I've known George Allen for a long time. Since 1974 to be exact when we started law school together. And it's this long term knowledge and familiarity with his time as one of Virginia's U.S. Senators that make me a committed supporter of George's opponent, Tim Kaine. Don't get me wrong, George can be wonderful at a dinner party and can party with the best of the good old boys that he likes to mimic. I'll even go so far as to admit that George is pretty smart. The problem is that he's lazy and all to ready to do the bidding of others - especially ultra far right factions and Christianists. Add to that a sense of entitlement that reminds me of that demonstrated by Mitt Romney. The Washington Post has an editorial that takes on Allen for his new found love of secrecy in campaign funding sources. One can only assume that George knows full well that if a campaign backer would be found objectionable by Virginia voters, there's no reason to hide their identity. Here are excerpts from the column:
FOR YEARS, former Virginia senator George Allen said that political contributions should be based on the twin principles of freedom and disclosure — the freedom to give money without limits and full disclosure of those donations. He stressed that money should be given to, and spent by, candidates, not unaccountable outside groups.
Now Mr. Allen, running to regain his old Senate seat, is singing a different song on campaign finance. It can best be summarized as: Whatever!
In swapping principle for opportunism, Mr. Allen is marching in lock step with many fellow Republicans who are profiting politically from a tsunami of television advertising paid for by secretive outside groups. Since the GOP has been more effective than Democrats at raising money through these groups, Republicans such as Mr. Allen have ditched their insistence on disclosure and embraced an anything-goes approach.
The results are stark . . . . Much of it has been funneled through Crossroads Grassroots Political Strategies, a conservative group led by GOP strategist Karl Rove, and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. Together, those two groups have placed well over 6,000 television spots on Mr. Allen’s behalf, according to the Campaign Media Analysis Group, an independent monitoring outfit. The cost of those ads to date is variously estimated at $3.5 million to $7 million.
Mr. Allen has been silent in the face of blatantly inaccurate ads attacking Mr. Kaine. One, paid for by Crossroads GPS, claims that the bipartisan budget deal backed last year by Mr. Kaine (as well as the GOP leadership in Congress) would result in draconian defense cuts and job losses in Virginia. In fact, Mr. Kaine has urged Congress to strike an agreement that would avoid deep cuts.
Mr. Allen, tailoring his views to fit his circumstances, now says that keeping deep-pocketed donors’ names secret is all right since they might otherwise be subject to intimidation. Please. Since when have Americans ceased having the courage to stand up publicly for their convictions?
In March, Mr. Kaine proposed that both campaigns agree to limit the influence of secretive outside groups, . . . . Mr. Allen refused, calling the idea a “gimmick.” The real gimmick is Mr. Allen’s about-face on an issue where he once took a principled stand.
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