Friday, June 29, 2007
The Editors Are D-U-M-B
The Washington Post editorial page decries Chief Justice Roberts and the right wing majority for yesterday's ruling to dismantle parts of Brown vs Board of Education.
Assigning pupils to schools even in part on the basis of race is not a pleasant or desirable approach; it certainly shouldn't be the tactic of first resort. But the harm to white students here cannot legitimately be compared to the harm to black schoolchildren that animated the court in Brown. Justice Kennedy's concurring opinion correctly took the four-justice plurality to task for its glib assertion, in the opinion written by Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr., that the "way to stop discrimination on the basis of race is to stop discriminating on the basis of race." As Justice Kennedy noted, "Fifty years of experience since Brown. . . should teach us that the problem before us defies so easy a solution."
Sadly, this same page warned of the dangers of putting Alito and Roberts on the court. These strong concerns were ignored. When will the American people and their elected representatives in congress take the Post's sage advice seriously?
And Judge Alito is superbly qualified. His record on the bench is that of a thoughtful conservative, not a raging ideologue. He pays careful attention to the record and doesn't reach for the political outcomes he desires.
Whoops. They were wrong about Alito. But, they were prophetic about "glib" John Roberts.
JOHN G. ROBERTS JR. should be confirmed as chief justice of the United States. He is overwhelmingly well-qualified, possesses an unusually keen legal mind and practices a collegiality of the type an effective chief justice must have. He shows every sign of commitment to restraint and impartiality.
Never mind.
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