George Allen and the non-apology-apology

I hope it's a good sign that I haven't seen anyone calling for Virginia Sen. George Allen to apologize for his racist comment to an Indian-American volunteer for his opponent Jim Webb's campaign. Why should any Democrats care if he apologizes? Just use his crack to beat him over the head with.

Besides, making an insulting comment and then a fake or sneering "apology" has long been a stock Southern segregationist habit. It's a standard tactic for rightwingers seeking notoreity, too. And Allen is milking the non-apology apology for all it's worth, as we see in this Daily Kos post from SusanG: Keep Talking, George Felix Allen Junior! Please! 08/15/06

SusanG provides plain-English translations of Allen's pseudo-apologies. For instance, here's Allen:

I never want to embarrass or demean anyone and I apologize if my comments offended this young man. Even though he has signed onto my opponent's campaign, I look forward to seeing him on the trail ahead.

SusanG's translation:

The young man is obviously over-sensitive. And if I hadn't offended him, I wouldn't be issuing this half-ass "apology," because I still don't think I said anything wrong. In fact, I look forward to further testing this young man's sensibilities on the trail ahead.

I don't think it's a good idea for Democrats to toss around the "racist" label in campaigns for some act or omission that may not seem obvious to white independents, e.g., voting against some arcane state regulation on contract set-asides for minorities and women.

But in this case, Allen used a white-supremacist racial slur, twice, on-camera, in what was essentially a bullying tactic. Call it what it is. Sure, the White Citizens Council crowd will support him more because of it. But they were going to vote for the Republican anyway. Good white suburbanites whose eyes may glaze over at hearing the term "contract set-aside" will not be quite so indifferent to the fact that the guy comes off like a bullying bigot.

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