RNCC Interview: George Allen
posted at 2:27 pm on September 5, 2008 by Ed Morrissey
Send to a Friend |
Share on Facebook | printer-friendly
What has George Allen been doing for the last two years, since getting edged in 2006 by Jim Webb in the Virginia Senate race? Allen has not retired from politics, although he has taken a more grassroots approach to promoting conservative principles. He has begun working with young people to educate and direct them into public service, helping to establish the next generation:
This was the longest interview I conducted during the convention — not by design, but because Senator Allen had so many interesting thoughts on politics. Before he stumbled in 2006, I considered him the GOP’s best prospect for the presidential ticket in 2008, having been both Governor and Senator from Virginia, and it’s easy to recall why from this exchange. He seems content at the moment to work for John McCain — I didn’t know he was a delegate until he told me in this interview — and to build the conservative movement.
He makes an interesting point about parties in that regard. He stresses that these efforts have nothing directly to do with the Republican Party, and that his affiliation depends on the GOP hewing closely to conservative principles. In this regard, the pick of Sarah Palin delights him, and it sends a message that the Republicans could rebuild the Reagan coalition while respecting conservative values.
Allen has an equal amount of optimism for the GOP’s bench. We talked about Bobby Jindal as a future leader of the party and of the conservative movement, as well as Eric Cantor, Jeff Flake, Jim DeMint, Richard Burr, and many more.
For the most part, though, we talked about energy policy and the options we have in turning that into an American strength. It takes up the majority of this interview, and Allen speaks with real passion about this particular topic. Republicans would do well to emulate this passion across all of their races between now and November, and I suspect that Senator Allen would be happy to coach them on it.
You must be logged in to post a comment.
Blowback
Note from Hot Air management: This section is for comments from Hot Air's community of registered readers. Please don't assume that Hot Air management agrees with or otherwise endorses any particular comment just because we let it stand. A reminder: Anyone who fails to comply with our terms of use may lose their posting privilege.
Trackbacks/Pings
Trackback URL
Comments
One word kept this man from being our front runner.
carbon_footprint on September 5, 2008 at 2:35 PM
wtf is a macaca anyway?
his replacement is a douchebag.
bloghooligan on September 5, 2008 at 2:37 PM
He should be my Senator now except for the interference of the Washington Post, but he never fought back like he should have until it was too late.
Good to see the McCain/Palin campaign learned from this. Make no mistake about it, we have the absolutely worthless Jim Webb in the Senate now because the Post torpedoed Allen.
NoDonkey on September 5, 2008 at 2:38 PM
Brat on September 5, 2008 at 2:38 PM
I can’t even find a satisfactory definition/explanation on the internet.
My collie says:
CyberCipher on September 5, 2008 at 2:39 PM
For all the talk about the dirth of the conservative movement (disproved of course by response to Palin), this guy was front-runner. If not for one word.
Spirit of 1776 on September 5, 2008 at 2:41 PM
bloghooligan on September 5, 2008 at 2:37 PM
Amen! And good grief Gov. Kaine is just a mystery to me. What they heck is the appeal? I’m not living in Virginia right now, was he running against a Maple tree?
Cindy Munford on September 5, 2008 at 2:47 PM
Larry Sabato also helped spread rumors about Gov. Allen from his days at UVA. It really shook my faith in that “historian”.
Cindy Munford on September 5, 2008 at 2:49 PM
CyberCipher on September 5, 2008 at 2:39 PM
It means the MSM is going to keep floating and disparaging it until you KNOW that it is something rude, if not racist.
Cindy Munford on September 5, 2008 at 2:51 PM
The Virginia State Republican Party continues to produce crappy nominees, which is why the worthless Kaine and the equally worthless Mark Warner got elected.
Maybe I’ll run next time. I could motivate the base more than the warm buckets of spit that ran the last two elections.
NoDonkey on September 5, 2008 at 3:11 PM
We could not possibly have had a worse candidate to go up against Barack Obama than George Allen. And this is speaking as a former Virginian who met him several times. But the race baggage he has would have left his campaign DOA.
In fact, after Obama loses I think we will see some serious recrimination on the Left that they nailed Allen in 2006. Obama would have beaten him like a rented mule.
By the way, somebody really needs to go back and dissect that Allen-Webb race someday. It was the first shot of the modern leftist-thug campaign that is in full flower now with Obama. Webb won the primary with thug tactics, including anti-Semitic smears of his opponent, and they trotted out a “scandal” about Allen’s mother actually being a Jew, which hurt him almost as badly as the ‘macaca’ thing. There aren’t many Jews in Virginia, but a lot of them were horrified by that campaign. That’s a big reason why Jim Webb is not on the ticket with Obama.
rockmom on September 5, 2008 at 3:25 PM
The story I’ve heard that makes the most sense, is that “Macaca” is how Allen bungled the pronunciation of “Mohawka”, which was his campaign staff’s nickname for the young man assigned by the Webb campaign to follow Allen around endlessly and videotape his every word. (Which Allen of course, eventually played right into; an incident Washington Post then amplified a thousandfold.)
There’s a photograph of the fellow here, and he indeed did indeed sport a rather rakish Mohawk-styled haircut back then.
Ed Driscoll on September 5, 2008 at 3:26 PM
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Macaque
Tom
marinetbryant on September 5, 2008 at 3:28 PM
“Macaca” is a kind of monkey, which is considered a terrible insult to people of (Asian) Indian descent. Biden also said that you couldn’t go to 7-11 without speaking Urdu, but didn’t go as far as Allen did. Candidates of both parties should avoid racial epithets against Indian-Americans…one just might end up being Governor of Louisiana.
Steve Z on September 5, 2008 at 3:35 PM
This guys is GREAT!!!!
reshas1 on September 5, 2008 at 3:38 PM
Jim Webb had a few ethnic/racial slurs of his own and also published books that had some bizarre kiddie porn involving incest going on, but the Washington Post refused to report it.
Not to mention, Jim Webb has a great admiration for his CONFEDERATE ancestors. Which the Washington Post also conveniently felt was not news.
I’m sure they would have done the same for a Republican.
NoDonkey on September 5, 2008 at 3:39 PM
My dad canceled his Post subscription due to the whole macaca thing. I had been in the Army for a few years by that point, but followed the coverage online. On the Washington Times website.
The Post targeted and successfully destroyed Allen’s career. The scary thing is that the NY Times is much worse.
hump1201 on September 5, 2008 at 3:40 PM
Smart, well spoken man who said something stupid. Calling someone a monkey is insulting and feigning ignorance is beneath you. He deserves a second chance, we all know what that means. Go beg forgiveness of Rev. Al.
koolbrease on September 5, 2008 at 3:42 PM
And bring a few suitcases full of dollars.
And your soul.
NoDonkey on September 5, 2008 at 3:46 PM
Rockmom, you made a very good point about the anti-semitic attacks during that campaign. What was also apparent was that just like Obama, Webb was never made to answer any real policy questions or to validate his qualifications. His main point of desirability to the state Dems was that he was ex-military and ex-Reaganite (as tepid as he was).
What is also at play in the Old Dominion is the large population of northern liberals that have migrated south for gubmint jobs. They ruined their own states by their voting habits and are hell bent on doing the same here. Other than being able to breath and walk simultaneously, I have yet to figure out what qualities Gov Kaine brings to his office.
As to macaca, a couple of “paid” bloggers on the left here found the gaff on video several days after it happened. They went to wikipedia and gave it a definition (which previously didn’t exist there) as a derogatory Morrocan word. Apparently Allen’s mother or grandmother lived there and this made it highly likely that his (possibly Jewish) family ingrained it into his vocabulary.
In my opinion, the only difference between Jim Webb and David Duke is that I don’t know where Duke is these days.
TugboatPhil on September 5, 2008 at 3:56 PM
How does a politician’s career get destroyed? Don’t the voters decide?
The Race Card on September 5, 2008 at 3:58 PM
Tim Kaine recently replaced perfectly good freeway signs with new ones featuring a new font. Barf.
George Allen was a great Governor and a great Senator. He may yet have a future in politics. Fact is, if there was blatant racist baggage sitting around from his college days the Post would have already put it above the fold. I’ve personally heard secondhand that George liked him some heavy drinking in college, but that was the worst I’ve heard while in the world of lefty liberal arts schools in southern VA.
fiatboomer on September 5, 2008 at 10:56 PM
My Hypocrit/English English/Hypocrit
dictionary defines “Macaca” to be loosely translated as “typical white woman bitter gun clinger”
your findings may vary,
sven
sven10077 on September 6, 2008 at 8:16 AM
man did that dude get cheated in 06
Drunk Report on September 6, 2008 at 2:33 PM