People outside of Virginia might not be too aware of this

[Hoooweee]

DUers have been doing a great job of keeping the Macaca story alive and bringing up his meetings with the CCC.

The link between the two is helping Americans know his recent display of racism isn't just an isolated incident, but part of a pattern.

You see, next January, most of the US will celebrate Martin Luther King Jr. Day. Virginia won't. Thanks to Allen, we celebrate Lee-Jackson-King Day. Allen fought tooth and nail to get the name changed when he was governor. I can't think of a worse way to disrespect Dr. King than to honor two men who fought to preserve a government that formed just so Southern states could preserve their right to own slaves. In fact, I don't have to think of a worse way, Allen did. He made sure we celebrate those men not just on the same day, but we're supposed to honor them AHEAD of Dr. King. Notice the wording: Lee-Jackson-King.

Of course, two Confederates getting one day isn't enough. Upset that African-Americans have their history celebrated every February and white Americans only get the other eleven months, Allen and the conservatives decided to add a new commemorative month. They made April Confederate History month.

I can't recall the name of the DUer who went to high school with Allen who frequently takes the chance to tell us of the racist things Allen did in high school, but listen to him. He's cluing you guys in on yet another chapter in his background. If you think Santorum is the number one Repuke who needs to go this fall, then you don't know enough about Allen. He's just as religiously insane as Santorum, but add unabashed rasism on top of that.

[RufusEarl]

1. Allen would call this compromising,

like the torture bill now being mulled over in the senate.

[Richard Steele]

2. Hi, Hoooweee! Welcome to DU!

And you better believe, we are doing what we can to spread
the word about the REAL Mr. Allen.
People need to know!

[Hoooweee]

6. thanks.

I've actually been here since 2004. I changed my username about a year ago, but haven't been posting much since then.

[Parisle]

3. Here's Hoping the Word Gets Out There,...

---- I am also a Virginian,... in fact I come from the little town known as "The Last Capital of the Confederacy," and which also drew nation attention in the 1963 civil rights unrest. But that town actually went for Kerry in the 2004 election, albeit by only 50 votes,.. but it tells you that things are changing in Virginia.

---- Personally, I estimate that Allen's racist reputation will be seen as a "plus" by 25% of the Va. population in the southside area of the state... I just hope that those women offended by a remark made by Webb 27 years ago will make an effort to put it in perspective and look to the larger matter at hand. I am so tired and exasperated with so-called "protest" votes being squandered on Nader, Green Party, etc. that I could scream.

[Hoooweee]

8. yeah, we had that "plus" conversation at the breakfast table

We were wondering if it was on purpose. An attempt to excite his base.

If the macaca incident had happened after Labor Day, Allen would be in deeper trouble than he's already in with swing voters. However, he said it early enough that many of them won't remember come November.

It's up to Webb to use the ammo now. Allen finally went negative at the end of last week, in response to Webb's Reagan ad.

[fasttense]

4. Allen's sister has a book out on what a nasty piece of work he is.

Jennifer Allen's book Fifth Quarter: The Scrimmage of a Football Coach's Daughter. Is filled with horrible things her brother did as a child. I think this man was born evil. Anyway his sister hates him.

Here is a link to Amazon if you want to buy it. Seems it is selling very well and there are only three books left.

http://www.amazon.com/Fifth-Quarter-Scrimmage-Football-Daughter/dp/0812992326

Here is a link if you want to read some excepts.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2006/08/16/gop-senator-george-allen_n_27382.html

[hootinholler]

5. Careful where your step...

I find this sort of statement: "that African-Americans have their history celebrated every February and white Americans only get the other eleven months" is born in the same sort of racism you rightfully decry. A falsehood used to bolster your position weakens it.

Why bring the 11 month comment into it? Why not just say they are upset with black history month? White people don't celebrate 'white history' the other 11 months.

This is not to defend racism, or Allen, but, to point out the opening you left for people to attack your comments.

-Hoot

[Hoooweee]

7. it was just meant as sarcasm

I'm generally cranky until about 10am.

I wrote the post after our local news morans did a whitewash on the debate Allen and Webb had on Meet the Press yesterday (I guess that'd make it a whitewash of a whitewash). I wasn't surprised, just irked that they left Russert's typical response of "that's okay with me" when a Republican politician gives the flimsiest explanation for anything.

[ProgressiveEconomist]

21. "White people don't celebrate white history the other 11 months"

I don't see how you can so confidently say that, and certainly disagree that Hoooweee's statement is "bom in the same sort of racism you rightfully decry".

IMO, that's precisely the point of Black History Month--that without it, there would be very little continuing national attention to the enduring legacies of slavery in outrageous racial disparities, openly-expressed bigotry, and silent acceptance of everyday white privilege and white supremacy.

One of my favorite rants on this subject comes from Texas journalism prof Robert Jensen. Have you read it? See http://uts.cc.utexas.edu/~rjensen/freelance/whiteprivilege.htm .

[ProgressiveEconomist]

9. "The DUer who went to HS w Allen" has 3 posts in this thread

from yesterday, starting at http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=364&topic_id=2156858&mesg_id=2157812 .

[lynne]

10. This isn't accurate. We haven't had Lee-Jackson-King Day since 2000 -

- and Allen had nothing to do with creating it. Lee-Jackson Day is celebrated the Friday before Martin Luther King Day and has been since 2000, when then Governor Gilmore split up the two holidays.

We began celebrating Lee's January 19th birthday in 1889. Jackson's January 21st birthday was added in 1904 to create Lee-Jackson Day. In 1983, President Reagan created Martin Luther King Day. Virginia legislature slammed all three January birthday's together at that time, creating Lee-Jackson-King Day. VA Governor during the creation of Lee-Jackson-King Day was Charles Robb - LBJ's son-in-law. He was Governor of VA from 1982 - 1986.

I don't know where Allen was when Lee-Jackson-King Day was implemented in 1983 but he wasn't Governor of Virginia until 1991 and then again in 1994. He became Senator in 2000.

I am not defending Allen, I'm just stating the facts. There's certainly enough you can say against him without passing on inaccurate information.

http://www.answers.com/topic/lee-jackson-king-day
http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=A000121
http://www.state.va.us/home/vagov/governors.html

[Hoooweee]

11. Hey, you're right, I got the adding on mixed with the removal

http://www.americanprowler.org/dsp_article.asp?art_id=10100

...Lizza (from The New Republic) also resurrected the stories about Allen hanging a Confederate battle flag in his home and a noose in his law office. He reported that Allen, like many Virginians, opposed placing Martin Luther King Jr. Day on Lee-Jackson Day. He joined a "Richmond social club with a well-known history of discrimination" -- which could describe many Southern organizations, whether or not they discriminate today...

I'm just assuming this, but I'd put a shiny nickel of the "Richmond social club" being the CCC.
Of course this is probably even worse than my 730am foggy memory. This position of Allen's could be construed to mean he didn't want King's name to "tarnish" Lee or Jackson.

[ProgressiveEconomist]

12. IMO, you're making a distinction that makes no practical difference,

except (mainly) for direct employees of the state of Virginia and some of its counties and municipalities.

IMO, the websites that really count are calendars of employers of large numbers of Virginia residents, including http://www.dhrm.state.va.us/calendar2006.pdf and http://www.opm.gov/Fedhol / .

Last January, Commonwealth of Virginia employees got Friday the 13th off for Lee-Jackson Day, plus Monday the 16th for MLK Day.

But who else did?

I would suggest that, as a practical matter, most Virginians who work for a living got Monday the 16th off, and attributed their good fortune to Lee-Jackson-King Day.

[lynne]

15. I made no distinctions at all. I merely noted that the OP was incorrect -

- with regard to the origin and current status of Lee-Jackson-King Day and provided the facts and links to support my claims.

It is quite likely that states other than Virginia have holidays particular to their history and region. Your suggestion regarding Virginians who got a day off and what they attributed it to is just that - your suggestion. Neither makes one iota of difference with regard to the OP or my response.

[ProgressiveEconomist]

16. You haven't really responded to the implicit question in my post--sorry

I did not make it clearer.

Do you know what proportion of working Virginians get the Friday befor MLK Day off for Lee-Jackson Day?

[lynne]

17. Nothing in my area changes on Lee-Jackson Day -

- all schools and businesses are open. I don't specifically remember if county government or banks are closed but I think not. Possibly state government gets the day off but it does not impact where I live. I don't know what portion of Virginians get Lee-Jackson day off but it would appear to me a small percentage, I would think mostly state employees.

[ProgressiveEconomist]

20. Thank you--IMO that's important to know for understanding this issue

Until the day some future Virginia government TERMINATES that celebration of treason and slavery, Lee-Jackson Day is going to remain a sore point.

It's ironic isn't it? MLK just happened to have been born on exactly the right day to still roil state politics in the Capital of the Confederacy, 43 years after he was assassinated! How white supremacists and defenders of white privilege must hate MLK's memory!

George Allen may not have created Lee-Jackson Day, or worsened the situation like Gilmore by spending additional tax revenues on it and flip-flopping on whether it deserved a gubernatorial procalmation each year. But he sure made creating Confederate History Month a top priority.

From http://www.people.vcu.edu/~jcsouth/on-the-lege-2000/holiday.htm :

"Gov. George Allen made Confederate History Month one of his first proclamations in April 1994 and wrote the original resolution, Barbour ("commander" of the Sons of Confederate Veterans in year 2000) said.

In contrast, Gilmore at first reduced it from a proclamation to recognition and noted the suffering of African Americans during slavery. Just last week he made it a proclamation again. Barbour believes Gilmore, a Republican, may be pandering to black votes, which is a mistake, he said, since most African Americans historically vote Democratic.

Some localities like Chesterfield County, in suburban Richmond, want to emphasize the state�s recognition of Confederate history. The county�s Board of Supervisors recently passed a resolution designating April as Confederate History and Heritage Month in Chesterfield. Because of the board�s action, African American leaders recently called for a boycott of two Chesterfield malls. In response, David Duke, the former head of the Ku Klux Klan, visited one of the malls, Chesterfield Towne Center, to thank white shoppers for ignoring the boycott."

[Virginian]

18. Virginia Governors serve only one 4-year term.

Then he has to give someone else a chance before he can run again. Example: Mills Godwin.

"I don't know where Allen was when Lee-Jackson-King Day was implemented in 1983 but he wasn't Governor of Virginia until 1991 and then again in 1994. He became Senator in 2000. "

The election of our Governor is always one year after the presidential election.
This is from memory, so I may have switched someone. (Ok, I forgot Dalton and had to look him up.)

1957 Linsey Almond (D)
1961 Albertus S. Harrison (D)
1965 Mills E. Godwin (D)
1969 Linwood Holton (R)
1973 Mills E. Godwin (R)
1977 Dalton (R)
1981 Chuck Robb (D)
1985 Baliles (D)
1989 Doug Wilder (D)
1993 George Allen (R)
1997 Jim Gilmore (R)
2001 Mark Warner (D)
2005 Tim Kaine (D)

[lynne]

19. You are exactly right - I picked up his congressional service -

- date in error when he came in to fill Slaughter's vacancy in 1991. Thanks for the correction!

". . . elected as a Republican to the One Hundred Second Congress by special election November 5, 1991, to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of D. French Slaughter Jr., and served from November 5, 1991, to January 3, 1993;"

[Recursion]

13. When you're talking home, you mean the Old Dominion

Just this side of heaven, with the surf and the hills
She's the best of 13 sisters, and 37 more
Sweet, sweet Virginia always keeps an open door

Go VA Dems! Keep the cradle of the US Democratic party blue!

[usregimechange]

14. kicked and recommended. Thank you for your effort.