Rumple Foreskin
The AH Patriarch
- Joined
- Jan 18, 2002
- Posts
- 11,109
The question of just how low Rove Republicans will sink in a political race has once again been answered, VERY.
Rumple Foreskin
==
Allen: Webb's Books Show Bad Character
Webb Allies Defend Novels as Works of Imagination
By Michael D. Shear and Tim Craig
Washington Post Staff Writers
Friday, October 27, 2006; 3:36 PM
RICHMOND, Oct. 27 -- Virginia Sen. George Allen (R) has accused his Democratic opponent, James Webb, of using lurid sex scenes and demeaning descriptions of women in his novels, the latest character attack in a close campaign.
With 11 days remaining before election day, the allegations about sex-laced passages in Webb's writings injected a new question into a campaign that has largely centered on character issues: Should the author of a fictional work who runs for office be personally held to account for the scenes in his books?
Allen campaign officials provided sentences from Webb's novels -- some of them depicting acts of incest and graphic sexuality -- to the Drudge Report Web site Thursday night. DRUDGE RPT Matt Drudge's online report often breaks or promotes stories with a sensational angle, most recently the scandal involving former Rep. Mark Foley (R-Fla.)
Allen aides, who have been trying to get other news organizations to write about the excerpts for weeks, issued statements saying that the fictional scenes from Webb's novels reflect poorly on Webb's personal character and fitness for office.
"How can women trust Jim Webb to represent their views in the Senate when chauvinistic attitudes and sexually exploitative references run throughout his fiction and non-fiction writings?" said Kay James, an Allen campaign adviser. "More importantly, what type of mind commits these thoughts to paper -- in such graphic detail?"
Webb responded angrily on Washington Post Radio Friday morning, defending his novels as "serious" works and calling Allen's attack part of a "Karl Rove" campaign that is devoid of ideas. Rove is President Bush's top political strategist.
Webb's novels, such as "Lost Soldiers," "Something to Die For" and "Fields of Fire," are historical novels that describe wartime horrors in Vietnam and soldiers dealing with the aftermath of war. Webb is a decorated former Marine who served in the Vietnam War.
"To take these things out and pull excerpts out and force them on people . . . is just a classic example of the way this campaign is run," Webb said. "Literature is literature. I've made my career as a novelist. George Allen doesn't have a record to run on."
Webb said the graphic scenes in his novels, many of which are set in wartime, do not reflect the complete books. He said he has written about disturbing scenes that he has witnessed on the battlefield or as a journalist traveling throughout Southeast Asia.
"It is an observation about how the human species lives," Webb said after the show's host read one of the lurid passages.
He also shot back that critics should consider that Vice President Cheney's wife, Lynne, a Republican, wrote a novel containing scenes of rape and a lesbian love affair.
"You can read Lynne Cheney's lesbian sex scenes if you want to get graphic on stuff," he said. "You want to read what Allen's sister wrote about him in her book if you want to talk about attitudes toward women."
Jennifer Allen wrote a book in 2000 that describes brutality at the hands of George Allen, including allegations that he dragged her to her bed by her hair and once dangled her over Niagara Falls.
Three weeks ago, Allen gave a two-minute televised speech to Virginians in which he pleaded for a return to issues after having defended himself against personal character scandals for months. "The negative personal attacks and baseless allegations have also pulled us away from what you expect and deserve," Allen said in the unusual paid commercial.
By Friday morning, however, the new allegations unleashed by his campaign had become the highlight of morning talk radio shows and cable news outlets. Conservative groups seized on the news, with one calling for Webb to withdraw for writing "XXX" novels.
Several Web sites and blogs printed the passages. One, from "Fields of Fire," was: "He saw the invitation with every bouncing breast and curved hip. . . . He was thirteen. . . . She was fifteen. . . ." Another said: "She was naked underneath the robe . . . and the robe fell loosely away, revealing her."
"Jim Webb right now is spending time defending himself, defending his honor against an attack that suggests he writes really salacious, disgusting things," said Mark Rozell, a professor of politics at George Mason University. "That can't be good at all."
The attack also prompted Webb's allies to rush to his defense, saying the attempt to criticize an author for scenes in a work of fiction reflects a Republican campaign in Virginia that is in disarray and desperately searching for a way to win at any cost.
"George Allen went on television a few weeks ago and said he wanted this campaign to be about the issues," said Phil Singer, a spokesman for the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, which has given about $5 million to Webb's campaign. "So it's breathtaking that he is now trying to make hay of this novel by taking it out of context and casting aspersions."
Singer noted that former GOP leader Newt Gingrich had written a novel that included "such titillations as biting foreplay, 'pouting sex kitten,' 'exotic mistress' and 'after-bout inhalation.'" He also said former Cheney aide I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby wrote a novel "that includes references to bestiality, pedophilia and rape."
Webb spokeswoman Kristian Denny Todd called the situation "quite sad and pathetic" and accused Allen of conducting a campaign full of "lies and distortions."
"This is completely taken out of context," she said. "His writings have always been based in reality. It's really sad that George Allen has a miserable record when it comes to women and women's issues."
Allen had already criticized Webb's career as a novelist, often calling him "fiction-writer James H. Webb" and attempting to link him to Hollywood.
Conservatives said Webb should be held accountable for his fictional writings. Andrea Lafferty, the executive director of the Traditional Values Conference, issued a statement calling for Webb to withdraw and said she was personally "sickened" by what she read.
"Mr. Webb had total control over which words he wrote into his book," Lafferty wrote Friday. "He chose to write about the basest sexual acts rather than use the books as an opportunity to present something which was uplifting or illuminating."
But others said Webb's novels are works of imagination intended to be informative and provide entertainment, not statements on actions that Webb endorses.
Arizona Sen. John McCain (R), who has endorsed Allen, enthusiastically praised Webb's book, "Lost Soldiers," and was quoted on the book jacket.
"James Webb's new novel paints a portrait of a modern Vietnam charged with hopes for the future but haunted by the ghosts of its war-torn past," McCain wrote about the book. "It captures well the lingering scars of the war, and exposes the tension between the dynamism of a new generation and the invisible bondage of an older generation for whom wartime allegiances, and animosities, are rendered no less vivid by the passage of time. A novel of revenge and redemption that tells us much about both where Vietnam is headed and where it has been."
Last month, authors Stephen King and John Grisham hosted a fundraiser for Webb in Charlottesville. At that event, they mocked Allen and his campaign's criticism of Webb's fiction.
Grisham said Friday in an interview, "I am just shocked at the idea the Allen campaign would be this desperate. This is a clear sign of a desperate campaign if they plow through novels trying to find evidence of character. The old saying is 'everything is grist for the writer's mill.' Every person you see, every country you visit, every bizarre, vile, repulsive act could one day be in a novel. That is not reflective of your character as an author; it is reflective of what you witnessed as someone looking for material."
Grisham then unloaded on Allen, saying, "It seems like voters should be more concerned with George Allen's fiction. I seriously doubt George Allen is much of a reader, but if he would read more, maybe he would understand the difference fiction and non-fiction."
At the Charlottesville fundraiser last month, King said, "They keep talking about Webb, the fiction writer candidate. This is supposed to be a bad thing, and this drives me crazy. It makes me insane to hear this, partially because I am a fiction writer, and for years, I have been saying [that] fiction is the truth inside the lie. And what I have seen the last six years in Washington is the lie inside the truth. . . . If you think George Allen is the best qualified to represent the people in Washington, I think that might be fiction."
At that event, Webb read from some of this books and acknowledged being a writer.
"Yes, George, I write fiction," Webb said, "and take a look here and you will see how people who do this understand the human experience in a very profound way."
Others also defended Webb at the fundraiser that night.
"One of Senator Allen's main themes of attack on Jim Webb is that he writes books," Virginia Gov. Timothy M. Kaine (D) said. "Wow. You know that a campaign is going pretty negative when they attack somebody for writing books. I think [Thomas] Jefferson may have written a book."
Staff writer Robert Barnes contributed to this report.
© 2006 The Washington Post Company
Rumple Foreskin
==
Allen: Webb's Books Show Bad Character
Webb Allies Defend Novels as Works of Imagination
By Michael D. Shear and Tim Craig
Washington Post Staff Writers
Friday, October 27, 2006; 3:36 PM
RICHMOND, Oct. 27 -- Virginia Sen. George Allen (R) has accused his Democratic opponent, James Webb, of using lurid sex scenes and demeaning descriptions of women in his novels, the latest character attack in a close campaign.
With 11 days remaining before election day, the allegations about sex-laced passages in Webb's writings injected a new question into a campaign that has largely centered on character issues: Should the author of a fictional work who runs for office be personally held to account for the scenes in his books?
Allen campaign officials provided sentences from Webb's novels -- some of them depicting acts of incest and graphic sexuality -- to the Drudge Report Web site Thursday night. DRUDGE RPT Matt Drudge's online report often breaks or promotes stories with a sensational angle, most recently the scandal involving former Rep. Mark Foley (R-Fla.)
Allen aides, who have been trying to get other news organizations to write about the excerpts for weeks, issued statements saying that the fictional scenes from Webb's novels reflect poorly on Webb's personal character and fitness for office.
"How can women trust Jim Webb to represent their views in the Senate when chauvinistic attitudes and sexually exploitative references run throughout his fiction and non-fiction writings?" said Kay James, an Allen campaign adviser. "More importantly, what type of mind commits these thoughts to paper -- in such graphic detail?"
Webb responded angrily on Washington Post Radio Friday morning, defending his novels as "serious" works and calling Allen's attack part of a "Karl Rove" campaign that is devoid of ideas. Rove is President Bush's top political strategist.
Webb's novels, such as "Lost Soldiers," "Something to Die For" and "Fields of Fire," are historical novels that describe wartime horrors in Vietnam and soldiers dealing with the aftermath of war. Webb is a decorated former Marine who served in the Vietnam War.
"To take these things out and pull excerpts out and force them on people . . . is just a classic example of the way this campaign is run," Webb said. "Literature is literature. I've made my career as a novelist. George Allen doesn't have a record to run on."
Webb said the graphic scenes in his novels, many of which are set in wartime, do not reflect the complete books. He said he has written about disturbing scenes that he has witnessed on the battlefield or as a journalist traveling throughout Southeast Asia.
"It is an observation about how the human species lives," Webb said after the show's host read one of the lurid passages.
He also shot back that critics should consider that Vice President Cheney's wife, Lynne, a Republican, wrote a novel containing scenes of rape and a lesbian love affair.
"You can read Lynne Cheney's lesbian sex scenes if you want to get graphic on stuff," he said. "You want to read what Allen's sister wrote about him in her book if you want to talk about attitudes toward women."
Jennifer Allen wrote a book in 2000 that describes brutality at the hands of George Allen, including allegations that he dragged her to her bed by her hair and once dangled her over Niagara Falls.
Three weeks ago, Allen gave a two-minute televised speech to Virginians in which he pleaded for a return to issues after having defended himself against personal character scandals for months. "The negative personal attacks and baseless allegations have also pulled us away from what you expect and deserve," Allen said in the unusual paid commercial.
By Friday morning, however, the new allegations unleashed by his campaign had become the highlight of morning talk radio shows and cable news outlets. Conservative groups seized on the news, with one calling for Webb to withdraw for writing "XXX" novels.
Several Web sites and blogs printed the passages. One, from "Fields of Fire," was: "He saw the invitation with every bouncing breast and curved hip. . . . He was thirteen. . . . She was fifteen. . . ." Another said: "She was naked underneath the robe . . . and the robe fell loosely away, revealing her."
"Jim Webb right now is spending time defending himself, defending his honor against an attack that suggests he writes really salacious, disgusting things," said Mark Rozell, a professor of politics at George Mason University. "That can't be good at all."
The attack also prompted Webb's allies to rush to his defense, saying the attempt to criticize an author for scenes in a work of fiction reflects a Republican campaign in Virginia that is in disarray and desperately searching for a way to win at any cost.
"George Allen went on television a few weeks ago and said he wanted this campaign to be about the issues," said Phil Singer, a spokesman for the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, which has given about $5 million to Webb's campaign. "So it's breathtaking that he is now trying to make hay of this novel by taking it out of context and casting aspersions."
Singer noted that former GOP leader Newt Gingrich had written a novel that included "such titillations as biting foreplay, 'pouting sex kitten,' 'exotic mistress' and 'after-bout inhalation.'" He also said former Cheney aide I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby wrote a novel "that includes references to bestiality, pedophilia and rape."
Webb spokeswoman Kristian Denny Todd called the situation "quite sad and pathetic" and accused Allen of conducting a campaign full of "lies and distortions."
"This is completely taken out of context," she said. "His writings have always been based in reality. It's really sad that George Allen has a miserable record when it comes to women and women's issues."
Allen had already criticized Webb's career as a novelist, often calling him "fiction-writer James H. Webb" and attempting to link him to Hollywood.
Conservatives said Webb should be held accountable for his fictional writings. Andrea Lafferty, the executive director of the Traditional Values Conference, issued a statement calling for Webb to withdraw and said she was personally "sickened" by what she read.
"Mr. Webb had total control over which words he wrote into his book," Lafferty wrote Friday. "He chose to write about the basest sexual acts rather than use the books as an opportunity to present something which was uplifting or illuminating."
But others said Webb's novels are works of imagination intended to be informative and provide entertainment, not statements on actions that Webb endorses.
Arizona Sen. John McCain (R), who has endorsed Allen, enthusiastically praised Webb's book, "Lost Soldiers," and was quoted on the book jacket.
"James Webb's new novel paints a portrait of a modern Vietnam charged with hopes for the future but haunted by the ghosts of its war-torn past," McCain wrote about the book. "It captures well the lingering scars of the war, and exposes the tension between the dynamism of a new generation and the invisible bondage of an older generation for whom wartime allegiances, and animosities, are rendered no less vivid by the passage of time. A novel of revenge and redemption that tells us much about both where Vietnam is headed and where it has been."
Last month, authors Stephen King and John Grisham hosted a fundraiser for Webb in Charlottesville. At that event, they mocked Allen and his campaign's criticism of Webb's fiction.
Grisham said Friday in an interview, "I am just shocked at the idea the Allen campaign would be this desperate. This is a clear sign of a desperate campaign if they plow through novels trying to find evidence of character. The old saying is 'everything is grist for the writer's mill.' Every person you see, every country you visit, every bizarre, vile, repulsive act could one day be in a novel. That is not reflective of your character as an author; it is reflective of what you witnessed as someone looking for material."
Grisham then unloaded on Allen, saying, "It seems like voters should be more concerned with George Allen's fiction. I seriously doubt George Allen is much of a reader, but if he would read more, maybe he would understand the difference fiction and non-fiction."
At the Charlottesville fundraiser last month, King said, "They keep talking about Webb, the fiction writer candidate. This is supposed to be a bad thing, and this drives me crazy. It makes me insane to hear this, partially because I am a fiction writer, and for years, I have been saying [that] fiction is the truth inside the lie. And what I have seen the last six years in Washington is the lie inside the truth. . . . If you think George Allen is the best qualified to represent the people in Washington, I think that might be fiction."
At that event, Webb read from some of this books and acknowledged being a writer.
"Yes, George, I write fiction," Webb said, "and take a look here and you will see how people who do this understand the human experience in a very profound way."
Others also defended Webb at the fundraiser that night.
"One of Senator Allen's main themes of attack on Jim Webb is that he writes books," Virginia Gov. Timothy M. Kaine (D) said. "Wow. You know that a campaign is going pretty negative when they attack somebody for writing books. I think [Thomas] Jefferson may have written a book."
Staff writer Robert Barnes contributed to this report.
© 2006 The Washington Post Company
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