***updates***

John Hawkins at Right Wing News writes “In Defense of Matt Sanchez.”

B. Daniel Blatt skewers leftist attackers and argues:

Matt Sanchez is a part of all that he has met. His past figures into the man he has become. But, people do have a right to their own private lives, to deal with their past mistakes — or merely just past experiences which no longer represent their present actions — in their own way. Once again, it seems that all too many are all too interested in the apparent hypocrisy of conservatives, more interested in defining us so that they may more readily dismiss our ideas. Without even considering what we have to say.

***

Well, this is an interesting development, to say the least. As I noted on Saturday, one of the honorees at CPAC was Matt Sanchez–a corporal in the Marine Corps Reserve and junior at Columbia University who spoke out about anti-war thugs on campus. He received the Jeane Kirkpatrick Academic Freedom Award and a standing ovation from the CPAC crowd at the Ronald Reagan Banquet. He has also posed with Ann Coulter and me, been published in the NYPost, and appeared on Fox News Channel’s O’Reilly Factor and Hannity and Colmes. There are now tawdry rumors about Sanchez’s past lighting up the left-wing blogs. Cpl. Sanchez says he will respond on his blog.

It’s only a matter of time before the MSM goes nuts with the story. Report on the everyday progress in Iraq? Forget it. Sex, homosexuals, and the GOP? Get ready for wall-to-wall coverage a la Foley, Gannon, and Haggard.

Should CPAC organizers be embarrassed if the rumors about his alleged porn star past are true? Well, yes. Next time, they should do more extensive background research before handing out an honor with Jeane Kirkpatrick’s name on it.

Does it take away from Sanchez’s actions and words in defense of the military at Columbia? Absolutely not.

I guess we’ll see who the real bigots–on both sides of the aisle–are now. I have a feeling Ann Coulter isn’t the only one who’ll be tossing around the f-word as the story develops.

And not just in the “schoolyard,” “sophomoric” kind of way.

***

An e-mail from a Columbia student…

Mrs. Malkin -

What I have to say isn’t especially relevant given the larger nature of the brewing controversy around Corporal Sanchez, but considering that you’re a rational voice that I respect I felt I should drop you a quick line. You have the ability to influence the nature of this debate in a way that I cannot, and given its current course I’d like to see some readjustment.

I’m a freshman at Columbia and I enrolled in the USMC PLC officer training program as soon as I got here. After Matt discovered that I was involved with the program he made it his personal mission to ensure that he closed some of the gaps between my (hopefully) future as a Marine officer and the lack of support offered by the fools here in Columbia’s administration. He has been in the gym with me, often three to four times a week, despite taking classes and working full time, offered his advice as a current Marine and opened up considerable opportunities for myself, including two appearance on FOX News. Simply put, he’s a great guy who goes the distance for anyone that asks and never asks for anything in return.

As for the award, the work he’s done on campus here deserves such recognition. As I look at it, these events are from a past that doesn’t resemble his present in any way whatsoever, and it wouldn’t be fair to consider ignoring his achievements because he made fairly bad judgments in the past. In addition, his work as finally amounted to more than mere agitation, and this week Columbia’s provost finally caved to the pressure and expressed a willingness to acquiesce to the demands of the veteran community on some issues. It’s a start and we can mostly thank Matt Sanchez for that.

Most all of our respected public figures have made mistakes, and apparently Matt is in that category. Still, I count him as a close and valuable friend and pray that this event won’t overshadow the great work he’s done.

As a disclaimer: I’m not a rabid lefty Columbia student, but a registered Republican and member of the NRA, so rest assured I’m not hammering any sort of gay rights agenda or championing pornography as a First Amendment right a la Larry Flint.

Regards,
Austin Byrd

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