George Allen Macaca's His Way Out of Lead in VA Senate Race
One of the more bizarre political stories of this election season centers on Virginia Senator George Allen and his racist remarks made to college student S.R. Sidarth following Allen's campaign trail. Unfortunately for Allen, the remarks were captured on digital video, and have been floating around the web via YouTube:
Whoops! First of all - what the hell is a Macaca? Apparently it's a.... mohawk?
[Allen campaign spokesman Dick] Wadhams said, however, that the name was a variation of "Mohawk," the nickname he said Allen campaign staffers gave Sidarth because he had a Mohawk haircut.
Whether the University of Virginia senior's haircut -- closely cropped around the temples and above the ears, but otherwise full -- qualifies as a Mohawk is open to interpretation. Sidarth said he does not consider it a Mohawk.
That's just about the lamest excuse I can think of. And even if it were an appelation for a hairstyle, it doesn't make saying "Welcome to America," a pretty obvious presumption because of Sidarth's skin color, any less offensive, especially considering that Sidarth is a US native.
What really matters is that this particular scandal's popularity and availability via the internet seems to be having real implications for Allen's campaign, as his lead went from almost twenty percentage points above Democrat Jim Webb to a measly three point margin. Was it just a slip of the tongue or is Allen really a racist? He has been accused of it, even before this whole debacle.
Campaigning for governor in 1993, he admitted to prominently displaying a Confederate flag in his living room. He said it was part of a flag collection--and had been removed at the start of his gubernatorial bid. When it was learned that he kept a noose hanging on a ficus tree in his law office, he said it was part of a Western memorabilia collection. These explanations may be sincere. But, as a chief executive, he also compiled a controversial record on race. In 1994, he said he would accept an honorary membership at a Richmond social club with a well-known history of discrimination--an invitation that the three previous governors had refused. After an outcry, Allen rejected the offer. He replaced the only black member of the University of Virginia (UVA) Board of Visitors with a white one. He issued a proclamation drafted by the Sons of Confederate Veterans declaring April Confederate History and Heritage Month. The text celebrated Dixie's "four-year struggle for independence and sovereign rights." There was no mention of slavery.
None of which constitutes a smoking gun, but at the very least, an intense insensitivity to issues that hold a lot of weight for racial minorities. His latest gaffe may have been more of the same, but at the moment the polls suggest people can't discern any difference.
