As a black man let me say that there is not much that I and Patrick J Buchanan agree on. Although I admire his forthright unvarnished demeanor, I think that his world view is based on the baseless premises that white male Americans are gods real chosen people.
With that said I do consider Uncle Pat to be an evil genius. I think his oratorical skills are up there with Obama and Kennedy (yes I said it). He makes vile bigoted statements sound common sense. You only have to look at his populist campaigns of the 1990’s and the sheer emotions he evoked in his supporters and detractors to recognize that politically, Patrick J Buchanan is no joke and that’s why I feel democrats have to take what he says seriously.
So when Buchanan says play the race card with Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor to reconnect with lost Republicans I assume that this strategy is a politically potent one. Truth be told, the White House have not done very well in framing the conversation on Sotomayor’s nomination because it was transparent in its execution. They needed a woman because of the already testosterone dominated make up of the court and they needed to sure up a growing and influential base in the Latino community.
The Democratic White House played politics with one of their most important duties to the country.
Now back to Pat. Watching his appearance on The Rachel Maddow Show, although you can see the hatred he has for Sotomajor seeping out of his ears like smoke coming out of an angry cartoon bull you had to say that he made some valid points. Shouldn’t picking a Supreme Court Judge be devoid of politics of any kind and just be about who is the best for the job?
The point I am trying to make is that I don’t believe that Sonia Sotomajor would have been picked for the Court if she was a white/black/Asian/Middle-Eastern Man – she got picked because she fit the right political criteria to suit President Obama and the democrats.
Now don’t get me wrong, I think that affirmative action is and has been a valuable initiative to make sure that racial prejudice never dominates hiring patterns in the work place. Whether Sotomajor is an ‘affirmative action baby’ is irrelevant to me, the fact is that she excelled in her educational life, I life she might have not been able to have because of the colour of her skin or because of her financial situation.
But her brilliance in the class-room has not been fully realised on the bench. I haven’t read a single opinion or a review of her decisions that has made me think that she is an outstanding judge. Again don’t get me wrong, she seems very competent, but is competent enough for the highest judiciary seat in the United States of America?
This is why I think that Uncle Pat’s racially motivated political attack will ring true to the all important middle of American politics. Although this woman’s grades in the class room are exemplary, she just doesn’t have enough about her to be a United States Supreme Court judge.
I am sure Obama could have found a Latino who is better qualified or a woman who is better qualified, but this whole nomination stinks of politicking and America deserves better than that.
