01/11/2006

CWA: Kennedy Sinks to New Low in Attempt to Defame Alito

CAP records already reviewed by New York Times; finds Alito uninvolved WASHINGTON, Jan. 11 /Christian Newswire/ -- Concerned Women for America (CWA) says that Sen. Ted Kennedy (D- Massachusetts) is displaying the depth of his desperation to sink the nomination of Judge Samuel Alito to the Supreme Court by linking him to the alleged discriminatory policies of the Conservative Alumni of Princeton (CAP), an organization that disbanded nearly 20 years ago.

“Kennedy will fail to discredit Alito, however, because reasonable people will never believe this good man would discriminate against anybody,” said Jan LaRue, CWA’s Chief Counsel.

Judge Alito has repeated in two days of questioning, “I wasn’t a member of CAP,” and “I don’t have any recollection of having any involvement with CAP.” He repeatedly said that he would never knowingly involve himself with a discriminatory organization.

“Kennedy repeatedly asked Judge Alito whether he had read specific articles about CAP and he said he hadn’t,” said Jan LaRue. “I’d like to ask Kennedy if he read his favorite newspaper, The New York Times, when it reported last November that it had examined the records of CAP and there’s virtually nothing there to tie Alito to CAP. Kennedy is sinking to a new low trying to defame Alito, distort his record and deceive the public. It’s disgusting,” LaRue concluded.

The New York Times reported on November 27, 2005: “[M]emorandum and other records of Concerned Alumni are contained at the Library of Congress in the papers of William A. Rusher, a leader of the group and a former publisher of National Review. Those records and others at Mudd Library at Princeton give no indication that Judge Alito . . . was among the group’s major donors. He was not an active leader of the group, and two of his classmates who were involved and Mr. Rusher said they did not remember his playing a role.”

“Sen. Kennedy’s demand that papers that have already been reviewed be subpoenaed from the Library of Congress is shameless grandstanding,” stated Wendy Wright, CWA’s Executive Vice President. “Kennedy fails to realize that his questioning of Judge Alito’s exemplary ethics naturally causes people to reflect upon Kennedy’s own less-than-stellar ethics.”

Concerned Women for America (CWA) is the nation's largest public policy women's organization.