Menendez Rips Bob Hugin For Alleged 'Anti-Gay, Anti-Woman' Past

U.S. Sen. Robert Menendez blasted his political opponent, Bob Hugin, about his alleged anti-woman, anti-gay past this week, saying that the Republican has a long history of fighting anti-discrimination policies and doesn’t deserve a free pass from voters in New Jersey.

It's been more than 25 years since Hugin, the GOP nominee who will challenge Menendez this fall, served as president of Princeton University’s exclusive Tiger Inn eating club. He says that he's a different person now. But are his past attempts to keep women and gay individuals out of the formerly all-male group an inspiring sign of a person’s ability to change… or a disturbing glimpse into “the real Bob Hugin," as Menendez alleges?

When a group of former undergraduate students won their lawsuit to force the club to go co-ed more than two decades ago, Hugin – who was in his late 30s and married for five years at the time – called it “politically correct fascism” and oversaw an unsuccessful effort to have the U.S. Supreme Court overturn the case. He also led a campus petition drive aimed at blocking the school from expanding its anti-discrimination policy to include gays and lesbians. (Read more below)

Hugin has since walked back his past stances on both issues, bringing the subject up himself during a roundtable discussion on women’s rights in the workplace on Thursday in Union County.

During the roundtable, Hugin said that everyone “evolves” over time.

“I view many things differently today than I did 25 years ago,” he attested. “The Tiger Inn becoming co-ed was a very positive development for the organization and has strengthened it on every level. The decision, made by the undergraduate members, to admit women back in the early 90’s was without question the right thing to do. Personally, I wish I had taken a leadership role in making it happen sooner.”

Hugin credited “fatherhood, leading a global company and the passage of time” as the motivation behind his new outlook on life.

“Personal growth should be seen as a strength, not a weakness,” Hugin said. “I am proud to say that my views on issues have evolved over the years. Forty years ago, discussion about gay marriage was nearly non-existent and women being the breadwinners in their homes was a rarity. Today, thankfully, both of those things have changed, and America is a better place for it. I couldn’t imagine living in a world where my daughter Hilary didn’t have the same opportunities as my sons.”

Hugin’s avowed new stance was lent credibility by one of the roundtable’s participants, former Republican State Senator Diane Allen, whose own struggle against gender bias inspired the namesake to the recently passed “Diane B. Allen Equal Pay Act” for equal pay in the workplace.

“I would be proud to call Bob Hugin my senator because I know he will do what’s right for constituents, men and women, as he has done what is right for families and employees for many years in the private sector,” Allen said.

• See related article: Phil Murphy Signs ‘Strongest Equal Pay Bill In US’ Into Law

However, Hugin’s alleged change of heart didn’t impress Menendez, whose campaign team recently stated that the Republican's time at Princeton University is a glimpse into “the real Bob Hugin: anti-women and anti-gay.”

On Friday, Menendez for Senate Campaign Chairman Michael Soliman said that it would be a mistake to excuse Hugin’s past comments as youthful naïveté.

“Bob Hugin was in his late 30s and married for five years at the time,” Soliman said. “Nothing about his disdain for women seems to have changed. Since then, Hugin has given hundreds of thousands to candidates who have fought to roll back women's rights, he supports extreme Supreme Court justices who would reverse Roe v. Wade, and he was a delegate for a presidential candidate who bragged about sexually assaulting women.”

Hugin’s stances on LGBT rights as a college student were also appalling, Menendez claimed in a press statement:

“While an undergrad at Princeton in 1976, Hugin led a campus petition drive aimed at blocking the school from expanding its anti-discrimination policy to include gays and lesbians after gay activists on campus tried to launch the Gay Alliance of Princeton and were victims of harassment and vandalism. When members of the Alliance hung banners in their dorm room windows, they encountered eggs, rocks and stink bombs, and intruders broke into the room of one of the activists and vandalized his property.”

A 1976 news article quotes Hugin’s opposition to the idea of an LGBT member of the famed Princeton eating club:

“According to Hugin, if a member of [the Tiger Inn eating club] was found to be gay, ‘he wouldn’t last long.’”

Steven Goldstein, founder of Garden State Equality, blasted Hugin for attempting to “slither out” from under the controversy.

“To call extending basic protections to gay students ‘controversial’ and to say that someone who is gay wouldn’t be welcome in your exclusive club, just goes to show you the kind of small-minded, loathsome man Bob Hugin is,” Goldstein said.

“This goes to the heart of his character,” Goldstein continued. “What kind of man watches as his fellow classmates are attacked, ridiculed and harassed, and then stands up for the attackers? What kind of man perpetuates stereotypes of hate and intolerance just to protect his good ol’ boys club? Bob Hugin is nothing but a bully and a thug.”

Hugin, a former big pharma executive, gained the Republican nomination for U.S. Senate in the June Primary Election. He faces the Democratic nominee, Menendez, who recently beat criminal corruption and bribery charges that threatened to derail his political career.

• See related article: Bob Menendez Wins Tougher-Than-Expected Race In NJ Primary

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Photo: Bob Hugin for Senate