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President Biden hasn’t yet chosen his nominee to replace Stephen Breyer on the Supreme Court, but already any criticism is being ruled off-limits by the progressive auditors of political debate. Witness the assault on Ilya Shapiro, a legal commentator, for daring to challenge Mr. Biden’s pledge to choose his nominee first and foremost on the basis of gender and race.
Mr. Biden pledged during the 2020 South Carolina primary campaign to select a black woman for the Court, as a way to win the support of influential Rep. James Clyburn. The gambit worked. Mr. Clyburn endorsed, Mr. Biden won in the Palmetto State, and he went on to defeat Donald Trump.
The President reiterated his black woman pledge this week, and he was criticized by many, including us, for putting identity politics above qualifications. Mr. Shapiro, a scholar at the Cato Institute, took to Twitter with his commentary on Wednesday.
“Objectively best pick for Biden is Sri Srinivasan, who is solid prog & v smart. Even has identity politics benefit of being first Asian (Indian) American,” Mr. Shapiro wrote. Mr. Srinivasan is the Chief Judge of the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals. “But alas doesn’t fit into the latest intersectionality hierarchy so we’ll get lesser black woman,” Mr. Shapiro added.