SCOTUS Vacancy

Quote: ams288

Thoughts and prayers to any member who actually reads this entire post.

Quote: Mission146

I'm going to agree with AZDuffman on the optic, but disagree with those (and I don't know if AZDuffman is one) who would suggest that Biden is passing over the, "Most qualified candidate."

Other than that which is specified by the Constitution, which isn't a whole lot, I don't know what the, 'Qualifications,' for SCOTUS are, but they seem to mostly just be having a clean judicial record at a federal level and the POTUS wanting to nominate you. With that, I'm not convinced that there is anyone out there who is vastly, 'More qualified,' than any other person, but maybe I'm surrounded by advanced judicial Constitutional scholars everywhere I go and I just don't know it.

The optic is pretty poor if he said, in advance, that he was looking for a black woman to nominate. I don't know if that's true, of course, but it probably is because he telegraphed that VPOTUS must be a woman.

Anyway, telegraphing it in advance lends the opportunity to make the argument and also unfairly sullies the reputation of that justice, in the eyes of some Americans, because it does create an opportunity to argue that the person was only nominated due to race/gender, even though many of the people making said complaint couldn't spell, "Judicial," on the first try.

My opinion is that Biden should not have telegraphed it and just quietly nominated a black woman. Again, I'm certain there are plenty who are qualified. If he had done that and you heard people say, "He only nominated her because she's a black woman!", then you could easily criticize those people, but any and all criticisms along those lines are gone when Biden himself tells you those are two of the criteria required to get the nomination.

Quote: rxwine

Multiple perspectives matter. For example, not that native Americans would have joined our early government or even been allowed, there certainly were lots of disadvantages as most existed outside the system.

Using your own position, it would be completely fair to have the court filled with 12 white liberals if they were the most highly qualified. Because we would only use the highly qualified.

That would make me happy. But that's the problem with your position.

Look at an international situation going on right how. Putin has said "Ukraine is not even a real country" You think being qualified is the only thing to worry about there?

Quote: AZDuffman

"Qualified" would be like any other job interview. For example, dealer school qualifies you to a locals or break-in joint but not to The Strip. A year of dealing will probably let you be dual-rate but not yet the pit boss. A few years of pit boss probably gets you to shift manager. At each level HR will have "qualifications" but the best dealer might not be made for bossing the pit and thus stays a dealer.

The Constitution does not spell out qualifications for SCOTUS but really the person needs to have worked their way up the federal court system. Besides that the selection committee is going to want to see several years of published legal opinion in journals. Plus a clean personal life. They have probably been groomed along the way to some extent.

If he had not telegraphed it people might or might not still think it. Many would as his history shows skin color is a qualification to him. Any black female will not live that down and it is Biden's fault. But all affirmative action works this way. Until AA is ended every black will have to keep proving themself as not hired for skin color.

Quote: Mission146

My main point is Asians and those of Asian descent, 5.7% of the population, by the way...should be royally ticked off.

Quote: terapined

I'm not ticked off
Far from it
Not even close
Where does this crap come from????????????????
I'm thrilled he is nominating a Black female
It's about time
The qualification is to be a good judge
There is no best judge
It's not a competition

Quote: Mission146

Well, I'll be...not ticked off...but mildly irritated on your behalf that if race-based decisions are being made that we can't get an Asian-American on SCOTUS if there has never been one. I don't think it should be about race either way, but if making it about race, I think it should be an Asian because there are not and have never been any Asians on SCOTUS.

Quote: Mission146

My main point is Asians and those of Asian descent, 5.7% of the population, by the way...should be royally ticked off. As long as we are basing nominations, at least in part, on race and/or gender, then it's probably time to get an Asian on SCOTUS before a black woman specifically. We already have women, one a minority, and a black man, but never an Asian.