<p>Princeton was long known as the “northern school for southern gentlemen.” That meant that applicants and students with ‘rather strident racial views’ from about 1910 until the 1960s knew that they wouldn’t be compelled to share a classroom with “jews or negroes,” contrary to the situation at Harvard, as stated in published letter from the period that I read years ago.</p>
<p>Interesting, the Republicans are playing their own ‘race card’ for modern times, by suggesting “look how these awful Democrats and minorities are treating this fine and unbiased man; haven’t we done enough for these people already?”</p>
<p>The entire judicial confirmation process is a tragi-comedy. Opposing and supporting Senators appear supremely inadequate. Pun unintended.</p>
<p>As for Alito, he’s no Rehnquist. At least Rehnquist never obfuscated. And Rehnquist was man enough to admit earlier flaws in judgment, or past behavior that once seem acceptable, like when his house had a convenant restricting its sale only to “white Christians.”</p>
<p>“People nowadays just don’t seem to know their place. Everywhere one turns black and hispanics are demanding jobs simply because they’re black and hispanic, the physically handicapped are trying to gain equal representation in professional sports, and homosexuals are demanding that government vouchsafe them the right to bear children. And now… and now come women.” Nice words, don’t you think…CAP is just so swell</p>
<p>Ummmmm, dke? CGM is quoting from an essay printed in the CAP magazine about a year and a half before Alito identified his membership in that organization as support for his attempt to secure a job in the Reagan administration…</p>
<p>hey its time to dig up all the country clubs these guys belong to that exclude just about everyone but them… time to dig up the frat and sorority records on all memberships, hazing stories, I DEMAND TO SEE EVERYTHING…will anyone be left standing worthy to sit judgement or try cases? Fact is there isnt a lawyer worth a dam talk about conflict of interest issues they punish others and do their own thing… im sick of the hypocrisy… but I like ALito hes a fair guy never made much money and this just makes those limo liberals sick doesnt it.
So Teddy and Joe Biden get those records up on EVERYONE sitting in judgement and to those of us about to enter college- beware of what you say do or write - BIG BROTHER IS NOT ONLY WATCHING BUT IT MIGHT BE ON CSPAN ONE DAY!!! this sucks!!! it pays to be unemployed why try to succeed when this is the penalty!</p>
<p>Laura Ingraham said today that her first job out of college was editing the CAP magazine for a year. Dinesh D’Souza, himself a “person of color,” edited it as well. Both had been editors of the Dartmouth Review, and apparently The Prospect was a similar sort of finger-in-the-eye of liberals publication. Neither recalled the essay in question, but D’Souza said that it sounded like a bad parody. It seems to me that the offending passage was blown way out of proportion. Both former editors said that CAP’s fundamental issue was political correctness on campus and the lowering of admissions standards to diversify enrollment. I didn’t realize that CAP founder William Rusher had also helped William Buckley found The National Review…that makes putting CAP membership on a job application in the Reagan administration, where NR was very influential, make more sense.</p>
<p>If nothing else, the posts by the Alito defenders in this thread serves as a primer for the tactics of the right:</p>
<ol>
<li><p>Deflect attention by attacking some democrat. (Kennedy, Byrd (!?) Biden - how could you leave Clinton (either) out?)</p></li>
<li><p>Spin the news to make it seem like it’s about something other than it really is:
It doesn’t take much googling to ascertain that SeaSong’s attempt to sanitize the actually quite loathsome positions and actions of the CAP is disingenuous at best - and by the way, where is it written that Republicans get to use the “it was in my youth” excuse into their 30s and 40s? Alito graduated in '72 - he claimed membership in CAP in 1985.</p></li>
<li><p>When all that fails, trot out some pathetic “person of color” or (gasp!) woman who has made a living by fawning over the relics of the right, who is on your side! </p></li>
</ol>
<p>All of which has little or nothing to do with Alito, by the way. But it’s fun to watch the right go into full excuse/distort/deflect mode.</p>
<p>Kluge, if the Senate Democrats had come up with any issue of substance with regard to Alito’s fitness for the court, you might have the beginnings of a very minor, if irrelevant, point. However, in the absence of any such issue, all we are left with is supreme irony–a spectacle–which is what some of us have pointed out. Disagree? Since you’re such a googler, try searching “clowns”+ Judiciary Committee + Alito and see how many editorials and cartoons you come up with today. I’m far from alone in this perception.</p>
<p>The pathetic woman and “person of color” I mentioned are in the vanguard of the modern conservative movement…Ingraham clerked at the Supreme Court for a certain black guy, but I guess that just counts as fawning over a relic. If she had clerked for Marshall, would that have been fawning over a relic too?</p>
<p>Alito will be the next associate justice on the Supreme Court hell be ruling on a lot of issues sacred to the lefttheyre a little sad no time to gloat. Its a time to heal.</p>
<p>kluge…You have very conveniently missed my point.</p>
<p>Bird has been forgiven because his life has documented actions that show a change in his thinking.</p>
<p>Alito’s record as a jurist and member of the community has shown he distanced himself from the narrow thinking of CAP’s leadership in the 70’s.</p>
<p>His use of CAP on the 1985 app is irrelevant and proves nothing as he never had a leadership role in the group.</p>
<p>The bottom line is he deserves confirmation from his track record as a federal judge period, even if you are afraid he might help to overturn Roe (which will never happen).</p>
<ol>
<li><p>Deflect attention by attacking some democrat. (Kennedy, Byrd (!?) Biden -ODD YOU SAY THAT KENNEDY BYRD AND BIDEN BEING SO RIGHTEOUS KEEP HARPING ON A NON ISSUE DIDNT YOU NOTICE BECAUSE EVERYONE ELSE DID</p></li>
<li><p>Spin the news to make it seem like it’s about something other than it really is:
Quote:
Judge Alito,
Are you now, or have you ever been (particularly in those rambunctious college days) a member of an organization that, amongst other things, patriotically supported ROTC, sarcastically opposed affirmative action in college admissions, or misogynistically endorsed single-sex education for boys? </p></li>
</ol>
<p>It doesn’t take much googling to ascertain that SeaSong’s attempt to sanitize the actually quite loathsome positions and actions of the CAP is disingenuous at best - and by the way, where is it written that Republicans get to use the “it was in my youth” excuse into their 30s and 40s? Alito graduated in '72 - he claimed membership in CAP in 1985. TRUE IT ONLY WORKS FOR A CLINTON OR A BYRD - THIS IS A RIGHT RESERVED FOR DEMOCRATS SORRY I FORGOT
3. When all that fails, trot out some pathetic “person of color” or (gasp!) woman who has made a living by fawning over the relics of the right, who is on your side! HUH?</p>
<p>All of which has little or nothing to do with Alito, by the way. But it’s fun to watch the right go into full excuse/distort/deflect mode. ITS MORE FUN WATCH THE FAILED DEMOCRATIC PARTY ATTACK ALOT OF NOTHING… WHAT HAPPEN TO THE CAP SUPONAE- NOTHING TO IT SO THEY DROPPED IT HUH AFTER THE SMEAR JOB… WHERE IS BEGALA WHEN YOU NEED HIM? OOPS MAKING MONEY -</p>
<p>Driver - don’t tell me you’re still sore about that blind date in Kentucky? I thought everything was going great untill you started in on poor old Granny…
;)</p>
<p>Court nominee Senate hearings is Not about the nominee. It’s about the demand for Congressional respect. This hearing has aspects of Party posturing and Congress knows it. </p>
<p>Wait until Feb hearings and then the hearings will be more about law formulated by Congress vs Presidential authority. Guess who will be the umpires and referees.</p>
<p>Driver, your observation about the advantage of placing the CAP affiliation on an application/Reagan administration job is quite valid. However, I have problems with your earlier illustration in which you offer the experience of Laura Ingraham and Dinesh D’ Souza as simply talented conservative intellectuals whom engage in credible, thought-provoking and fair discourse.</p>
<p>Putting aside her views, Ingraham typically demonstrates severe and vengful hostility to all to disagree with her (I’ve exchanged e-mail with her). But of course, that’s the stock-in-trade of in no small part of the talk radio phenomenon.</p>
<p>As for D’ Souza, I’m sorry, but he’s been caught passing outright lies in his writings. No I can’t remember the case precisely, but it was an un-footnoted comment in one of his early books some years ago. And, Dartmouth Review members didn’t help any credible arguments they may have had by (at times) eagerly using racist language.</p>
<p>If you take a poke at Laura, expect to be poked back. She’s a polemicist–that’s what they do. You can get a little snappy when you have lots of people people taking pokes at you…I’ve been there. I personally thought she was offensive in her over the top treatment of Harriet Meiers, but for the most part, I find her credible, thought-provoking, etc. As for Dinesh, you’ve turned an allegedly unfootnoted comment which you can’t remember into “passing outright lies” (plural, and definitionally questionable.) You’ve also accused one of the pre-eminent college newspapers of “eagerly using racist language,” again without citing examples. Since you mention credibility as important, I think you have work to do before casting such aspersions.</p>
<p>Bottom line though, none of this really matters as to the topic of this thread, unless you’re accusing Ingraham and D’Souza of personally being racists and sexists.</p>
<p>about the CAP thing i want to say this. i’m a high school senior and my past have not been clear. in fifth grade, i was at thief. yeh it’s true, i stole stuff with my gang. we robbed grocery stores and miniature cars and their motors and all that stuff. i was caught by my mom and now i don’t steal even the slightest thing.
Alito could have been the same. it was like 30 years ago. whatever he believed in could have most likely changed from his college years. although i don’t appreciate his dishonesty, i do feel that holding him accountable for something that he had been part of many years ago isn’t fair. if someone called me a thief right now, i wouldn’t think it’s fair because i don’t steal anything anymore. through time we all change and i think Alito has changed as well. We should judge him from his cases not from the CAP which was an old thing.
Also my dad works for the government, so i know how a single thing can screw even the most talented person. i have seen numerous talented government officials specificially from my dad’s department getting fired for one mistake on a policy. even though they were talented they were fired because of one thing. their record shined but they were still fired. so i protest holding Alito’s Vanguard and a few demerits as the sole reason. Before you dismiss him i want you to look at his merits and demerits and evaluate him. Demerits are easy to find and criticize but it is another fact that merits are hard to appreciate among the few demerits in the realm of politics and government.</p>