Tuesday, December 15, 1998 --- New York (APJP) -- Bob Barr is perhaps the single most disliked member of Congress -- even among his conservative GOP peers. And, in a moment of shining arrogance just over two weeks ago, he managed to expose himself as the racist and bigot he is to an even broarder segment of the American public during House Judiciary Committee Hearings.

During his "five minute rule" tirade in what seemed response to the very presence of committee witnesses Alan Dershowitz and the late Lawrence Higginbotham, Barr -- who himself had been a third-rate prosecutor and certainly knows a few tricks about perjury himself -- made this now-notorious comment:

"The real America out there, understands that there ought to be a very high standard for our public officials."

Dershowitz fired back angrily, "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..."

Barr, tried to cut off Dershowitz: "That's absurd, Professor. You ought to be ashamed. That is the silliest thing I have ever heard."

Dershowitz was not going to sit by idly and abide this fool. "When I hear you describe me as something other than a real American," he said, "shame on you. We may have a disagreement about the merits of these issues -- but I would no more impugn your Americanism than you should impugn mine, sir."

Barr, unable to respond in an intelligent manner, again said that Dershowitz was being "absolutely silly" -- to a panel of three Jewish lawyers and a black judge.

Dershowitz followed up his exchange with a letter to House Judiciary Committee Chairman Hyde. The letter mentioned that Barr turns out to have given the keynote speech during a National Board Meeting of the Council of Conservative Citizens (CCC) back in June.

The CCC is a so-called "white-rights" group. And their web site is something to behold -- not content to stop at attacking affirmative action, immigration policy and public assistance, page after page on the site rants against "miscegenation" and "integration." Their web site claims that Abraham Lincoln was elected by socialists.

Hey -- wasn't Honest Abe a Republican?

But I digress... back to the Dershowitz letter.

"Congressman Barr, who was fully aware of this organization's racist and antisemitic agenda, not only gave the keynote address to the CCC's national board, but even allowed himself to be photographed literally embracing one of their national directors," the letter read in part.

Dershowitz had done his homework on Barr. How "silly" of him.

A couple days later, Barr told CNN that Dershowitz was "trying to label me a racist because I attended an event at which there are people who have views that are decidedly different from mine."

And here's the kicker -- a spokesman for the Congressman from the Impeachment Twilight Zone, in the process of acknowledging that fact just under a week ago, echoed Barr's claim that he was not fully aware of the CCC's racist agenda.

We guess his staff must have been way too busy researching new and creative ways to defame the Clinton family to engage in such "silly" pursuits as investigating the credentials of the CCC.

Our guess is that Barr is only slightly more liberal than the CCC on the issue of immigration -- but shares the rest of the CCC's sentimentss.

The reason -- The Doc has witnessed other occasions of Barr's race-baiting during the course of his duties as a House Judiciary Committee memner.

Earlier this year -- well before his appearance before the CCC -- this writer witnessed a line of questioning to Louis Freeh that Barr launched into. It was gobbledygook about whether proper "background checks" had been conducted by former DC welfare recipients then working at the White House. The connotation of Barr's vicious questioning -- implying that these people who have gotten off the public dole and now work with pride for the White House -- were ex-crooks, ex-druggies, a threat. And one could not also help thinking that almost everyone on welfare in DC is either Black or Hispanic. The thinly-veiled race-baiting of Barr in a line of questioning that had absolutely nothing to do with the business the HJC was supposed to be dealing with exposed Barr for the shameless bigot he is.

But it played well with the hard-righters in his home district -- and the CCC.

The Southern Poverty Law Center's Mark Potok monitors right-wing groups. According to research he has done, the CCC grew out of the White Citizens Councils of American, a middle-class "white defense" group that sprang up across the South during the civil rights movement. Potok said in a recent AP story that the CCC "masquerades as a mainstream conservative political group, but it is obsessed with the issue of race."

The CCC has also been tied to other racist organizations -- white supremacist groups and so-called "Southern cultural preservation" societies. Earlier this year, members of the CCC traveled to France to present a Confederate Flag to racist-ultranationalist French National Front leader Jean Marie LePen.

In fact, the CCC has managed to insinuate itself into the all-Southern all-male all-white wing of the Republican Party very effectively -- despite the effete denials of many Republicans.

Among those who have spoken before meetings of the CCC are Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott -- whose spokesman John Czwartacki, in wording eerily reminiscent of Kenneth Starr's testimony before the House Judiciary Committee, claimed Lott "has no recollection of involvement" with the group since accepting a speaking invitation from the CCC. He added that Lott "has no firsthand knowledge of the group's views."

Gee, how reminiscent of Starr's "first-hand knowledge" of witness testimony before his grand juries! It is to laugh!

But again I digress. But then, in a case like that, i just can't help it.

The Doc also wanted to point out that one of the collateral effects of Dershowitz's response to Barr's racist-tinged conduct is that Dershowitz has become the target of harassment. The following message was posted to one of the bulletin boards at the Free Republic web site -- a favorite gathering place for a broad spectrum of right-leaners, from thoughtful libertarians to hate-fanning wackos:

Topic: White Water TELL DERSHOWITLESS WHAT YOU THINK -- HIS PHONE AND FAX NUMBERS

...

Let's go to the source... hehe

Alan Dershowitz

(617) 495-4617 phone (617) 495-7855 FAX

Far a couple days, his phone and fax were tied up. A source who has spoken with the Dershowitz office "talked to a woman on his staff. They've been bombarded with phone calls, faxes, etc and are feeling pretty tense!" But they have also received quite a few letters and calls applauding Dershowitz's exposure of Barr for the racist he is.

You may want to drop a line to Prof. Dershowitz to let him know how you feel about his standing up to "real Americans" like Bob Barr .

The Doc has. 'Nuff said

-- Dave "Doctor" Gonzo