have some questions for her, like why she and her Republican colleagues refuse to hold the president accountable for his numerous abuses of power and violations of the law and the Constitution. But she likes to campaign on TV, and the primary isn’t until 9/12. Maybe she’ll announce a campaign schedule when she knows who her opponenet will be. Then again, maybe not.
Wow, I think my car is finally going to be ready in a few minutes. That only took seven hours of my life. Talk to you all tomorrow. Have a good day.
Peace to all.
August 31st, 2006 at 1:46 pmParrotlover: He actually did give an excuse. He said that his staff had named the photographer “Mowhawk,” from his haircut and he had garbled it into “macaca.”
A better explanation is that his mother is from North Africa where Arabs were termed “macacas” by their white colonialists. My guess is that he picked up the word in childhood when his mother used it as a general reference put-down for dark skinned servants. (A lot of those still in Virginia.) But who’s to say? My guess is that even he doesn’t know just why he used the term in that confrontation.
Not that it excuses his use, of course.
August 31st, 2006 at 1:49 pmbtw, doesn’t that caption suggest that the remark in question involved the phrase “American Indian”? Is Fox News too sensitve to repeat the word that actually caused the controversy? If it’s really just made up and not racist word why not tell us what the actual controversy is about? If I hadn’t been following this story in the blogs I might be left with the impression that George Allen was in hot water with the liberal media for using a politically incorrect but innocuous term rather than one used by racists.
August 31st, 2006 at 1:51 pmGeorge, you’re just wrong on this one. You have given me (and everyone else who has heard your name) plenty of reasons to pause over the years, and to question your judgment, your racial opinions, your temper, and your general abilities to perform on the national and international stages. You are no doubt a bully, as well as ill-tempered and all-too-willing to pander to the residue of a by-gone era in Virginia and southern politics. You had an undistinguished record as Governor (as told by your fellow Governors), and your best card politically is to play off as a genial good ol’ boy; that plays in Virginia, but it doesn’t work so well in the high IQ states. Stay where you are George, and play your type of politics to the crowd that loves you.
August 31st, 2006 at 1:52 pmWhen Allen says that people vote for “somebody who’s going to lead with the values that are shared by Virginians, as well as their vision” without addressing whether or not he’s a racist, does that mean that the people who vote for him may be closet-racists with an “us vs. them” vision too?
August 31st, 2006 at 1:54 pmIN HIS DREAMS PEOPLE DON’T CARE ABOUT BLATANT BIGOTRY!! HE NOW OWNS THIS COMMENT AND IT WILL NEVER BE FORGOTTEN. HE’S HISTORY JUST LIKE THE REST OF THE BIGOTS WHO WILL BE SWEPT FROM THEIR COMFORTABLE LAIRS IN THE MID-TERMS.
August 31st, 2006 at 2:03 pmMaybe Sen. Allen is just following our Fearless Leader and “staying the course” on that whole macaca-thingy.
August 31st, 2006 at 2:03 pmI’m a Vuhginian that’s right, its pronounced “Vuhginian”, not the California pronounciation that Mr. Allen uses. I am offended by this George Felix Allen and I care very much that he’s is running around spouting racist venom….Hopefully he can begin a full time quest for presidency come January 07.
August 31st, 2006 at 2:06 pmThe next thing you know Allen will be calling New York “Heimi Town” or that Mahatma Gandhi used to run a gas station in St. Louis or making “white N-word” references.
August 31st, 2006 at 2:12 pmI’m a Virginian, and I care!! I won’t vote for a white supremacist!! That is what Allen is. He’s a Neo-Nazi in disguise.
August 31st, 2006 at 2:13 pm32 ibid
August 31st, 2006 at 2:20 pmI didn’t even catch the “American Indian” scroll! – FOX can’t even get their bigotry targets and terms correct. I might be wrong, but the term Allen used was toward a person of Indian descent — as in, from India, the country, you know, over there, not over here.
any chance felix was just trying to say, “me steppin’ in caca,” but he blew his own line? what a nitwit.
August 31st, 2006 at 2:33 pmFunny, Sen. Allen sure acted like he cared when he “apologized.” So much for sincerity.
August 31st, 2006 at 2:37 pm“OK. Well, I was forced to address it. It — it’s out there.”
Translation: “My deepest apologies, Senator. You and I both know we’re on the same side here, but I do occasionally have to keep up the pretense of being a journalist.”
August 31st, 2006 at 2:37 pmCavuto et al are letting Allen off so easy. It’s not just the Macaca comment. It’s a lifetime of racism. Racist epithets, even obscure ones, trip easily off his tongue because he’s accustomed to saying them and thinking them. This man was suspended from high school for scrawling racist grafitti on the walls. He’s a confederate flag waver and an apologist for white supremecist hate groups. His own sister says he’s a boorish, violent, bully. He seems like a natural for the Republican nomination.
August 31st, 2006 at 2:45 pmWouldn’t it be appropriate, on this clown’s last day on the Senate floor, to hear the pro tem say
August 31st, 2006 at 2:49 pmYield to the Senator from Virginia, you know, Macaca.
Did you notice this when Allen said this???
“..and also improving education for all Americans”
Sounds more like he’s running for President than for Senator! Too bad he blew that chance too !!
August 31st, 2006 at 2:55 pmIf nobody cares then why did he apoligize?
August 31st, 2006 at 2:57 pmSomebody should defend white supremacy here. It makes me want to join the Republican Party of Virginia and begin publicly and loudly advocating re-segregation and anti-miscegeny laws, and cite to white supremacist “evidence” about why the white race is “superior.” Take it to the limit and beyond. Put up a 501-c-3 to do the outreach and media. Call it the “Institute for Traditional Culture” or something. (I guess something else now that I said that). But I live in Cally.
C’mon now, I know there’s somebody in the Old Dominion with the gumption to take this on. Just imagine all the new friends you’ll make – for awhile, anyway.
August 31st, 2006 at 3:03 pmMore coverage on graphictruth, with enlightening and embarrassing graphics you are free to use to illustrate the story.
In a nutshell: The Nation found some old sheets George had lying around. Guess he forgot to do all the laundry.
August 31st, 2006 at 3:05 pmActually, Geo. Allen does not care about My Caca because he is to busy playing with His Caca
August 31st, 2006 at 3:10 pmtoo* my bad
August 31st, 2006 at 3:10 pmCount me as one Virginian who cares.
August 31st, 2006 at 3:33 pmSomeon commented that this story leads the public from bigger isses. I vehemently disagree. This is a big issue. People need to be aware of who they are voting for and racists like Allen need to be exposed for what they are so that there is no mistake of their vaules. Voting a hate monger into office is a very serious issue. Of course most of us were aware of Mr. Allens values but for those who had doubts perhaps this will calrify the situation. Imagine if this weren’t picked up by the media. He could brush it off like it didn’t happen but it did and it DID mean something. The fact is most of these guys and gals in DC are like this to some degree or other in their secret hearts. Some just feel it strongly enough that they can’t always hold it in. Remember Bidens’ remarks about all Indians working at convenience stores and donut shops? And he’s supposed to be one of the forward ones.
August 31st, 2006 at 3:45 pm…and count me as yet another Vuhginian who cares too…
August 31st, 2006 at 3:46 pmI care!
August 31st, 2006 at 3:57 pmHes a no good racist. I read the book his sister has out and he was brutal as a kid so you can imagine how he must be now. We don’t need another a/hole re-elected again and then have the jerk run for president later.
I think the people are smarter than this stupid administration and come November in the general election the republicans will be crying in their own stew and they damn well have it coming. Too bad the biggest a/hole of all will be in office until 2009 ugh!!!!
August 31st, 2006 at 4:03 pmGeorgie boy,
August 31st, 2006 at 4:10 pmOne George in office is plenty at this point in time.
Take your ‘lil Macaca toy & go home, please.
Play with your confederate flag, burn some dolls,
go kick the dog…you know, the fun stuff you did growing
up. Oh wait, you never grew up!
Suspended from HS for racist graffiti, eh? I’ll bet you a
dollar to a dime that he still can’t spell Macaca.
This guy is just a throwback smartass. You can see it in
his look. Virginians, play smart; don’t vote for smartasses.
Maybe this bully is hiding something besides racism in his lil’ ol’ closet. Many a bully has really just longed for a soft embrace from that poor, bedeviled guy he is tormenting. And Allen really does strike me as prime closet-case material along the George Bush model. Come to think of it, George is something of a bully himself. But that is no surprise, considering the masculine role model he had. That Babs is one tough hombre. Jeb, on the other hand, takes after his mother, George HW Bush.
Jeez, a whole family full of psychosexual basket cases.
Oh, right. We were talking about George Allen, weren’t we?
August 31st, 2006 at 5:04 pmVOTE FOR JIM WEBB FOR U.S. SENATE [VIRGINIA]
August 31st, 2006 at 5:08 pm[...] DovBear is an expert at playing the race card; he should bring that game to the Celebrity Blogger’s Championship Poker Match. He is all too willing to pick up the talking points of the mainstream media when they call someone on a race related issue. Republican Sen. George Allen has been called to task for calling his opponent’s aide a racial slur. Allen was wrong, Allen should be chastised. The media got this one right, it happens sometimes. [...]
August 31st, 2006 at 5:40 pmAllen is a narcissist. He just loves to look in the mirror at his cool cowboy boots and the manly wad of chewing tobacco in his cheek. So of course he thinks most Virginian’s are racists who don’t care about his remarks. He was looking in a mirror.
August 31st, 2006 at 5:41 pmThe people he surrounds himself with, fellow racists all, don’t care; however, real people do care. Real people care a lot. Real people don’t like racists, especially those who make no bones about expressing their hatred. Another fine example of a republican. The more republicans talk, the deeper they dig their graves. Good work!
August 31st, 2006 at 5:43 pm#60 SuperChrist – What you meant to say is… in Allen’s world brown people aren’t to be perceived on sight as Americans… until they prove themselves otherwise they should be treated as foreigners… as others… as macacas.
He calls it his “discriminate first ask questions later – foreigner until proven citizen strategy for dealing with darkies.”
August 31st, 2006 at 5:45 pmAnd aside from being a bully and a racist, he’s a CARPETBAGGER!
August 31st, 2006 at 6:08 pmHey! Easy on Texas. There are many good liberal Dems in Texas, Utah, Okla., Kansas, Virginia, etc. If it weren’t for the crazy electoral college system, we wouldn’t even be talking about red and blue states. Austin is a great liberal enclave, but there are other “enlightened” folks sprinkled around the periphery. It’s obvious that the dynamics which keeps the GOP in power in southern and some western states are religion and race, the latter being unspoken but very much at play. This has been true ever since the Johnson administration when the Democratic party became identified with civil rights, pro-choice, gay rights, and church/state separation issues. It’s interesting how, after more than two millenia, religion continues to be a barrier to scientific advancement, enlightened thought, and progressive government.
August 31st, 2006 at 6:16 pmIn case no one’s noticed, Allen, along with Pat Buchanan, is a stalking horse for the fascist program to reinstitutionalize racism as official policy in this country. You just can’t keep a good ole cracker piece of human garbage down.
August 31st, 2006 at 6:46 pmThere are still a lot of out and out old racist types like Allen in positions of power in all types of US government. The simple passing of time has weeded out a host of the worst. Now better education, and a real alternative press have got Allen and the rest bobbing and weaving, but they can’t avoid the eventual knockout punch from those who care, and are truly sick of their kind of shit.
August 31st, 2006 at 7:50 pmFox just spues more pure shit propaganda.
August 31st, 2006 at 8:16 pmAs I rode past a huge, obnoxiously orange “Sportsmen for Allen” campaign sign today in northern Albemarle County, VA the nasty truth hit me – probably 80% of the rednecks in Virginia are racist, and these are the people who vote for republicants anyway – uneducated, uncaring people who occasionally have something to gossip about as the party of fear blasts out their warnings. Allen cemented his base with the macaca statement, no doubt about it.
August 31st, 2006 at 8:37 pmHaving had occasion to debate with someone who claims to be a close friend of Allen, I can tell you – these people are not rational.
Its time to muck the stalls in Washington, and I hope the first mushroom to grow from the pile of crap that gets thrown out sprouts from Allen’s forehead.
Umm…American Indian? Wouldn’t “Indian-American” be the accurate category? Cavuto is such a psycho. I get the impression he spends every moment on the set concealing the bobbing heads of the interns he is forcing to service him underneath his desk in order to keep him stimulated during his on-air time.
August 31st, 2006 at 9:20 pmWhat other type of comment would you expect from a White Republican Male ?
August 31st, 2006 at 9:28 pmWhat a “macracka”…..
September 1st, 2006 at 1:05 am70,
I’m afraid Allen is probably right: a lot of Virginians don’t care. And probably there are quite a few who are more likely to vote for him because of it. Also, how accurate is the poll showing that a lot of people disapprove of his remarks? Most likely, people will be unwilling to admit to racist tendencies even in an anonymous poll. In the voting booth, however, it’s another matter.
September 1st, 2006 at 4:58 am[...] The GOP is seriously losing it. Not only are they incredibly racist, but they’re showing the signs of senility. Case in point: [...]
September 1st, 2006 at 8:35 amIt is the ‘look’ on his face, that ‘laughing smirk’, that Republicans are so good at. It’s not the people who don’t care, it’s him. Of course he knew the guy he insulted had a camera on, that’s one of the reasons he decided to single him out for public ridicule, and a lightly veiled threat, sort of a ‘watch out’ warning, by emphasizing his “foreign’ appearence, to a roomful of applauding supporters. People don’t care? I guess we’ll just have to wait till November to see if he’s right. But I would be angry to have my personal integrity dismissed by someone who is supposed to ‘represent’ me.
September 1st, 2006 at 9:25 amHere’s one more apology for the media.
September 1st, 2006 at 3:11 pmAllen is a part of Bush’s Fascist Regime.
Fascism is a radical totalitarian political philosophy that combines elements of corporatism, authoritarianism, extreme nationalism, militarism, anti-anarchism, anti-communism and anti-liberalism.
September 1st, 2006 at 7:02 pmI saw Bill Mahr on Larry King last night. Bill’s had Allen on the show. Bill’s view was that he wasn’t particularly racist. Just “Dim.” As in another George Bush Dim. As in, how stupid do you have to be to vote for someone even stupider than you are…
I think in a sense Bill is right, or at least essentially right. There’s nothing genuine about the man, even his racism is suspect.
You see, if you identify well enough with a large cultural group, and learn the in-group buzzwords, you don’t need to be very bright, because you don’t need to do any actual thinking. You don’t need to come up with any useful policies; you just need to lead the mob after a target they are inclined to blame for all their problems.
September 3rd, 2006 at 12:37 pmwow. what a horrible comment. too bad thats not what he said.
now back to your regularly scheduled hand wringing.
cant wait for novemebr. you folks are in for some surpirises.
September 5th, 2006 at 11:28 ambtw- whats wrong with a country 80% ‘white’?
The very reason why a stupid like George Allen has seen some success in his career is that a large population in Virginia is staunch racist. Specifically the sections that have fallen behind economically. He is just riding on that popular sentiment. Otherwise, he as bad as Hitler.
September 9th, 2006 at 8:15 amdid anyone notice that Bush visited him AFTER!!! the “macaca” comment?
September 13th, 2006 at 12:49 pmjohnny boy
[...] I wonder how much you would have to contribute to get the title of “macaca” or is that title free of charge? [...]
September 19th, 2006 at 4:19 am[...] Allen brought all of this on himself, of course.  As reported by Think Progress: At an August 11 event, Sen. George Allen (R-VA) ridiculed a South Asian-American man who worked for his political opponent. In front of a large audience, Allen called S.R. Sidarth “macaca†(a racial slur), and said to Sidarth, who was born and raised in Virginia, “Welcome to America and the real world of Virginia!†[...]
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