Hatch’s shameless demagoguery

October 31, 2005

Just two weeks ago, a handful of people — including the First Lady and White House adviser Ed Gillespie — suggested opposition to Harriet Miers nomination had a whiff of sexism. Even I didn’t believe the charges were accurate, but it was nevertheless amusing to watch from afar as conservatives found themselves on the end of the Bush smear machine, if only for a little while.

I had secretly hoped, naively, that the experience would be educational for the right. Because they opposed a woman nominee, far-right activists, some of whom are women, were practically being accused of misogyny. To be sure, many of them deserved it. They were the same people who said Dems opposed Bill Pryor because they’re anti-Catholic; they opposed Miguel Estrada because they’re anti-Hispanic; Dems opposed Janice Rogers Brown because they’re racist; and Dems opposed Priscilla Owen because they hate women.

It was political discourse at its most painfully stupid. Sincere differences over the law, in conservatives’ eyes, legitimized charges of bigotry. For a brief while, with Miers, the right saw how insane this is. They didn’t seem to care for it.

Of course, now that conservatives approve of the president’s new nominee, they’ve come to play the bigot card all over again. Consider, for example, what Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) told Fox News viewers this morning.

“[Democrats] think they own the Italian-American vote all up and down the East Coast. They don’t, but they think they do. If they become offensive against somebody with the qualifications of Sam Alito, Judge Alito, then I think it’s going to be held against them. They’re going to have to be very careful how they handle this.”

Hatch has been pulling this stunt for too damn long. I don’t expect much from him, but this kind of crass identity politics is vile and Hatch surely knows it.

What’s more, it’s all but an admission that Republicans are literally afraid of a debate on the merits. Democrats and their supporters are beginning to assemble a pretty compelling dossier on Alito, which will highlight just how far from the mainstream Bush’s nominee is. Hatch could defend Alito’s ideas and justify a far-right legal worldview, but he finds it easier to say, “Vote to confirm Alito or we’ll say you hate Italian Catholics.”

The mind reels.

Is there racism against Italians?? I suppose there aren’t many of them here in Texas, so maybe I just don’t see it. But that really sounds like an odd charge. I mean, it’s not like he’s Irish or anything. So what’s there to complain about?

(Yes, the Irish thing is a joke)

  • What’s the problem? It’s not like Alito is a Mormon, right?

    (And no, this is not a joke, Senator Hatch. What goes around damn well comes back around.)

  • I’ve never liked the guy, but Hatch has moved right up there among the top on my list of most despised Senators. Friday he’s in front of the cameras trying to discredit Wilson by calling him a liar. Today, he’s busy alleging bigotry. This man is a serious toad.

  • Ah, Senator Hatch…such a great proponent of the “up or down” vote. My brother was nominated for a Federal judgeship by Clinton, one of so many who never even got a hearing before his committee. Reason–he had beaten a big Repug contributor as a lawyer on the other side in a civil case. Money talks and sings and dances for Orrin. Gee. Unfortunately, David W., what’s gone around with these guys hasn’t come back around yet. We live in hope.

  • Maybe Italians are too smart to trust the Republicans since they can see through their smarmy little stratagems. Or maybe Hatch hasn’t thought about that? Of course, thought doesn’t seem to trouble Orrin Hatch very much at all, does it?

  • I am a second-generation full-blooded Italian-American Catholic (12 yrs. Catholic school). Is it bigoted of me to say Alito is a terrible choice for the Supreme Court? BTW, I am not an “East Coast” Italian but from the Great Lakes region. Note to Hatch: We’re not all from the East Coast contrary to stereotypical portrayals. Alito (so obviously) is not being opposed because of his Italian heritage (in my opinion his only plus) but because his previous decisions and dissenting opinions would take us back to the 19th century. He’s an activist judge not interpreting the law but infusing it with his beliefs. That is what disqualifies him for this appointment.

    It is disgusting that whitebread Mormon Hatch throws out the race/ethinic card and in the process makes himself look and sound like the hack bigoted dolt that he is. I am sick of the way Italians are portrayed. We can can speak eloquently and fluently. We are educated and have contributed enormously to this country. Wouldn’t it be wonderful if he and others like him would try to expand their limited world ? Our goal should be to educate these ignorant people.

  • What fascinates me is that Movement Conservatives SAY they want to have an argument on the merits of their philosophy versus the liberal one, but then Orrin comes along and denies liberals the right to fight Alito’s confirmation.

    What’s with that? How can Movement Conservatives argue for their extreme position if Senator Hatch is trying to shut down all discussion on this judge. Someone needs to muzzle that guy.

  • Why don’t they just get it over with and say that a vote against Alito is a vote against white, heterosexual men everywhere? Therefore any male senator who votes against him is a whitey-hating homo, any female senator is a man-hating dyke.

    I am so sick of this battle and it has just barely begun.

  • June 20, 2006

    Hatch’s Shameless Demogoguery

    Orrin Hatch, one of the two U.S. Republican senators from Utah, has proven his demogoguery will not allow him to remain in office. Hatch has committed too many wrongs, is shamefully corrupt, to continue to be re-elected.

    Because he operates with no real oversight and has virtually un-restricted access to federal resources which not only includes money but also agencies such as the Social Security Administration Senator Hatch has amassed acts of gross misconduct one after another during his tenure in office. He gives out favors, which is another way of saying he takes bribes, from constituents who can help him politically.

    A horribly entangled situation of mine, he helped mix up, shows the lowly depth to which Senator Hatch has let himself become corrupt. His un-encumbered access enabled Senator Hatch to procure though by fraudulent means four additional Social Security numbers that, obviously, are different than my SSN. Three of these other Social Security numbers belong to individuals still living with the fourth being attached to a man who’d been long-deceased when Senator Hatch by deception secured all of these identifying numbers.

    No reason ever has existed for his illegal procurement of the Social Security numbers of living persons since any one of these individuals certainly could report me to the police or other authorities, as an identity thief or worse, except that Senator Hatch not only wanted to portray me as a criminal specifically a fraud but also get me in trouble with the Social Security Administration which he along with one of those constituents I mentioned previously. It’s especially true that Senator Hatch wanted to cause me trouble with the Social Security Administration because all the extra Social Security numbers were written on a TRW/Experian credit report, under my name, and specifically shown to administrators and other employees in the Social Security Administration to “prove” me a criminal.

    Portraying me as such to those at the SSA, even though Senator Hatch unlawfully obtained the additional Social Security numbers and helped write these SSNs on the TRW/Experian credit report forged in my name, was perversely consistent with Senator Hatch and David McConkie (the aforementioned constituent) initially falsely criminally accusing me to SSA employees as an un-captured baby killer and then when no evidence was found to prove their ruinous false claim hence Senator Hatch acted as the liaison between the Social Security Administration and David McConkie and fraudulently procured the additional SSNs and enabled David McConkie thus to write these numbers on the TRW/Experian credit report that was forged in my name and since has been circulated and used a s a tracking mechanism to give the impression though false to those at the Social Security Administration of me being criminally investigated but which actually constitutes theft of the SSNs by Senator Hatch; identity theft by Senator Hatch; defrauding the SSA by Senator Hatch and David McConkie; forgery by using the illegally-procured different Social Security numbers to falsify the TRW/Experian credit report in my name; defamation of character because of circulating the false written information about me by way of the couterfeit credit report, and false investigations being conducted of me.

    Through all of this Senator Hatch has since persisted in doling out favors for David McConkie. Because neither he David McConkie nor police found evidence to prove me a murderer and so could not justify falsely accusing me of killing a child he David McConkie claims I had prior to my son then ripping my little boy away from me using this as an excuse to take my child David McConkie since has tried to force the situation to be consistent with his criminal accusations against me using Senator Hatch as his connection. At any time Senator Hatch could have said NO but, he never has. Such provides a little insight into Senator Hatch’s folly.

    Each time he heard from me, questioning him about his wrong-doing, Senator Hatch contacted David McConkie and complained. He, in turn, always thus has instigated more trouble.

    Almost worse is that Senator Hatch tries to distance himself from David McConkie and his criminality, in his hell-bent efforts to force me to go along with him in all his lawyer criminal wrong-doing, because he knows now that being affiliated with David McConkie jeopardizes his political career. So he, Senator Hatch, turns a blind eye to David McConkie’s wrongs which itself is not right of Senator Hatch.

    Thanks,
    Kathy Caudle

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