Allen stiff-arms League of Women Voters

Three weeks from election day and Republican incumbent Sen. George Allen, a lawyer by trade, appears to be unconcerned about what the League of Women Voters is saying about his campaign organization breaking its word -- violating a contract.

In the Daily Press, AP is reporting:

“The League of Women Voters of Virginia demanded Tuesday that Republican U.S. Sen. George Allen pull a campaign ad in which the league says he improperly uses footage from an Oct. 9 televised debate the group hosted. Both Allen’s campaign and that of Democrat Jim Webb agreed not to use clips from the debate in their campaign ads -- something the league insists on so candidates feel free to speak openly and to protect the league’s status as a nonpartisan entity, said Anne Kanter, the league’s voter development director.”

The League wants Allen’s ad pulled because it shows a clip from the debate with Webb saying, “We kid ourselves if we don’t say that we need more revenues...”

Allen’s commercial offers that snippet to bolster its fanciful assertion that Webb is itching to raise everybody’s taxes if he is elected senator. Furthermore, the Allen camp says a blog that supports Webb, Raising Kaine, broke the promise first by linking to footage of the debate at YouTube -- so all bets are off.

Well, it says here that Allen, the UVa.-trained attorney, knows better. By allowing his camp to break a contract, he is showing his contempt for not only the League of Women Voters, but also whatever Virginians are left who still believe that a promise is a promise.

Norfolk-based blogger Vivian Paige, a LWV member, has the bottom line on this development:

“It is important that candidates honor their agreements. Friends of George Allen should remove the ad.”