George Allen still digging...

[cmac2012]

Stealing a colleague's amendment and passing it off as your own is not something you'd expect from a US senator. But George Allen once again proves that nothing is beneath him. From his derogatory "Macaca" and "Welcome to America" comments to a Virginian native, Mr. Allen is demonstrating a type of character that is common among hoodlums and thieves. No shame and no sense of honor.

Webb campaign responds to Allen theft:


Yesterday, Senator George Allen embarrassed Virginians again.

This time Allen didn't say anything stupid. In fact, what he had to say was good. Too good, in fact. It was so good that it turned out it was stolen.

Asking to speak before Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL), Allen introduced an amendment to the Department of Defense appropriations bill that would provide $19 million in additional funding for the Defense and Veterans Brain Injury Center program, which provides treatment care and research for veterans suffering from traumatic brain injuries.

So, what are the odds that George Allen had the exact same idea as Durbin, the exact same dollar figure as Durbin, the exact same language as Durbin (save one word)? And why did Allen seek special permission to speak before Durbin unless Allen was seeking to take credit for an amendment to which Durbin had already prepared and written?

Geez, Senator, has it really come to this? Are you so bankrupt of ideas that you have to steal another Senator's amendments and call them your own? It is clear you stole Dick Durbin's language. There are no odds that you could have written an exactly identical amendment to Durbin's, save one word -- I guess you thought this would allow you to call the amendment your own -- that it would have the exact dollar figure and that you would have to run down to the Senate floor and cut in front of Durbin (talk about cut and run, Senator) and introduce a virtually identical amendment. Did you think no one would notice?

From: http://notgeorgeallen.blogspot.com/

It's a site devoted to trashing Allen but they didn't make the story up. It's been on some of the cable news shows too. Keith Olbermann said that Durbin distributed a copy of his proposal to various senators. So if they come forward and say that Allen used virtually the exact same language on a proposal Durbin floated days before...??

Also here.

[John Doe]

You are really well read ceemack, but you obviously don't know anything about politics.

[Carleton Hughes]

What would you expect from a career criminal??fudge brownies?

[cmac2012]

Originally Posted by Chris Bell

It must be the fault of W, Rove, Cheney, Haliburton (pick one).
All in all pretty high on the yawn meter
Should'nt you be strolling down Telegraph Avenue checking out the
hairy armpitted hippy wanna be chicks while getting a tofu burger.

Stop, you're killing me! I'm completely helpless in the face of such deadly Berkeley trashing wit!!

Pretty high on the yawn meter. Well, yes, Allen is.

The guy wants to be president. Here's what happened, best I can tell. Sen. Durbin, a Democrat, distributed copies of his proposal. Allen rushes to the podium ahead of Durbin a few days later, presenting the same proposal as Durbin's, complete with the same language Durbin had put in with hand written changes, and using the same dollar figure that Durbin had.

It's petty beyond petty and one more solid clue that Allen is in no way ready for prime time.

[cmac2012]

Originally Posted by John Doe

You are really well read ceemack, but you obviously don't know anything about politics.

What? I didn't know politicians were crooked, lying SOBs?

[cmac2012]

Originally Posted by John Doe

You are really well read ceemack, but you obviously don't know anything about politics.

JD, are you saying this perfectly acceptable in the big hoary world of politics?

[Jim B.]

Originally Posted by Chris Bell

It must be the fault of W, Rove, Cheney, Haliburton (pick one).
All in all pretty high on the yawn meter
Should'nt you be strolling down Telegraph Avenue checking out the
hairy armpitted hippy wanna be chicks while getting a tofu burger.

Off his case. That was totally uncalled for.

CMAC provides an informed refreshing point of view, and backs it up with logic and intelligence. I often disagree with him but his point of view is welcome here, as is his RIGHT TO EXPRESS IT.

He knows something that you don't if he chooses to live in Berkeley too.

Have you ever heard of the Berkeley Hills, Alice Waters' Chez Panisse restaurant, Berkeley Rep. Theatre,U.C. Extension, the Pacific Firm Archive, the Original Peet's Coffee, Dark Carnival comics, the Berkeley Marina, Leopold's or Rasputin's ,
records, the GREAT bookstores near the campus, the travel stores, all the Great Thai, Cambodian, Persian, Asian and exotic restraurants and Big Daddy's Fish House and the wonderful homes on Upper Marin Street, the cool Emeryville Market and Ikea nearby.

Having gotten to live in San Francisco, I never needed too much of an excuse to visit Berkeley. That place is happenin' (though it has plenty of people with crackpot ideas and criminals too)

[Chris Bell]

Originally Posted by Jim B.

Off his case. That was totally uncalled for.

CMAC provides an informed refreshing point of view, and backs it up with logic and intelligence. I often disagree with him but his point of view is welcome here, as is his RIGHT TO EXPRESS IT.

He knows something that you don't if he chooses to live in Berkeley too.

Have you ever heard of the Berkeley Hills, Alice Waters' Chez Panisse restaurant, Berkeley Rep. Theatre,U.C. Extension, the Pacific Firm Archive, the Original Peet's Coffee, Dark Carnival comics, the Berkeley Marina, Leopold's or Rasputin's ,
records, the GREAT bookstores near the campus, the travel stores, all the Great Thai, Cambodian, Persian, Asian and exotic restraurants and Big Daddy's Fish House and the wonderful homes on Upper Marin Street, the cool Emeryville Market and Ikea nearby.

Having gotten to live in San Francisco, I never needed too much of an excuse to visit Berkeley. That place is happenin' (though it has plenty of people with crackpot ideas and criminals too)

Spare me...
I was born in the Bay Area and lived my whole life here. Berkely is a place for absolute crackpots. The Berkely Marina is a dump, I've sailed out of it many times. And you can get good asian food anywhere in the Bay Area. Christ, go down to San Jose you can't spit without hitting a vietnamese noodle house or asian resturant, there on almost every corner If that the best you can do it ain't much. Ooooo Pete's Coffee their everywhere. Ikea...you gotta be kidding me right. You think having an Ikea is a selling point, you need to get out more. Oh by the way the Ikea is in Emeryville not Berkely. And you failed to mention the view of the bay from the bar at the Berkely Yacht Club, the Greek theater, and the Cal Sailing Club and I'm still not sold. Frankly the best thing about Berkely is sailing past it on my way to the delta.

[cmac2012]

I think he said Ikea was nearby. You're right: Berkeley has a slightly higher than average share of loonies than the general populace. But it's slight and not that noticeable.

It's got some charming business districts, free of an excess of corporate fast food logos. It has possibly the finest grocery store I've ever seen: The Berkeley Bowl. Check it out if you're in town -- on Shattuck, a few blocks north of Ashby. The produce section is bigger and more diverse than any I've seen. Chefs from around the bay area go there to shop because of the eclectic selection. They've finally (I think) gotten approval from the city to build a new branch not far away, near I-80 and Ashby, which will hopefully serve the greater bay area more and ameliorate the long lines at the original store.

I've spent a lot of time on the peninsula, though virtually none in Santa Clara. Worked in Palo Alto, Atherton, Redwood City, Portola Valley, Woodside, and Hillsborough. They're all fairly amorphous to me -- not too interesting -- lotta money, it's true. The only decent place to buy groceries are the two Whole Food outlets, and they're expensive.

Geroge Allen would have gotten into at least some kind of trouble if he'd pulled a stunt like that in college. What, in the senate, it's a yawner?

Maybe it was an ambitious staffer who dressed up the format of Durbin's wording and fed it to him, I dunno. I do know that in '04, Allen was on the tube complaining that Kerry voted for the $86 billion before he voted against it , not a graceful thing to say bit in NO WAY did it mean Kerry was pushing to defund our armed forces, which is the charge Allen got around to. Anyone who knows how the senate works knows that various forms of a bill are introduced and that voting against one version doesn't mean you want the main body of the bill to be defeated, just that you want some modification. Kerry wanted to introduce a little more pay as you go to the process instead of borrowing, borrowing, borrowing.

So Reops think that running the "voted for it/against it" awkward gaff several hundred million times in the campaign was an appropriate way to describe Kerry. Bad news: I think Allen's two recent gaffs are far more real and serious and need to be broadcast in such a way as to send him back to vocational school. I don't like nor trust the guy, a grinning ass of an oaf.

[John Doe]

Originally Posted by cmac2012

JD, are you saying this perfectly acceptable in the big hoary world of politics?

There isn't a big stigma for plagerism of bills on the floor from what I've seen. I haven't heard any 'embarrassed Virginians come forward' (and although I can't vote there, I am a Virginian, btw). Completely controllable situation, if Durban wanted credit for the submission and thought it was in the public's best interest, he should have been more saavy and presented it before trying to stick his toe in the water by 'floating' the idea about before submission so as not to suprise any of HIS special interest contributors. As they say, you snooze, you lose.

This type of conduct may be ungentlemanly (I don't know anyone that considers it so), but it is certainly not a great stain on Allen, which is why the only mention of the issue is on some blog totally devoted to Allen 'hatin.

I didn't mean to sound condescending in my first reply (sorry), but this is kind of an every day occurance on the state level at least.

[Zeus]

Originally Posted by Jim B.

Off his case. That was totally uncalled for.

It was indeed uncalled for, the original message has been deleted.

[John Doe]

Originally Posted by cmac2012

JD, are you saying this perfectly acceptable in the big hoary world of politics?

I'm sayin that there are probably more Dems saying touche than crying about it.

[cmac2012]

Originally Posted by John Doe

There isn't a big stigma for plagerism of bills on the floor from what I've seen. I haven't heard any 'embarrassed Virginians come forward' (and although I can't vote there, I am a Virginian, btw). Completely controllable situation, if Durban wanted credit for the submission and thought it was in the public's best interest, he should have been more saavy and presented it before trying to stick his toe in the water by 'floating' the idea about before submission so as not to suprise any of HIS special interest contributors. As they say, you snooze, you lose.

This type of conduct may be ungentlemanly (I don't know anyone that considers it so), but it is certainly not a great stain on Allen, which is why the only mention of the issue is on some blog totally devoted to Allen 'hatin.

I didn't mean to sound condescending in my first reply (sorry), but this is kind of an every day occurance on the state level at least.

Hmm, I hadn't thought of it that way. Yeah, maybe Durbin should have presented it first instead of floating it.

I first heard the story on MSNBC's "Countdown," with Keith Olbermann. I wonder if Webb will use this story in his campaign? That's about the main reason it struck me, that is, Allen doing this during a re-election campaign and just after the Macaca furor.

[cmac2012]

Originally Posted by Chris Bell

Frankly the best thing about Berkely is sailing past it on my way to the delta.

Wahhlll... you know we've got a special Berkeley salute for Santa Claratans sailing through our sovereign waters.

Hate to tell you, the San Jose area has never appealed to me. Big, sprawling and just not too cozy. I'm sure there are some nice folks there, just like everywhere.

I drove cab in Seattle for years, part time, and in spite of its reputation as a liberal, artsy city, oh man the stories I could tell you. They be some hard, mean people in that city, along with a lot of decent folks.

Here's a story about a few guys from Berkeley, some of them members of the BPD, I typed out on another thread a while back. Not what you might expect.

[John Doe]

Originally Posted by cmac2012

Hmm, I hadn't thought of it that way. Yeah, maybe Durbin should have presented it first instead of floating it.

I first heard the story on MSNBC's "Countdown," with Keith Olbermann. I wonder if Webb will use this story in his campaign? That's about the main reason it struck me, that is, Allen doing this during a re-election campaign and just after the Macaca furor.

Glad you are man enough to consider another perspective--that's what its all about, no?

btw, if Allen gets the GOP nomination for Pres, there is not a chance in hell I would vote for him