Mullings A Political Cyber Column By Rich Galen

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Changing the Tone in Weehawken

Wednesday, July 11, 2001

From Denver, Colorado

Consider this: It is this date: July 11th ; but 197 years ago in 1804.

It is Weehawken, New Jersey, just across the Hudson River from New York City. It is dawn. The mist of a summer morning is rising over the Palisades.

The Vice President of the United States shoots and kills the former Secretary of the Treasury.

And you thought politics was tough now?

Aaron Burr plugged Alexander Hamilton in a duel over some harsh language that Hamilton had used to describe Burr during an election for Governor of New York.

Hamilton had been born on the Caribbean island of Nevis, the issue of an unsuccessful businessman and a married woman who, as it happened, was not married to the unsuccessful businessman - or at least not to THAT unsuccessful businessman.

Hamilton was arguably the smartest of the Founding Fathers.

Burr was the legitimate son of the guy who co-founded what became Princeton University and was arguably the biggest scoundrel among the Founding Fathers - in essence Burr was the Bill Clinton of his day.

In the election of 1800, Thomas Jefferson and Aaron Burr ran as Presidential and Vice Presidential candidate on the Republican ticket. Something about wanting to balance Virginia (Jefferson) with New York (Burr). This, in spite of the fact that they hated each other.

Actually, it sounds like the Democratic ticket in the election of 1996.

In 1800, the election ended up in an Electoral College tie, Jefferson and Burr each receiving 73 votes, thereby sending the whole business to the U.S. House.

This was before the ratification of the 12th Amendment, which was designed to make the choosing of a President and Vice President ever so much more tidy.

Anyway, after 36 ballots in the House, Jefferson was, indeed chosen to be President and Burr was elected Veep. But they still hated each other. Maybe more.

So much so, that for the Jeffersonian re-election campaign in 1804, the Republicans dumped Burr in favor of the Governor of New York whose name was - are you ready? - Clinton. Ok, it was George Clinton, but still.

Burr, who had previously served as a U.S. Senator from New York, decided to run for the open Governor's seat, but lost. He blamed his defeat on what he considered to be scurrilous attacks on him by Alexander Hamilton who had been at odds with Burr forever in both their political and their legal careers.

Burr demanded Hamilton retract his statements. Hamilton said he was working on it. Burr said "� or else" or the 1804 equivalent. Hamilton said "�ok, ok" or the 1804 equivalent. Burr, in the style of the day, challenged Hamilton to a duel.

They apparently couldn't book the date in New York City, so they traveled through the Lincoln Tunnel (the George Washington Bridge hadn't, of course, been built yet) which empties into Weehawken, New Jersey.

Whereupon Burr did a Tony Soprano on Hamilton.

Now, THAT's rough and tumble politics.

I bring all this up because of a statement by Julian Bond, chairman of the NAACP to their annual convention on Sunday. According to an AP piece by Deborah Kong, Bond said that the Bush Administration has "appeased the wretched appetites of the extreme right wing, and picked Cabinet officials whose devotion to the Confederacy is nearly canine in its uncritical affection."

Which does nothing to improve the tone in Washington OR Weehawken, but Bond said it in New Orleans so maybe it doesn't count.

When I read that, it sounded familiar so I went back to the Mullings archives and, sure enough, this from February 19, 2001:

That's not to say that everyone is hopping aboard the Bush Bandwagon. At a meeting of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, board member Julian Bond said that Bush, "selected nominees from the Taliban wing of American politics, appeased the wretched appetites of the extreme right wing and chose Cabinet officials whose devotion to the Confederacy is nearly canine in its uncritical affection."

Can you plagiarize yourself? Notwithstanding Mr. Bond didn't have the wit to write a new epithet, but recycled one that was five months old, it's a good thing old Aaron wasn't around to hear it.

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