Revenge of the Hutt

Democrats and hypocrisy – don’t they just make perfect bed fellows? Round three of Supreme Court nominee Samuel Alito’s confirmation hearing today consisted of Democratic senators on the Judiciary Committee berating Alito for his membership in the Concerned Alumni of Princeton. It was a politically conservative group of former Princeton University students who from 1972 until 1986 protested the university’s decision to prohibit recruitment by the ROTC after the ROTC building had been burnt down by anti-war radicals and opposed affirmative action.

The Associated Press in their coverage of the hearings stated that the political organization Concerned Alumni of Princeton was controversial because it was a “conservative organization that opposed the admission of women and minorities at Princeton University”. Not surprisingly the Associated Press got its facts wrong.

Wikipedia explains the real reason why the Democrats view this alumni organization as so controversial …

“Because CAP's politics were very different from the university in which it existed, its existence and rhetoric had several sometimes contradictory interpretations. For example, many people suggest that one of its central precepts was opposition to coeducation (i.e. opposition to Princeton admitting women) and that the group in its early years regarded itself as a defender of an all male, explicitly Christian Princeton. Others reject that characterization”

In short – they accused Alito of being sexist and a bigot. After three days of non-stop character assassination, is it any wonder that Alito’s wife left the hearing in tears?

Lest we forget, Democratic Senator Robert Byrd was not only a member of the Klu Klux Klan but also held the titles of Kleagle (klan recruiter) and Exalted Cyclops. This of course was before he decided to use his racist background for his own political gain.

In 1945, Byrd wrote a letter to a friend commenting on the issue of the United States racially integrating the military:

“with a Negro by my side. Rather I should die a thousand times, and see Old Glory trampled in the dirt never to rise again, than to see this beloved land of ours become degraded by race mongrels, a throwback to the blackest specimen from the wilds”

In 1946, three years after having claimed he broke ties with the organization, Byrd in another letter had this to say …

“The Klan is needed today as never before and I am anxious to see its rebirth here in West Virginia" and "in every state in the Union.”

And in an interview with Fox News in 2001, Senator Byrd had this to say …

“There are white niggers. I've seen a lot of white niggers in my time. I'm going to use that word. We just need to work together to make our country a better country, and I'd just as soon quit talking about it so much”

And Senator Jubba the Hutt … I mean, Ted Kennedy who like with ‘Osama Obama’ could not get Alito’s name right (man, this guy seriously needs to lay off the sauce before 5pm – going cold turkey is an impossibility in the Kennedy household) also lauded Alito’s membership in the Concerned Alumni of Princeton, this despite a Washington Times’ report which indicates that Senator Kennedy while attending Harvard University belong to an all-male social club, the Owl.

A spokewoman for Kennedy tried to spin the report, saying …

"No one can question Senator Kennedy's commitment to equality, justice and civil rights. What he was part of was a social club, not a radical group pushing a radical agenda"

It’s only radical because it is conservative. And the Democrats should not be dishing it out if they themselves can not handle the criticism for the exact same thing.