In Norfolk, Virginia, Jagdish A. Singh and Gogol Ganguli express opposition toward Sen. George Allen over a remark about an Indian-American member of his rival's campaign. (Vicki Cronis / Virginian Pilot)

George Allen's Twelve Days of Refusal
Reveals a lifetime of Good Ol' Boy intolerance.

-- Ira Forman

After seeing his lead in the Virginia Senate race drop by nearly 10 points in just 12 short days, Virginia Senator George Allen finally apologized last week to S.R. Sidarth for using the racial slur 'macaca' to describe the 21-year old Virginia native of Indian descent who is working on the Jim Webb for Senate campaign this summer.

For some, the use of a racial slur by a politician who thinks he is presidential material is absolutely shocking. But for those of us who know the real George Allen, the Senator's use of a racial slur is just another example of his 'Good Ol' Boy' intolerance.

• Defending the use of Hitler Comparisons: In 1993, George Allen refused to distance himself from an unsanctioned Republican flier comparing his opponent to Adolph Hitler. When pressed on the issue, Allen "dismissed Nazi comparisons as just part of the rough-and-tumble of politics." Rather than denounce the flier, Allen then said, "You have to have a thick skin and a sense of humor and common sense in politics..." (Washington Post, 10/13/93; Washington Times, 10/23/93; The Roanoke Times, 10/13/95)
  
• Cozying up to Radical Right-Winger Pat Robertson: In 2005, Senator Allen delivered the commencement address at Pat Robertson's Regent University. In an appearance on ABC's "This Week" days before Allen's commencement address, Robertson argued that federal judges pose more of a threat to the United States than "a few bearded terrorists who fly into buildings," and George Allen would make a "tremendous" president. When called on to denounce Robertson's ridiculous claim about federal judges, Allen refused and went on to deliver the commencement address at the right-wing radical's university. (Richmond Times-Dispatch, 5/2/05)
  
• Reaching out to Southern Poverty Law Center-Designated Hate Group: In 1996, while serving as Virginia Governor, Allen sought out a relationship with the Council of Conservative Citizens (CCC), a successor organization to the White Citizens Council, a recognized hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center and one of the largest white supremacist organizations. A picture of Allen posing with CCC officials was featured in the CCC Summer newsletter that summer. While discussing the photo, a CCC organizer in the picture said, "It [the picture] helped us as much as it helped him... We got our bona fides." (The Nation, August 29, 2006)
  
• Forcing Virginia Public School Students to Study the Bible: As Governor, George Allen's "Standards of Learning" proposal supported the inclusion of Bible studies in all public school curricula. (Salon.com, 11/17/99)
  
• Displaying a Noose in his Office: From 1998 to 2000, George Allen displayed a noose in his office. Allen regularly defended the noose, arguing, "It has nothing to do lynching," and is "more of a lasso." After being pressed for literally years, Allen finally admitted in 2006 that it was, indeed, a "little old noose." (The New York Times, 6/19/05; The New York Times, 2/2/05; MSNBC, 5/24/06)
  
• Embracing the Confederate Flag: In 1993, as a candidate for governor, George Allen displayed a Confederate flag in the very first television ad of his campaign. Almost not surprisingly, Allen's senior high school picture shows the Senator sporting a Confederate flag pin on his lapel. In college, Allen proudly displayed the Confederate flag on the back of his pickup truck and in his college dorm room where the flag "was an explosive issue." (The New Republic, 5/15/06; The New Republic, May 8, 2006)
  
• Ridiculing and Mocking Single Mothers Receiving Welfare: During a speech at Glenmore Country Club, then Governor George Allen mocked single mothers receiving welfare and implied that single mothers on welfare are promiscuous. He said, "Well, you know, when you come to ask for support for yourself and your child or children, we want to know who the father is... Oh gosh, how's she ever gonna figure that out? That's going to be too tough. Just give us a couple, three names. You know, there is DNA testing. We'll find him." (Richmond Free Press, July 25, 1995)
  
• Rescinding a Woman's Right to Choose: George Allen is an out-spoken opponent of a woman's right to choose. He proudly holds a 100% voting record with the National Right to Life organization, and as Governor, he rescinded existing health care coverage for abortions for state employees. (www.nrlc.org; Washington Post, 6/8/96)
  
• Calling Homosexuality "Unnatural" and "Illegal": In 1994, George Allen called gay relationships "unnatural" and "illegal," noting that he opposes permitting two gay parents to adopt a child because it is "not in the best interests of a child to be raised in that environment." In 2006, during a town hall meeting, Allen voiced his opposition to defining sexual orientation as a civil right, noting, "I don't care to raise it to that status." (Richmond Times-Dispatch, 7/14/94; Culpeper Star Exponent, 3/22/06)
  
• Forced to Apologize to Democratic Opponent for Implying that she Supported an Iraq Victory in the Gulf War: After winning his election to the governorship in 1991, Allen apologized to his Democratic opponent for running an ad that "question[ed] the wisdom - if not the patriotism - of [his] Democratic opponent." Shamelessly, Allen's campaign superimposed a picture of his opponent over an antiwar demonstration that highlighted a banner reading "Victory to Iraq." (Washington Post, 11/12/91).
  
• Temper or just Plain Mean? In her book Fifth Quarter, Allen's sister Jennifer Allen outlines Senator Allen's mean streak and short temper.
  A Community Menace: When describing how George and her brother Gregory would destroy neighborhood mailboxes, Jennifer writes, "George would swerve his Mach II Mustang while Gregory held the baseball bat out the window to clear the mailbox of its post."
  Holding Sister over Railing at Niagara Falls: Jennifer writes, "Ever since my brother George held me over the railing at Niagara Falls, I've had a fear of heights."

Like we said, just another example of George Allen's Good Ol' Boy intolerance.