Law Schools

Alan Dershowitz Is The Saddest Man In Martha’s Vineyard

The Trumpist law professor is complaining that people don't seem to appreciate his stumping for the president.

By Joe Patrice on July 03, 2018 12:14 pm

(Photo by John Lamparski/Getty Images for Hulu)

As Alan Dershowitz has transitioned from that guy who helped Jeremy Irons kill Glenn Close off to Fox’s convenient mascot as the “Democrat” who supports Trump has been swift and thorough. It’s generated some concern amongst Harvard Law alums and his former protégé’s, but some of us saw this coming long before now.

It’s been almost two years since I flagged Dershowitz’s hypocrisy in giving a pass to Breitbart’s anti-Semitism while using the same tag to attack civil rights activists, prompting him to write a response that provided context for his thoughts but still overlooked my core argument that he was grasping at any straw he could to sully left-leaning rights activists while turning a blind eye to near overwhelming evidence of pandering to anti-Semitism from Trump loyalists. As it turns out, I was ahead of the curve on thinking Dershowitz really had gone from contrarian TV gadfly to enthusiastic acolyte to a disturbing political trend.

Apparently, the affluent professionals who vacation on Martha’s Vineyard have reached the same conclusion and now Dershowitz is complaining that all the people there don’t like him now that he’s become a public cheerleader for an alt-Right regime.

Correction: It’s not that they don’t like him, it’s that they have made him “a discrimination victim.” If there were any lingering doubt that Dershowitz has fallen for the Fox News con hook, line, and sinker, I give you his embrace of the disingenuous effort to hijack the rhetoric of discrimination to inflate his own white inconvenience while simultaneously undermining the notion that discrimination is anything more than a mild discomfort.

As you might imagine, people weren’t swallowing this tripe without merciless mockery:

https://twitter.com/MetropolisGal/status/1013936153450504192

I can almost hear the old Incredible Hulk theme playing in the background.

But… civility tho.

https://twitter.com/bcuban/status/1014168729800802304

https://twitter.com/ElizabethAngell/status/1014153731699593216

https://twitter.com/JRubinBlogger/status/1014114410317713408

Jennifer Rubin is officially more liberal than Alan Dershowitz. We’ve crossed into the Bizarro World.

Some of the best stuff comes from people who actually know the Martha’s Vineyard geography. Since my idea of a relaxing vacation is “staying in New York for the weekend” I don’t get these high society references, but they sound fun:

https://twitter.com/MtkaLiberal/status/1013979175613542403

https://twitter.com/jdubs88/status/1014146978522062849

And finally…

That was way harsh Tai.

But it’s something we’ve heard from Martha’s Vineyard regulars that we know. Dershowitz had a history of alienating the denizens of the community that precedes his flirtation with right-wing politics. This time, it seems his finally gone too far even for the Acela corridor liberals.

HeadshotJoe Patrice is an editor at Above the Law and co-host of Thinking Like A Lawyer. Feel free to email any tips, questions, or comments. Follow him on Twitter if you’re interested in law, politics, and a healthy dose of college sports news.