Republican Hypocrisy On Supreme-Court Choice
Posted: 2/23/22
By Vincent Scala
In the 200-plus years of U.S. history, there have been 115 Supreme Court Justices appointed to the Court. Of the 115, in a nation that is more than half female, there have been a grand total of 5 women who have served—that is 4 percent.
The insane brouhaha over President Biden’s decision to commit to an African-American woman (how dare he say such a thing; after all, we only want the most qualified nominee?) would be comical if it weren’t so deplorable, ignorant, racist and stupid.
They're Political Jobs
Beyond that, it ignores the history of the country and the reality of politics. What is more “political” than an appointment by the President of someone who will serve for life on the high court?
The nominees aren’t selected by lot or by a blue-ribbon commission. Presidents appoint and Senates confirm or reject. Doesn’t get more political than that, does it?
The historical context is pretty simple. In 1980, Ronald Reagan committed to appointing the first woman to the court, thereby immediately excluding all men from the equation. Can anyone find any criticism of this obviously sensible decision? In 1991, George Herbert Walker Bush had to replace the first African American, Thurgood Marshall. He looked all over the country and the “most-qualified” was Clarence Thomas, also an African- American? Of course not. Clarence Thomas is an African-American conservative and he got the gig.
Expect a Top Candidate
Let’s please stop the nonsense in this country. We have never had an African-American woman on the court. Biden will not be selecting a cashier from Stop-and-Shop or a pilates instructor from the local sports club. He will select a highly educated, highly credentialed woman who attended a top college, top law school, clerked for a Justice, served on the Federal appellate court and all the other “credentials” deemed necessary in this day and age for a Justice.
The attacks on this decision should be seen for what they are. They are idiotic political theater from a cohort that sees even a tiny effort at progress as threatening the white male position in society.
