Max Blumenthal has a detailed piece in The Nation concerning Senator George Allen of “macaca” fame. Allen has had dealings with the Council of Conservative Citizens, a white supremacist organization; in his statements of support for neo-Confederate groups he has described the Civil War as “the War Between the States” and “a four-year struggle for independence and sovereign rights.” He said and did these things while he was governor of the state of Virginia (and one of the most vocal supporters of the Gingrich-led congress, as I recall).
The term “macaca” is no mystery — it is a French slur used against North African immigrants. As Ryan Lizza of TNR has reported, Allen speaks French and his mother is French Tunisian. He knows exactly what it means.
As Blumenthal points out, even conservative pundit Peggy Noonan has opined “that anyone involved with the CCC ‘does not deserve to be in a leadership position in America.'” Allen’s presidential prospects are toast, of course. He may well lose his senatorial reelection bid. That he was ever a senator at all is a national disgrace. And after Trent Lott-gate, no one should pretend Allen is the only one.
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