Usually, the panel section of a black-tie awards dinner is the least lively part of the evening. Honorees praise and agree with each other, soundtracked by the clinks of forks as guests cautiously push salad around their plates. Not so at RealClear’s third Samizdat Awards, AKA the Sammies, which took place at the Breakers in Palm Beach Wednesday.

Things started off sedately, with Turning Point USA’s Andrew Kolvet talking about Charlie Kirk, on whose behalf he received the Samizdat Prize. Next, Irish comedy writer Graham Linehan discussed the repercussions he’d faced in Britain for his trans-critical views, for which he garnered sympathy from the room’s guests, who largely trended right-of-center.

Then it was Alan Dershowitz’s turn. “One thing I wanna do is congratulate this organization for giving the two of us an award, because I couldn’t disagree more about everything that was just said about transgender. I am completely in favor of recognizing transgender rights, and acknowledging if people want to be a woman or a man, they can be that. I don’t believe God bestowed biological destiny on anybody,” Dershowitz said, as audience members started to boo. “Fine, boo me, but you gave me an award for my free speech and I’m gonna exercise my free speech!” The crowd then erupted into applause.

The audience’s resolve had been tested earlier during the opening remarks from RealClear’s publisher David DesRosiers. “We need to make free speech and the free exercise without government interference a shared bipartisan political value and common defense. Whatever you think of Don Lemon,” DesRosiers said, pausing to allow a heckle. “He was an embedded journalist and he should be treated as such. The rest of the folks in his party, that he was with, don’t have the same protection. And I think Professor Dershowitz would agree with me… Don Lemon doesn’t........

© The Spectator