Harvard Loves RINOs

A partisanship check of the Harvard Institute of Politics’ Resident and Visiting Fellows reveals a disturbing trend in favor of Democratic applicants. Of the 121 Resident and Visiting Fellows chosen between 2000 and 2007:

• 62 Fellows are Democrat
• 31 Fellows are Republican
• 9 Fellows are Foreign
• 19 Fellows cannot be easily determined.

Although some detractors might argue that the remaining 20 “unknown” Fellows create the potential for an even ratio between Republican and Democratic Fellows, it seems rather unlikely that this group consists of closet Republicans. For example, 2004 IOP Fellow Meredith Bagby, a board member for the Third Millenium Foundation (TMF), made a $300 donation to the socially liberal Downtown for Democracy political action committee during her 2004 Fellowship at Harvard. The implicitly gay-rights Downtown for Democracy lobbies for socially liberal policies and was described in 2004 by New York Times writer Alex Williams as “more sought after than a hole-in-the wall [sic] gallery in Williamsburg, Brooklyn.”

Harvard University betrayed a similar social agenda in 2003 when it launched the 2003-2005 “TMF Harvard Research Project,” which the TMF website describes as dedicated to “study[ing] the linkages between cultural forms of tolerance and prejudice that are experienced by children and youth growing up and the forms of positive or negative orientations to others that develop later in life.” Not content to label racism or bigotry simply as an undesirable social phenomena, the TMF Harvard Research Project defines prejudice as a disease which must be eradicated in America’s youth. “Prejudice and intolerance, like viruses and bacteria, can be the source of illness and ill health in children, but little is known about how this works,” states the website. They recommend that behaviorists study children’s implicit prejudices, rather than overt behaviors.

Many Harvard Fellows are prominent movers and shakers at the New York Times, ABC, Chicago Sun-Times, CNN, and the Washington Post. 2001 IOP Fellow Ceci Connolly, perhaps best known for her misquotation of presidential candidate Al Gore, covered both the 2000 Al Gore campaign and 2004 John Kerry campaign, but is listed as “unknown” in the comparison. She currently covers healthcare policy for the Washington Post. New York Times reporter, Katharine “Kit” Seelye, was also listed as unknown. She covered the 1992 Bill Clinton presidential campaign, the 1996 Bob Dole campaign, and the 2000 Al Gore campaign.

Many of the Harvard Fellows which do affiliate with the Republican Party are not the sort likely to visit this year’s Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC). Author of “It’s My Party, Too” and 2006 IOP Fellow Christie Whitman argued in her 2003 book that far-right “social fundamentalists” with a “narrow ideological agenda”—opposing stem cell research, gay marriage, and abortion—have hijacked the Republican Party. She asserts that Republicans need to reconnect with moderates by refocusing their platforms on fiscal responsibility, limited government, and strong national security. Booklist author Vanessa Bush describes Whitman as “An avowed member of the party moderates referred to as RINOs (Republicans in Name Only)…” in her book review. Whitman is also serves on the Leadership Council of the Republican Pro-Choice Coalition.

Perhaps most disturbing are those Republican representatives accepted by the IOP Harvard Fellowship program.As AIM editor Cliff Kincaid reported in October 2006, 2005 Harvard Visiting Fellow Jim Kolbe (R-AZ) received a concerned plea from one of Mark Foley’s (R-FL) former pages about the Congressman’s sexually harassing communications. Kolbe decided to refer the complaint directly to Foley’s office. The openly gay Representative Kolbe had been aware of Foley’s pedophiliac emails since 2000—when he was on the House Page Board—and had himself invited pages to his Washington home, traveling to the Grand Canyon with two of his own 17-year-old male pages.

Former Maryland Congresswoman Constance Morella, a 2003 Harvard visiting fellow, strongly opposed both the partial-birth abortion ban and the Bill Clinton impeachment while she was in Congress. The 2002 Americans for Tax Reform conservatism ranking placed Morella at a mere 30%, and in 2002 the American Conservative Union gave Morella a 24% conservatism rating. Senator Arlen Specter (R-PA) received a 42% ACU rating. This year’s Republican Fellows Congressman Clay Shaw (R-FL) and Congresswoman Nancy Johnson (R-Connecticut) received ACU ratings of 72% and 52% respectively.

Harvard officials cannot claim ignorance over the partisanship or political values of their Fellows, particularly since they request that potential fellows reveal this information in their application. “Criteria governing selection include significant political, governmental or other public service experience; ability to work well with students, faculty, and colleagues; and the promise of future concmaputribution in public affairs,” reads the web fellowship description (emphasis added). A box is provided for potential fellows to describe their political background, and they are encouraged to submit their biography.

Bethany Stotts is a Staff Writer at Accuracy in Academia.