Decision ‘08

Allen Camp Issues Detailed Denial Of Salon Claims

Earlier today, I blogged about Salon’s accusations from three ex-teammates of George Allen that he frequently used the ‘N’ word and other such crap we’ve come to associate with ‘oppo’ research (accompanied by the testimony of far more than three that they witnessed no such behavior and found him to be a praiseworthy individual). Allen’s camp has issued a detailed denial here.

A sample: among the dubious accusations in the Salon article is that Allen gave a player by the last name of Shelton the nickname of “Wizard” because ~~that was the last name of some higher-up in the Ku Klux Klan~~ he shared his last name with the Grand Wizard of the Ku Klux Klan (I know, it sounds absurd even typing it). The response of Allen’s teammates:

Joe Gieck, 35-year UVA trainer: “I seem to recall that Ken Shelton got the ‘Wizard’ nickname for his pass catching ability and before George Allen came to the University of Virginia.”

George Korte, UVA linebacker ‘70-’73: “Ken Shelton received his nickname because of his ability as a tight end to magically get open and catch the football not because he shared someone’s last name.”

Charlie Hale, UVA center ‘70-’73: I have always known him by the nickname, ‘Wizard’. I have always thought the name came from his ability to catch passes … or his ability to somehow get open in the field. Personally I believe that he was a true ‘Wizard’ because he always had the ability to sneak out after curfew and never get caught.”

What’s the bottom line here? We’ve got a “dirty tricks” oppo operation in full force; it’s not the first time and it won’t be the last, and Republicans do it as well as Democrats. I have no way of knowing if Webb is behind it, or just some over-exuberant Webb supporters (i.e., Nutroots®). Clearly, though, Allen has become a target…

UPDATE 3:13 p.m.: Right on cue, here’s Kos to “tie it all together”:

Now we find out it [the ‘N’ word] was a staple of his college years. And the noose. And the Confederate flags. And the “macaca” incident. And his outrage at the suggestion he might have Jewish blood. And his posing for pictures with members of the modern-day KKK — the CCC — for inclusion in their racist newsletter.

There is a pattern. These aren’t isolated incidents, or one disgruntled person making wild accusations.

The politicis of personal destruction is alive and well…when something stinks this bad, you can usually find a Blumenthal lurking in the background…

15 Responses to “Allen Camp Issues Detailed Denial Of Salon Claims”

1 Aaron Says:
September 25th, 2006 at 2:46 pm
Actually, “Grand Wizard” is the title of the leader of the KKK.
2 Mark Says:
September 25th, 2006 at 2:57 pm
Sorry, my mistake - I’ll make the correction…
3 Ed Says:
September 25th, 2006 at 7:22 pm
Where there’s smoke, there’s fire and another stong plume has just gone up.

Larry Sabato, not a left partisan, just came on Hardball and told Matthews that Allen is lying when he says he never used th N word and basically admitted that he’s heard Allen use it himself. The video is up on MSNBC

It may be all over but the counting.
4 jpe Says:
September 25th, 2006 at 7:23 pm
If Allen is racist, I can’t see how that’s unimportant. What we’re seeing looks more and more like a pattern, and less and less like a string of randomly strung together ~~syllables~~ incidents.
5 peter Says:
September 25th, 2006 at 7:45 pm
I think that politicians ought to get a free pass for anything stupid they did before the age of thirty. Whether it is George Bush’s drinking, Bill Clinton’s inhaling, or George Allen’s purported racism, I think that obsessing on youthful indiscretions ignores the truth that we are all fallible, and teen-agers especially so.

Moreover, it ignores the fact that (some) people do evolve and mature as they age. Sure, being a racist (if he is one) is important — but look at the many people throughout history who discovered that they made mistakes as a youth but later found a higher calling (George Bush, Robert Kennedy, and Mohandas Gandhi come to mind — possibly the only time in your life you will see these three in the same sentence).

I know that I did plenty of things which would disqualify me for higher (or lower) office, and they didn’t all take place at Grateful Dead concerts.

We ask politicians to give up any shred of privacy for them or their families, have no skeletons in their closets, and answer the silliest questions imaginable with a straight face. Also, God forbid they say anything stupid which could be fodder for YouTube. Given everything we demand of them, it’s no wonder that the current leadership (on both sides of the aisle) is less than inspiring.
6 Andy Says:
September 25th, 2006 at 7:46 pm
Context of the times people!!

In the early 70’s name one person ostracized for using the “N” word? It wasn’t in-PC yet — not at least until late 70s or early 80s.

If I was one to judge someone on such usage, theclock wouldn’t start until that threshold had been crossed, and then some–to ensure a fair benefit of doubt.

Once again, there’s no there–even if Allen was so crude as to interlace the “N” word with every other word, as some are wont to do with the “F” word.

Funny that it’s a bunch of gentile ‘honkies’ getting their panties all knotted up over perceived slights that really don’t concern them–reminds me of some scriptural admonition against getting angry over some one else’s offense.
7 Blue Crab Boulevard » Blog Archive » The Mother Of All Smear Jobs Says:
September 25th, 2006 at 7:57 pm
[…] UPDATE: Others: Captain Ed, Powerline, Beltway Blogroll, Decision '08, STACLU, Redstate, Ace of Spades, […]
8 Mark Says:
September 25th, 2006 at 8:15 pm
Peter, well said…I completely endorse everything you said there…
9 Mark Says:
September 25th, 2006 at 8:18 pm
jpe, if Allen is a racist today, then that’s very important, and I’ll condemn him as strongly as anyone. If he once was, consciously or as a matter of background, but has since come to see the error of his ways, he’s just another person who, as Peter said, has had to grow up and leave silly prejudices of his youth behind…and there’s a third possibility, the one I happen to believe, which is that we are, as I’ve said elsewhere, right in the middle of “dirty tricks oppo land” here…
10 peter Says:
September 25th, 2006 at 10:24 pm
There is a story (possibly apocryphal) that LBJ wanted to plant a rumor that an opponent fornicated with pigs.

His campaign manager said “Lyndon, you know he doesn’t do that!”

To which LBJ responded “I know, but I just want to see him deny it.”

Accusing candidates of unspeakable conduct to force them to deny it is a time-honored political trick. Whether it is the Swift Boaters, the rumors about McCain having mental problems during the 2000 South Carolina primary, or the allegations against Allen, it is an effective if dubious way of sliming an opponent.
11 Mark Says:
September 25th, 2006 at 11:30 pm
I don’t know about that LBJ story being apocryphal - sure sounds like LBJ!…
12 mtl Says:
September 26th, 2006 at 12:11 am
I heard he only hires ‘white’ hookers.

I’m looking at the context of the time, Loving v. Virginia was in 67, but the claim about ‘wizard’ is going to cause this whole thing to unravel. The guy who was the insulted party, needs to get on a podium by Allen, pronto.

Salon ran with the ‘wizard’ story. No chance the nyt picked that one up?
13 peter Says:
September 26th, 2006 at 12:13 am
The times broke the story on March 8, 1992:

http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F10614FC345C0C7B8CDDAA0894DA494D81
14 Dmac Says:
September 26th, 2006 at 9:41 am
“…and answer the silliest questions imaginable with a straight face.”

I seem to recall Barbara Waah Waah asking the immortal question of a potential candidate: “if you were a tree, what kind of tree would you be?”
15 mtl Says:
September 26th, 2006 at 9:58 am
I see there is a ‘deer head in the mailbox of a black family’ angle now.

No chance Al Sharpton can find three different families to confirm. I heard there were several Brawley family members living in VA.