Democratic Senator Criticized for Membership to Allegedly Discriminatory Beach Club

Democratic Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse received criticism this week for defending his membership to an exclusive Rhode Island Beach club that some claim have discriminatory policies against people of color. In a Friday interview with local news site GoLocal Providence, Whitehouse was asked if club had admitted any minorities since 2017, when GoLocal first posed the question. “I think the people who are running the place are still working on that and I’m sorry it hasn't happened yet," Whitehouse replied. “It's a long tradition in Rhode Island and there are many of them and I think we just need to work our way through the issues." GoLocal also reported that Whitehouse pledged to leave the club in 2006 when he ran for the Senate. A spokesperson for the senator said Monday that the beach club has no "restrictive policy” surrounding race or ethnicity. In 2003 the New York Times described Bailey's Beach Club, also known as Spouting Rock Beach Association, as a place for America's “ruling class," with members such as the Vanderbilt family and the Astor family. 

Some on the left accused Whitehouse of hypocrisy for advocating for racial equality in the Senate, yet belonging to a purportedly discriminatory club; many reports from left- and center-rated outlets highlighted the claim that the club doesn't allow minorities. Some right-rated outlets claimed that Whitehouse would be criticized much more harshly if he were a Republican instead of a Democrat.