Felix Allen knew his mother was raised as a Jew in August...

[Virginia Dare]

and he lied about it when he said she was raised a Christian (big surprise), but it's of no consequence right? Nothing to be ashamed of right?

Allen's Mother Revealed Jewish Heritage to Him Last Month

By Michael D. Shear
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, September 21, 2006; Page A01

RICHMOND, Sept. 20 -- Henrietta "Etty" Allen said Wednesday that she concealed her upbringing as a Jew in North Africa from her children, including Sen. George Allen (R-Va.), until a conversation across the dining room table in late August.

-snip-

At the table in Palos Verdes, Calif., Allen's mother, who is 83, said she told her son the truth: That she had been raised as a Jew in Tunisia before moving to the United States. She said that she and the senator's father, famed former Redskins coach George Allen, had wanted to protect their children from living with the fear that she had experienced during World War II. Her father, Felix Lumbroso, was imprisoned by the Nazis during the German occupation of Tunis.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/09/20/AR2006092001965.html

[babylonsister]

1. I don't for a second believe he only found out in August.

He now needs his mama to back him up?

[Virginia Dare]

2. I don't for a second believe that...

she concealed it because of the trauma her father went through with the Nazis. Lots of people went through worse than that, and never repudiated their heritage or their religion.

I think she hid it because of George Allen Sr., among other things, and now it all makes sense why Jr. has his supremacy fixations.

[LibDemAlways]

3. Why on Earth would a mother say to a son,

"Now you won't love me anymore" after revealing her Jewish roots - unless she knew Allen's deep seated bigotry and how that news was going to be received.

[tularetom]

4. The fact that his mother was Jewish isn't a big deal

But it is a big deal that he seems at such pains to deny or minimize it. He freaked when it was brought up the other day because it would send the wrong message to his "base" - you know, the guys who think he's bigoted redneck like them.

[drbtg1]

6. Well, doesn't Jewish tradition say that kids should be raised with...

the religion of the mother?

[Marnieworld]

17. it's not just a religion but an ethnic identity

You can never enter a Temple and still be Jewish. If your mother is Jewish you are Jewish end of story.

[drbtg1]

19. I know about the ethnic identity part, but that's not what I'm addressing

I think most people, including the racist base Allen is trying to maintain, view it as a religion only.

[wicket]

18. BINGO!

It's him trying to denying it that is the story, especially when we now know he's known this for about a month.

[Warpy]

5. He's probably known that his whole life

Those Seders when he was a kid were probably a dead giveaway.

However, it's better for families with political ambition in the south to "pass." It's certainly better if they're Repugs and trying to enter the rich southern WASP social circles.

He's just totally freaked out that other people have found out. His reaction betrays both the deep shame he feels at his origins and also the fear he feels because he knows how deeply antisemitism is ingrained in WASP circles.

This is the kind of flap I just love. Anything that exposes deep hypocrisy and ways of thinking that the majority of us have sensibly rejected but which are still rampant among the WASP ruling class is just too delicious.

(oh, and before I get flamed, I married a WASP. He was a nice guy, an agnostic, a Democrat, a progressive. He just wasn't ruling class.)

[LibDemAlways]

12. The Allen family lived in Los Angeles and, for a time,

in Chicago. They didn't arrive in Virginia until George was 19.

Allen's dad was an NFL coach whose livelihood depended on his ability to win games. His daughter stated that her dad was a Catholic in her 2000 book.

I attended high school with Allen in Palos Verdes, CA. In that locale the majority of the people were WASP types who attended mostly mainstream Protestant churches, when they bothered to attend at all. I doubt the Allens were churchgoers. Sunday is game day and the main religion in that family was football.

Which makes it all the more curious that Allen should be so sensitive on the question of his heritage. The only reason I can come up with is that he's terrified the redneck types will sit home on election day. That to him was the overriding consideration. Felix would gladly sell out his mother's family for the votes of the Deliverance crowd. How pathetic.

[ruggerson]

7. I understand Mel Gibson has asked for his campaign donation to be returned

n/t

[Selatius]

8. George Allen is upset because he doesn't want to lose the far-right vote

Many people, unfortunately, still like to vote for people based on their religion, and if it came out that Allen is a Jew, it may not sit very well in certain quarters of Virginia life. The fact that he is afraid speaks loudly of his own constituency, and it does not speak very kindly.

[mom cat]

10. Bingo!

[gatorboy]

20. All you have to do is look at the audience's reaction at that last Q&A

The boos and hisses clearly showed that the word "Jew" is a bad word for some in Virginia.

[npincus]

9. Hey, we're ashamed of him, too.

L'chiam!

[godai]

11. Now that his mother has been interviewed, can his sister be far behind?

Based on what she wrote in the book, seems that she detests Felix. Maybe it relates to being pulled around by her hair. She'd be someone good to interview, to get the truth about macaca and the other lies. She's probably been sent out of the country until after the election.

What a strange and mysterious family. We see only what they want us to see. No one seemed to know where his mother was and the rest of his family seems invisible. Seems that there are skeletons in the closet that need to see the light of day.

[Kahuna]

13. "Pop-Pop and Mom-Mom." The truth is stranger than fiction.,.

:rofl:

[Canuckistanian]

14. Patriotboy feels his pain

[AspenRose]

15. He lied about the noose in his office.

He was not forthcoming about his high school incident.

He lied about why he kept a confederate flag.

He lied about "macaca."

He stole Dick Durbin's legislation, wanting credit for it.

Now this.

WHY would any rational person want this pathological liar in office?!

[BlueJackal]

16. He might want to pull out of the presidential race now and save.....

a lot of people a lot of trouble. I mean this isn't exactly just a little thing like hey, I just found out my great-grandmother was a Cherokee Indian. Jews aren't very popular or accepted in the South. This will of course affect his chances of winning any potential high political office in the next election. A Jewish-Republican president is an oxymoron and will never pass the litmus test that the Republican base demands.