George Allen and the noose

It looks like George Allen is trying to clean up his image on race before a possible presidential run:

Senator George Allen, a Virginia Republican accused in the past of insensitivity on race issues, introduced a bill on Tuesday to apologize officially for the Senate's role in blocking antilynching legislation through decades of killings across the South.

...In his 2000 campaign to unseat Senator Charles S. Robb, Democrats and civil rights groups accused Mr. Allen of racial callousness for having displayed a noose in his law office and a Confederate flag in his home.

Mr. Allen described those as parts of collections of flags and Western memorabilia. "I had all sort of Western stuff in my office," he said, characterizing what others called a noose as "more of a lasso." He said, "It has nothing to do with lynching."

"More of a lasso"? Here's how the Richmond Times Dispatch originally reported it in 2000:

U.S. Senate candidate George Allen wears his conservative heart on the sleeve of his cowboy shirt and makes no bones about his commitment to law and order.

Visitors to his old law office near downtown Charlottesville used to see a grim and graphic reminder of his view of criminals.

Dangling from a ficus tree in the corner was a noose, a reminder that the Republican politician saw some justification in frontier justice.

And here's how Allen's own campaign manager described it in a Washington Post story during the campaign:

Christopher J. LaCivita, Allen's campaign manager, said the noose was one item in a collection of cowboy memorabilia that Allen displayed in his Charlottesville law office in the early 1990s.

Far from being a racially charged symbol, the noose was an emblem of Allen's tough stance on law-and-order issues, LaCivita said.

This defense was echoed by Allen himself according to a Virginian-Pilot report in 2000:

The noose on a tree outside his law office, he has said, symbolized his belief in strong punishment for violent criminals and was not meant to have racial overtones.

And according to the Richmond Times Dispatch, when Allen was asked about the noose again in September 2004 when he first introduced the bill, a spokesman still did not dispute what it was:

When Allen was asked after his news conference about the Confederate flag, he said he no longer displays it, and that he is a flag collector. Later, an Allen spokesman said the noose was part of an "Old West," law-and-order motif for Allen's former law office, and it had nothing to do with racial issues.

Lasso, noose, what's the difference? I can't believe Allen thinks people are this stupid.

Update 9/14/06 6:21 AM: Attention Talking Points Memo readers -- don't miss my comprehensive post summarizing Allen's ugly racial history.

Comments

[Rick]

I was sad to see Spinsanity go. Glad the group has had other things to do.
And even though I voted (my first election) in 2000 in Virginia, I don't recall ever hearing about the noose or the Flag. I probably voted for the Dem anyway, but still. This caught me by surprise.

[Anonymous]

You say:
"Lasso, Noose, What's the difference?"

You're kidding, right? The guy displayed western items with a lasso.. like MANY other collectors of western life.

And have mercy.. I'm black and have a confederate flag. I'm so conflicted.
I, too, collect flags (I collect much of American history) and have no problem with
someone having collected a Rebel Flag. It IS part of history, as is slavery.
Thing is.. I know many, many blacks who have gotten over slavery and way too many of you whites who have not.
Go figure.

[RM]

Um, people apparently are that stupid.

[benjoya]

anonymous, did you wear a confederate flag pin in your lapel for your SoCal HS yearbook photo? George Felix Allen did.

[benjoya]

anon: The guy displayed western items with a lasso

Times Dispatch: an Allen spokesman said the noose was part of an "Old West," law-and-order motif

Allen spokesman: Far from being a racially charged symbol, the noose was an emblem of Allen's tough stance on law-and-order issues, LaCivita said.

like for lassoing those criminal cows.

did you even read the post?

[chris from boca]

I can't believe any progressive doesn't think that people are that stupid. not after our experince during the last 6 years or so. Americans are as dumb as dirt. Until the progressive message resonates with idiots, we are shit out of luck.

[Vic Allen]

Anyone who doesn't know the difference between a lasso and a noose knows zip about the history of the West or about basic knots and their respective functions.

A lasso is a simple affair used to capture livestock. A noose is an elaborate knot whose only purpose is to hang someone. They look nothing alike.

Lucky for Mr. Allen he's not running in a state where every 5 year old knows the differnce. Here in Idaho no one would buy that bull#@*t, whatever their political leanings.

[Fel]

Allen is too dumb and clumsy to waste any time on. If he were smart, his racism and cruel streak would then be scary, I guess.

[Bigjim]

Furthermore, a real cowboy wouldn't leave his lasso hanging in a tree but rather on a peg or his saddle horn. On the other hand, a tree is where one would expect to find a noose, especially prior to use (the occupant and noose were invariably cut down afterward.) To see a picture of a hangman's noose, look up The Ox Bow Incident on Amazon or elsewhere. The blurb on the jacket of the copy I read called it "A searing study in mob justice." I wonder if that is the kind of law and order Allen advocated.

[nitpicker]

Anonymous,

You don't hang a lasso from a tree.

Carry on.