Wednesday, Democratic Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer opposed the nomination of A. Marvin Quattlebaum Jr. as a South Carolina federal district judge. The nominee was confirmed by a 69-28 vote.
Schumer's objection, cloaked as complaining about "the overall lack of diversity in President Trump's (judicial) selections": Quattlebaum is white. Any senator opposing a non-white nominee based on skin color would have received saturation media coverage within minutes, but the establishment press is virtually ignoring Schumer's remarks.
Schumer's statement is here.
Fox News's Tucker Carlson discussed Schumer's histrionics Thursday:
Partial transcript (beginning at 0:28):
(On the Senate floor Wednesday)
CHUCK SCHUMER: The nomination of Marvin Quattlebaum speaks to the overall lack of diversity in President Trump's selections for the federal judiciary. Mr. Quattlebaum replaces not one, but two scuttled Obama nominees who were African-American.
(snip)
The Trump administration, like in so many other areas, is taking a giant step backward — this time, when it comes to the diversity of their nominations. I'll be voting "no" on the Quattlebaum nomination.
(back to studio)
CARLSON: So he shouldn't have the job because he's the wrong color?
You thought this principle was settled 50 years ago, but on the left it isn't, and never has been.
Treating people differently just because of their skin color is wrong, and reducing people to members of their race is wrong.
It's a cul de sac, by the way. It leads to the worst, most divisive, and in the end most violent kind of politics.
Chuck Schumer is apparently a throwback to the Democrats of the segregation era. Sadly, he's not the only one.
The Senator's race-based objection is facile.
The fact is that one of the two blacks Obama nominated deserved to be rejected, while the other was replaced by — wait for it — an Obama nominee whom Trump renominated, and who is now serving in the District.
The details:
- Obama nominated Alison Renee Lee, who is black, in 2013. South Carolina's senators held her nomination because she reduced the bail for a burglary suspect "who subsequently was released and then later charged in the July 1 slaying of 33-year-old woman." Obama withdrew the nomination.
- Obama nominated Donald W. Beatty, who is black (and is now Chief Justice of South Carolina's Supreme Court), in February 2016. His nomination expired on January 3, 2017.
- Finally, Obama nominated Donald C. Coggins Jr., who is white, in February 2016. His nomination also expired in January. But President Trump renominated him in August. He was confirmed, unanimously, in November.
One of the seats involved was thus filled with someone Obama originally nominated.
Schumer's race-based objection to Quattlebaum is hypocritical. If the two "scuttled" black nominees were the real problem, he should have opposed Coggins in November — and didn't.
As of 7 p.m. Friday, the New York Times had no story on Schumer's statement. Though a Fox story on the nomination gives the Associated Press partial credit, both APNews.com and AP's raw feed had no related story.
Cross-posted at BizzyBlog.com.
