Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse's office says beach club has had members of color, doesn't explain why he said they're still working on it; Updated

Apologies for one more post about Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, but after the partisan grilling he gave to Brett Kavanaugh, we’re loving every minute of it. As Twitchy reported, it was the New York Times’ Ken Vogel who reported that Whitehouse had been members for decades of an all-white private beach club. “It’s a long tradition in Rhode Island,” Whitehouse told GoLocalProv.com.

As Twitchy reported, the Washington Post is doing its part reporting on the story while noting it’s happening “amid questions about whether it is all-white.” Gotta get that fact-checker on it.

Now that the story has blown up, Vogel has an update for us from Whitehouse’s office, which says that the club has had and does have members of color.

UPDATE: @SenWhitehouse's staff says the beach club "has had & has members of color," & "has no such restrictive policy."

They didn't answer questions seeking specifics, nor why he said the club is "still working on" accepting people of color, "& I’m sorry it hasn't happened yet" https://t.co/YWWWwlRlTo

— Kenneth P. Vogel (@kenvogel) June 21, 2021

So why did he say the club was “still working on” integration and regretting that it “hasn’t happened yet?” And what was that line about tradition?

Also, the line about tradition is just astonishing. Any explanation about that?

— Evan Siegfried (@evansiegfried) June 21, 2021

SHELDON WHITEHOUSE's office also did not respond when asked when & why he transferred his shares in Bailey's Beach Club to his wife after saying he intended to quit his membership in 2006.

The club did not respond to a message seeking information about it membership & policies.

— Kenneth P. Vogel (@kenvogel) June 21, 2021

Huh. Hadn’t he promised to quit the club during his successful Senate campaign in 2006?

This club apparently uses member referrals to get new members. So Senator Whitehouse, why don't you nominate one of your black friends in Newport to join your club? If you don't have any black friends in Newport, maybe there's a bigger problem than the beach club.

— Dr. NotThatKindOfKaren (@kamcpherson1) June 21, 2021

There's a big difference between not allowing non-white people and just being all white.

So which is it?

Rhode Island is about 5% black. It wouldn't be very difficult at all to have all white membership.

— KSP (@SlickPropaganda) June 21, 2021

Rhode island is 20% POC. Does this club have more than 5 people in it?

— TY (@indiemusicfan4) June 21, 2021

We’d agree with the above; there’s a big difference between not having any members of color and prohibiting members of color. Still, as the Post reported, the questions come “amid questions about whether it is all-white,” not whether it’s whites-only. The media seem to have set the rules here.

He was shocked to hear this because they only have one drinking fountain!

— w00ba_g00ba (@w00ba_g00ba) June 21, 2021

Just more Democrat hypocrisy.

— Sandra Andresen (@fmfa94) June 21, 2021

Glenn Kessler’s probably on the phone trying to track down a black member for a fact-check interview.

* * *

Update:

This from Fox News’s Chad Pergram seems to confirm that the club does have black members; Whitehouse just doesn’t know any of them. And he won’t have a membership there, but his family members will?

A) From colleague Jason Donner. Dem RI Sen Whitehouse on beach club controversy: “The club's informed me that it does in fact have diversity of membership..I don’t spend a lot of time there so I couldn't tell you who the members are.”

— Chad Pergram (@ChadPergram) June 21, 2021

B) Whitehouse says he won’t have a mbrshp there “but my family members will” continue to have one

— Chad Pergram (@ChadPergram) June 21, 2021

Related:

‘Jewish, yes. Blacks … not really.’ Ken Vogel’s thread on the all-white club Dem. Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse belongs to a DAMNING eye-opener https://t.co/v97CGfZHuG

— Twitchy Team (@TwitchyTeam) June 21, 2021