Now comes Allen with what I guess counts as an "October Surprise": highlighting passages from one of opponent Jim Webb's novels in which child molestation is depicted. This despicable demagoguery from Allen is pure, uncut boob bait. I agree with Ross that Radley Balko has the definitive take on the matter, which is excerpted here:
Let's summarize: While George Allen was discovering his love for the Confederacy in Southern California and at the University of Virginia, Jim Webb was fighting the war in Vietnam, finding himself wholly immersed in a completely foreign culture. Webb was obviously rather profoundly affected by that experience. Because he chose to write about it, in a series of books that have won widespread praise from politicians, from fellow Vietnam vets, and from literary critics.
But war-loving, flag-waving George Allen has decided to hold all of that against Jim Webb. Tonight, Allen took what was clearly a scene-painting, cultural passage from one of those books, grotesquely took it out of context and sexualized it, then slapped it on a press release in an attempt to cheapen Webb's well-received books as cheap porn with hints of pedophelia.
This isn't just a political attack. It's an attack on art. On writing. On expression. Hell, it's an attack on knowledge and learning. It's cheap and tawdry and cynical.
Perhaps if George Allen hadn't himself procured a student deferment from the Vietnam War, he'd be more familiar with the country's culture, and wouldn't bastardize the work of a man who did fight, and who saw to share his experiences with the rest of us -- Allen and his campaign of course announcing and advertising their own willfull stupidity in the process.
I hope Jim Webb beats this clabberhead like a drum.
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"the novels of J Webb described more than another culture. There are plenty of steamy and vulgar extracts of scenes which apparently include western/American people, women, teens in very weird sexual situations"
As long as those disparate groups appeared all together (especially if in the altogether) in those scenes in one ginormous multiethnic/generational clusterflock, I have no problem whatever with Webb's writing: he seems to have, in the space of a few "cherry"-picked ("steamy and vulgar" - Bring.It.On!) extracts, combined uncannily all my deepest passions in life - especially for those cuties the "western/American people" (O to pinch just once more their sagebrushed cheeks!), who rank just a whisker beneath Asian teens on my personal Schwing-O-Meter from Ronco (TM & As Seen On TV)...
I saw the Webb story at CNN, and the "Cheney: Webb is full of balogney" [Huh wha'th' - Ed.] sidebar, and swore up and down I had just stubled drunk into the precincts of The Onion, spiritual home of all such all-too-true stories issuing from this fall's rival gangs of flies wrestling for mastery over the national dungheap...>
"I hope Jim Webb beats this clabberhead like a drum."
Spoken like a true member of the Liberal MSM.>
The trouble with Allen is that he's all cowboy hat and no cattle. He may not be a racist (anymore) but he's a phony. And in my experience he never answers constituent's mail. I always get a personal reply from John Warner. I have never gotten any acknowledgment from Allen.
And until Warner came back from Iraq and said, yes, it's a mess, Allen was all stay the course I support the president, we're making progress. Now he's backpedaling. Webb has the right idea for bringing the Iraq thing to about as sucessful a conclusion as we can hope for. His son is over there with the Marines. He served as Reagan's Navy Sec. and won a Navy Cross, Silver Star, two Bronze Stars and 2 Purple Hearts in Vietnam while Allen was hiding out on a dude ranch in Nevada.
I voted for Allen in 2000 (so did Webb) and I can't think of one useful thing he has done as Senator. All he does is rubber stamp Bush.
Like Webb, I USED to be a Republican. They have screwed up Iraq so badly and trashed the Constitution, lied to us, and spent the country into a huge budget deficit and I just can't stand to reward these goobers with my vote. I haven't voted Democrat in 30 years but I am going to make an exception.>
Easy for you to say, Rod. You don't live here.
Brierrabbit3030 makes some good points. Webb and his supporters never shut up about Allen's past, and a lot of us are getting good and sick of it. This is mild stuff in comparison. And as for the books, I'm all for writing honestly about evil in order to show it for what it is. But tell me, what excuse can you think of to condone Webb's gratuitous and "non-judgmental," as the liberals say, writings about the kind of thing that enraged you on a daily basis when you covered its presence in the Catholic Church?>
Most of the people talking about Jim Webb here probably haven't read anything but the quotes listed. He's a great American writer. Fields of Fire is, without question, the Vietnam Novel.
This latest move by Allen is a final very deperate attempt to win.
It's sad to see the once honorable conservative movement in this country being destroyed by these foolish, do anything to win, neocons. Hopefully, with a time-out or two, Republicans will regain their composure and be allowed to play with other people in Government. But shame any of you who would drag Jim Webb through the mud over a piece of fiction. You've set the Republican party back 50 years.>
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