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<H2 align=justify>Racial hostility destroys Senator George Allen</H2><HR>
By Professor David P Rowe
Ex-Senator George Allen whose father owns the Washington Redskins was coasting along politically. Tall, bright, white and wealthy he owns all the classic qualifications for the US Presidency. Allen started his recent US senate re-election campaign 16 points ahead of Democrat Jim Webb in the Commonwealth of Virginia.
Allen’s platform was aggressively conservative, being tough on criminals and focusing on education. He was considered a shoo-in to the Senate and then the Presidency in 2008, before he called a political aide to Jim Webb a Macaca, a pejorative expression, meaning monkey. The political aide is of Indian descent.
The Macaca remark set off a firestorm of criticism and within a month Webb was mounting a major political challenge for Allen’s Senate seat. Shortly after the remark was made genealogists traced Allen’s partially Jewish heritage and Allen’s initial attempts to deny this or ignore it, made the inappropriate situation even more awkward.
Several witnesses who heard Allen make racial remarks during and after college came forward and Allen was not comfortable politically anymore. Webb rode Allen’s gaffe to victory in Virginia by 7,000 votes and the Associated Press declared Webb the winner in this contest on Thursday of this week.
Allen’s sudden decline and fall reminded many that 24 hours is a long time in politics. It was reflective of the rejection of Republican legislators by the US voters at this mid-term election. Webb’s victory gave the Democrats 51 seats and uncontested control of the US Senate.
Allen who supports the Iraq war and the draft is now in the political wilderness, the supporter of a lame duck President without a political seat from which to leverage his presidential ambitions. Coloured people who have died fighting for the Commonwealth of Virginia in every war since the 17th century were shocked to have been degraded by a Republican insider as monkeys or Macacas.
Should we associate Allen comments with the current frigid bi-lateral relations between the USA and Jamaica? Perhaps Mr. Allen’s warmongering friends at the State Department think that Jamaicans are Macacas too!
David P Rowe is a Professor of Law at the University of Miami School of Law and The St Thomas University School of Law
By Professor David P Rowe
Ex-Senator George Allen whose father owns the Washington Redskins was coasting along politically. Tall, bright, white and wealthy he owns all the classic qualifications for the US Presidency. Allen started his recent US senate re-election campaign 16 points ahead of Democrat Jim Webb in the Commonwealth of Virginia.
Allen’s platform was aggressively conservative, being tough on criminals and focusing on education. He was considered a shoo-in to the Senate and then the Presidency in 2008, before he called a political aide to Jim Webb a Macaca, a pejorative expression, meaning monkey. The political aide is of Indian descent.
The Macaca remark set off a firestorm of criticism and within a month Webb was mounting a major political challenge for Allen’s Senate seat. Shortly after the remark was made genealogists traced Allen’s partially Jewish heritage and Allen’s initial attempts to deny this or ignore it, made the inappropriate situation even more awkward.
Several witnesses who heard Allen make racial remarks during and after college came forward and Allen was not comfortable politically anymore. Webb rode Allen’s gaffe to victory in Virginia by 7,000 votes and the Associated Press declared Webb the winner in this contest on Thursday of this week.
Allen’s sudden decline and fall reminded many that 24 hours is a long time in politics. It was reflective of the rejection of Republican legislators by the US voters at this mid-term election. Webb’s victory gave the Democrats 51 seats and uncontested control of the US Senate.
Allen who supports the Iraq war and the draft is now in the political wilderness, the supporter of a lame duck President without a political seat from which to leverage his presidential ambitions. Coloured people who have died fighting for the Commonwealth of Virginia in every war since the 17th century were shocked to have been degraded by a Republican insider as monkeys or Macacas.
Should we associate Allen comments with the current frigid bi-lateral relations between the USA and Jamaica? Perhaps Mr. Allen’s warmongering friends at the State Department think that Jamaicans are Macacas too!
David P Rowe is a Professor of Law at the University of Miami School of Law and The St Thomas University School of Law
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