The Female Clarence Thomas?

Once again, white Democrats and their very harmonious choir of black supporters are clearing their throats and sharpening their rhetoric to undermine the professional integrity of another black judge, Janice Brown, who has been appointed – by yet another President Bush (George W) – to be the first black woman on the Federal DC Circuit Court.

What is ironic about this round of “high tech lynching”, however, is that the Democratic star who will be tightening the noose is none other than Senator Robert Byrd of West Virginia – a former Kleagle (recruiter) of the Ku Klux Klan.

Last week, Senator Byrd got cheers from fellow Democrats and jeers from Republicans when he accused supporters of Judge Brown of acting like Nazis and defiling the Constitution in their defense of her right to be confirmed. But, can you imagine the furor all over America if an ex-KKK leader amongst the ranks of Republicans stood on the floor of the U.S. Senate and insulted Democrats in this fashion? The hypocrisy here alone should be sufficient to make Democrats swallow their tongues.

Sen. Robert Byrd, a reformed KKK member, vows to oppose Judge Brown’s nomination because he fears she might rule against the civil rights of black Americans

Meanwhile, lost in the avalanche of attention to Byrd’s inflammatory rhetoric is the substantial merit of the judicial nominee he’s trying to lynch:

In addition to serving as Deputy Attorney General of California (1979-87) and Deputy Secretary and General Counsel, California Business, Transportation and Housing Agency (1987-89), Judge Brown also served on the Third District Court of Appeal and as an Associate Justice of the California Supreme Court (1996 to present.

Recall for a moment the public spectacle that surrounded Senate hearings on the appointment of Clarence Thomas to the U.S. Supreme Court by the first President Bush in 1991. Now, consider that that same all-white male Senatorial inquisition is now setting its sights on a black female; indeed, a woman more accomplished and worthy of sympathy than even Anita Hill.

Moreover, take note that the charge against this black judge is not that she’s hopelessly unqualified or a sexual pervert. Instead, her critics (most notably the NAACP and NOW – white feminists) are up in arms because they disagree with her decisions on political issues like abortion and gay rights.

As it happens, I also disagree with Judge Brown on these divisive issues but I agree with her on many black economic empowerment policies; just as I had profound disagreements and similar agreements with Clarence Thomas at the time of his nomination. (Think of these two black Americans as descendants of our controversial but indisputably honorable forefather, Booker T. Washington.) Nevertheless, I would be loath to object to the appointment of any qualified black American to the federal bench or, indeed, the U.S. Supreme court based solely on my views on one or two polarizing political issues.

But, since her black critics maintain that Race Matters more than any political issue in America, it is patently hypocritical for them to cite political issues to deny Judge Brown’s appointment. Regrettably, however, black politicians have often chosen political expediency over race principles.

One need only reflect on their damning silence when Democratic President Bill Clinton abandoned his Justice Department appointee, Lani Guinier – a supremely qualified black liberal professor and close friend – because it became politically expedient to do so after white Republicans smeared her character in the manner that white Democrats are now doing to Judge Brown.

What matters here is that black political leaders acquiesced or actively participated in the exploitation of both a black female judge (with whom they disagreed politically) and a black female professor (with whom they could not agree more politically). Clearly, this begs the question: Just what are the principles of our black leaders on matters of race?

The shame here is even more insidious, however. Because black leaders seem inclined to swallow wholesale the white Democratic political agenda without any regard for the constituency they purport to represent. After all, the little dark secret among black Americans is that the vast majority of them agree with Judge Janice Brown on almost all of these issues: they are most decidedly anti-abortion and anti-gay rights!

Moreover, black leaders have joined white Democrats in impugning Judge Brown’s racial bona fides because she dares to question the effectiveness of many federal programs that were implemented a half Century ago to alleviate poverty and improve education among poor blacks. Yet, her judicial skepticism about these programs seems justified – given that poverty and education among poor blacks in America have, in fact, worsened since their implementation.

Unfortunately, it is clear that opposition to Judge Brown’s appointment is far more political than judicial. And, what seems to matter to black leaders more than any matter of race is the political (and economic) clout they derive from their mute endorsement of the white Democratic political agenda.

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