Words Test Loyalties of Va. Voters
2006-10-03
Source: Los Angeles Times
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rss feedIf Republican Sen. George Allen survives the charges of racial insensitivity that have recently rocked his reelection campaign, it will be thanks to voters like Peter Nicholson, a 42-year-old wine consultant in this historic town on the edge of a Civil War battlefield.
"What if he is a closet racist, so what? I'm interested in what they are going to do for Virginia," Nicholson, a Republican, said amid the towering stacks at the wine store where he works.
If Allen loses, it will be due to voters like Fabian Saeidi, the 59-year-old owner of a bakery a few doors away. Saeidi is also a Republican and has voted for Allen at least once. But not this time.
"Allen is a racist man, a very bad man," Saeidi said as he manned the register at his cozy cafe. "There is no way I am voting for him."
Whatever the outcome Nov. 7, there is no question Allen is in a much tougher race than almost anyone expected, largely because of remarks that many say smacked of racial insensitivity. His double-digit lead over Democrat Jim Webb, a political newcomer, melted after he referred to his opponent's dark-skinned campaign worker as "macaca" during an August rally.
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