Most of those that study politics agree that the first phase of any campaign is to establish the candidate’s identity.
Some candidates in the current Republican race for U.S. Senate are doing this very well.
For example, Tim Donner is explaining to voters that he is frustrated with the growth and expansion in government, so he explains that he is ready to put his business experience to use in the public sector to make government more efficient.
He’s defining who he is, increasing his name identification, and explaining what he is for.
In fact, almost every Republican candidate in the race does this:
* E.W. Jackson puts his experience as the first paragraph on every press release
* David McCormick describes how his experiences at UPS and as an attorney affect his policy proposals
A notable exception to the above is Jamie Radtke who has focused her entire narrative on being Allen’s foil.
But even George Allen, who has been a public figure in Virginia since the early 1980’s (Allen’s political career began in 1981 when he was elected a member of the Virginia House of Delegates; he has since also served as a congressman, governor, and U.S. Senator) and is the clear front runner (polls, fundraising, and public appearances bear this out), knows that at this stage in the campaign, he has to make a case to voters about who he is and why he is running.
Just because Allen has had a long career in the public eye, doesn’t mean he still doesn’t have to answer the questions, “Who are you?” and “Why are you running?”
Make no mistake – he and the voters remember the 2006 campaign. While a recent Washington Post poll confirms that most voters have forgiven the candidate for the incident, Allen still believes he owes the voters an explanation for how it affected him. He feels that the 2006 campaign changed who he is and influenced why he is running.
He did this right from the beginning of this campaign.
Bearing Drift was lucky enough to be the first internet magazine to interview Allen when he announced his campaign in January. In our podcast, Allen began to establish the theme of “reflecting” and “learning” from 2006.
This theme clearly continues today, as you can read in this prepared excerpt from his speech to the Faith and Freedom Coalition:
These years in private life allowed me to spend more time with my family – the blessing to do memorable, meaningful things with Susan and our children. These years allowed me to reflect, learn and renew with a resolve to advance ideas and reforms to get our country on track to become again a land of opportunity for all.
For future generations. This is a crucial time in our history.
Still, it is not an easy decision to run for public office. I did not like losing. It is a humbling experience. But, sometimes you do learn more from losing than from winning.
Our father and sports taught us that when you get knocked down you get back up. Don’t brood over mistakes, but you learn from them and improve.
During my last campaign, I should have never singled out that young man working for my opponent, calling him a name. He was simply doing his job.I was wrong to do that to him and it also diverted our campaign away from the real issues that families cared about.
Speaking of families, mine endured taunts and insults because of my mistake, and I sure would never want to put my family through that again.
However, because of that campaign, I learned so much more about my mother’s experiences as well as my grandfather and his legacy.
My middle name, Felix, honors him. Felix Lumbroso.
During World War II in Tunisia he was roused out of bed in the dark of night and incarcerated by the Nazis.
I saw in my dear mother that those terrifying experiences of the Nazis had left scars and wounds that still hurt, and an enduring fear that caused her to believe that the best way to protect her children was to conceal her father’s Jewish faith and ancestry.
This revelation really did bring our entire family closer together. For me, the core principle of freedom of religion was no longer just a matter of enlightened, Jeffersonian philosophy. It became deeply personal in the heart wrenching realization of how fear and persecution so tormented my loving, loyal mother’s life.
Learning all this has made me even more sensitive and more committed than ever to the principles of religious freedom and the dignity of every person regardless of their race, ethnicity, gender or religious beliefs.
It reinforced my belief that when injustice or the ugly head of anti-Semitism, racism, or repression arises, leaders must deplore it. Otherwise, people may believe that it’s to be acceptable or condoned.
Some have called the above an “apology” for “macaca”, but that’s not quite what Allen is doing. Allen is talking about how that event allowed him to grow as a human being.
It is clear as day from our podcast and this speech that Allen intends to face his past head-on in defining who he is to the voters. He will be using those lessons he’s learned from past experiences and attempt to show how those make him a better person and candidate today.
Allen is doing what all candidates should be doing right now in phase one of the campaign: explaining to voters who he is and acknowledging the past.
There are certainly different ways Allen could be addressing 2006, but this is the way he has chosen. There is no doubt that in speeches all across the commonwealth we’ll be hearing more about it.
However, Allen should know and understand that no matter what he says about 2006, the number one issue Virginians care about is jobs and the economy; veering off into the past is very dangerous territory for him if he can’t be clear and resolute on the primary message voters care about.
