The wise man, even when he holds his tongue, says more than the fool when he speaks.
Yiddish Proverb
This month, four notable events made the news: (1) Stephen Breyer announced his retirement from the high court, (2) Joe Biden announced the vacancy would go to a black woman, (3) Ilya Shapiro tweeted that might mean a ”lesser black woman,” and (4) Whoopi Goldberg said the Holocaust was not about race. As Barack Obama might put it, these four items illustrate an ailing political left (amoral, shady and mindless).
Since LBJ’s civil-rights legislation and War on Poverty, the Democrat Party has proclaimed its humanity until it’s now taken for granted. Maybe it was the “hanging chad” election, but real liberals turned into LINOS (liberal in name only), entitled to their way because they’re just that right on the issues. It’s a recipe for really bad behavior.
The Good: America’s Jewish Community
Where’s the humanity in the 2-year campaign to engineer a progressive Supreme Court; publicly pressuring sickly Ruth Bader-Ginsburg to hang on and haranguing hearty Breyer to hang ’em up. After the amoral hatchet job they did on Brett Kavanaugh, Democrats deserve a conservative wolf in liberal sheep’s clothing (David Souter in reverse). Just saying.
The view here is Breyer is a better Democrat than the folks giving him the bum rush. Colorado Law’s Paul Campos: “He should announce his retirement immediately.” GQ’s Jay Willis: “bullying Stephen Breyer is good, actually.” Really? Because Democrat Clinton gave Justice Breyer a lifetime appointment in 1994. The “good liberal” took one for the team, but don’t expect The Squad to thank him for giving Democrats time to fill the vacancy.
I’ll bet Ilhan Omar is thrilled the Court has one less Jewish seat, a tradition begun in 1916 with Louis Brandeis. I was surprised no Jewish organizations opposed Biden’s “black woman” pledge, so I sought reactions from three Jewish friends. Not one felt identity mattered as much as political lean (each glad ”too liberal” RBG was gone). Imagine Omar’s reaction if the Muslim seat was pledged to an apostate – not pretty.
The Bad: Biden’s Quid Pro Quo With Clyburn
On January 27, the President promised his Supreme Court nominee would “be the first Black woman ever nominated to the United States Supreme Court. It’s long overdue, in my view.” Within days, ABC News was out with an Ipsos poll showing 75% of America saying Biden should “consider all possible nominees” rather than “only nominees who are Black women” (including 54% of Democrats). Alas, I’m not in the majority.
I believe Biden can find a qualified black women, know it’s a US president’s purview to nominate whomever he wants, and remember candidate Reagan saying it’s “time for a woman to sit among our highest jurists.” So, let’s not forget the BIGGER ISSUE here: Joe Biden made the “first black woman” pledge to James in Clyburn to deny Bernie Sanders (yet) another win before Super Tuesday’s 15 primaries. The precedent is as anti-democracy as possible.
Don’t think the Biden campaign will be the last in desperate need of a small-state primary win – or that Clyburn will be the last King Maker in spite of being elected to the House by only 197,000 votes (out of 154,000,000 registered voters in the USA). After Sanders won mostly white Iowa, New Hampshire and Nevada, Biden went low: “99.9 percent – that’s the percentage of African American voters who have not yet had a chance to vote in America.”
Yes, it worked and Biden stopped Sanders, but isn’t this over-the-top politicization of the Court? What’s next – promise a “Mormon seat” to win Utah or a “Cuban seat” to win Florida?
The Ugly: Cancel Culture on Campus
Shortly after Biden pledged to fill Breyer’s seat with a black woman, Ilya Shapiro tweeted: Objectively best pick for Biden is Sri Srinivasan…solid progressive…first Asian (Indian) American…alas doesn’t fit into latest intersectionality hierarchy so we’ll get a lesser black woman…because Biden said he’s only considering black women for SCOTUS.
Turns out Georgetown’s law school had recently hired Shapiro, a constitutional law scholar at the Cato Institute, to run its Center for the Constitution. On cue, the school’s Black Law Students Association reacted to his “lesser black woman” comment by demanding his firing with a 1,000-signature petition. On cue, Georgetown put Shapiro “on leave” pending an investigation. Liberals in a circular firing squad: that never happens, does it?
If you’re keeping score at home, an elite university suspended its “constitutional scholar” for expressing an opinion. A bunch of “Catholic” administrators suspected a “Jewish” employee of white supremacy. A group of “black” law students ignored a tweet’s advocacy for a SPECIFIC qualified non-white justice and its broader point. Who knew “cancelling” was this much fun?
By the way, Shapiro is a noted libertarian – and if Ran Paul has taught us anything, it’s that libertarians often stumble making too fine a point about liberty.
The Very Ugly: Whoopi Gets Busted
Perhaps nobody stumbled as much as Whoopi Goldberg, who was suspended by ABC for fumbling Holocaust facts – proof that two wrongs don’t make a right. The women on The View were ranting about a ban of the graphic Holocaust novel Maus, when Goldberg opined: “Let’s be truthful, the Holocaust isn’t about race, it’s not. It’s about man’s inhumanity to man, that’s what it’s about. These are two groups of white people.”
How fitting that Jewish comedian Bill Maher did her a solid: “Whoopi says stupid s— on a regular basis. As much as I totally disagree with her crazy statement, she shouldn’t get a timeout!” He’s not kidding, because she’s a font of crazy:
- In 2004, she was dropped by SlimFast for crude language about a sitting president. “We should keep Bush where he belongs, not in the White House,” while gesturing toward her genital area.
- In 2006, she defended Roman Polanski’s sexual abuse of a 13-year-old girl in the 70’s: “I know it wasn’t rape-rape. It was something else, a different kind of society, we see things differently.”
- In 2007, she defended Michael Vick after he pled guilty to hosting dogfights: “He’s from the South, from the Deep South. This is part of his cultural upbringing. For a lot of people, dogs are sport. This is not questioned.”
I thought comic idiocy was the purpose of The View; a roundtable of mad-liberal woman ripping on Christians, Republicans, Southerners, and white men in order to entertain stay-at-home Democrats. I don’t think Caryn Elaine Johnson (real name) is anti-Semitic. I think she crosses the line to be funny and is outrageous (choosing “Whoopi” and “Goldberg”) to be famous. Watching her mea culpa on The Late Show, I felt pathos.
With host Stephen Colbert as father confessor, I saw a 66-year-old black woman struggle to find the words to defend her life, not quite selling the intellectual nuance she claimed. Her handlers erred by not leading with “I was wrong” or “I don’t know the facts.” She could have said how it feels to be on the receiving end of “racial bias” allegations. After arguing that others get “cancelled” – – how does it feel, Whoopi?
It’s Time to Pick Stature Over Status
Identity activism, such as suspending Ilya Shapiro, is ubiquitous today, because the political left cares more about the status of voters than the stature of citizens; awarding admission, employment, and medical care by identity status. Voters everywhere, according to many polls, think that’s the wrong vision for America. The conservative alternative is as simple as a question.
Where would America be without the stature of its great contributors; the entrepreneurs, employees, EMS volunteers, patriots, and tax-payers that drive the economy and provide for the common good? A great question, but don’t expect the political left to care any less about identity status. As the events above remind us, ideological absolutism and identity activism are still with us.
