Beating a dead CAP

Alito’s membership in CAP came up several times during yesterday’s hearing. By the end of the day, it became quite clear that Alito (honestly or not) was distancing himself from the group by claiming he was unaware of CAP’s sexist, racist message. So why did Ted Kennedy spend over half of his second round of questions excoriating CAP? Everybody agrees that CAP’s goal, keeping Princeton white and male, was reprehensible. But that’s not the point. The group could be a certified training camp for neo-Nazis. If the Democrats can’t do a better job of showing that Alito knew what the group represented, it’s a moot point.

In the last minute of his allotted time, Kennedy finally got the right idea. He’s asked Chairman Specter that the committee vote on subpoenaing CAP documents held in the Library of Congress. Specter temporarily shot him down. We’ll see if anything comes of this.

--MM