Left-leaning university to host dinner at GOP club

Long derided by some Republicans as a bastion of liberal American elitism, Harvard University will host a dinner Wednesday night in, of all places, the National Republican Club of Capitol Hill.

The dinner is being hosted by the Harvard Business School Club of Washington, D.C., but the invitation has been extended to include all D.C.-based Harvard grads. The invitation makes no mention of the club’s political affiliation, instead referring to it by its nickname, The Capitol Hill Club, and describing it only as “an elegant private club primarily serving congressmen, senators, government officials and their guests.”

E-mail inquiries to the president, secretary, membership coordinator and events coordinator of the Harvard Business School Club of Washington were not returned.

The invitation also specifies that for the cost of $45 for Harvard Club members and their guests (non-members must pay more), attendees will be treated to a meal of “filet minon” [sic], followed by a lecture from a guy who represents one of liberals’ favorite Republican stereotypes: a former GOP congressman-turned-corporate lobbyist.

According to the invitation, former Rep. Bill Gradison (R-Ohio) will talk to the group about the implications for business of the midterm elections. Gradison served in the House from 1975 until 1993, when he resigned to take a lobbying job at the Health Insurance Association of America. Former Rep. Rob Portman (R-Ohio), who will soon be sworn in to the Senate, won Gradison’s seat in a special election. 

---