« A bigoted food fight in the city of (un)brotherly love...um, hate | Democrats expand stimulus payments ... to their favored few »
June 22, 2021

Uber-left, extremely nasty Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse has a racism problem

By Andrea Widburg

When last we paid attention to Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D. R.I.), he was the leftist crudely arguing during Amy Coney Barrett’s confirmation hearing that she would wipe away healthcare for millions. You know his politics when you learn that he was No. 18 on the 2020 list of hardest left Senators. (If you’re wondering, Kamala Harris was No. 2, right behind Bernie Sanders.) It turns out, though, that this vicious, uber-leftist senator is a member of Rhode Island beach club that was formerly Whites-only – a status in effect when he was a member. So yes, we have found the systemic racism in America and it’s…Senator Whitehouse!

Here’s the story, nicely summarized at the New York Post:

Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse is facing new scrutiny over his decades-long membership in an allegedly all-white private beach club, as he bills himself as a progressive and prominent critic of “systemic racism” — dismissing membership based on race as “a long tradition in Rhode Island.”

The controversy began when Whitehouse (D-RI) was confronted Friday by a GoLocal Providence reporter, who published the video along with an article on Saturday detailing what occurred after asking about the senator’s membership at Newport-based Bailey’s Beach Club, part of the Spouting Rock Beach Association.

“I think the people who are running the place are still working on that and I’m sorry it hasn’t happened yet,” the progressive pol told the reporter after being asked of the club’s lack of any diversity whatsoever.

Asked if such clubs should continue to exist at a time when the country is having a racial reckoning, Whitehouse replied, “It’s a long tradition in Rhode Island, and there are many of them.

It’s really not a good defense to say that it’s okay that you belong to a club that’s racist because it’s always been racist. Moreover, it’s weak sauce to say that “the people who are running the place are stilling working on that” racism when (a) all you have to do is say “we will no longer engage in racism which has been illegal since 1964” and (b) Mrs. Sheldon Whitehouse is one of the club’s three major shareholders. Whitehouse claimed in 2006, when he first ran for office, that he had disavowed the membership but, unless he and his wife have entirely separate assets, he’s just moved his membership under her name.

To do justice to the club, the New York Post reports that “senior spokeswoman Meaghan McCabe said that the country club was not all-white, but declined to provide further information or proof.” Whitehouse also said that the club has Black members; he just doesn’t know any of them. (So, the old “some of my best friends are black” defense won’t work for him.)

Of course, the drive-by media instantly circled the wagons to protect Whitehouse from his association with a club that had a long racist and that only now seems to have some unknown non-White members. For a little perspective, remember that actress Ellie Kemper was forced to apologize for the fact that, when she was 19, she was a pageant princess for an organization that had been desegrated decades before.

Other people who don’t have power in the Senate were also lambasted for long-ago associations or thoughtless words. Whitehouse, though, is not being castigated but is, instead, being offered the opportunity to defend himself. This Twitter thread lays it all out. (Hat tip: Twitchy.)

I suspect that, like most leftists, Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse doesn’t give a flying whatsit about racism or the “BIPOCs” (Black, Indigenous, or other “People of Color”). The ostensible concern about race is, instead, just a means to an end. Leftists like Whitehouse live in their wealthy segregated neighborhoods (although they’ll welcome people like Patrisse Cullors because ideologically they’re in sync) while calling the rest of us racists and grabbing our money for their power.

IMAGE: Sheldon Whitehouse (cropped). YouTube screen grab.

To comment, you can find the MeWe post for this article here.

If you experience technical problems, please write to helpdesk@americanthinker.com