Published in the Philadelphia Public Record, May 2005 Someday—I hope it won’t be long—we will be talking about how, where, and when political activists associated with the Democratic Party revived first themselves and then their party. When we do, I would not be surprised if we point to the victory for advocates of public transit in Pennsylvania last years as one important step towards this revival. Continue reading
The withdrawal of the nomination of Lani Guinier to be assistant attorney general for civil rights is a sad reflection on the skills of the members of the White House staff who failed to either foresee or prepare for the onslaught against her. It is an even sadder reflection on the unprincipled opportunism and, in some cases, hypocrisy and demagoguery, of her opponents, who grossly misrepresented her record. The saddest part of the whole affair, however, is that we will not see the issues raised by the nomination of Professor Guinier debated in front of the Judiciary Committee of the Senate. Such a debate would have provided an extraordinary opportunity for public education on the principles of American politics. And it would, I think, have shown us that it is not Professor Guinier, but her opponents, whose arguments betray a striking misunderstanding of the constitutional, political and moral traditions of… Continue reading