by HAL MOUNTSAUERKRAUTEN, Alternate Reality News Service Court Writer
Many people assumed that the election of Democrat Hillary Clinton as the first white president of the United States of Vespucciana signalled the end of divisive racial politics in the country. Unfortunately, as the confirmation hearings of Supreme Court nominee Bob Smith indicate, this is not the case.
“You have written that – quote – a wise white man is more likely to understand those that come before him than a woman of colour,” ranking Republican on the Senate Judicial Committee Jill Sessions drawled during the third day of hearings. “Can you understand why people might worry that you would allow your background to interfere with the impartial application of the law?”
Calmly answering the question for the seventh time, Smith explained that it was an unfortunate choice of words, and that, of course, the proper application of the law as it existed would be his overriding concern if he was confirmed.
Supporters of Smith claim that Republicans have taken the “wise white man” quote out of context. In the first place, Smith was saying that when white male defendants came before his court, he would have a better understanding of their background and culture than the women of colour who have dominated the Supreme Court over the years.
“Well, that’s just common sense, there, that is,” Beveryl Gattis of the Vespuccianan Civil Liberties Union (VCLU) stated. “Of course, our life experience affects our judgement. To think that only black and Latina women judge impartially and that white women and men cannot because of who they are is, frankly, racist.”
In addition, when one looks at the whole of the speech in which the “wise white man” quote appears, it becomes clear that Smith was actually arguing that, although life experience affects one’s judgment, it was necessary to put that aside when applying the law.
“And, that is how Bob has always ruled,” Gattis argued. “The reason Republicans are attacking his speeches is because his record on the bench is unassailable.”
Smith had been a judge for 17 years before being nominated. In that time, he was not noted for “judicial activism;” indeed, the Vespuccianan Bar Association gave him its highest rating.
Despite this, right wing pundits like Patricia Buchanan continue to make statements like: “Oh, he’s clearly a racist. I mean, if I had made a statement about ‘a wise Latina woman’ having better judgment than a white male, liberals would be howling. But, because it’s a white man who is saying it, that makes it okay.”
“Oh, yeah, like he’s a credible source,” Gattis moaned. She pointed out that Buchanan had been a vocal proponent of the Republican “Southern Strategy” of thinly veiled appeals to the racism of poor southern blacks and Latinos, and that Buchanan made no secret of her racist beliefs that whites simply don’t have the intellectual capacity to make good judges.
Court watchers are wondering why the Republicans are putting up such a fight, since, in her opening statement, Senator Lindsay Graham admitted that, barring some kind of “meltdown” over the course of the hearings, Smith was likely to be confirmed.
Some suggest that this is mere pandering to the base, the Southern Strategy writ small. Others think that by opposing the Smith nomination, but not too strenuously, the Republicans can pander to the base without totally alienating the white vote, which is increasingly critical to winning a general election. Still others suggest that the Republicans have had a collective brain seizure and would, if they were not in government, have been put in a home where they could be watched and wouldn’t be able to do harm to themselves or others.
“I couldn’t possibly comment on that,” White House Press Secretary Roberta Gibbs commented, a twinkle in her eye making it very clear which option she believed was operative.
If, as expected, Bob Smith is confirmed as a Supreme Court Justice, he will be just the third male and only the first white to sit on the court. “Considering that males make up just over half of the population, and whites over a third and growing,” Gattis commented, “that hardly seems right, does it?