Israel Matzav: Kevin Paul DuPont's double standard

Wednesday, January 25, 2012

Kevin Paul DuPont's double standard

I grew up a rabid Boston sports fan, and I still follow my teams from Israel, so I hope you all will forgive me one more slightly off-topic post.

When I wrote my Tim Thomas post on Tuesday night, I was looking in the dark for someone from Boston who skipped out on one of the championship trips to the White House when George W. Bush was in office. My mistake was including Kevin Paul DuPont in the search terms, because DuPont, it goes without saying, was silent about it.

When the Red Sox won the World Series in 2007, principal owner John Henry and then general manager Theo Epstein - both dyed in the wool Democrats - skipped the White House visit with George W. Bush. And, as you might guess, Kevin Paul DuPont did not say a word nor did anyone else at the Uber Leftist Boston Globe (Hat Tip: Malcolm via The Colossus of Rhodey).

Notably, no one at the Boston Globe complained when Red Sox owner John Henry and general manager Theo Epstein, both dyed-in-the-wool Democrats, opted out of the invites to the Bush White House after the 2007 World Series. Nor should they have. While there are considerations of common courtesy in deciding whether to accept such an invitation, a player, manager or owner might reasonably choose not to take part in a rah-rah event by a president that they do not support. You might accuse Tim Thomas of a lack of courtesy and even lack of consideration for his teammates, as Mr. Dupont does. His approach, however, is preferable to the “courageous” alternative suggested by Mr. Dupont, who argued that Thomas would have been better served by showing up and giving President Obama a piece of his mind. Now, how would that have been perceived in very blue Boston?

Mr. Dupont’s most woeful error, however, was in suggesting that Thomas’s disagreement with the current government equals a lack of love of country. “It was the same government yesterday, and will be today, that protected his country, his security, his family, and his right to make $5 million a year, all last season.” Tim Thomas was a U.S. Olympian and won a silver medal for his country. Mr. Dupont contends that someone “so disgusted with our government ought to turn in the sweater and the medal. It must be a horrible burden, if not a pox, to have them in his house.”

Yeah, Henry and Epstein were management; Thomas is a star player. Well, if anything, that makes it worse. And notably, Bush was not in a reelection campaign at the time, which could have been helped by their showing up at the White House. Obama is.

So, as usual, we have a complete lack of consistency and rank hypocrisy on the Left. It's a pity that they continue to dominate the media. DuPont should keep his pompous mouth shut.

Anyone know what Belichick's and Brady's politics are? This may become relevant again real soon.

Labels: Barack Hussein Obama, Boston Bruins, Boston Red Sox, George W. Bush, hypocrisy