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F R I D A Y , J U L Y 2 9 , 2 0 0 5Supreme Court Stealth Nominee Roberts: AnUpdateby Michael in New York on
7/29/2005 02:00:00 PMLoads to discuss about John Roberts.USA Today says quite simply that Roberts was working for theAmerican people, not the President, and that the recordsshould be made available.The White House appears far too eager to keep Roberts'record shrouded at precisely the moment when the veilshould be rising.The Dems -- led by Sen. Kennedy -- get serious and make a formalrequest for documents on 20 issues that Roberts dealt with in thefirst Bush administration. Kennedy also points out that the more welearn about Roberts, the more extreme his record reveals itself to be.Sen. Chuck Schumer gets a profile as he girds himself for thequestioning of Roberts, probably the most important task he'll facethis year. Schumer and Kennedy were two who showed no confidencein Roberts when he last came before the Senate for confirmation.Here's an article on the questionnaire sent to Roberts. Prettyfascinating what was put in and what left out. In: have you beenarrested or convicted of a crime? Out: have you ever hired a clerkwho was a woman or a minority?And the most important article details his views based on the filesthat have already been released. It doesn't look good for peopleopposed to sex discrimination, supportive of immigrants' rights, theseparation of church-state, etc. And I was really annoyed by thiscomment on Affirmative Action.Mr. Roberts held that affirmative action programs werebound to fail because they required "the recruiting ofinadequately prepared candidates.""Under our view of the law," he wrote in 1981, "it is notenough to say that blacks and women have beenhistorically discriminated against as groups and aretherefore entitled to special preferences."Actually, only a racist or misogynist should think that women andblacks were denied jobs throughout our country's history becausethey were "inadequately prepared." Certainly no programencouraging the employment of women or blacks or other groupsdenied a fair chance to succeed would depend on scrounging up theunqualified. Affirmative action was about ending that discriminationand making sure that the people who WERE qualified got a chance.People who were never allowed to walk in the door and thereforecould never gain the experience to move up even higher based ontheir skills got placed on an equal footing with everyone else. DoesRoberts think the symbolically affirmative action hiring of Sandra DayO'Connor was wrong or simply that she was the first woman in thehistory of this country who was qualified to be a Supreme Courtjustice?It's not about helping people with shortcomings -- it's about endingthe prejudice that held down people who could have performed justas well or better as everyone else. It's about giving them the chanceto prove themselves and succeed on merit rather than be held backbecause of the color of their skin or their gender. It's not a "specialpreference" to pull down barriers that hold people back. It's the"special preference" for white males that affirmative action wasdesigned to end.
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7/29/2005 02:00:00 PMLoads to discuss about John Roberts.USA Today says quite simply that Roberts was working for theAmerican people, not the President, and that the recordsshould be made available.The White House appears far too eager to keep Roberts'record shrouded at precisely the moment when the veilshould be rising.The Dems -- led by Sen. Kennedy -- get serious and make a formalrequest for documents on 20 issues that Roberts dealt with in thefirst Bush administration. Kennedy also points out that the more welearn about Roberts, the more extreme his record reveals itself to be.Sen. Chuck Schumer gets a profile as he girds himself for thequestioning of Roberts, probably the most important task he'll facethis year. Schumer and Kennedy were two who showed no confidencein Roberts when he last came before the Senate for confirmation.Here's an article on the questionnaire sent to Roberts. Prettyfascinating what was put in and what left out. In: have you beenarrested or convicted of a crime? Out: have you ever hired a clerkwho was a woman or a minority?And the most important article details his views based on the filesthat have already been released. It doesn't look good for peopleopposed to sex discrimination, supportive of immigrants' rights, theseparation of church-state, etc. And I was really annoyed by thiscomment on Affirmative Action.Mr. Roberts held that affirmative action programs werebound to fail because they required "the recruiting ofinadequately prepared candidates.""Under our view of the law," he wrote in 1981, "it is notenough to say that blacks and women have beenhistorically discriminated against as groups and aretherefore entitled to special preferences."Actually, only a racist or misogynist should think that women andblacks were denied jobs throughout our country's history becausethey were "inadequately prepared." Certainly no programencouraging the employment of women or blacks or other groupsdenied a fair chance to succeed would depend on scrounging up theunqualified. Affirmative action was about ending that discriminationand making sure that the people who WERE qualified got a chance.People who were never allowed to walk in the door and thereforecould never gain the experience to move up even higher based ontheir skills got placed on an equal footing with everyone else. DoesRoberts think the symbolically affirmative action hiring of Sandra DayO'Connor was wrong or simply that she was the first woman in thehistory of this country who was qualified to be a Supreme Courtjustice?It's not about helping people with shortcomings -- it's about endingthe prejudice that held down people who could have performed justas well or better as everyone else. It's about giving them the chanceto prove themselves and succeed on merit rather than be held backbecause of the color of their skin or their gender. It's not a "specialpreference" to pull down barriers that hold people back. It's the"special preference" for white males that affirmative action wasdesigned to end.
EschatonPretty Much - I think this encapsulates nicely ourmodern media environment.1 hour ago
HuffPost PoliticsHuckabee's Huck Pac In Turmoil With StaffTurnover, Mounting Debts - Former Arkansas Gov.Mike Huckabee's political action committee, HuckPac, is undergoing a "restructuring," ExecutiveDirector Sarah Huckabee said Wednesday....2 hours ago
Ben SmithGoing small - My story tonight: President BarackObama came alive about 50 minutes intoWednesday night’s news conference – whensomebo2 hours ago
FiredoglakeLate Late Night FDL: What Eclipse? - A new videofrom Fatoumata Diawara, and and oldie from Bob.2 hours ago
Daily KosOpen Thread and Diary Rescue - *Today, srkp23(pulling a double shift), ybruti, taylormattd,ItsJessMe and vcmvo2 combed through hundredsof diaries to find this powerful list. Today's...3 hours agoJ O H N ' S P H OT O S
Show AllA M E R I C A B L O G T V
Next100.comFeedback - Ads by Google
Next 6AMERICAblog News| A great nation deserves the truth: Supre...http://www.americablog.com/2005/07/supreme-court-stealth-n...
1 of 57/23/09 3:58 AM
Visit ourAMERICAblog TV site.see all 322 videos >I collect with
vodpod
In honor of SenatorDeMint
For the GOPers, healthcare is politics. They just
Traditional media has todebunk the birthers
One small step...
The right-wing media, thevoices of the GOP, inAMERICAblog News| A great nation deserves the truth: Supre...http://www.americablog.com/2005/07/supreme-court-stealth-n...
2 of 57/23/09 3:58 AM
The TreatmentObama Has a Grown-UpTalk With America(Gulp)3 hours agoEzra KleinTab Dump8 hours agoWonk RoomSen. Byron Dorgan:The ‘Trade’ InCap-And-Trade ‘MakesNo Sense To Me’9 hours agoHealth BeatTruth Squad: WallStreet Journal HealthCare Editorial Wrong onthe Facts . . .10 hours agoDaily DoseProviders Endorse 'Payfor Value' ProposalsG AY P O L I T I C S
Visit our new gay politicssection, AMERICAblog Gay.F E E D S
Blog RSS
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Next100.comAds by GoogleTop AdAdvertise in this spot.H E A LT H C A R ER E F O R MAMERICAblog News| A great nation deserves the truth: Supre...http://www.americablog.com/2005/07/supreme-court-stealth-n...
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S E A R C H
AMERICAblog
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SearchS E N D U S T I P S &C O M M E N T Samericablog@starpower.netB L O G A R C H I V E
Blog ArchiveS I T E S W E L I K EAir America RadioAlan Colmes' blogAri Melber (The Nation)Ben SmithBicycleMark's blog &podcastBilericoBradBlogBring It OnCarrie FisherCrooks and LiarsDailyKosDan Savage's "Slog"Daou ReportDemocratic UndergroundEschatonEzra KleinFire Dog LakeFiveThirtyEight.comFreeway BloggerThe Gavel (SpeakerPelosi's blog)Good As YouGlenn GreenwaldHoly Bullies and HeadlessMonstersHuffington PostHullabaloo (Digby)Jack and Jill PoliticsJed ReportJesus' GeneralKenneth in the 212Margaret and HelenMatthew GrossMedia MattersMike Signorile's "The Gist"MudflatsMyDDOpen LeftPlum LinePolitical Punch (JakeTapper)Political WirePolitics 1Pop SurfingProgressive Blog DigestQueers UnitedRawStoryRex WocknerRude PunditSmirking ChimpTalk LeftTappedTaylor MarshThink ProgressTowleRoadVetVoice.comWashington NoteWayneBesen.comWonketteWorth Repeating
N E W S L I N K SUSWashington PostNYTAP PoliticsReuters PoliticsRasmussen PollsTimeNewsweekRoll CallThe HillABCNews
P L E A S E S U P P O RTA M E R I C A B L O GOne-time donation$
Recurring monthlydonation$
Donations are nottax-deductible.L A B E L S
Select a labelL A S T 1 0 0 V I S I T O R SRecent Visitors
A B O U TA M E R I C A B L O GWhy AMERICAblog?Because a great nationdeserves the truth.What issues do youcover?US politics overall with aparticular focus on theObama Administration, theradical right, and civilrights.Who are you?John AravosisEditorWashington, DCJoe SudbayDeputy EditorWashington, DCChris RyanAssociate EditorParis, FranceRobert ArenaContributing EditorBaltimore, MarylandJacki SchechnerContributing EditorWashington, DCAMERICAblog News| A great nation deserves the truth: Supre...http://www.americablog.com/2005/07/supreme-court-stealth-n...
4 of 57/23/09 3:58 AM
© 2009 - John Aravosis | Design maintenance by Jason RosenbaumSend me your tips: americablog@starpower.netAMERICAblog News| A great nation deserves the truth: Supre...http://www.americablog.com/2005/07/supreme-court-stealth-n...
5 of 57/23/09 3:58 AM