The Wise Latina and the Munchkins on the Hill

I am so enjoying the Senate Judiciary Committee hearings with Judge Sonia Sotomayor. Mainly because it appears that the Republican Senators, the right-wing bloviators and even the MSM have all lost their minds.

They all have bought in to the bizarre, and intellectually dishonest idea that white male values and culture are the standard, the invisible norm against which all other genders, values and cultures are measured. So, a Puerto Rican, or African American, or Asian person, of either gender, and a woman of ANY background are all suspect until and unless they can prove their fidelity to the "norm". WTF?

If we want a quick and easy example of how nuts that is, we only have to think about the Supreme Court over the last 200+ years before women and minorities were allowed in. Does any thinking person believe we wouldn't have had better decisions (wiser decisions) if the court had not been so relentlessly lily-white and male? Come on! Although I guess I need to acknowledge here that Justice Thomas is maybe the worst thing to ever happen to the Supremes in its long history. Oh well. There's always an exception to the rule! Still, there are hundreds of African American men and women who could have broken that color bar with some intellectual distinction. Just not him.

But that truth about white male culture is the (white) elephant in the room that everyone tiptoes around. So we get to see Judge Sotomayor, who said a perfectly reasonable thing about the judgment of a wise Latina woman, backing away from her observation as hard and fast as she can. I'm sure her White House briefers schooled her well (that's their job, and HER job is to get the vote). But it always seems sad to me when people can't express the obvious truth, because it's politically dangerous to do so. What a culture of weenies we have become!

I'm hopeful, however, that new Senator Al Franken may change this part of Hill/media culture, as he seems to be in the habit of plain speech and pointing out the obvious. He showed us a little of that today, and it was really refreshing! I just hope he doesn't get corrupted by THAT culture into mealy-mouthed platitudes and Hill-speak.

When I was at the White House we used to watch with great amusement when new Members of Congress came to Washington. They almost all started out as normal human beings, with a sense of the noble purpose public service can be. But it takes shockingly little time for the culture to corrupt them. "Oh, Senator, you're SO smart!" "Oh, Congresswoman, you're the most gifted public servant we've ever worked with!" Pretty soon they start to believe it, and it's all downhill from there. As my former boss said, "Next thing you know we'll be asked to provide them with bearers to lift them up so their dainty feet don't have to touch the nasty ground ..." And that's not much of an exaggeration.

I look forward to Thursday's hearing!