Democrats Blast Rubio For Event at Harlan Crow’s Highland Park Home/Museum: Much Ado About History?

photos by Danny Piassick

Now I have heard it all: Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, the chairwoman of the Democratic National Committee, asked Florida Sen. Marco Rubio to cancel a presidential fundraiser for Tuesday in Dallas — last night — that was planned at the home of Harlan Crow and his wife, Kathy, on Preston Road.

Harlan Crow, as we know, has a veritable museum in his Preston Road home because he is a huge collector of historical memorabilia.  It’s actually a great gift to have this in North Texas. Among his collection: statutes of Stalin and Lenin and a signed copy of Mein Kampf . He also has Third Reich dinnerware and a few paintings by Adolf Hitler, one of the most fascinating political characters in the history of the world, albeit probably the sickest. Crow’s collection consists of thousands of documents, manuscripts and works of art, from an Abraham Lincoln syllogism about the evils of slavery and a copy of Poor Richard’s Almanac and letter written in 1493 by Christopher Columbus. His collection also includes paintings by Renoir, Monet, Winston Churchill, Hitler and Dwight D. Eisenhower, as well as sculpture likenesses of Churchill and Margaret Thatcher. The Harlan Crow library is one of the most historically rich private libraries in the world. 

“Holding an event in a house featuring the artwork and signed autobiography of a man who dedicated his life to extinguishing the Jewish people is the height of insensitivity and indifference. There’s really no excuse for such a gross act of disrespect. Mr. Rubio, who by the way, represents a sizable Jewish population in our home state of Florida, should cancel this tasteless fundraiser,” Wasserman Schultz said.

photos by Dan Piassick

photos by Danny Piassick

Wasserman Schultz also said Rubio was “adding insult to injury” by holding the fundraiser on the eve of Yom Kippur.

The Rubio campaign declined to comment. Allison Moore, a spokesperson for the RNC called the flap a “false controversy.”

“Rather than manufacture a false controversy over a collection of historic memorabilia that includes a statue of Margaret Thatcher and effects belonging to Abraham Lincoln, Debbie Wasserman Schultz should have opposed the weak Clinton-Obama Iran deal that puts Israel’s safety in jeopardy,” Moore said in an emailed statement.

I’m impressed that Rubio took the high road. I think the Wasserman Schultz comments were absurd. Even though Hitler, like many historical figures and fanatics, was despicable, collecting history that reminds us of heinous crimes of the past serves a purpose in our society. Last year, Harlan Crow opened his famous library to the public for the Park Cities Historic and Preservation Society’s home tour. He also spoke at the 3rd Annual Distinguished Speaker Series luncheon on the architectural features and Historical collections in his library, complete with slide show.