George Allen: ‘I Respect Senator Webb’s Service To Our Country’

Former Sen. George Allen (R-VA)
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Former Sen. George Allen (R-VA), who is seeking a comeback to the Senate after he was defeated for re-election in 2006, has released a statement on the announcement that the man who defeated him, Democratic Sen. Jim Webb, is not running again.

“I respect Senator Webb’s service to our country and the very personal decision that he and his family have made,” writes Allen. “I did not enter into this race to run against any one person, but to fight for the families of Virginia to improve their opportunities in life. My campaign will continue to focus on achievable reforms that will help reinvigorate our economy, end reckless, runaway spending, and unleash our plentiful energy resources.”

Allen narrowly lost his 2006 re-election, after he had previously been expected to win easily and then launch a 2008 presidential campaign. The trouble came in August 2006, of course, after he was videotaped by a Webb campaign tracker, who was Indian-American, calling the person “macaca,” a type of monkey. This was widely interpreted as being a somewhat obscure racial slur, often used by French colonists in Africa — which was the background of Allen’s mother.

Allen later claimed that he had never heard of the word or this particular meaning before, and that he had made it up — a claim that he still maintains. Webb won the election by a margin of 0.39%, in a very Democratic year, and helping to deliver Democrats their 51-seat majority.

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