Reporter to Felix Allen: When Did You Stop Being Jewish?

[Virginia Dare]

During yesterday's debate, Peggy Fox, a Virginia reporter for WUSA Channel 9, skewered Felix Allen with this:


-snip-

"It has been reported," said Fox, that "your grandfather Felix, whom you were given your middle name for, was Jewish. Could you please tell us whether your forebears include Jews and, if so, at which point Jewish identity might have ended?"

Allen recoiled as if he had been struck. His supporters in the audience booed and hissed. "To be getting into what religion my mother is, I don't think is relevant," Allen said, furiously. "Why is that relevant -- my religion, Jim's religion or the religious beliefs of anyone out there?"

-snip-

My comments:

Oh, so now religion isn't important, eh Felix? Well, you wanted to make a point about your grandfather being held by the Nazi's, but his being Jewish isn't relavent? Bullshit!!!! How do your Klan buddies feel about you now macaca head? You are a hypocritical cretin who can dish it out plenty but can't take it and I sincerely hope you go down in flames come November.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/09/18/AR2006091801014.html

By the way, you can send Peggy Fox, who was roundly booed and criticized for that exchange with an e-mail of support here. I would imagine her job is in serious jeopardy today. I seem to recall that her father-in-law was a politician, and I thought he was a Republican, anybody know?

http://www.wusa9.com/news/news_article.aspx?storyid=37275

[CBGLuthier]

1. one truthful statement at the end

He said his mother taught him about tolerance.

That clicks with where he got Macaca, from his mother.

So yes, I would say his mother taught him a lot about tolerance.

[KharmaTrain]

11. His Father Was Quite A Work

Everyone talks about his mother...I remember his old man, the football coach, as being a right wing bigot. He was close buddies with Richard Nixon...IIRC, he even was going to let Nixon call plays for the Redskins.

[Tin Man]

56. Yep, he didn't "make up" macaca - he learned it from his Tunisian mother

Either that, or it's the world's greatest coincidence that Felix just happened to "make up" the Tunisian equivalent of the "N word"... :shrug:

http://mediamatters.org/items/200608170001

[babylonsister]

2. I think it's a valid question, and don't understand why

Macaca recoiled in horror. If one puts themself in the position to run for political office, they should expect people to do some digging. IS he embarrassed? Has he been hiding this little tidbit? All the more reason to bring it up imo.

[abluelady]

5. If You Have Skeletons

You are foolish to run for office. No, let me clarify, we all have skeletons. If you have skeletons that you don't want to become public, you shouldn't run for office.

In this right-wing christian environment, will all the christian values being touted, how can anyone say religion is "private." Just another moronic remark from a moron.

[onenote]

15. his religion is public. What difference is his mother's ancestry

It was a stupid question.

[Virginia Dare]

18. I'm glad she asked it though...

his reaction to it was interesting. He is trying to run away from who he really is, and I think this was further proof, a very demonstrative exchange.

[onenote]

35. run away from who he really is? You're kidding right?

He wasn't raised as a Jew. He's never claimed to be Jewish. There is no evidence that his mother ever held herself out as being Jewish. I think we know pretty well who Allen "really is" and it has nothing to do with his mother or father.

[Virginia Dare]

41. No I'm not kidding...

he called out a young man, an American who was born and raised in Virginia and who happened to be of Indian ancestry, welcoming him to America and Virginia.

When he was questioned about it, he tried to somehow make a point about his grandfather being imprisoned by Nazis, a completely irrelevant fact.

I am not at all concerned about George Felix Allen being offended. He is of Jewish ancestry, why wouldn't he claim that unless he is ashamed of it? And if he's ashamed of it, then why? I believe that is relevant, I believe he ought to explain that.

By the way, this is not the only part of his upbringing that he is running away from, it is just another example.

[babylonsister]

20. No, it's not. Lurkfish said it best:

there's nothing wrong with his heritage, EXCEPT that his base is

racist aryan bastards.

it would only be wrong to his base, and he KNOWS that.

[abluelady]

22. Her Religion Doesn't Matter, Perhaps

There are lots of stupid questions asked. The reactions to answering are very telling.

[Kber]

34. His mother's religion isn't important at all.

But if he's ASHAMED of it, well, I'd like to know why he feels being a member of my tribe (so to speak) is a source of discomfort.

Is being Jewish a disadvantage to be overcome in his mind?

[onenote]

38. when did he say he was ashamed of it

I don't get this. He was hit with a question about his grandparents' religious heritage. No one has ever suggested he was raised as a Jew or that is mother held herself out as anything other than Christian. I'm Jewish too, and I'd be pissed if anyone started raising questions about my grandparents' religion and it wouldn't reflect being ashamed of what that might be.

[johnfunk]

46. He would not have reacted so defensively if he weren't ashamed or scared.

That's the quick Occam's Razor answer.

[onenote]

13. explain why its a valid question?

I'm a big supporter of Jim Webb, but I don't see what value there is in questioning Allen about his parent's ancestry.

[babylonsister]

17. Why isn't it? Where's the shame in admitting to one's

ancestry? If they asked him if he had sex with a goat, that might be going over the line, but to ask him about his heritage? What damage could that do, unless you get a reaction like he gave? I don't see the harm at all. I don't even consider this 'playing dirty' as the repugs are so well-known for.

[onenote]

23. its not relevant

He was not raised as a Jew. He has never claimed to be Jewish. As far as he knows, and we have absolutely no reason to doubt this, his mother was raised as a Christian. Why not ask him about his father's Catholicism and his being Episcopalian, although that wouldn't be relevant either.

Its a stupid, offensive question that has absolutely nothing to do with who Allen is. Its going to offend a lot of people who will look at it as a cheap shot.

[Virginia Dare]

26. His reaction was relevant...

He is a racist and he's ashamed of his ancestry. That is relevant.

[onenote]

37. bull shit

Asking someone "at what point did your family's Jewish identiy end" is irrelevant and offensive. I'm Jewish and proudly so. Whether my grandparents were Jewish or not has no possible bearing on anything about me. His reaction didn't strike me as reflecting racism (although I have no doubt that when it comes to African-Americans and other people of color he's a bigot). His reaction struck me as the appopriate reaction of someone whose family ancestry is being an issue when there is no reason for it to be.

[Virginia Dare]

42. Bullshit to your bullshit....

George Allen was the one who made ancestry an issue. If he can dish it out, he can take it. If he can't then he can get the fuck out of the race.

[juajen]

40. Stupid and offensive; however,

as they say, tit for tat. One must remember John Kerry's Jewish Grandmother (I think it was GM). JK handled it with aplomb and made us all proud. Nothing wrong with our melting pot ancestors. Stupid being ashamed of it, and very telling, character wise.

[mcg]

64. yes it is relevant, because he has associated himself with the CCC / KKK

He named his son Forrest after Nathan Bedford Forrest, an early KKK sympathizer, and initiated contact with the CCC, an anti-semitic organization.

It's also relevant because he said his mother isn't Jewish. His mother might have been raised as a Christian, but she's still Jewish in the sense of having Jewish ancestry. One can be ethnically Jewish but not practice Judaism, or the other way around.

His Jewish ancestry is nothing for him to be ashamed of, yet it seems that he has felt it necessary to hide it. When he said she was “casting aspersions” that said it all about his bigotry.

Fox was not “casting aspersions” of being Jewish, that's not what she was getting at, her full question started with "You have said that your mother is not Jewish but ...". She was questioning his honesty and pointing out his bigotry, and for good reason. Consider that he called the noose that used to hang from a ficus tree in his office "really more of a lasso". He's a liar.

What is Allen saying now?

“I embrace and take great pride in every aspect of my diverse heritage, including my Lumbroso family line’s Jewish heritage, which I learned about from a recent magazine article and my mother confirmed,”

It is quite hard to believe him when he says he just found out that his mother's side of his family is Jewish, especially considering his history of lying.

[Virginia Dare]

19. What was relavant about his grandfather and the Nazis?

what was relavant about his dad being a football coach? These are things that Felix brought up. He wasn't afraid to talk about that. Felix has never been afraid to talk about his religious beliefs before.

I think his reaction was very telling. It was a brilliant question in my opinion.

[Phx_Dem]

39. relevance

I'm with you, he opened the door so to speak.

[KoKo]

21. Maybe if more Americans focused on George Bush's Ancestors....we

might have had a better picture of what kind of Dictator he would turn out to be.

[onenote]

24. and so focusing on the fact that Allen's grandparents were Jewish

(or may have been Jewish) tells us something about what a bad Senator he is? Want to explain?

[specimenfred1984]

62. Gladly

Allen's a bigot who's supported by a lot of people who hate Jews. These same Allen supporters hate Allen's ancestry or, they like Allen because he's ashamed of his ancestry.

Either way, it means Allen's supporters and Allen himself must continue to at least put up a front of religious hatred.

Do you want senators that "bullshit" their way through life?

[magnolia]

63. You are not getting it.

An appropriate response to her question would have been to say: "That is not relevant." But, instead, he got angry and nasty. What he did is divert the attention away from the fact that he lied about the "macaca" remark.

Here is an account of the event written by a Jewish person who was present.

http://raisingkaine.com/showDiary.do?diaryId=4573

[bobbieinok]

48. doesn't ANYONE remember the constant claims re Kerry trying to

hide his family history????????? or take secret advantage of it??????

And the story that his grandfather was Jewish??? This was a constant background rumor/story during 2004.

[Jade Fox]

61. THANK YOU!

Once again, the Right freaks out when their own tactics are used against them.

It's the Republicans who has politicized religion, baldly makes comments about this being a Christian country to name only one example. As in a court of law, if one attorney introduces a line of questioning, it's fair game for opposing council.

[lumberjack_jeff]

59. It's relevant because his supporters want to know.

It's irrelevant to those who would vote against him, but relevant to those who would vote for him.

Screw the high road. It's lonely there.

[11 Bravo]

3. I emailed Peggy. Thanks for the link.

[ProgressiveEconomist]

33. What Peggy really needs is help from the ADL and other official voices

IMO, or it may be bye-bye time.

Any other candidate could consider making "religious persecution" a campaign theme. But Allen has to tread lightly for fear of keeping his strongest supporters from sitting this one out. I wonder what the CofCC, the SCV, and the UDC are talking about today?

[mcg]

65. I also emailed her.

She could use some support. This slimy Allen really twisted her question.

[Demit]

4. Milbank's observation at the end struck me funny.

"Allen, surrounded by cameras and microphones after the event, hadn't cooled down. "What do you mean, 'make me so angry'?" he demanded angrily when asked why Fox's query had made him so angry."

Peggy Fox struck a chord there. Good for her. Allen's fans in the audience may have booed and hissed, but they'll go home thinking about the whole exchange.

[abluelady]

6. You Know That Liberal Media.....

:sarcasm:

[Demit]

8. Milbank hasn't exactly been a friend to liberals, though. He has been

very snarky about Democrats the past few years. I'm just glad he lobs one here at Allen.

Ever since I learned that Dana Milbank was Skull & Bones, I've wondered about him. That ain't no mere social club.

[Lerkfish]

9. there's nothing wrong with his heritage, EXCEPT that his base is

racist aryan bastards.

it would only be wrong to his base, and he KNOWS that.

[Virginia Dare]

12. Exactly, another example of his boneheaded arrogance...

when he brought up that his grandfather was imprisoned by the Nazi's, apparently for some sympathy points, did he not think that it would come out that he was Jewish?

[Demit]

16. Agree. It's like the "how dare you!" reaction when Kerry mentioned

Cheney's lesbian daughter—Lynn Cheney hissing that Kerry was "not a good man". Otherwise the reaction would be "So what?" But because of the hatred they preach, they have to quick shift the focus and attention to the person who points out what to them is a very inconvenient fact. The hypocrisy is astounding.

[bobbieinok]

49. a comment about the republican hypocricy on gays, made during debates

The uproar from Lynn, etc, was SOOOO hokey. They acted as if Kerry had 'outed' the daughter, but that the daughter was gay had been public knowledge for some time.

I never could figure out why the media let them get away with this fake outrage......ohhhh, of course...

[AspenRose]

50. Wonder how readily his 'base' will accept him now.

Or if they'll consider him 'tainted.' I think that's what he's REALLY pissed about. Almost like he's been 'outed' with his 'base.'

Wow.

Although not quite the same thing, this reminds me of circumstances where people were either encouraged to, or chastised for, 'trying to pass.'

Fascinating.

[mcg]

66. Jewish enough to be dumped for it by some of his supporters.

Here's a commentary
http://www.prospect.org/weblog/2006/08/post_1241.html

"WHOA: GEORGE ALLEN IS JEWISH? So says The Forward, which has traced his mother's lineage back to a family of Tunisian Jews, making Allen, as we used to say in my German-Jewish family,
"Jewish enough to be killed for it, if they start killing Jews again," even though he's a practicing Episcopalian: ..."

This reminds me of a story about Felix Mendelssohn who for most of his life was a practicing Lutheran and was born to two Jewish parents.

http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/biography/Mendelssohn2.html

' Weil graphically portrayed an ambitious and inspiring S.S. officer. This officer had received orders to remove the statue of the Jew, Felix Mendelssohn, from the roof of the Prague concert hall. The problem, however, was that the roof was filled with numerous statues of renowned composers. None was labeled or identified by name. Therefore, he had to figure out which statue was Mendelssohn’s.

The officer recalled that he had learned, in his course on “Racial Science,” that Jews have big noses. Therefore, he ordered the workmen to pull down the statue with the biggest nose. As he stood watching the statue with the biggest nose toppling from the roof of the concert hall, he panicked. He discovered, all too late, that it was that of none other than the famous German composer, Richard Wagner.

This story conveys a double irony. First of all, Wagner was not only not a Jew. He was also a rabid anti-Semite. He wrote scathing attacks on Jews, especially Jewish musicians. Not surprisingly, Wagner was Adolf Hitler’s favorite musician. '

[johnfunk]

47. Y'think Senator Macaca might have a little anger management problem?

His reputation for bully boy behavior has been validated by numerous people.

This is what happens when you humiliate a bully -- anger with an undercurrent of loss of control.

Boo hoo hoo, Felix -- we weep for you. Not.

[gatorboy]

7. It was the audience that creeped me out.

They booed and hissed that question as if Jew was a dirty word. And apparently for Allen, it was....

[Supersedeas]

27. My feelings exactly--how dare that word be associated with their Leader

so much for tolerance and the understanding of the religious basis for policy decisions

[Jade Fox]

60. I think they were booing and hissing....

having the current Republican Party's tactics thrown back in the face of a Republican. It's Republicans who are going around saying this is a Christian country and that's what the Founding Fathers wanted yadda yadda yadda.

Typical. It's okay if we do it, but bad when you do.

[jrw14125]

10. she dropped the hard "J"! n/t

I heard it. The point of her Q was, hey, are you or aren't you, b/c we've heard both, and we don't believe anything that comes out of your mouth, you lying sack. Of course, he, being a slimy politican, was able to spin it as an assault on his heritage....

Yeah, just like asking about macaca (which he DID NOT make up) was "dragging his mother into it..."

Who votes for these whiny sacks anyway?

[druidity33]

57. btw...

n/t is usually used in the subject line to signify that there is NO TEXT in the body of the message...

:shrug:

[Catherine Vincent]

14. Why do I get the feeling this guy will win the election anyway?

From what I understand, he's still leading in the polls.

[ProgressiveEconomist]

25. Rasmussen's Sept 15th assessment was "Allen's Lead Erosion Halts"

From
http://rasmussenreports.com/2006/State%20Polls/September%202006/VirginiaSenate.htm
:

"Virginia Senate: Allen's Lead Erosion Halts; September
15, 2006

Election 2006: Virginia Senate Survey of 500 Likely Voters,
September 12, 2006
George Allen (R) 50%
James Webb   (D) 43%

Election 2006: Virginia Senate Three-Poll Rolling Average
Surveys        Allen Webb
Jul-Aug-Sep    49%   41%
Jun-Jul-Aug    49%   41%
Apr-Jun-Jul    50%   37%
Mar-Apr-Jun    52%   34%
Feb-Mar-Apr    51%   32%

Election 2006: Virginia Senate
Date     Allen  Webb
Sep 12   50%    43%
Aug 16   47%    42%
Jul 18   50%    39%
Jun 14   51%    41%
Apr 11   50%    30%
Mar 15   54%    30%
Feb 08   49%    37%"

[AspenRose]

28. Damn!

This guy needs a free pass to a psychologist....some serious self-loathing going on (among other things)

[kskiska]

29. It was news (to them as well) when John Kerry & Madeleine Albright

were found to have Jewish ancestry, and they handled the news gracefully and embraced the findings. Maybe Felix is afraid of the reactions of some of his hardcore (KKK, CCC) supporters.

[babylonsister]

32. Thanks for reminding me; yes, they handled the revelations

with class, something I fear macaca knows nothing about.

[carolinayellowdog]

30. A lot of liberals apparently don't get it

Some comments on other boards were awfully biased against the reporter and for Allen. Maybe on Huffpo that's trolls who might be actually employees stirring stuff up. But now here at DU we see people siding with Senator Macaca too.

There is nothing wrong with asking about someone's Jewish heritage, or any other heritage. There is something terribly, horribly wrong with exploding in rage and bullying upon being asked that question. Why can't everyone see it? The clip is ghastly, another attempt to enroll the audience in bullying an "outsider."

[Virginia Dare]

31. Now is not the time to take the high road...

I say skewer them for their hypocrisy, put them on the defensive, and make them play their own game on your terms.

Allen's true character needs to be put out there for everybody to see.

He can't pick and choose which parts of his character he wants to use for which purpose.

[kskiska]

36. Even some from the National Review thought it was weird

Felix Macacawitz (John Podhoretz)
I really don't want to be on Jewish Patrol here in the Corner, but does anybody agree with me that George Allen's response yesterday to a reporter asking him whether his grandfather Felix had been born Jewish was just...weird? Through body language and tone, Allen acted as though the question were absolutely beyond the bounds of all rational discourse. First, let me grant that the reporter in question, Peggy Fox from Washington's Channel 9, did ask the question in a bizarrely hostile manner — which was the understandable cause of booing from the crowd — and that it's beyond ludicrous to ask a question about a grandparent's faith in the middle of a substantive debate. It doesn't matter a whit whether Allen's grandfather was or was not Jewish. Still, Allen said angrily, "I hope you're not bringing my mother into this" before lecturing Fox on how America gave people the right to religious freedom and that Thomas Jefferson believed in religious freedom and so on. It's not like Fox asked whether Allen's grandfather had been a member of the Nazi party, or had owned slaves, or been in prison, or something. What's more, Allen himself had made reference to his grandfather's imprisonment during World War II. Anyway, seems to me that what might appear at first to be one of those gotcha moments delivered by a candidate to a hostile reporter is, on second glance, just off somehow.

more…
http://corner.nationalreview.com/post/?q=ODBiODMwNzYyMjA2ZmU3YTVjNTdjYjhmMmZjMWQ2YWY=

[AspenRose]

51. "Felix Macacawitz"?

!

[babylonsister]

53. ...

:spray: That's a keeper! I've written it down for future reference! :evilgrin:

[Jacobin]

43. These fucks can't have it both ways:

1) Talk about GAwd and Baby Jayzus and how Xtian and all they are and how other religions and non-religious people suck and how awful it is that some people aren't christian...contrasted with

2) Are you Jewish...and then bam, freakazoid time, as if someone pointed at to this racist fuck that he has black lineage which could get him crucified at his Southern Baptist Cult Church.

I hate these evangelical fundamentalist fucks with a passion. They are beyond useless and must be DRUMMED out of politics.

Either he wants a fucking theocracy or he needs to get outed on not being 'pure'

I hate where this country has gone. It is puerile and ghastly

[Leopolds Ghost]

44. I thought Allen's mom was a French colonial familiar w/ racist remarks?

Regardless of politics, Allen's a complicated guy.

Could it be that Allen's mom is one of those people whose parents downplayed their religion, living in Vichy France and all?

[johnfunk]

45. This matter is picking up steam!

Not one, not two, but THREE posts on Daily Kos... not to mention Dana Milbank's piece in today's WaPo!

Make no mistake: this is all about the "good-ol-Southern-boy" facade that George Felix Allen Jr. has worked all of his political life to cultivate. Cazart! Imagine the impact on his Neoconfederate base were it to be revealed that George Felix Allen Jr. is -- heaven forbid! -- a jewy Jew just like that obnoxious Al Franken or those odious traitors Julius and Ether Rosenberg! The horror! THE HORROR! IT BURNS! IT BUUUURNS!!!! I CAN'T STO...
]

[AspenRose]

52. Wonder if Jon Stewart will say anything about it....

*raising eyebrow*

C'mon Jon, you know you want to....scratch that itch....

[yodermon]

54. To Allen, the questioner was "making aspersions" about him

simply by asking that question.

"I'm glad you all have that reaction," Allen said to the audience as people jeered the questioner. Allen lectured Fox about the importance of "freedom of religion and not making aspersions about people because of their religious beliefs."

:wtf: ?
Dumb question, yes. Aspersion about his religious beliefs? Hardly. Allen a bigot? Definitely.

[DURHAM D]

55. I'm thinking his Mom might be more in the style of Babs Bush

than Virginia Kelley. They want to keep her under wraps until she can be re-trained.

[Virginia Dare]

67. Lieing sack of shit Felix Allen claims...

that whenever he asked his mother about her ancestry, she said "who cares about that?", so she obviously was not proud of it, yet, he also claims that she taught him to embrace all races, religions and ethnicities?

This fucker has made talking out of both sides of his mouth an art form.

[lumberjack_jeff]

58. So ethnicity and religion are not issues for the Allen campaign?