Despite the fact that almost everyone on the planet is recognizing that the Supreme Court decisions on the Michigan Affirmative Action cases are a victory for Affirmative Action and racial preferences, the Insane Clown Posse (my name for the Atrios subsitutes) is upset. Let’s review the remarks about the ruling:
NAACP– Kweisi Mfume, president and CEO of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, said the court provided universities with a roadmap for constructing lawful affirmative action programs.
“The Michigan model now becomes the operative model for both graduate and undergraduate affirmative action programs,” he said in an interview.
Linda Chavez– In two split decisions, the Supreme Court today ruled that minority applicants may be given an edge when applying for admissions to universities, but limited how much a factor race can play in the selection of students.
The NY Times– Justices preserved affirmative action in university admissions by a narrow margin but with a forceful endorsement of the role of racial diversity on campus.
Even the National Review thinks this was a victory for Affirmative Action:
President Bush’s statement on the Supreme Court’s Michigan rulings is a major letdown: “I applaud the Supreme Court for recognizing the value of diversity on our Nation’s campuses.” Oh, please. There is precious little to “applaud” here. More Bush: “Today’s decisions seek a careful balance between the goal of campus diversity and the fundamental principle of equal treatment under the law.” Perhaps the rulings do “seek” such a thing, but they do not in fact achieve it. Not even close. Color-coded admissions will be in our future for a long time.
Interesting. Seems like a win, right? Not to the mouth-breathing Insane Clown Posse:
Yes, the Supremes upheld race-based criteria in college admissions in Grutter v. Bollinger, but just as with the relentless whittling away at Roe v. Wade, this is a strategy of death by a thousand cuts. With Gratz, Rehnquist continues his life’s work hamstringing minority advancement, and validates all over again Chris Rock’s mordant observation: “There ain’t a white person in this room who would trade places with me–and I’m rich.”
No wonder they are the fringe- they can’t even claim victory when it is announced for them on the front page of every newspaper and the lead story on every television broadcast. Not surprising from people whose observations on political policy are based upon stand-up comedy.
Eye Opener
Sir,
Concur yr analysis. (They can’t even accept victory…)
And at the same time, some of us in the REAL WORLD reflect that we want to be accepted for our ability to DO what we’re talking about. Seems to us like that Speech/Action/Being-with-Congruency thing is a BIG part of Integrity.
So some of us oppose the practical applications of race-based quotas but support the acknowledgement of race as A FACTOR among other factors… Then, when we share a diploma or a job with people of color, we ALL KNOW we earned it, the job, the diploma, the position… because it really rankles to work one’s proverbial butt off to get (e.g.) a diploma, just to have people sneer at it dismissively, saying: Oh, you just got that because you’re a woman; a homo; a Jap; a white-male; one of (them).
What a Cannes of Wurms.
Small Eye Opener, at best… :(
PG
Do we all think that UMich undergrad really is going to keep AA going?
If UMich undergrad has enough money to hire the staff necessary to apply the law school’s AA policy to undergraduate admissions — and that’s not just a lot of people, it’s people who are more than lowly clerks adding up points — perhaps they could scrounge up the cash to serve the minority students whom they admit.
HH
I would like to say that I would like to trade places with Chris Rock. Just let me know when you’d like to do it, Chris.
SARAH SPAINHOWARD
I LOVE INSANE CLOWN POSSE AND I LOVE THE RINGMASTER CD AND THE GREAT MILINKO THEY ARE THE SHIT!!!