Sen. George Allen is angry because of what his sister wrote about him in her book, “Fifth Quarter: The Scrimmage of a Football Coach’s Daughter“. Well, not angry about what she wrote — he’s angry that parts of it are being brought up in his race against Jim Webb. Ms. Allen’s book describes a series of violent acts on the part of Sen. Allen against his siblings, including breaking his brother’s collarbone, throwing his brother through a plate glass window, dangling his sister over Niagara Falls (giving her a lifelong fear of heights), and dragging his sister up the stairs by her hair. (The New Republic has cataloged Allen’s misdeeds as documented in the book.)
George Allen says that the book isn’t fair game to be brought up in the race because “[the] book is a novel and fiction.”
Let me repeat that. In fact, I’ll put the entire bit from the Associated Press story in a blockquote:
Allen was also asked about passages in his sister Jennifer Allen’s book, “Fifth Quarter: The Scrimmage of a Football Coach’s Daughter,” in which Allen is described as a violent bully toward his siblings.
“It was a fairly rough and rowdy family … but that book is a novel and fiction,” he said. “People have asked my sister and she said it was a novelization.”
So, let it be known: Sen. Allen does not believe that anything that appears in fiction has any relevance to this race.
(Side note: The book is classified as a memoir by her publisher and is described as such within the book. Random House may be alarmed to discover that she’s passed off a novel as a memoir. They had a problem with that recently with an author — perhaps you’ve heard of him? — named James Frey.)
Man, Oprah would have a field day with that woman. I wonder if she’d have to give back all the money her book has earned.
This will win the election for Webb:
http://www.raisingkaine.com/showDiary.do?diaryId=5508#35988
This is what the UNITED STATES MARINE CORPS thinks of James Webb’s novels:
Fields of Fire
The Classic Novel of the Vietnam War
Written By Webb, James
Bantam Books, New York, NY © 1979
360 Pages
James Webb. a well-known Marine Corps Navy Cross recipient in Vietname and former Secretary of the Navy, conveys the experience of combat with rare lucidity through fiction. In fact, Fields of Fire is less fictional than most realize. It is the Vietnam War as the author lived it, and the reader sees and feels it through the eyes of the book’s main character, a platoon commander in Company D, 1st Battalion, 5th Marines.
The novel is about the reality of war that Marines must come to grips with today as we prepare for the future. Fields of Fire is the story of the young, enlisted Marines who fought under then Lieutenant Webb. The reader should note carefully their emotions, motivations, courage, and fears for they are the men who have served us best in every war. Their social backgrounds vary, and many of our best warriors came from the lowliest of stations. In terms of the brotherhood of those who bleed together and the nobility of sacrifices made for friends, the characters in Webb’s novel are timeless. He succeeds brilliantly in making them real. Webb creates a doctrine of combat leadership and a creed for the succeeding generation on how and why Marines fight.
When I read, “Sen. George Allen is angry …,” I expected to read that George Allen is angry. Seems someone is.
George Allen and Republican Party == hipocrisy
Ahem, what’s new here?
It’s funny – because when reading about Republicans of 130 years ago, Republicans were the party of integrity. My how things have changed.
Well folks if you believe this is whack, spread this info far and wide.
Email it to every friend, to every reporter you might now. EXPOSE ALLEN’S HYPOCRISY AND IGNORANCE.
This is a Jerry Kilgore moment, if I have ever seen one! Allen has exposed himself to a right hook, lets knock him out.
A exhaustive review of George Allen’s literary writings from years past reveal that Felix consistently and with malicious forethought
colored outside the lines.
This guy has such a Fisher-Price quality, that seeing him as anything beyond principal of Romper Room escapes me.
He does bear a striking resemblance to a Weeble though…
“George Allen and Republican Party == hipocrisy”
Now, if I remember the correct order of things that transpired:
Webb crew lets loose on Allen for things in Allen’s sister’s book.
Allen cries foul.
Accusations about things in Allen book continue.
Allen crew lets loose on Webb for things Webb wrote in his book.
Webb cries foul.
Accusations about things in Webb book continue.
In the scheme of “hypocrisy”, it would seem that the Webb crew gets to lay first claim to that title. What’s that saying – don’t dish it out if you can’t take it…..
(In any case, I don’t think Webb’s novel should be held against him. And this is just one more to add to thie list of books that Republicans would like to ban.)
Olivia, I think there’s a huge difference. Webb was criticizing Allen for Allen’s actions as illustrated in the book. Allen was criticizing Webb for writing about something in Cambodia.
Tim, Webb’s writings are rather unappealing in the wake of the Mark Foley scandal. Senators warned Mark Foley about some questionable stuff that he wrote.
So let’s see, as Olivia said, the criticism using books started in the Webb camp. Democrats were the first to go after something that appeared questionable sexually. So when George Allen calls out James Webb on it, Allen is the hypocrite? I think some people need to look up hypocrite in the dictionary.
There’s something “questionable sexually” in Allen’s sister’s book that pertains to Sen. Allen? Do tell — this is the first that I’ve heard about it.
The notion that George Allen is an independent voice for all of the citizens of Virginia is itself, a “novelization”. And the fantasy that George Allen ever intended to run a clean campaign is a fiction.
CR UVa
What dont you get?
Here it is again:
“In terms of the brotherhood of those who bleed together and the nobility of sacrifices made for friends, the characters in Webb’s novel are timeless. He succeeds brilliantly in making them real. Webb creates a doctrine of combat leadership and a creed for the succeeding generation on how and why Marines fight.”
That is right of off THE UNITED STATES MARINE CORP’S Web page!!!
CR UVa: I don’t see your point. Foley was trying to initiate sexual relations with an intern. Webb was writing (in a non-sensationalist manner) about something he or a friend saw while serving in the military. It’s not even clear that the act was necessarily sexual, even though it is not acceptable in our culture. Your analogy would only hold if Webb actually tried to perform the same act himself — which seems pretty damn unlikely.
Check it:
http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/
Talking Points finally posted about Fields of Fire being promoted by the UNITED STATES MARINE CORP.
I see a clear difference between the two claims.
Jennifer Allen wrote a memoir–an autobiographical account of childhood experience in which she clearly remembers being abused, or at least terrorized, by her big brother George. She did not claim it was novelized when she wrote and published it. She only used that term after George’s campaign was hit by negative fallout. It has been been implied that she did it only because George put pressure on her to stop the “bleeding.” Some may argue that Jennifer’s memories were faulty, being a mere child who could not fully understand the psychodynamics of what she experienced–her mind may have exaggerated parts of it. That does negate the fact that she was trying to faithfully present her home life during her childhood, which included some very disturbing behaviour on the part of George Felix Allen (now R-VA).
In contrast, the book passages Allen has used in his anti-Webb smear campaign were clearly written and marketed as fiction and, thus, were never personally-experienced, auotbiographical accounts. There is no need to recant anything here. No need to even explain it outside of the world of the books he wrote.
Can we please just knock this guy out of office already. Do More Than Vote!