The Senator's Gentile Rebuke (Sen. Allen Angry at Reporter's Question about Jewish Ancestry)

Washington Post ^ | 9/19/06 | Dana Milbank

[nj26]

First came Sen. George Allen's Macaca Moment. Then we learned of challenger Jim Webb's thoughts on the "horny" women of the Naval Academy.

Now, just when you thought Virginia's U.S. Senate race couldn't get any weirder, the Jews of Tunis are making a cameo.

At a debate in Tysons Corner yesterday between Republican Allen and Democrat Webb, WUSA-TV's Peggy Fox asked Allen, the tobacco-chewing, cowboy-boot-wearing son of a pro football coach, if his Tunisian-born mother has Jewish blood.

"It has been reported," said Fox, that "your grandfather Felix, whom you were given your middle name for, was Jewish. Could you please tell us whether your forebears include Jews and, if so, at which point Jewish identity might have ended?"

Allen recoiled as if he had been struck. His supporters in the audience booed and hissed. "To be getting into what religion my mother is, I don't think is relevant," Allen said, furiously. "Why is that relevant -- my religion, Jim's religion or the religious beliefs of anyone out there?"

"Honesty, that's all," questioner Fox answered, looking a bit frightened.

"Oh, that's just all? That's just all," the senator mocked, pressing his attack. He directed Fox to "ask questions about issues that really matter to people here in Virginia" and refrain from "making aspersions."

"Let's move on," proposed the moderator, George Stephanopoulos of ABC News.

Yes, let's -- but not before we figure out what that was all about. Turns out the Forward, a Jewish newspaper, reported that the senator's mother, Etty, "comes from the august Sephardic Jewish Lumbroso family."

[TASMANIANRED]

We could do worse.

[Captain Jack Aubrey]

"Funny, confderate history month didn't hurt him with african americans in virginia. He gets the highest vote % of any republican in the state for african americans. He has more the double the approval rating(among blacks) (35-40%) of any other republican including that rino warner. When elections have rolled around he usually gets 20-25% of the black vote."

Do you think that will be the case after the national media is finished with him?

Just look at what they have done with macaca, a word no one has ever heard of.

Not to mention what his GOP opponents will to him.

[muir_redwoods]

His descendents are a better measure of a man than his ancestors are

That being said, I'd be proud to be a Jew.

[Shooter 2.5]

In general, Senators don't win the White House

I think I remember the curse that mentioned any president nominated in a year ending in Zero wouldn't finish their term. Reagan disproved that by about an inch.

Generally, the lame duck president's party loses seats on the last election meaning '06. We're going to disprove that.

Generally, Senators don't win the presidency. We're going to disprove that with Allen. He's a good man and just what we need now.

[Fairview]

The "newsie" at the Post suggested he lost his temper ~ those people lie about the time of day, so whatever the "newsie" said is not operative. Your servile acceptance of Post propaganda is disgusting.

I beg your pardon, but I do not believe anything the Post says, and I did not form my impression of what happened based on their article. There are other sources and opportunities to see and hear the exchange.

The insulting use of terms like "servile" and "disgusting" do not foster useful communication between conservatives.

[Fairview]

Please understand, I fully understand why he was angry; I would have been upset too. But it's not always necessary to show the anger. Sometimes a more effective point can be made by smoothly slipping a verbal knife between the questioner's ribs.

[tcrlaf]

Dems and thier lib allies become more NAZI-like every day now. I wonder if the Jewish Dem Voter realizes what's happening???

Hitler's Civil Service Act of 1933....

The Civil Servants Act means that only Aryans (members of the Aryan ”race”) can be employed as civil servants. The law defines what constitutes non-Aryan based on biological principles, in the ‘1. Ordinance for the re-establishing of the Civil Service’ (the “Aryan Law”):

§2 (1) Non-Aryan is he who descends from non-Aryan, especially Jewish, parents or grandparents. It suffices that only one parent or grandparent is non-Aryan.

§2 (2) Civil servants, who were not employed before 1 August 1914, shall provide documentation of their Aryan descend or of their active participation in the World War.

---

"I view the Jewish race in particular as the born enemy of the racially pure man and of any nobleness in him; I am convinced that they especially will destroy us Germans."-WAGNER

---

"I have long been convinced that Jewry constitutes the cancer in all of our life; as Jews, they are strangers in any European state and as such they are northing but spreaders of decay." -Paul de Lagarde

---

The Nazis did not exclusively view the Jews as a religious community, but rather as belonging to the ‘Semitic race’.

This race tried to gain power at the expense of the Aryan race. Such ideas had been propagated by the French count Joseph de Gobineu and the Englishman Houston Stewart Chamberlain at the end of the 19th century.

The position of the Jews at the centre of both political and economic affairs was perfect for theories of political conspiracy. It was relatively easy to accuse Jews of being in collusion with and responsible for communism, capitalism, liberalism, socialism, revolution, etc., etc.

The so-called "The Nuremberg Laws" from 1935 were a landmark event. They were a collection of race laws that definitively segregated the Jews from the German Volksgemeinschaft (‘people’s community’).

[GraceCoolidge]

Have you ever seen a John Wayne movie called "The Quiet Man"? It is set in Ireland. In one scene, John Wayne and another character pull up in front of a pub named "Cohan's." John Wayne looks at the sign, and his companion says, "Over here, we pronounce it Co-HAN."

[Polybius]

So asking if you have Jewish ancestors is "casting aspersions"? What's that about?

It was about driving a stake through his own heart as far as any future national political office is concerned.

[StoneColdTaxHater]

And the point is????

[Polybius]

Asking ANY questions about ancestors should be off base, whether they are Jewish, Chinese, black, or little green men from outer space.

Maybe so but, by characterizing the question as "an aspersion", he jumped the political shark.

Take a question about a hypothetical black ancestor:

An answer along the lines of "(Yes - No), my grandfather (was - was not) black. Did you have any policy questions?" is what America expects from a 21st Century American politicians.

Replying that the reporter should refrain from "making aspersions" is the same as answering "How dare you imply I have black blood coursing through my veins?" That is the answer you would expect from a David Duke.

[Wonder Warthog]

Bullshit.

[muawiyah]

No, that's true. They are the sorts of words that draw lines in the sand.

They're nifty for surfacing fissures too!

[muawiyah]

The reporter was also into a "yo mamma" moment in this. George would have been fully justified in coming down off the podium and smacking her around just for that.

It's very obvious he held his anger.

I fear that some Freepers are not able to comprehend this not having held their own mother's in high esteem.

[Wonder Warthog]

"The reporter was also into a "yo mamma" moment in this. George would have been fully justified in coming down off the podium and smacking her around just for that."

Yeah, I pretty much gleaned that from the article.

[airborne]

I don't know enough about the man to make a decision either way.

However, your attitude and rudeness have, in my mind, reflected poorly on your candidate.

[linda_22003]

Think of George M. Cohan and his family, "The Four Cohans". As Irish as they came. :)

[rabidralph]

I can't think of a single USNA graduate (James Webb, John McCain, Jimmy Carter, Charles Larson) who I am proud to see in politics. What's up with that?

[CharlesWayneCT]

I don't see his reply as angry, I see it as indignant. He's not screaming, he's not furrowing his brow, he's not excessively scowling.

Dana Milbank simply made up emotions to describe Allen. Watch the video, he didn't recoil. He looked surprised at the question I guess, although his reaction didn't really seem odd -- I watched some other questions and often the candidates have "interesting" looks on their faces as they try to concentrate so they get the question right.

Her question was a long one, giving him a long time to think about it. The quotes in Milbank's article cut the question short, probably to make it sound more reasonable.

And people at the event say Allen did not look angry afterwords when talking about it either, and say he was right to say he was not angry (again, Milbank SAYS he was angry when saying he was not angry, but why believe Milbank?).

There's even a podcast from after the event that a virginia blogger captured with Allen, it's long (over 10 minutes) of solid questions and answers on issues, and it's impressive, when you realise the guy just finished a debate. Good answers, thoughtful answers, not a trace of anger.

The same guy has small audio clips of interviews he and a democrat blogger did RIGHT after the event. Not ONE interviewee suggests that allen was mad, or answered wrong. George Stephanopolis said Allen handled the question well. Local democrat politician said the question was offensive. Webb agreed with Allen on his answer.

The "Allen was angry" spin was added later by Lowell Feld, Webb's paid blogger, trying to figure out how to make this work for his candidate. Lowell's good at this. At one poine he had a big yellow star of david on his web site.

Once this letter came out from Allen, Lowell took it down -- bad idea to remind people of the mark of the holocaust when your opponent's grandfather was held by the nazi's and you are being accused of "calling out jews".

A lot of times you can look at a video, and there are several ways to interpret mood. The democrats know this, and they work hard to plant an idea in the minds of the voters that the mood you are seeing is "anger".

If you start firmly believing that Webb is just an angry man, and watch HIS videos, you will see an angry, bitter man answering questions. His handlers say that's "thoughtful", and if you think that it's what it looks like.

That's all I'll say on the subject.

[Fairview]

Good observations, thanks for a valuable perspective.