Posted on 04/30/2006 7:41:33 PM PDT by Crackingham
Sen. George Allen, who has tried to reach out to minority voters in recent years, wore a Confederate flag pin on his shirt collar in a high-school yearbook photo, a national magazine reported yesterday. As a high school student in Palos Verdes, Calif., Allen was seen riding in or driving a Ford Mustang with either a Confederate flag license plate or Confederate flag imagery on the car, The New Republic quoted witnesses as saying.
The Virginia Republican, seeking re-election now and weighing a presidential bid in 2008, was to depart today to co-host a civil-rights history tour for members of Congress to Southside Virginia. The topic is to be progress toward racial reconciliation. Allen staff confirmed that the pin in his yearbook picture depicted a Confederate flag. An Allen aide told the magazine the senator didn't remember a Confederate flag on his Mustang but that it was possible.
As a high school student in California, "I generally bucked authority and the rebel flag was just a way to express that attitude," Allen said in a written statement to the magazine. "Life is a learning experience and I have learned quite a bit in the ensuing 36 years."
He went on to discuss his belief in equal opportunity, his learning from participating in a civil-rights history tour to Alabama several years ago and his proposed Senate legislation to aid minority colleges.
Harris Miller, one of two Democrats seeking the nomination to run against Allen, said yesterday that he found Allen's explanation "pretty disingenuous" considering that while he held state office, he had "a troubling record on minority issues."
Miller cited Allen's issuance while governor of a "highly divisive" Confederate history and heritage month proclamation and his vote, while a member of the House of Delegates, against a Martin Luther King Jr. holiday.
"We need leaders who will celebrate all that we have in common rather than things that divide us," Miller said.
Yes, it is. But it will factor into the Senate race.
Harris Miller is already attacking him for it. But I sent to the Miller campaign and will send to the RTD if necessary a link to James Webb's 1990 speech at the Confederate Memorial.
THAT was not a "high school indiscretion" by any stretch.
If Miller continues to hit Allen for this and not Webb for the same issue, it will backfire.
OH, is Pence of Indiana running against George Allen of VA for for US Senate?
Hello. You too?
This is about George Allen reelection race in VIRGINA.
I wonder how many reporters who worked this story own a "Che" t-shirt.
It's in the Richmond paper.
This is aimed at VA voters.
Hardly anyone outside VA would see this but for the Inet and FR.
Well Darnright is correct to an extent. The original hit piece was in "The American Spectator" and there's a thread on it around here somewhere (just in the last couple of days).
But onyx is also right. This is playing in Richmond now because of the Senate race.
LOL!!!
Some folks just can't resist any opportunity to get there digs in at George.
I thought it was bright in here, but I was wrong. It's BRILLIANT!
oops! there=their
Exactly, the MSM sleaze machine is getting cranked up...this reminds me of those lurid stories that started to come out of Texas around the time it became obvious President Bush would be a candidate, concerning the rate of executions in that state (were the innocent being executed, etc..) Ever heard any stories of Texas executions RECENTLY? You'd think Texas abolished the death penalty!
Ah yes, parts of it sounded a little too familiar. The Am. Spec. I recall it now.
Thanks, Corin.
< snip >
Allen and Lewis are hosting the Washington-based Faith and Politics Institute's "Reconcilation Pilgrimage" to Prince Edward County, which closed its schools for five years rather than comply with court-ordered desegregation. The institute, which has conducted several such pilgrimages, is examining Prince Edward because of its success in healing some of the scars of that era. Five members of Congress, including Allen and Lewis, came to Farmville for the program.
Allen has attended institute programs before, including a pilgimage to Selma, Montgomery and Birmingham, Ala., that he said was part of the reason he was the lead Republican sponsor of a resolution apologizing for the Senate's failure decades ago to outlaw lynching. Yesterday, he said he supports building a coalition of lawmakers to address a resolution about slavery.
Ken Woodley, editor of the Farmville Herald and a participant in the program yesterday, had challenged Allen and Lewis to spearhead an effort to pass a congressional resolution apologizing for slavery and to provide some type of reparations for the losses suffered by blacks. By reparations, Woodley said he envisions a sort of domestic Marshall Plan that would address education, health-care and economic-development issues for blacks.
"This has to be achieved before the 400th anniversary of Jamestown [in 2007], because that is where slavery came to this country," Woodley said.
< snip >
There's a good reason for that, Democrats created the Confederate flag, just as Democrats created the Confederacy, the Klu Klux Klan, and used the Confederate flag to first intimidate blacks into not voting at all and then when forced to allow them to vote by republicans, democrats did a 180 and used the confederate flag as a symbol of racism to get the black vote in the south.
My advise to Allen is that everytime the Confederate flag issue comes up, he should point out how it is a symbol the democrats used during their high of power in the south to control who voted how in the south.
Oh yeah. Like that's gonna carry the south...
I think the original hit piece is in The New Republic here and a rebuttal is in TAS here
Senator Allen sure seems to be worrying the Dems!
I don't care about a crappy Senate seat. I'm talking about '08.
Who cares about the Senate anyhow? Like a nice 50/50 split and gridlock wouldn't be an improvement over what has been going on there the last few years.
And your right. Kathleen Parker said this in her column on Friday ~ Allen, indeed, is a favorite among Republican Party players. He's also the one Democrats worry about most, according to an insider who told me: "The one Hillary's worried about is George Allen."
And BTW, my comments page still has that wiggling eyebrow on it. It's creepy!
Well, facts ARE facts. South Carolina got their "hertiage" over the state capitol thanks to Fritz Hollings in the '50s. If "the south" doesn't like the party of Lincoln they can vote back in the DemocRATs (come to think of it, Arkansas and Louisana did exactly that... good going, guys).
The "evil kennebunkport damnyankee carpetbagger" George W. Bush pointed out during the 2000 campaign that TX took down the confederate flag, and all the "confederate hertiage" types ranted and raved about it and then Pat Buchanan ran around the south touting his "pro-confederate" credentials as the 2nd coming of George Wallace.
Well "the south" gave the "damnyankee kennebunkport liberal" about 57% of their votes, and "Mr. Confederate hertiage" Pat Buchanan about 0.25% of their votes.
Looks like you guys aren't as representative of "the south" as you think.
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