my favorite part of the whole george allen free-to-be-a-racist-in-amurrica thing?
Asked what macaca means, Allen said: "I don't know what it means." He said the word sounds similar to "mohawk," a term that his campaign staff had nicknamed Sidarth because of his haircut. Sidarth said his hairstyle is a mullet -- tight on top, long in the back.
posted by Carla at 12:48 PM
2 Comments:
I find it hard to believe that Allen did not know what he was saying. He has a history of racist insults. The mohawk thing was stupod and pointed to another stereotype, his simplistic view of "indians." It's sad that we continue to elect people like this.
Just to show how determinedly the machine churns, check out this spin by Black Republicans that someone posted to a listserv:
http://www.theblackgop.com/news/statement081706.htm
"A Statement from RBE members Regarding Virginia Senator Allen's
Recent Comments"
2006 has been a year marked by tremendous growth and organizational
advances for Republicans for Black Empowerment (RBE). It has been my
pleasure to be a part of this organization's development.
As awareness of our organization has grown, we have attracted new
members from the ranks of both (i) existing Republicans across the
country excited about being able to easily discover and connect with
others around the country and (ii) independent, critical thinkers of
other political persuasions grappling with whether the African-
American community's long-standing 90% Democratic allocation of its
collective 'voting equity' has yielded adequate returns and/or
optimal political leverage.
Our momentum is bolstered by the substantial outreach efforts of the
Republican National Committee, led aggressively by Chairman Ken
Mehlman.
Maintaining our momentum, however, requires Republican elected
officials and candidates to demonstrate the same level of cultural
sensitivity that diverse voters considering our party have come to
expect from all other political parties. In that regard, Virginia
Senator and potential 2008 Presidential Candidate George Allen's
recent comments at a campaign rally in southwest Virginia were not
conducive to our aims and goals of inclusion.
Over the years, many of our members have met with Senator Allen and
know him to be a compassionate and devoted public servant.
Nevertheless, many RBE members strongly rebuke Senator Allen's
comments - irrespective of their intent or his stated awareness of
the various meanings of the term at issue. At best, misjudgments of
the sort are neither conducive to the Party's expansion nor
reflective of appropriate sensitivities for one who aspires to lead a
more diverse party.
Finally, we hope this campaign does not succumb to exploiting racism.
With major stresses confronting the world we urge the two candidates
to seize this opportunity to explain their ideas for solving our very
serious problems.
Contributed by Lorin Crenshaw - New York State Co-Coordinator and
Program Director for RBE
Endorsed by
JoLinda Ruth Cogen - New York State Co-Coordinator for RBE
Ike Okoro - RBE Treasurer
Tony Herbert - Chairman of the Professionals Network Organization,
RBE Member
Visit the website of Republicans for Black Empowerment for more
information: www.theblackgop.com
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