The Agony of Identity Politics
Governor Brown has nominated for the state Supreme Court Goodwin Liu -- a proud victim of a Republican filibuster, ultra-liberal, Asian-American Berkeley professor.
And for all that, Brown is being called a racist. Why? Because Liu would fill the vacancy left by the retirement of Justice Carlos R. Moreno, the only Latino on the court. By the impeccable logic of identity politics, Moreno's seat on the Court must be held by a Latino in perpetuity.
This controversy puts Liu in an awkward position -- or it would, if he were intellectually honest. As the great Ed Whelan points out at NRO, Liu has advocated quotas and other forms of affirmative action, not merely to promote diversity, but to remedy "societal discrimination." In fact, he's for quotas, no matter how long they take and no matter how many innocent people end up as collateral damage. Liu contends that even innocent people are "responsible" for remedying past injustices. Thus, Liu asks: "What are we willing to give up to make things right? Because it's gonna require us to give up something, whether it is the seat at Harvard, the seat at Princeton." .... Or that seat on the bench?
Anybody think that Liu will "give up" his nomination to preserve the Latino quota on the California Supreme Court?
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Comments :
Jul '10
Re: The Agony of Identity Politics
Moonbeam's chickens have come home to roost.
Jun '10
Re: The Agony of Identity Politics
Quotas for thee, but not for me.
Sep '10
Re: The Agony of Identity Politics
This escapade would be hilarious were it not so very, very sad. Either way this appointment will have a real impact on the people of California. And it's hard to envision that impact being a good one.
California needs to be broken up, posthaste...
Dec '10
Re: The Agony of Identity Politics
It's projection. It always is with liberals and race. Liu must feel uncomfortable around certain minorities, assumes everyone else must as well, so he acts upon it.
But to answer your question, "we" give up things, "he" doesn't.
Re: The Agony of Identity Politics
One of the most interesting comments I saw was from the president of the Mexican-American bar association, who not only insisted that Brown should nominate a Latino, but specified that it must be a Latino from Southern California. Is the north/south divide so bitter in California?
Apr '11
Re: The Agony of Identity Politics
We need to consult the magic PC hierarchy to figure out how to proceed.
Dec '10
Re: The Agony of Identity Politics
Shouldn't non-lawyers be represented on the court?
Sep '10
Re: The Agony of Identity Politics
It sounds good on its face, but Justice Scalia, for instance, has posed a series of arguments - compelling, by my accounting - regarding the notion that justices should have legal backgrounds. Check out his interview by Peter Robinson on Uncommon Knowledge (which should be required viewing / listening for anyone able to see / hear) for a good intro.
Mar '11
Re: The Agony of Identity Politics
Forrest Cox:
California needs to be broken up, posthaste... · Jul 29 at 11:31am
That would just give them more senators. At this point, I'm more in favor of telling Mexico "Here, it's yours, you just have to agree to take our nutbags too".
Jul '10
Re: The Agony of Identity Politics
Douglas
Forrest Cox:
California needs to be broken up, posthaste... · Jul 29 at 11:31am
That would just give them more senators. At this point, I'm more in favor of telling Mexico "Here, it's yours, you just have to agree to take our nutbags too". · Jul 29 at 12:22pm
Build a border wall first.
Apr '11
Re: The Agony of Identity Politics
The Left is absolutely obsessed with "race." It's pathetic beyond words.
May '11
Re: The Agony of Identity Politics
Asians are the wild card in the race card deck. Too many of them qualifying to go to elite universities you can have quotas limiting their numbers. Yet under the right circumstances they can be played as an oppressed minority. In poker parlance they can both qualify as the high and the low in the race card deck. I wish liberals would come out with a manual that specifies when one can discriminate against Asians and when one can't. Do they have some kind of (re) education camp for this?
Sep '10
Re: The Agony of Identity Politics
Well, sort of. Some of the other Cali residents here may disagree, but my experience is that NorCal progressives are more elitist than their southern comrades, to be sure (heck, so are the NorCal conservatives :).
But California exists as it does today largely due to the issue of water rights. NorCal has it. SoCal needs it. And so the drama plays out, and everyone throws their hands up and says "it's just too damned hard." And then another decade passes...
The real issue is that much of Southern California feels, rightly, that it has ceded local sovereignty to an unaccountable ruling class that listens to the folks in Berkeley far more than it listens to the folks in Barstow. When the gravy train of other people's money runs out, there's no more grease, then there's friction, then smoke, then...
Sep '10
Re: The Agony of Identity Politics
Douglas
Forrest Cox:
California needs to be broken up, posthaste... · Jul 29 at 11:31am
That would just give them more senators. At this point, I'm more in favor of telling Mexico "Here, it's yours, you just have to agree to take our nutbags too". · Jul 29 at 12:22pm
On the whole California is very, very much a net positive to the Union. I cannot overstate how important it is to look at the state as the sum of its regional components. It could really be at least three states.
California's problem is that its constitution is an abject disaster that prevents anything remotely approaching sound governance - perhaps the best real-world illustration of why direct democracy is a horrible idea and even worse in practice.
It will also take a revolution of sorts to do away with the thing.
Aug '10
Re: The Agony of Identity Politics
Adam Freedman
One of the most interesting comments I saw was from the president of the Mexican-American bar association, who not only insisted that Brown should nominate a Latino, but specified that it must be a Latino from Southern California. Is the north/south divide so bitter in California? · Jul 29 at 11:37am
That is really interesting. I think you will find the following comparison fitting, albeit unfortunately so.
One place where the north/south divide among Latinos in California is not only bitter, but deadly, is the California prison system.
Southern inmates, Surenos deride Northern inmates as Farmeros. Gangs are organized first by race, then by region. They collect taxes on criminal activity both within and without the prisons.
They are well organized, cohesive, and relentless in their efforts to take control of any source of revenue held by another (sound familiar?). The cycle of feuding and violence among them is unending.
I do not see much difference in kind between race-based identity politics and race-based prison gang violence.
In fact the similarities might be very interesting to consider.
Edited on Jul 29, 2011 at 8:02pm