Disgusting Column

From this week's Reston Connection- I can't believe this guy had the nerve to write this:

    From the article:  "Senator George Allen's recent gaffe was certainly unfortunate.  He opened himself up to criticism and let his campaign get off message by an unnecessary diversion.  What Senator Allen is most guilty of is taking the bait.  But the episode says a lot more about the Senator's 2006 opponent, Jim Webb, the Democrat party candidate".

What?  After calling a young man of color a "macaca", Allen is most guilty of "taking the bait"?  That's absurd, and frankly calling Sidarth "bait" is disgusting on its own.  How exactly is he "bait"?

Continued... "The tactic of following a Republican candidate or incumbent with a video camera is straight out of the nationals Democratic campaign playbook... Imagine if this activity were to have been practiced on Governor Mark Warner or Tim Kaine when they were running for office?"

At this point, I am shocked the Connection even agreed to print this article. Mark Warner, Tim Kaine, Jerry Kilgore, Bill Bolling, Leslie Byrne, Creigh Deeds, Bob McDonnell and yes even Jim Webb have all been videotaped by their opponents over the past year.  The reason it didn't make national news is none of them felt the need to look into the camera, smile, utter a racial slur twice and welcome the only person of color in a crowd "to America".

The Connection should not be publishing columns that openly mislead and lie.  This is embarrassing.

UPDATE:  More from the article:  "There is a word to describe following an individual day in and day out, recording his every word and move: it is called stalking.  The Democrat candidate for the Senate should review the Code of Virginia 18.2-60.3 with the penalties thereto and best rethinking turning a youngster loose with a video camera to follow Senator Allen around."

How in the world did this end up published?  For the statute to apply: "The guy in question (Siddarth) must be one "who on more than one occasion engages in conduct directed at another person with the intent to place, or when he knows or reasonably should know that the conduct places that other person in reasonable fear of death, criminal sexual assault, or bodily injury to that other person or to that other person's family or household member"

What a pile of crap!  Is the Connection going to allow Sidharth to be slandered like this?  Other than his dark skin tone, what makes the author of this piece believe Sidharth is a danger to Allen or his family?

Comments

[JMU Duke]

For some reason I can't read the whole article the image truncates about 2/3 of it, but I think I got the jist and my question is dooesn't Allen have trackers on Webb most of the time? Not worth the paper its printed on.

You can't believe people can write the truth?

allen has multiple trackeres. seen them with my own eyes. common in political campaigns.

[Not Ken Plum]

I'll have to ask Jack about this the next time I see him. I think he knows he's grasping at straws, but he had to say something, I guess. (If you're a locally well-known Republican writing a weekly column, you can't avoid the subject, and all the other lame excuses were exhausted before his column went to press.) Being a Republican in Reston is lonely enough for him as it is...

[Jon]

sorry, been out of town for a few days...Ben, you are hilarious...love it love it love it....

[Not Ted Stevens]

Dear Lord NLS..

Don't you Understand...

Those non-whites are all bait, just waiting there, standing there, begging to be insulted and discriminated against.

They're like sweet delicious pies, that we must not touch, for we will be burnt, and yet...

WE MUST TOUCH...

Oh you'd never understand, my superior system of brain tubes makes it easy for me, but you mere mortals...

Oh and like everything I do, let's keep this secret, don't let this stuff get out

Emporer Ted Stevens
'I just got sent the Internet the other day'

[Dannyboy]

Allen has all kinds of trackers! Doesn't anybody remember the Hunter Pickels crap?

12:37 - what's the truth? That only Democrats have trackers? I think that Allen's CURRENT trackers would beg to differ.

Ben - contact the author and ask him if he knew that Allen also uses trackers.

Someone should contact the writer and Reston Connections - this is ridiculous and deserves a retraction.

[this is sad]

Wow, what a great column by Jack Asshole. Oh sorry, did I get his name wrong? Well, thats not my fault, doesn't the public know there are numerous individuals in the United States whose last name is Asshole? Yep! Check out the AOL White Pages.

Some relevant contact info. Play nice!

Reston Connection
Steve Mauren, editor, 703-917-6451, smauren@connectionnewspapers.com.
Story ideas: Jason Hartke, community reporter, 703-917-6452, jhartke@connectionnewspapers.com
Calendar listings, community notes, story ideas, comments, questions, concerns: Chris Staten, Assistant Editor, 703-917-6447, reston@connectionnewspapers.com
Politics and Education: Brian McNeill, 703-917-6428, bmcneill@connectionnewspapers.com
Land Use: Ari Cetron, 703-917-6433; acetron@connectionnewspapers.com
Sports editor, BJ Koubaroulis, 703-917-6438
Display advertising, Winslow Wacker, 703-917-6473
Employment advertising Ralph Goodwin, 703-917-6413
Classified advertising, Andrea Smith, 703-917-6401
Circulation, Linda Pecquex, 703-917-6480
To request a free subscription to the Reston Connection, call 703-917-6465 (available to residents of Reston)

[mosquito]

It's obvious the guy spewing this nonsencse is a republican operative...

Is the Connection some sort of right wing lunatic paper?

[nova]

Actually Reston is a strong Democrat area and that paper usually is also.

[Fan of Integrity]

Allen's version of damage control is to lie. Shame on the Connection for furthering that tactic.

[Virginia Liberal]

We all know that the main stream media leans way to the right and hates Dems :)

(note the sarcasm)

Actually the connection has huge left wing leans.

[Used2Bneutral]

Flashback Flashback, rewind one year !!! at the end of August beginning of September last year the Republican campaign of Christopher Craddock put up a web site using a custom spliced and doctored video of Chuck Caputo from his mid-July campaign kick-off speech. The digital recording was cut from an actual 25 minute speech by Chuck down to about 70 seconds only hilighting the pieces of video where Chuck described all the various Virginia State sevices, projects, and future initiatives that were in most cases already funded and in progress or already budgeted items being performed by various agencies on a recurring annual basis.

The final splice of video was then accompanied by a transcript of the doctored tape to supposedly show that Caputo was calling for 9.2 Billion worth of new taxes which was never ever said or even implied by Chuck and which was then and still now a total BS fabrication by taking the selective content out of context. I sat right next to the kid from the Craddock campaign who had lied his way into the kickoff claiming to be a pre-registered volunteer for Chuck. After that incident ALL debates and public speeches were video taped with digital tape with time codes so if there was need to substantiate that a recording was not doctored if it was needed to rebut the next dirty manipulated video. Dozens of complete digital DVDs usually with time codes showing were made available to the press and anyone else who asked for one including in one case a couple of copies for the libertarian candidate, Mr Chuck Eby. But no further creative manipulation was attempted by the Republican campaign.

So that said, "trackers" are around at all campain levels and we only wished we would have had a taping of the famous African Condom and Gays comments, that luckily multiple witnesses were able to repeat and subsequently were confirmed by Craddock himself......

[Josh Chernila]

" But the episode says a lot more about the Senator's 2006 opponent, Jim Webb, the Democrat party candidate".

This guy sounds a lot like Bill Bolling.

[Not Ken Plum]

"Actually Reston is a strong Democrat area and that paper usually is also."

Reston is very strongly Democratic, although I wouldn't say the Connection is a left-wing paper. Jack Kenny, however, is a staunch right-wing Republican (he used to run the Republican Club in Reston), and his column runs weekly as a "Counterpoint" sort of thing.

[zen]

Here's the letter I just sent:

I wanted to write to respond to an article that ran in the Reston Connection titled “The Real ‘Macaca’ Issue” in which Jack Kenny expresses his views on the recent gaffe by senator Allen. His column is misleading at best, as he attempts to spin the truth and throw the crux of the issue completely off the train.

First and foremost, George Allen is responsible for George Allen. Period. To insinuate that the mere presence of a dark skinned man at the event is ‘baiting’ Allen into bullying and insulting him is beyond comprehension. Let’s be reminded that the Republican party, of which Mr. Kenny is proudly affiliated, does not hesitate to remind everyone else of how important “personal responsibility” is in our society. In fact the website for the Republican Club he belongs to (http://restonrepublican.tripod.com/) goes so far as to state within their mission that they, “believe in individual initiative, fiscal and social responsibility.” So why then does Mr. Kenny believe that George Allen is guilty of “taking the bait?” What bait would that be?

Next, what Mr. Kenny apparently also does not understand modern campaigning. Particularly in Virginia’s recent elections it has been common practice among candidates, Republican and otherwise, to trail their opponents with video cameras hoping to catch them making a mistake, just as George Allen did. It is misleading (or an intentional lie) to propose that only Democrats practice this tactic.

This column was a complete farce and frankly I do not understand why you choose to publish obvious lies. It is not only factually inaccurate, but also insulting. Jack Kenny certainly has a “differing point of view” not only from the perspective of ideology, but moreover from reality.

[Bacchus]

Wow, this Kenny character is a real freaking idiot. But the funny part is that he would put his ignorance of campaign practice in print form and publish it for all to see, all the while touting his expertise. It isn't even worth addressing all the misstatements mistakes, and untruths in the column.

[Doug in Mount Vernon]

What a total and complete whack-nut-job.

I love the last paragraph of his column! Yeah, people in the phone book might have the surname "Macaca", but do any of them have "Macaca, or whatever his name is over there"?

Kenny, disgusting.

Allen's Webb tracker full of Caca... it's on www.raisingkaine.com

After all this time that Webb has been tracked by a video camera, and not once did he bully the cameraholder. The difference in character between the two candidates is substantial.

[Eraserhead]

Free speech. How quaint a concept.

And the guy has the nerve to write under "A Differing Point of View."

P I C K E L S

Nice letter, Zen. Good job.

[Thaddaeus Toad]

I can't improve on your scathing analysis. Are Allenites all retarded?? STOP DEFENDING RACISM. The less they say, the faster this may go away. Keep apologizing for it, and we'll be talking about it on Nov. 6

[GinterParked]

Used2b: That was a blast from the past. Who was the troll on here for Craddock who inserterd 9.2 billion into every post?

Ah, brings back fond memories.

Wonder what Chris is up to now? Mission to Africa?

[Mason Conservative]

Ok, not even I agree that its "stalking," thats an ass backwards line of thinking, considering, as Ben points out, all candidates do it and have received it.

What really boggles my mind is who is this article for? The ten Republcians that live in Reston (my brother's in-laws)? I think the Connection let him write this to make Allen and Republicans look even worse!

[michael]

I dunno, NLS. His skin is pretty dark...

[Used2Bneutral]

GinterParked,
I believe you mean AVoter which should have been AStaff.....

[PM]

I think the type of letter being debated here helps Webb. Unbalanced, frothing-at-the mouth letters persuade no one for the position advocated, and turn off moderate voters.

Speaking of Mr. Craddock, who I believe will run again (he has no other skills), letters written promoting his candidacy were almost uniformly poorly written and barely passed a laugh test. Some of the letters were viewed as having helped his rival's campaign.

[Terp]

Hey, my letter about this was published in the current issue of the Connection. I couldn't find it online, though.

[[*names.txt*]]

Windows will never cease. Thanks good site.
http://fgdpmk.iifree.net/e74b23/map.html

Pentium wise; pen and paper foolish.