This week, word of Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer’s retirement was leaked to the public. The question of who will fill the vacancy continues to stir public interest, while also giving rise to controversy over Biden’s campaign promise to nominate the first ever Black woman onto the court. While Biden is yet to announce a nominee, there has been both resistance and support as well as discord over issues such as supposed affirmative action and the politicization of the Supreme Court. One of Biden’s main goals is to push the nomination through before the potential overturning of power to Republicans in the Senate. While the Supreme Court would remain a conservative majority, successfully replacing Breyer would not only preserve the number of liberal Justices, it would also be a historic moment in our nation’s history.
One of the public’s favorites is nominee Michelle Childs, a Southern Carolina judge who was nominated earlier in the year for the Court of Appeals D.C. Circuit. Childs’ confirmation was postponed due to her being considered for the Supreme Court alongside a handful of other judges. In an ABC News Poll, 73% of participants believed that Biden should consider all potential nominees, not just black women. However, there are still many that demand Biden to follow through on his promise.
Republican Senator Roger Wicker of Mississippi was quick to express his opinion, claiming that whoever Biden nominated would be a result of affirmative action: "The irony is that the Supreme Court is at the very same time hearing cases about this sort of affirmative racial discrimination while adding someone who is the beneficiary of this sort of quota".
At the time of his statement, Wicker was unaware of who Biden had in mind for nominees. Let it be noted that when Trump nominated Amy Coney Barrett, Wicker expressed support at the idea of a woman becoming Justice. Additionally, Senator Dick Durbin pointed out that this is not the first time a President has stated that they are looking for a specific candidate to nominate (in this case women). That being said, it’s clear that Wicker’s speculative claims about the illegitimacy of Biden’s nominee are mostly, if not completely oriented around the factor of race, hinting at the potential presence of racial prejudice in the Senate.
Several other Senators such as Majority Whip James Clyburn and even Republican Lindsey Graham challenged Wicker’s remarks. While Graham is from Childs’ state and Clyburn lobbied Biden to nominate her, it adds to Childs’ reputability.
Graham: "She has wide support in our state. She's considered to be a fair-minded, highly gifted jurist. She is one of the most decent people I've ever met."
Senator Susan Collins similarly supports Biden’s intentions of carrying out his campaign promise, however, she brings up a good point. Collins claims that by promising to nominate a black woman during his presidential campaign, Biden politicized the Court nomination process which is in opposition to the institution’s image. While other President’s have promised to nominate specific candidates, Biden is the first to do so before he was elected which supports Collins statement. To me, this implies that he was using it as a political leverage to garner more support and votes (especially if you take into account that the majority of Black voters are Democrats).
As the deadline for the announcement of the Supreme Court nominee nears, debates will continue as supporters and opposition express their views on the process and impact of Biden’s nomination.
1.) Do you think Roger Wicker's claim of affirmative action is valid? Why or why not?
2.) What do you make of the people opposing the nomination of a black woman for Supreme Court? Do you think it's because they genuinely believe it's unfair and that there are more qualified candidates? Or is it something do to with race/racism?
3.) Based on what we've learned in class about the Supreme Court so far, do you agree that Collins is accurately describing the effects of Biden's nomination on the SCOTUS image? How might this impact future nominations?
4.) What is your personal opinion on nominating a black woman as Justice?
Sources:
https://apnews.com/article/stephen-breyer-supreme-court-retirement2f9c1f5da824e3b1ef25964205131fff
https://www.cnn.com/2022/01/30/politics/lindsey-graham-j-michelle-childs-supreme-court/index.html
https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2022/01/poll-majority-biden-all-nominees-supreme-court.html
1 comment:
If we define affirmative action as favoring individuals belonging to previously discriminated against groups, then this could be seen as affirmative action. However, I take issue with this being seen as a negative, as Wicker does. Claims of affirmative action are often used to discredit someone by implying they are unqualified and undeserving. I don’t think this is valid, as people who benefit from affirmative action ARE qualified and deserving, but discrimination may bar them from the opportunities they deserve, and the purpose of affirmative action is to combat this discrimination and try to even the playing field. Wicker also describes affirmative action as “affirmative racial discrimination,” which is concerning because it implies “reverse racism,” a very problematic and simply wrong concept.
There are many qualified candidates for the Supreme Court, and it is difficult to tell who is the MOST qualified and who will be the best Justice. I do think that racism plays a part in this, especially because of the fact that Wicker, and others, support a woman’s nomination but raise concern at a Black woman’s nomination. Why weren’t Republicans questioning if there were more qualified male candidates instead of ACB? Wasn’t she also a “beneficiary of this sort of quota?”
I think that Collins has a valid point that Biden may be using his promise of this nomination as a way to gain support before the election. However, I absolutely support him nominating a Black woman and I think that making our government more representative, fair, and equal is an important goal and that the first Black woman Justice will be advancing this goal.
Post a Comment