“In a nation built on slavery, white men propose denying the first black president his Constitutional right to name Supreme Court nominee.”
— New York Times editorial writer and essayist Brent Staples in a February 14 tweet, since deleted.
“After years of watching political opponents question the President’s birthplace and his faith, and hearing a member of Congress shout ‘You lie!’ at him from the House floor, some African-Americans saw the move by Senate Republicans as another attempt to deny the legitimacy of the country’s first black President....
“‘I guess many of them are using this in the strictest construction that Barack Obama’s serving three-fifths of a term or he’s three-fifths of a human being, so he doesn’t get to make this choice,” Mr. [Bakari] Sellers [a former state representative in South Carolina] said. ‘It’s infuriating.’”
— Maggie Haberman and Jonathan Martin in a February 18 front-page New York Timesstory.
“The conservative base has never accepted that a black Democrat could be a legitimately elected President, and after 7 years of having to live with a President the majority of white voters voted against, Republicans are going to use this [Scalia’s replacement] as a chance to throw a nationwide temper tantrum.”
— Salon.com’s Amanda Marcotte in a February 15 post.
“Anything he does, they go up against. They oppose the man, no matter what he does....It’s almost like they’re not being patriotic, it seems to me....And I have to say it — I know it’s not popular to say it — but his color has something to do with it.”
— Co-host Joy Behar on ABC’s The View, February 16.
— New York Times editorial writer and essayist Brent Staples in a February 14 tweet, since deleted.
“After years of watching political opponents question the President’s birthplace and his faith, and hearing a member of Congress shout ‘You lie!’ at him from the House floor, some African-Americans saw the move by Senate Republicans as another attempt to deny the legitimacy of the country’s first black President....
“‘I guess many of them are using this in the strictest construction that Barack Obama’s serving three-fifths of a term or he’s three-fifths of a human being, so he doesn’t get to make this choice,” Mr. [Bakari] Sellers [a former state representative in South Carolina] said. ‘It’s infuriating.’”
— Maggie Haberman and Jonathan Martin in a February 18 front-page New York Timesstory.
“The conservative base has never accepted that a black Democrat could be a legitimately elected President, and after 7 years of having to live with a President the majority of white voters voted against, Republicans are going to use this [Scalia’s replacement] as a chance to throw a nationwide temper tantrum.”
— Salon.com’s Amanda Marcotte in a February 15 post.
“Anything he does, they go up against. They oppose the man, no matter what he does....It’s almost like they’re not being patriotic, it seems to me....And I have to say it — I know it’s not popular to say it — but his color has something to do with it.”
— Co-host Joy Behar on ABC’s The View, February 16.
Scoffing at Scalia’s Judicial Approach
“The problem with originalism is that it, the document, the Constitution did not anticipate abortion, it did not anticipate the arrival of the iPhone, it did not anticipate the arrival of jet travel and many, many other topics, including police rights and pulling over a motorized vehicle, that we could not have anticipated.”
— Breaking news anchor Brian Williams via phone on MSNBC on February 13 an hour after Scalia’s death was announced.
— Breaking news anchor Brian Williams via phone on MSNBC on February 13 an hour after Scalia’s death was announced.