Classic Legalese from Alan Dershowitz: Attack, Demean, Mischaracterize

by | Dec 10, 1998 | POLITICS

It was vintage Alan Dershowitz, the attorney and race card player extraordinaire. Appearing as an anti-impeachment panelist before the House Judiciary Committee, Dershowitz accused Georgia conservative Republican Rep. Bob Barr of “racism,” “bigotry” and “anti-Semitism.” What did Rep. Barr do to incur the wrath of Dershowitz? Here’s what happened. Barr: “Despite the fact that some […]
Photo Credit: Gage Skidmore

It was vintage Alan Dershowitz, the attorney and race card player extraordinaire. Appearing as an anti-impeachment panelist before the House Judiciary Committee, Dershowitz accused Georgia conservative Republican Rep. Bob Barr of “racism,” “bigotry” and “anti-Semitism.” What did Rep. Barr do to incur the wrath of Dershowitz?

Here’s what happened.

Barr: “Despite the fact that some of our law professors here today think that this matter should all be handled by the courts, and the Constitution should just be shoved aside, real America understands that the Constitution is there for a reason — that it does mean something. I don’t think these views represent the clarity and the rationality and the common sense with which the real America views these matters.”

The Dersh Dershowitz: “Let me respond to why I perceive this to be a personal attack. First of all, whenever I hear the words ‘real Americans,’ that sounds to me like a code word for racism, a code word for bigotry, a code word for anti-Semitism. You ought to be ashamed.”

Barr: “That is the silliest thing I have ever heard.”

Dershowitz: “I hear you describe me as something other than a real American. Shame on you! We may have a disagreement about the merits of these issues, but I would no more impugn your Americanism, and you shouldn’t impugn mine.”

Barr: “You’re being silly, professor. You’re being absolutely silly.” Perhaps this a distinction without a difference, but Barr said “real America.” Yet Dershowitz accused him of saying “real Americans.”

Later, on CNBC’s “Rivera Live,” Dershowitz stepped up the attack. This time, he accused Barr of calling Dershowitz “un-American.” So “real America” became “real Americans,” which, in turn, became “un-American.” What’s next, “unreal Americans”?

“Real America,” for many Washington pols, simply means outside the Beltway, where common folks live, work hard and pay taxes. You know, Joe and Joan Six-pack.

But Dershowitz apparently thinks the term “real Americans” conjures up images of Jim Crow, internment camps, attack dogs and water hoses. Does Dershowitz sincerely believe Barr’s use of the expression “real America” makes him a 1950s southern segregationist?

Of course not. Dershowitz employed a tactic — switch the subject. His 1983 book, “The Best Defense,” laid it all out. “Almost all criminal defendants are, in fact, guilty.” “In representing criminal defendants — especially guilty ones — it is often necessary to take the offensive against the government: to put the government on trial for its misconduct.” Barr called Dershowitz’s reaction “silly.” He’s right. Let’s go to the videotape.

July 5, 1995, President Clinton: “Look, I know America first and foremost is a place where individual effort and family values count. That’s why I am successful. But I live in the real America — not in Washington, D.C.” (Annual convention of the American Association of Physicians from India.)

June 14, 1997, President Clinton: “Remember how you have seen things like that during the natural disasters here in California. That is the face of the real America. That is the face I have seen over and over again. That is the America somehow, some way, we have to make real in daily American life.” (University of California at San Diego, Calif.)

Aug. 14, 1998, President Clinton: “America’s got a good agenda in the coming months. We can be for saving Social Security first, better schools, a cleaner environment and a Patient’s Bill of Rights, and we can sell that in every place in America. They are real choices real Americans face in this election.” (Democratic National Committee Labor lunch, Washington, D.C.)

Feb. 18, 1994, Prime Minister John Major of Great Britain: “The president told you most of the story of how I came to be here this evening. … ‘Come and have a look at a bit of Pittsburgh,’ said the president.

This editorial is made available through Creator's Syndicate.Best-selling author, radio and TV talk show host, Larry Elder has a take-no-prisoners style, using such old-fashioned things as evidence and logic. His books include: The 10 Things You Can’t Say in America, Showdown: Confronting Bias, Lies and the Special Interests That Divide America, and What’s Race Got to Do with It? Why it’s Time to Stop the Stupidest Argument in America,.

The views expressed above represent those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of the editors and publishers of Capitalism Magazine. Capitalism Magazine sometimes publishes articles we disagree with because we think the article provides information, or a contrasting point of view, that may be of value to our readers.

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