One of the Democrats' key character assassination witnesses has suddenly withdrawn his name from the list expected to be called after Judge Samuel Alito testifies for his confirmation hearings, Fox News is reporting. Stephen Dujack had been expected to testify that Concerned Alumni of Princeton, a group in which Alito noted his membership on a resume, had leadership that exhibited racism, sexism, and "dirty tactics". However, Dujack's other writings may have led to a major credibility crisis:

A key witness to the character of Judge Samuel A. Alito has been removed from the Senate Judiciary Committee Democrats' testimony list, FOXNews.com has learned.

Stephen R. Dujack, editor of The Environmental Forum magazine and fellow Princeton University alumnus, was expected to testify about a controversial student organization that counted Alito as a member. Dujack confirmed to FOXNews.com late Friday that he was no longer testifying, but said he could not elaborate.

A spokesman for Texas Republican Sen. John Cornyn, a committee member, said he had been notified of the list change shortly before 7 p.m. EST. Earlier on Friday, Cornyn's office circulated a 2003 Los Angeles Times editorial in which Dujack compared animals killed for food to victims of the Holocaust. Whether the editorial factored into the decision to drop Dujack from the witness list was not clear. ...

If Dujack is not replaced by another witness familiar with CAP, Democrats opposed to Alito's confirmation may have lost some ammunition. Phone calls to Kennedy's and ranking Democratic Sen. Patrick Leahy's offices were not immediately returned.

Dujack apparently had no knowledge of Alito participating in or endorsing racist or sexist behavior, and the CAP platform had a broad political reach; Alito supposedly joined over a concern about Princeton freezing out the ROTC but never became active within the group In short, Dujack intended on smearing Alito by association. However, since Dujack would then have to explain his own political screeds written just two years ago equating steak with European genocide, someone finally thought better of the notion that he should deliver this testimony.

The Anchoress noted the strategy earlier today:

Frankly, I think if the Dems try this, Alito will eat them for lunch.

But that’s besides the point. This is downright indecent. Yes. Indecent. To try to destroy someone on something this flimsy, in the name of partisan politics is, finally, INDECENT.

And it hypocritically smacks of the sort of “McCarthyism” the Democrats are SUPPOSED to deplore. Think back to all of those stories you read about writers in the 1930’s, (and again in the 1950’s) who joined the Communist party because they wanted to impress a girl, or because they wanted a business contact, or simply because they just were attracted to its ideals - and had their careers ruined, unjustly, over those associations. We’ve been told for years that those people had been treated unjustly - that they were victims of an out-of-control ideology, remember? We were told that such victimization was a BAD thing, an ugly thing that weakened the very fabric of America and made a mockery of the Bill of Rights. Back when I was a Democrat, such stories were routinely held out as examples of “small-minded mob mentalities,” and fascist-leaning conformists. Now, suddenly, fascist tactics are acceptable? As long as they are politically expedient?

In the last analysis, all this demonstrates is the depth of desperation anti-Alito forces are feeling tonight. They have fifteen years of judicial opinions and records, and they can't find anything to disqualify Alito. The ABA unanimously voted him "well qualified" in all areas, including ethics and temperament. The only people they can find to sling mud at Alito are the kind of lunatics that equate eating meat with the genocide of six million Jews. That should tell them something about their chances of stopping Alito, and should convince them to admit that Bush has nominated a well-qualified jurist who deserves confirmation.

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» Dems Anti-Alito Witness Removed... Expect Desperation Moves from RightWinged.com
Well, I'm not sure what happened, but the "bombshell witness" I mentioned earlier , that the Dems were lining up to take down Alito, will no longer be testifying. I should have caught this earlier, but luckily Captain Ed caught... [Read More]

Tracked on January 7, 2006 4:10 AM