Reporter asks Allen: So, are you a Jew or what?
posted at 9:19 am on September 19, 2006 by Allahpundit
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At a live, televised debate, no less. Which I guess was her way of saying, who’s the macaca now?
The Senator and attendees responded to the question appropriately, as you’ll see. Click the image for video at WaPo.
Between this, Macacagate, and Jim Webb’s “colorful” comments about women, the only surprise about Persuasionatrix is that she ended up working on the Maryland Senate race, not this one.
Olbermann stooge Dana Milbank was at the debate yesterday. He refers to a column in the Forward alleging Allen’s Jewish roots; you’ll find that here.
Update: I think Dean Barnett considerably overestimates the significance of this incident.
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Makes me wish I lived in Virginia again so I could cast my vote for the good Senator.
I liked the reaction and think it dead-on.
Corky on September 19, 2006 at 9:25 AM
If Sen. Allen wanted to marry my sister, I might be interested in knowing that his mother was Jewish. If he were an anti-semite, I might also be interested. But somehow the idea of Jewish ancestry as a “Gotcha!” doesn’t do much for me. (Didn’t do much for me in Madeleine Albright’s case, either.)
Attila (Pillage Idiot) on September 19, 2006 at 9:32 AM
You got Served!
iNeXuS on September 19, 2006 at 9:33 AM
Allen on Sundy with Tim Matthews was asked about the macaca thing. I am thinking to myself: “self, this is such old news. Why don’t they let it go?” Well turns out, there is another twist. Allen is (now) claiming that he “made it up”, had never heard the word before.
Gee, he should play the lottery.
honora on September 19, 2006 at 9:34 AM
I live in VA, and although I may not agree with some of Allens points, his repsonse to the question is dead on.
What does it matter if his mother was jewish, or if he is? Unless you are some nut job that thinks its all the Joooos fault a persons religeous upbringing is not a factor. Some people say its important, so you know how they will vote on legislature. But if you want to know that, look at their voting record. Also, look at the type of person they are. Do they stand by their convictions, or will they vote depending on which way the wind blows?
Do they even have convictions? Would they vote against something before they vote for it? Or would they make their decision, and then stand by it? Changing ones mind on an issue is not flip flopping. If the person is proven wrong and they change their course then that is a good leader. I know someones going to bring up Bush and the Iraq war, which is why I wrote the last paragraph. Staying the course is right, because the evidence supports it, despite the wishes of the left.
Wyrd on September 19, 2006 at 9:37 AM
Leaving aside the whole “macacca” thing, that was a pretty crappy question.
He ended with the quote “I respect your right to ask questions…” but I left unstated was the sentiment “…but I don’t respect that question.”
EFG on September 19, 2006 at 9:45 AM
They’re been saying that from the get go, and that it was some sort of play on mohawk, a reference to Siddarth’s hairstyle. In the very limited context that macaca is used as a slur (I’d never heard it until this. Had you?) it refers to Africans. Is Siddarth African?
Pablo on September 19, 2006 at 9:52 AM
If Webb had only turned to Allen and shouted, “Joooooooo!”, this race would be in the bag for him.
frankj on September 19, 2006 at 10:00 AM
I live in Va. and will be voting for Senator Allen. Ohhh! he said macaca. Please. At least that word can be printed in the Wapo. Too bad they won’t print the bile spewing from the apoplectic left.
I will laugh my rear off when we keep both houses in Nov.
After that, what’s next for the left to win? Physical violence?
rightside on September 19, 2006 at 10:01 AM
Oh Pablo, please. I had not heard of it, my husband had.
honora on September 19, 2006 at 10:10 AM
Oh honora, you’re welcome. Is your husband African, or from a place where macaca is a slur in common usage? Is Siddarth African?
Pablo on September 19, 2006 at 10:25 AM
Siddarth is American of I think Indian heritage, not sure. Allen’s mother is/was African. Macaca a racist term colonials (Allen’s mom a French colonial, Tunisia) used to refer to black Africans; it’s a racist term used to slur Arabs; it’s a racist term used by folks like the Aryan Nation to describe non-Caucasians.
It’s also the name of a certain kind of monkey.
My husband has spent time in Africa with Doctors without Borders.
honora on September 19, 2006 at 10:33 AM
Maybe Allen is a Jew! A crafty Jew! He forced someone to ask that question to deflect the righteous outrage from his macaca comment and silence those who would speak out against the oppressive republican fascist Bushitler regime that squandered all our 911 goodwill and makes us hated by all the progressive governments everywhere!
Either that or Rove did it! That’s it, the questioner was a Rove plant! Oh when will the rightwinghatefest end??????
ScottG on September 19, 2006 at 10:50 AM
Excellent response from the good Senator.
CrimsonFisted on September 19, 2006 at 11:01 AM
As far as Webb’s comments, I don’t think Allen should be striving to make much of an issue out of those; if they’re meant to showcase Webb’s “quaint, outmoded” notions about women, well, Webb can always point to Allen’s cozy relationship with the Confederate flag.
Mark V. on September 19, 2006 at 11:20 AM
Wow!! Beautiful comeback, George!!
thirteen28 on September 19, 2006 at 11:56 AM
Honora, I take it you are just a tad bit peeved after last night’s Steelers’ donut (0) performance.
Rick on September 19, 2006 at 12:03 PM
I’m not a Virginian, so have no dog in this fight…but I have to say, that comeback impressed me quite a bit. You go, Senator!
tickleddragon on September 19, 2006 at 12:14 PM
I am still trying to figure how the Christian Aryan Nation based in Idaho picked up a Tunisian racial insult. I cannot ever remember hearing a word like that growing up around motorcycle gangs or living as I do today in the majority white suburb of Detroit that had until recently the most public housing in the nation.
Saying macaca around here is like a biker calling another punk ‘ka-ka’.
Or macaca ka-ka.
Not.
My searches revealed almost no one in the U.S. knows this insult. The yahoo answers spoke for all:
and
Macaca was also described as a Belgian or French racial slur for ‘dirty arab’.
David Duke’s website had to research the word.
Enough ka-ka. Looks like Allen’s Sephardic Jewish, Tunisian born, francophone mom could have known the word. Yet if she is Jewish ‘macaca’ would be a bad word. She would have to say ka-ka instead, the safe PC form.
entagor on September 19, 2006 at 12:39 PM
Interesting you didn’t surface after the Dallas debut against the Jaguers, but then I didn’t expect you to.
The Steelers stunk. Only positive was the defense–hard to believe the Jags only scored 3 fieldgoals when they seemed to have the ball all the time and apparently the best punter in Christiandom. But no, I’m not peeved, it’s a long season.
honora on September 19, 2006 at 12:43 PM
Well even though I live in HI, I am still a resident of VA & will cast my vote for the good Senator as soon as my absentee ballot arrives. Once again the “enlightened libs” show their intolerance. Why someone’s religion or their grandparent’s religion is important is beyond me. However I think she was trying to show that perhaps if she looked hard enough she could find some anti-semitism in his background or that perhaps one of his grandparents was raised a Jew and married a non-Jew and decided to follow that person’s religion. Not unusual as my grandmother did the same thing because one must remember that during the late teens and early 20’s there was a lot of anti-semitism in this country and my grandmother felt her son would go farther being a Catholic (which is still the butt of many jokes) then a Jew.
As for Webb’s comments, I don’t take much issue with them though. I was an Army Officer myself before I became the wife of one. Not to really be defending him but he said those comments at about the time Annapolis was letting in women and he had graduated from there as did my father who also had the same comments. Not that my father felt that women shouldn’t be Officers, he just didn’t think they belonged at his Alma Mater. Neither did my two cousins who also went there just prior to the letting in of women. I have an ex-boyfriend who was in the first class that allowed women and he said it was terrible for them and he was also one of the ones making sure that it was. He was also a pilot and didn’t believe women should be flying combat aircraft. Does that make these men bad people, no, but perhaps their ideas are a bit outdated. I know my father has no problem with women but felt that having lived through his plebe year (knowing it was only a year) he felt that his daughter would go through four years of a plebe year. When I entered the Army in 1985, I did run up against a lot of anti-female males-including Officers. However, they treated those who came from West Point worse than myself. However, from what I saw before I left and from what I see through my husband things are different and better. However, on his current deployment he is embedded with the Iraqis and due to their restrictions, there are no women in his group.
Catie96706 on September 19, 2006 at 12:45 PM
Well..she sort of DID, didnt she? *LOL*
labwrs on September 19, 2006 at 12:48 PM
Catie,
Off topic but……….Thanks to you and your family for generations of service to our Country.
BacaDog on September 19, 2006 at 1:18 PM
If having a Jewish heritage were a bad thing, why were both HClinton and JKerry happy to “discover” that they also had Jewish roots? Jews are people just like anyone else, except that they were set apart by God to be separate from the world.
You notice that that separation is still going on.
Doug on September 19, 2006 at 1:44 PM
To borrow from the great Maha Rushie…She is a glittering jewel of colossal ingorance. What type of person could actually do that in public?? Either a racist or trully ignorant person. Which one is she?? God and she only knows..errr, or she doesn’t…umm….Great comeback Sen Allen!
lsutiger on September 19, 2006 at 2:55 PM
Yeah….redneck Virginians would never vote for a dirty, hooknosed Jew.
Stupid, bitch.
The Ugly American on September 19, 2006 at 3:10 PM
And Ugly American wins the thread for cutting directly to the real motivation for the panelist to ask the question in the first place.
Fits well with today’s Vent too, because it’s another example of “liberal” racism in service of a divide-and-conquer strategy.
thirteen28 on September 19, 2006 at 3:35 PM
And some say that libs are for minorities..
Gesssss…
Tom N on September 19, 2006 at 3:53 PM
I saw that clip last night, and was able to hear the audience *GASP*, and !boo! when the offensive question was asked by W*USA 9’s reporter, Peggy Fox.
She did the Senator a real favor by asking the tainted question. I wish more liberal reporters were as stupid.
DannoJyd on September 19, 2006 at 6:09 PM
I could have told Georgie that’d happen when he brought up his grandpa in the concentration camp. Liberals can never resist “verifying” claims like that. Too bad such “verification” is so insulting and even if the person manages to “verify it” to the libs’ satisfaction, that process will turn off a good portion of his Christian constituents.
Typical of libs to land Allen in a no-win like that. Wish i lived in virginia, too.
sponginghouse on September 19, 2006 at 7:07 PM
First of all Allen lied on MTP. And I was on his side! I thought Siddarth looked just like a silly liberal MONKEY! But to say, “I just made it up”, strains the bounds of credulity. His response to the stupid liberal was NOT a good response, it was a victims response. “Oh, look what the bad lady said to me!”. He should have used the occasion to lecture the crowd on the racism and anti-semitism of LIBERALS like the dim bulb who asked the question! Perhaps something like, “Now you know why elitist liberals have been Israel’s worst enemy folks. They simply hate all things RELIGIOUS. This reporter didn’t even have the moral turpitude to discover within herself that this question was improper, instead like a Klansmen confronting a runaway slave, she rushed to confront me with “damning” evidence of my Judaism.” THAT would have been a good response.
Soothsayer on September 19, 2006 at 10:33 PM