John Porter East (May 5, 1931 – June 29, 1986) was a U.S. senator from North Carolina from 1981 until his suicide (induced by hypothroidism) in 1986, only two days after meeting with then Supreme Court nominee Antonin Scalia. A Republican, he was an ally of fellow North Carolina Senator and Republican Jesse Helms. Together, they opposed the creation of Martin Luther King Day. He earned a 100% rating every year from the American Conservative Union.[2] He was also a strong opponent of abortion and greatly influenced the late conservative political theorist Russell Kirk.[3] Prior to entering the Senate, he had been a professor at East Carolina University.
John Porter East was one of the first people to notice modern-day liberal bias present in the academia. In 1970, he said the following about campuses:
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“It is common knowledge that American college and university faculties tend to be overwhelmingly “liberal” in their political leanings. As noted sociologist Seymour Lipset has written, “Intellectuals, academics…in the United States tend as a group to be disproportionately on the left. They are either liberal Democrats or supporters of left-wing minorities.”[4]
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Earlier in 1968, he had said the following about the mail he had received:
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Underscoring this liberal-left dominance is…the material I receive as a professor of political science. Obviously, the senders, after obtaining lists of college and university faculties from various sources, mail out the material on the valid assumption that the recipients would be of a liberal-left persuasion.
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References
External links
- Profile at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
- Profile at Find a Grave
