Black Caucus Backs Webb; Colleague Comes to Allen's Defense
By Tim Craig and Annie Gowen
Washington Post Staff Writers
Saturday, September 30, 2006
The issue of race continued to dominate the Virginia Senate contest yesterday as a group of black lawmakers endorsed Democrat James Webb, while one of incumbent Sen. George Allen's colleagues defended him against charges of racism.
With a little more than five weeks to go before the election, the race between Allen (R) and Webb has gotten nasty, as supporters of each candidate accuse the other of dirty politics.
The race is tightening. A Mason-Dixon poll conducted for MSNBC and released yesterday shows a dead heat, with Allen and Webb each at 43 percent. In July, Allen led by 16 percentage points in the Mason-Dixon poll. His lead was 4 points earlier this month.
The Virginia Legislative Black Caucus, which has been slow to back Webb because of his stance on affirmative action, formally threw its support behind him yesterday. In a statement, the group of 17 black members of the General Assembly charged Allen and President Bush with practicing "the politics of division."
Earlier in the day, Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-Tex.) appeared at an event with Allen at which she accused Democrats of trying to smear Allen with charges he used racial epithets during and shortly after college.
"I have never seen . . . the personal attacks in a Senate race I have seen in this one," Hutchison said at a Republican gathering in Tysons Corner. "The people of Virginia are not going to be misled. . . . They are going to leave all this negative blur and say, 'Why didn't this come out before?' "
Since the summer, when he called an Indian American man who works for the Webb campaign "macaca," Allen has been forced to respond to charges of racism. Macaca is a genus of monkey and a racial slur in some cultures.
The macaca furor was heightened by questions about Allen's past, including the fact that he had the Confederate flag at his home and a noose decorating his law office.
Allen's background received further scrutiny this week after acquaintances came forward to allege that he used the N-word directed at black people during his college days and the years immediately after. Allen vehemently denies he ever used the word.
At the event with Hutchison, Allen briefly spoke to about 85 female supporters. He left without taking questions after Hutchison finished speaking. But his wife, Susan, responded to a question from the audience about how the family was "holding up."
"George is famous for saying, 'They haven't killed me yet.' And doggone it, we're still walking and talking," Susan Allen said.
Webb was also dogged this week by charges he had used the N-word. At the urging of the Allen campaign, a Fairfax County man contacted The Washington Post and said Webb told him in 1983 that while a student at the University of Southern California in the early 1960s, Webb drove around Watts and harassed blacks while shouting epithets. Webb denied the allegation, calling it a dirty trick by the Allen campaign.
African Americans, who make up about 20 percent of Virginia's electorate, are a reliable Democratic voting bloc. But Webb has struggled to gain the support of key black leaders because of his stance on affirmative action.
Webb once called affirmative action "state-sponsored racism," but he has since clarified his position. He now says he supports affirmative action programs for blacks but not for other ethnic minorities whose ancestors did not endure slavery.
In making their endorsement, members of the black caucus cited Webb's opposition to the war in Iraq and his economic policies. They also cited Allen's opposition while governor to the creation of a Martin Luther King Jr. Day holiday.
"George Allen has a history of insensitivity to the African American community and a voting record to match," said Del. Dwight Clinton Jones (D-Richmond), chairman of the caucus.
Dick Wadhams, Allen's campaign manager, dismissed the endorsement. "What a shock. The black caucus, which is all Democrats, endorsed James Webb," Wadhams said.
Wadhams noted that one prominent member of the black caucus, Sen. Benjamin J. Lambert III (D-Richmond), is supporting Allen. Lambert endorsed Allen last month, citing his support for historically black colleges and universities.
Wadhams also noted Allen has secured tens of millions of dollars for programs and services in predominantly African American communities.
Former governor L. Douglas Wilder, who is mayor of Richmond, said Allen "has put himself in a tough spot."
"This campaign is Allen versus Allen," said Wilder, the state's only black governor. "The problem this raises for the senator is when you are put in a posture of denial, it does create questions."
Wilder says he hasn't decided whether to endorse a candidate, but he hopes the debate shifts to "real issues" soon."
"If you take the N-word and macaca, where do you go from here?" Wilder asked. "The voting public is left in a quandary."
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