Ten weeks before election day, conservative TV evangelist Jerry Falwell is heaping surprising praise on the Democrat opposing Sen. George Allen's re-election bid in Virginia. In an interview on Forbes.com, Falwell, 73, makes his first comments about Allen's opponent, James Webb. Falwell says he disagrees with Webb on social issues, but gives the politician a personal ranking of "A-."Many, many Virginians, especially the more rural folks, listen to what Falwell has to say. I know he seems like a nut to most of us, but the other 90% of what he says, the stuff you don't hear about, really resonates here. This praise for Webb is significant. I'm not his target audience, so my interpretation is suspect, but here's the message I'm hearing: if you want to vote for Webb instead of Felix, it's no skin off Falwell's back.
Correction: Thanks to Otto Man for de-balling me in the comments. Falwell's base of operations is Lynchburg, a town in which I have had motion sickness several times; it's in south-central VA.
Macacca madness update: Via Tbogg, Allen preemptively took his name out of the running for an award from the Thurgood Marshall Scholarship Fund because of protests by donors to the fund. Felix says: "I regret that there are those who would put their personal or political dislike of me ahead of the needs of deserving students. . . ." That's right, George Jr. What those kids needed most -- nay, deserved -- was a speech from you. The scholarship money is totally secondary.
14 comments:
Wow, that's stunning. Allen is pretty cozy with the Religious Right, while Webb is a member of the party of gay Mexilamofascists.
One quibble -- Falwell's based in Lynchburg, which is south-central Virginia or maybe even southwest.
And you claim to live there? Sheesh.
It's hard to separate the Moron Twins, but they embarrass completely separate parts of the state. Unlike Felix, who covers the whole deal.
What do you suppose is behind this . . . most perplexing (sorta) endorsement?
Money? Jesus' personal instructions? A long-lost macaca in the family?
No idea. Falwell's always had a thing for Reagan-era military belligerency, so maybe he's supporting Webb just as a trip down memory lane.
Or, a little more Machiavellian, maybe Falwell thinks Allen is doomed and wants to get a little credit for pushing him under the bus.
Yeah, like the article says, Falwell may just be hedging his bets.
Unlike Allen, Webb is actually from Virginia, and until W's reign he was a republican. I'm sure he's had plenty of chances to hob nob with Falwell in the past.
I don't know what kind of relationship Falwell and Allen have; perhaps Falwell fells Allen's crossed him in some way?
How dare those scholarship folks suggest that a guy with a Confederate flag and a noose in his office might not embody the values of Thurgood Marshall?
That a man who aligned himself with the heirs of the White Citizens' Councils might not be the best speaker for a group named after a man who fought the WCCs?
What's next? The NAACP not selecting Klansmen for their national conference keynote speakers? What nerve.
Falwell probably found out that Allen was a jew.
Funny, he doesn't look Druish.
Irod, that's nuts! Thanks for the link.
Jeez! George Allen. Do we really have to claim him? Can't we get some dispensation on the mother rule this one time?
Haven't my people suffered enough???
I mean, we're "Chosen" and all, but we didn't "choose" that jackass.
Lynchburg is in between Roanoke and Appomattox. It may still be a dry town. And, J. Crew is headquartered there. (or something like that) I've heard there's an outlet there, but I need some beer to shop.
Lest y'all think the wife is a drunk, the beer is for me. It's the only way she can get me to go shopping with her. We have a system.
Hechts/Macy's, I get 1 beer.
Bath & Bodyworks or Gap, I get 2 beers.
Bookstore, one of them minikegs.
Thrill-
Imagine my surprise when I discovered this morning that Mrs. Thrill was not only a closet fan of the FSMOMYOTD, but had actually seen Gus as a little girl.
Not that there'd be anything wrong with that . . .
I heard an interview with Webb on, I think, Ed Schultz's show recently. Webb came across as genuine, smart and having no patience with the reigning scourge of neocon incompetents.
I'm reminded of Bill Cohen and Bob Rubin, the former a Republican and the latter someone you'd think must be a Republican. Yet both served extremely well in Clinton's Cabinet.
Democrats have had a big-tent party in the past that was strengthened by the diversity of having a Scoop Jackson and a George McGovern. In this time of superheated partisanship and ideological squaring off, it can be hard to appreciate that, but I think it's true.
Here's hoping Webb will end Allen's Senate career and presidential hopes by winning in November.
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