Politico chief political columnist Roger Simon [1],
a longtime correspondent for the Baltimore Sun and U.S. News &
World Report, simply cannot believe it's controversial for Sonia
Sotomayor to claim a "wise Latina woman with the richness of her
experiences" makes a wiser judical decision than a presumably
privileged white male. "I have read those words over and over, and I
still fail to see what is wrong with them."
To Simon, that's apparently as true as two and two make four. He
complained that the White House tried to apologize for it as a poor
choice of words:
Why? I don't get it. Why was her word choice poor if "she was simply saying that her life experiences" gave her "information about the struggles and hardships" of people?
We all know why. If you are not white, you have to be careful what you say. You cannot hint that you may actually know more than white people.
In the world of Simon, America is still a country of white
supremacists who cannot imagine the concept that minorities are
inherently smarter than whites because of their hardships. He is angry
that Newt Gingrich and Pat Buchanan are only upset at reverse racism -
which even if it were true, it's a little odd for Simon to lament,
since he's only mad at white racism, not racism by minorities. His
column concluded this way:
Still, she might have gotten through the confirmation process easily if she had not made that gaffe back in 2001. And I know what she said was a gaffe because I know Kinsley's Law, as formulated by journalist Michael Kinsley: A gaffe in Washington is when someone tells the truth.
Sotomayor told the truth in 2001, and now she must pay for it. She must "walk back" her remarks. She must choose new words.
As a justice of the Supreme Court, she will be able to speak freely and, I hope, with understanding, knowledge and courage.
But as for now, she knows what she must do. She must do what nonwhite people have been taught to do in this country: She must watch her mouth.
- Tim Graham [2] is Director of Media Analysis at the Media Research Center.