Much Ado

Hmm... apparently there’s a bit of a brouhaha over some comments redneck* Senator George Allen made to an opposition videographer. I’ve looked at the footage in question, and... as much as I want to bash Allen (who more than deserves it), I just don’t see it here.

Read the transcripts and you might think something was going on, but watching the tape? I honestly don’t think Allen was going for a slur — not to mention making one up while he was at it. He’s not that smart. As much as I hate to admit it, it really looks like he had been misinformed as to the guy’s name, and was just trying to use what he’d been told. He’s in full-on politico mode here. As for the “welcome to America” bit, maybe it was someething, maybe not. But coming on the heels of his (dim-witted) “Hollywood” comments, it seems perfectly fitting in the right-wing GOP context.

Not that I vote anymore anyway, but I’d like to see this weasel removed on his merits (or lack thereof), not on something this apparently weak. Come on, bring out the real weaponry.

* Lest anyone accuse me of bigotry, back in his Governor days, Allen used to wear the “redneck” name proudly, and happily played into the stereotype, even having a spittoon installed in his office (he has a rather nasty tobacco-chewing habit). Oh, I’ll gladly use the term in a derogatory manner when it suits me, no apologies. But here it’s strictly a self-selected label.

Technorati tags: George Allen, Racism