I had to post.

Sen. George Allen (R-VA) is a verified racist. He was caught hurling racial slurs at a young campaign volunteer for his opponent and his popularity and poll numbers are tanking.

This morning Max Blumenthal at The Nation released a very telling piece on Sen. Allen’s racist past and his embracement of the Council of Conservative Citizens, a hate group descended from the Klan. Allen will lose this race, because overt racism transcends party labels. Allen is un-American and he should be punished by the voters for his un-American, bigoted views. George Allen might just be the stupidest, empty-suit politician alive today.

Well, maybe not.

If you read one article today, read this piece.

Rep. Katherine Harris (R-FL) is absolutely, unequivocally, unmistakably off her rocker. She’s saying crazy things again.

From the Associated Press:

U.S. Rep. Katherine Harris told a religious journal that separation of church and state is “a lie” and God and the
nation’s founding fathers did not intend the country be “a nation of secular laws.”

The Republican candidate for U.S. Senate also said that if Christians are not elected, politicians will “legislate sin,” including abortion and gay marriage.

Harris made the comments — which she clarified Saturday — in the Florida Baptist Witness, the weekly journal of the Florida Baptist State Convention, which interviewed political candidates and asked them about religion and their positions on issues.

Separation of church and state is “a lie we have been told,” Harris said in the interview, published Thursday, saying separating religion and politics is “wrong because God is the one who chooses our rulers.”

This woman wants to be a United States Senator? We (the royal we) should all chip in, rent a 15-passenger van from Hertz and take Sen. George Allen (R-VA) and Katherine Harris on a long drive around America. You know, meet some nice people, see the historic sites and hopefully learn something about real America and about real Americans. These two career politicians are divorced from reality.

Could George Allen’s (R-VA) career in politics be over? Let’s hope so. Jim Webb (D) still has a massive uphill battle, but Allen can’t stop hurting himself with his racist mouth. Ryan Lizza of the The New Republic found this article on Allen’s Jewish roots. Interesting stuff.

One of the questions I had about Eve Kessler’s fascinating look at Senator George Allen’s Jewish roots is whether Allen has known about this heritage but played it down, or whether it was news to him.

Bob Gibson, a longtime columnist for the Charlottesville Daily Progress, relays the following anecdote, which seems to clear things up:

It’s funny, but the only time that George Allen ever wanted a correction from me in 27 years of covering his races was when I wrote about his mother’s Jewish family origins. He insisted, through a press secretary, that his mother was raised a Christian.

As I said, this controversy is taking a toll on Allen. A Zogby poll released yesterday has Webb up 1%. Not significant in numbers, but it’s the movement that counts. Even if the spread is 4-5% in reality, this race is tightening and putting enormous pressure on Allen. This is a good thing!

Below are the dates for numerous Senate debates on NBC’s Meet the Press. Tune in, y’all!

via First Read:

September 3:
Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum (R) and Bob Casey (D)

September 13:
Virginia Sen. George Allen (R) vs. Jim Webb (D)

October 1:
Ohio Sen. Mike DeWine (R) vs. Rep. Sherrod Brown (D)

October 8:
Missouri Sen. Jim Talent (R) vs. Claire McCaskill (D)

October 15:
Minnesota candidates Amy Klobuchar (D) and Mark Kennedy (R)

October 29:
Maryland Senate nominees (still TBD)

George Allen, the racist Virginia Senator who was caught on camera hurling racial slurs at an opponent’s young staffer has now personally called his victim to apologize.

From the New York Times:

Senator George Allen of Virginia personally apologized to a volunteer for his opponent’s campaign on Wednesday for a perceived racial insult, addressing a misstep that has complicated his re-election campaign and raised doubts about his potential as a Republican presidential contender in 2008.

A few hours before he appeared with President Bush at a fund-raising event, Mr. Allen telephoned the volunteer, S. R. Sidarth, to say he was sorry for mockingly referring to him as “macaca” at an Aug. 11 campaign event. Mr. Sidarth, a 20-year-old college student, caught the moment on video as part of his job of recording Mr. Allen’s public appearances, and it quickly became a sensation on television and the Internet.

What did Allen say in his apology?

“He apologized for his comments,” said Mr. Sidarth, who is an American of Indian descent, in a telephone interview from the University of Virginia, where he has resumed his classes. “He took the blame for saying them, and he said he didn’t realize how offended I was until he heard my comments from the media.”

George Allen is not only an empty suit, he’s a bigot and he doesn’t deserve to be a member of the United States Senate. His racist past and this latest debacle have certainly disqualified him from being President or Senator.

The latest polls have shown support for Allen is dropping and the netroots community – particularly DoubleSpeak – has hit him from every angle.

Beating Allen should be a priority for every American. There is no room for ANY racism in America and especially in the United States Senate.

Jim Webb in 2006.

Virginia Republican Senator George Allen is hurting. In fact, a new SurveyUSA poll clearly defines just how much his recent racist remarks have hurt him in hid bid for the Presidency, errr, the U.S. Senate in Virginia.

From the poll:

GOP Allen’s Once Large Lead Evaporates: In an election for the United States Senate in Virginia today, 8/21/06, incumbent Republican George Allen edges Democrat challenger James Webb 48% to 45%, according to an exclusive SurveyUSA poll conducted for W*USA-TV in Washington, DC.

Since an identical SurveyUSA poll released 6/28/06, Allen has lost 8 points and Webb has gained 8 points. Allen’s lead has shrunk from 19 points to 3 points.

Interviewing for this poll began 8/18/06, one week after Allen singled out a Webb campaign worker at an Allen rally. Allen has lost support across all demographic groups, but in particular, among younger voters. He has gone from Plus 23 to Minus 17, a swing of 40 points. In Southeastern VA, Allen has gone from a 2:1 lead to a tie, a 31-point swing.

The polls really started to move in Webb’s favor when DoubleSpeak released it’s first web ad hitting George Allen hard for his bigotry. If you haven’t seen it yet, check it out here.

DoubleSpeak’s First Web Ad: “A Troubling Future”

George Allen:
A Troubling Past.
An Even More Troubling Future.

Well the spinning continues in Macaca-gate. If you’re not familiar with the story you can catch up here but the gist is that Sen. Allen is a bigot and publically harassed a minority staffer from Democratic opponent Jim Webb’s campaign. Well now the Allen campaign has another explanation. From Hotline:

What does Macaca really mean? Three Virginia Republicans confirmed to the Hotline that several Allen campaign aides and advisers are telling allies that the word was a made-up, off-the-cuff neologism that these aides occasionally used to refer to tracker S.R. Sidarth well before last Saturday’s videotaped encounter.

According to two Republicans who heard the word used, “macaca” was a mash-up of “Mohawk,” referring to Sidarth’s distinctive hair, and “caca,” Spanish slang for excrement, or “shit.”

Said one Republican close to the campaign: “In other words, he was a shit-head, an annoyance.” Allen, according to Republicans, heard members of his traveling entourage and Virginia Republicans use the phrase and picked it up. It was the first word that came to his mind when he spied Sidarth at the weekend’s event, according to Republicans who have been briefed on Allen’s version of the event.

Translation: Senator Allen isn’t a bigot, he’s just a huge asshole.

Here is S.R. Sidarth, the 20-year old UVA student who was a victim of Sen. George Allen’s (R-VA) racist assault. Picture courtesy of Wonkette.