Hunting for Justices in some of the wrong places

I’ve love to see another female justice on the Supreme Court. A gay justice would be cool, too. And those pasty white guys could probably use a Hispanic, Black, or Asian person to liven up those group pictures. Heck, why not a Muslim or a Buddhist or an Atheist?

But while being a minority or less-empowered member of an ethnic, religious, or sexual group certainly would certainly some interesting perspective to the court, I’d much rather see a pasty white guy who’s a good jurist than someone chosen primarily for their demographic.

So, for example, I’ve been following Kathleen Sullivan as a potential candidate for the bench for some time, if for no other reason than I’d love to be able to talk about how I once fetched ice tea for and was dubbed “chivalrous” by a Supreme Court justice. 

It is perhaps a sign of my general cluelessness on such matters, but I had no idea that Sullivan was gay (it didn’t come up in our luncheon conversation, and it hasn’t been mentioned in the news articles I’ve read about her, though she is apparently out). Which makes the push by some gay organizations for her nomination on that basis part of the landscape in the justice nomination.

I won’t buy into the buzz word of “identity politics” that the Right likes to throw around (usually followed by “gone wild”). As I said, Sullivan would bring interesting perspectives to the court based on her gender, her orientation, and, heck, all her other life experiences. On the other hand, I wouldn’t want Ellen DeGeneris as a nominee, even if she’s also female and gay, because what we want are people who can serve well as SCOTUS justices, not just people who have the “right” check boxes ticked off next to their demographies.

Fortunately, Sullivan’s credentials for the job are pretty darned solid (she was also strongly in the running for Soliciter General). Groups supporting her should be pushing her nomination n that basis, not on some argument of diversity (which is both obvious and incendiary). If she’s picked, I’ve no doubt that there are folks on the Right who will deride the choice as being a sop to the Teh Evil Liberal Gayz, but it would be nice if there weren’t a lot of people supporting her primarily on that basis to back their claim.

Of course, I’m a pasty white guy, so what do I know?