my theory, which i dont have in me to do research on, i am not a journalist, just an opinionated woman, but i hope some one else finds my thinking interesting enough to consider...
the theory goes: Jim Webb did not believe he could beat Sen. Allen in the republican primary, so he decided to run as a democrat against candidate Harris Miller, who is jewish. Webb then used what i would consider anti-semetic tactics in his campaign, including this charicature:
this is something i blogged about back in june, as i was concerned that this might just be how hatred starts, and then spreads from there. anyhow, Webb beats the true democratic candidate in the primary through these tactics, and now once again, judiasm will most likely be the main issue that will cost his opponent the election and i cant help but think that maybe Mr. Webb has something to do with the (true) jewish rumor.
i am not a fan of Sen. Allen, he is racist and hateful, but i believe finding out he is of jewish heratige will spin his entire life out of control. it will effect his self-image, it will put into question everything he believes true to know that his parents lied to him his whole life, it will affect his children and he will have to find a way to discuss this with them, it could ruin his marriage....we dont know how this survivor family's story will play out, but i need say to him:
"Senator Allen, you have my support to use this chaotic moment in your life to grow. i ask you not to change what you believe about your religion, only diversity. you are now in the position to reconsider all the avenues you have taken in life, the racial slurs, the anti-semitism, the history of the CCC/KKK, and truly change for the better..."
Song of the day:
2 comments:
Molly, I think you're being unfair to Jim Webb. The fact of the matter is that Webb didn't decide to run as a Democrat the way you're suggesting. Webb got into the race as the result of a "draft Webb" movement spearheaded in large part by bloggers here, here, and at the Daily Kos. There's nothing to suggest that he ever considered running against Allen in the Republican primary.
I've looked at the flyer that Webb put out against Harris (you can see the whole thing here) and I'm honestly not convinced either way. The caricature and the use of the phrase "anti-Christ of outsourcing" do strike me as possibly, but not necessarily, anti-Semitic. Note that the phrase is in quotation marks on the flyer, suggesting that the Webb campaign didn't coin it. As for the caricature, it could as easily be a caricature of a lobbyist (e.g. money sticking out of the jacket pockets), which Harris was, as of a Jew. It also happens to look an awful lot like Harris Miller. It if was a dig against Harris for being Jewish, it was awfully subtle, and I also am not convinced that calling your opponent Jewish in a Democratic Primary would really be all that damaging. So I'm slightly disturbed by the flyer and can see why others would be suspicious, but I'm not ready to conclude that Webb is anti-Semitic on the basis of that alone.
As for the Allen rumors, those have been circulating for YEARS. Webb has had nothing to say about them and in fact has repeatedly called them "irrelevant" to the campaign. He didn't create this story.
Allen, on the other hand, is a stone racist. If the choice is between a Democratic candidate who used a questionable campaign flyer and a Republican candidate who ridicules non-whites at campaign events, has had a lifetime love affair with the Confederacy (despite the fact that he was born and raised in California), hung a noose in his law office, voted against an MLK holiday, and has cozied up to the Council of Conservative Citizens (bad people), then the choice is clear. The idea of George Allen calling anyone out as a bigot is simply laughable. Oh, and he lied in the debate.
All that said, I really appreciate your closing paragraph and join wholeheartedly in hoping that George Allen's outlook is changed as a result of this experience and that he truly does become a champion of diversity and tolerance. However, as I said to you on the Have Coffee blog yesterday, I don't think he belongs in the U.S. Senate, and I hope Jim Webb sends him back to the private sector.
matthew, i appreciate you taking the time to stop by here and comment as well as by havecoffeewillwrite.
i do not have theory on how webb is involved with this rumor, but i still do. its just how i feel (like i said in the post)
and i do feel that bringing forward both that caricature, (which i will admit looks like miller, but with the money in the pocket brings up a history, such as black face, that resonates with people and history) and the "anti-christ of outsourcing' quote, was very bad thinking on the part of his campaign, as well as bad thinking on the part of webb himself for allowing that to go forward. unintentional racism is still racism. that is how i feel about it.
much nazi propaganda early on seemed innocuous, which is why i mention my wonder on if this is how hatred starts.
anyhow, like i said, i dont care for allen, and i am not saying he should win in the election, just that such images and rumors about judiasm have no place in politics...its a very slippery slope.
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