Posted on 02/13/2006 11:07:30 AM PST by areafiftyone
George Allen, the not-so-bright, tobacco-dipping, football-quoting Senator from Virginia, is quickly emerging as the right wing's potential answer to John McCain come 2008. Allen solidified his standing as an inside the Beltway rising star by winning the Conservative Political Action Conference's '08 straw poll on Saturday, besting McCain 22 to 20 percent. He also won the title of "America's Best Senator" from Muslims for Bush.
Since we're likely to be hearing Allen's name more and more in the coming months, let's take a look back at what he thinks of the pressing issues of the day, starting with the selection of Ben Bernanke as Chairman of the Federal Reserve. From the New York Times, January 31, 2006:
Here is what Senator George Allen of Virginia, who is considering a bid for the Republican presidential nomination in 2008, said when asked his opinion of the Bernanke nomination.
''For what?''
Told that Mr. Bernanke was up for the Fed chairman's job, Mr. Allen hedged a little, said he had not been focused on it, and wondered aloud when the hearings would be. Told that the Senate Banking Committee hearings had concluded in November, the senator responded: ''You mean I missed them all? I paid no attention to them.''
The heir to Bush, only dumber.
YIKES!!!!
Um, this is "The Nation" folks. They are as much a reliable source as the National Enquirer. Check that, The Nation isn't even that reliable.
C'mere, Ari Berman.
You beat me to it. I started to read this, saw the direction it was going and backed up to look at the source and pictures of Katrina Vandenheuvel floated before my eyes.
I started to read this, saw the direction it was going and backed up to look at the source and pictures of Katrina Vandenheuvel floated before my eyes.
You're showing your ignorance.
These people are friends of Freepers and were at CPAC last week.
Allen's stand in the WoT, taxes, immigration, defense spending, social security's future, abortion and gay marriage are more important to me.
This is the same kind of crap a reporter named Andy Hiller tried to pull on G.W. back in 1999 or 2000--asking all sorts of names of leaders of different countries. Who gives a damn? This isn't "Jeopardy".
Now there's a "credential" that'll help Allen. /sarc
I stand with You and Senator Allen too, Recovering_Democrat.
Not-so-bright. Hmmmmmmm, where have we heard that before?
She'd be pretty HOT if she didn't always have such a scowl on her face. I think she's one of those permanently pissed off women.
The Nation is a piece of trash. And their implying that Bush is as dim as George Allen is a cheap shot. Bush on his worst day is still 10 times smarter than Dim Bulb Allen.
I saw Allen on CNN's Late Edition back in September in a head-to-head with Barbara Boxer, a vapid twit herself. Boxer had Allen for lunch. I couldn't believe it. She was out and out lying and Allen didn't even bother to try to rebut her. I was literally screaming at the TV yelling what he needed to say back to her. I would have left her a quivering lump of flesh curled up in the fetal position in the corner of the room. But Allen just let her get away with lie after lie after inaccuracy after inaccuracy. He was totally scripted and totally unable to go off the script to refute Boxer's lies. And the things he could have rebutted her on were nearly no-brainers.
Well I chalked it up to his maybe having a bad morning, but then he did the same thing when on with Charles Schumer on Late Edition back in January and let Schumer get away with one lie after another. And he was just as bad on Larry King Live last week against Democratic Congresswoman Jane Harman. With both he had ample opportunity to slam them hard on their misrepresentations, but just let them get away with it.
I'm telling you folks, this clown is going to take us over the precipice in 2008 if he's our candidate. He's truly a dimwit and Hillary will eat him alive. The debates will be a disaster if he's even unable to launch an effective counter-punch against the likes of Barbara Boxer.
Not only is Allen not particularly swift, but he has as much charisma and charm as a block of wood and looks like Howdy Doody. He just doesn't give off a presidential vibe.
I know arrogant liberal elitist rags like the Nation make a habit out of calling every GOP rising star "an idiot," but in the case of George Allen I'm afraid it may be true. We need to look elsewhere for a candidate for 2008. This guy will be a disaster. He will be the GOP's John Kerry.
This is great news! Since I've noticed that the dumber Bush is, the more he outsmarts the RATS at every turn and cleans their clocks again and again. Maybe if he or his 'heir' was 'smart', this would not happen.
ROFLMAO - I was trying to figure out who he looked like and you nailed it.
Only 4 words into it, and the name calling begins.
See comment #13, written by me. George Allen may be right on many of the issues, but he is the wrong candidate to keep the White House in the GOP's hands. Read my comments as to why...post #13.
He also looks like a less ugly David Letterman. He's just all wrong for a presidential run. He looks too clueless and odd.
The Nation? IBTZ?
The Nation=commie pinko bedwetters
for later
I don't pick that up either. Haven't seen anyone yet from whom I do, unfortunately.
Rudy G.
Click through the link unless you believe that the only good Muslim is a dead one, which I don't buy in to.
I tend to agree...it would be fun to watch him deny New York State to Hillary in '08.
Agreed.
Never defend teh commies at the Nation.
That said, I am less impressed by Allen as time goes on. And he's the conservative front runner. A while back he also had the political genius to try to say that life begins with brain waves, in an attempt to become a bit more moderate with the naral folks. All I can say is that if this is Allen's idea of being politically clever, then I'm not so sure that he is worthy of being a GOP candidate let alone the frontrunner....
Of course the next question is...if not Allen, who?
No to McCain. No to Giuliani.
Yes.
Take your bigotry somewhere else.
She is one of those libs who thinks no conservative is as brilliant as she... thus anyone on the right are to be looked down on. If I remember correctly she is the only female O'Reilly says he will never invite back on his show.
He got waxed.
I didn't see to confirm, but your comments about Sen. Allen's abilities go along with mine, if only a bit more severe.
I watched Meet the Press. Sen. Roberts of Kansas, Sen. Daschle, Con. Harman and Con. Hoekstra were discussing the wiretap issue.
If Allen came across like Sen. Roberts, he'd be elected in a landslide. We need more guys like Roberts.
Well, now that you've been outed as a party-over-principle big tenter, that explains a lot.
Every Republican President since Eisenhower, except Nixon. They had a lot to say about Nixon, but I don't recall dumb being one of them.
I was wondering when I posted if this was going to be one of those that are not allowed on Free Republic but apparently not.
Extended Biography:
Prior to his election to the Senate, Senator Allen served as the 67th Governor of Virginia from 1994-1998. As Governor, he won wide recognition for educational improvements such as the implementation of rigorous academic standards and teacher accountability. Several other hallmarks of Senator Allen’s tenure as Governor include the overhaul of an outdated juvenile justice system, work-oriented welfare reform and the abolition of parole for felons. Senator Allen is also widely credited with bringing a record $14 billion of private sector investment along with hundreds of thousands of jobs to Virginia through the expansion and relocation of technology and manufacturing companies.
Senator Allen was unanimously elected a member of the Senate Republican Leadership as Chairman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee in 2002.
Senator Allen holds a B.A. in History as well as a law degree from the University of Virginia. He and his wife, Susan, reside in Fairfax County with their three children: Tyler, Forrest, and Brooke.
Senator George Allen
* Professional:
o 2001 – Present 51st United States Senator from Virginia
o 1994 – 1998 67th Governor of the Commonwealth
o 1991 – 1993 U.S. Representative, elected in a special election
o 1983 – 1991 Virginia House of Delegates
* Personal:
o Birth date: March 8, 1952
o Family: Married, Susan
o Three children, Tyler, Forrest and Brooke
o Resides: Mt. Vernon, Virginia
o Political Hero: Thomas Jefferson
He has two degrees, has been a governor and a senator just for starts. Apparently, he does not practice the art of personal destruction when debating colleagues in public places.
There IS an exception to every rule.
Every tumor isn't cancerous either.
The Koran supercedes ANY other creed and belief, ergo like the one cancer cell that survives radiation treatment, it can again reproduce the organism's eventually death.
Bottom line? Islam is incongruous with all other people, just as Democrat Liberalism is incompatible with the principles of the Founders.
sigh~ The "star quality" is there. He's just so...well, you know. He'd have to have a die-hard conservative to balance him out.
Mike Pence
Wouldn't you think that a conservative would step up to fill the void? Republicans will not nominate McCain or Guliani, so it would seem that the first big-named, respectable conservative to join the race would become the favorite.
When is FR going to have its first online straw poll?
We have principles, just not the Brown Shirt ones you try to foist on us.
You really don't like Allen do you.
Just go ahead and vote NO now.
If I remember correctly she is the only female O'Reilly says he will never invite back on his show
"No to McCain. No to Giuliani."
I'm actually willing to say yes to both. I may not like everything they stand for, but they'll be strong on the issues most important to me: the war on terror, completing the mission in Iraq, keeping taxes low and in McCain's case in particular doing something to reduce spending, particularly by attacking pork.
I don't know that either will be good on the border issue, but other than Tancredo I don't know any Republican who will be. I'm willing to go with McCain or Rudy because they will do much of what I want if even on a few things they don't think quite like I do. But those are perifery issues for me.
If you'll forgive the aside, I actually think McCain-Feingold was good legislation for the GOP. The Democrats were nearly even with the GOP on soft money and by the 2004 race would have probably exceeded the GOP on soft dollars with the deluge of union money they were getting. The GOP on the other hand exceeds the Democrats 5-1 on hard money. McCain Feingold took soft money out of politics and put the Dems. at a tremendous fundraising disadvantage. I honestly believe without McCain Feingold's curbs on soft money, we'd have President John Kerry right now. The unions and other Democratic lapdog groups were just brutalizing the GOP with soft money. But McCain in one felled-swoop defanged those groups.
I wish we had a McCain Feingold-type law here in California during last year's special elections. The unions brutalized Arnold and those needed initiatives with $200 million in soft money ads. Not only did ALL THOSE NEEDED REFORMS LOSE BASED ON LYING SOFT MONEY ADS, Arnold's political career was nearly ended here. Even now he's still trying to dig his way out of the job approval hole those ads put him in.
So I appreciate what McCain did with CFR. I call it "The Defund the Democratic Party Act."
Anyway, forgive the long digression and back to my main point: as long as the Congress stays GOP they can steer much of the agenda if they'll step up to the plate without meeting much opposition from a President McCain of Guiliani.
But most important of all, both will easily defeat Hillary or any other Democratic comer.
When we can come up with enough candidates to create an actual list.
The Leftist Nation feels they have to bash him this early in the cycle? 3 years before the Presidential election??
He must be an AWESOME senator and candidate to get that kind of treatment!
As Quayle said, 'wear their scorn as a badge of honor'.
The Nation is already attacking Senator George Allen because he scares them. Allen has slapped down every RAT that ever tried to run against him.
The Nation simply uses the old, nasty tried and true journalistic trick of using selected quotes...if the quotes are at all true. But even if they are, you can prove anyone an idiot if you could use everything one says. Because everyone says something stupid or inane at one time or another.
I'm sure if we followed Ari Berman around for oh..say about five minutes, he'd give us a Jupiter-sized treasure trove of stupid quotes. Remember folks, we're talking about socialists here.
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