During the 2020 campaign, Joe Biden signaled support for a lot of far-left ideas and policies in an effort to appear relevant to members of his own party.
One of the most notable vows he made to satisfy the demands of progressives was that he would nominate a Black woman to sit on the Supreme Court if he got the chance.
Well, now it appears that Justice Stephen Breyer has presented Biden with the perfect opportunity.
The 83-year-old justice confirmed that he will be stepping down at the end of the current term.
That gives Biden a vacancy to fill while his party still has the slimmest of majorities in the Senate and can confirm the nominee without GOP support.
Of course, plenty of his critics are pointing out why they do not believe it is a good idea to pick a justice for a lifetime appointment based almost entirely on the candidate’s race and gender.
As Slate reported about conservative commentator Ben Shapiro and others:
It should be no surprise that once Trump left office, the right’s suspicion of all non-white-male nominees reemerged with full force. In since-deleted tweets, Shapiro preemptively declared that Biden’s nominee, whoever she is, will not be qualified. He asserted that the president would pick a “lesser black woman” on account of “latest intersectionality hierarchy,” adding that she “will always have an asterisk attached.” After critics (including one of us) pointed out the racism inherent in these presumptions, Shapiro’s allies leapt to his defense. It is the left that is racist, they whined, for taking the skin color of a nominee into account.
Plenty of other prominent conservatives offered similar opinions, including former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley:
Would be nice if Pres Biden chose a Supreme Court nominee who was best qualified without a race/gender litmus test. That’s what I did when I picked Tim Scott as Senator of South Carolina.
— Nikki Haley (@NikkiHaley) January 26, 2022
If Biden is limiting his search to Black women, many on the right say he should pick political commentator Candace Owens — and she seems to agree!
Am I really trending because America wants me to be the next Supreme Court justice?
What an honor!
— Candace Owens (@RealCandaceO) January 26, 2022
It would be my absolute honor to accept this nomination on behalf of the American people. I assure you I meet all the necessary qualifications as I am both black and female.
I look forward to establishing further communication with the Biden administration. https://t.co/4bHhWRwcNX— Candace Owens (@RealCandaceO) January 27, 2022
Tucker Carlson recently slammed Biden’s campaign promise in a Fox News segment:
I will appoint a Black woman to the Supreme Court. That was Biden’s promise. All right. But which Black woman exactly? Biden didn’t tell us. Biden didn’t mention the Supreme Court nominee’s legal qualifications or judicial philosophy or ability to perform one of the most important jobs in the country. He didn’t even tell us she was a nice person. All he said was she’s going to be Black and she’s going to be female, because to him, that’s all that mattered.
Enjoy some more from his rant about Biden’s preoccupation with race:
It seems as though Biden is going to stick to his promise to look at skin color and gender before any other qualifications.
As NBC News reported:
Among likely contenders are U.S. Circuit Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson of the Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia, a former Breyer law clerk; and Leondra Kruger, a justice on California’s Supreme Court.
Jackson, formerly a district court judge in Washington, was nominated by Biden to the U.S. Circuit Court and was confirmed by the Senate in mid-June on a 53-44 vote, including three Republicans. She succeeded Merrick Garland, who left the appeals court to become Biden’s attorney general.
Plenty of folks in Biden’s own party responded to the news of Breyer’s retirement by applying pressure on the White House:
Justice Breyer has led an exemplary & distinguished career in public service. I’m grateful to him for all that he has done for our country.
I support @POTUS’s pledge to nominate the first Black woman to the Supreme Court. The Court should reflect the diversity of our country.
— Senator Patty Murray (@PattyMurray) January 26, 2022
Do you believe a Supreme Court justice should be chosen based on factors like race and gender?
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