Former Virginia Senator George Allen has apparently completed his rapid descent from Presidential hopeful to also-ran to punchline to historical footnote. Today, The Politico reports on an official GOP Internet guide, which, along with providing some material that undercuts the popular idea that the Republican establishment is a clearinghouse of outright media geniuses (such as the note that “Most newspapers are now online and have an archive section.” Woo! You think?), holds out George Allen’s now-famous use of the racial slur “macaca” as an example of bad blog strategy.
If candidates are more or less continually monitored via blog search engines, via the use of websites such as Technorati.com, blogs can often be used as an “early warning system” to help discern if opponent’s attacks are gaining traction. Rapid response and explanation of a position or vote to friendly blogs can ensure center-right solidarity behind your defense. The paradigmatic example of failure to do so is the “macaca” moment. Conservative blogs, who had long been lauding Senator George Allen, were annoyed by shifting justifications and turned on Allen with a vengeance. Senator Allen was never able to fully regain his status with bloggers, many of whom, at the time, were still touting Allen for President.
Of course, there are numerous problems with that recollection of events. The “macaca” moment was not an example of a formal “position” or “vote,” Allen’s “welcome to the real Virginia” was the truly unsettling moment of that exchange, and it hardly mattered that it lost him the support of bloggers–by the time any blog got a hold of the news, Allen’s remarks were well on their way to alienating actual voters.
But the real problem is that the “macaca” moment is hardly a “paradigmatic example” of the need for an “early warning system.” The “macaca” moment is a paradigmatic example of the need to not run candidates whose disturbing racial worldviews lead them to say crazy-ass things that make ordinary voters feel all sick to their soul. To say nothing of not running candidates who think their magic football will distract people from finding out that they are cornpone douchebags.
