Is her only qualification the label? The Imperious Leader thinks so


So much for unifying
I didn't really have time to check out Sonia Sotomayor's background.

I remember seeing a report where a White House official proclaimed that the Supreme Court nominee would have to be woman and Hispanic. At the time I thought it a little odd, no mention of judicial qualifications, just the labels of identity politics. I also thought it odd because that wasn't enough for one of Bush's nominees.

I was perfectly willing to admit I didn't know enough about Sotomayor. But then the criticisms started up.

Not of Sotomayor. And not by the Republicans.

No, these criticisms were by the Imperious Leader himself, President Barak Obama. According to him, we're not allowed to discuss Sotomayor's qualifications, but only her life story.

This was annoying. The immediate assumption is that if you are a "white" male (or even a "mostly white" male), you are incapable of the wisdom necessary to understand Obama's choice. Unless you are a member of an approved group, you can't relate unless your thinking is oh-so carefully guided by the enlightened Democrats.

This little tactic is awfully familiar. It fails the parity test for one thing. But under this assumption, the only thing that matters is someone's "racial" and ethnic background. It's as if someone is worried what will happen if someone else takes too close a look.

Perhaps the President believes that her only real qualification lies in identity politics.

Dare I say that this may go further yet?

Perhaps the President believes that the only reason he was elected was identity politics.

Intriguing.

I am so tired of labels being substituted for character. And I don't think the Imperious Leader should get to define the terms of the debate.

— NeoWayland

Posted: Mon - June 1, 2009 at 11:55 AM  Tag


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