Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid on Thursday accused Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia of supporting racist ideas during oral arguments Wednesday, even though Scalia’s remarks appeared to be a summary of ideas offered by others who submitted briefs in the case.
“It’s stunning that a man of his intellect … these ideas that he pronounced yesterday are racist in application, if not intent,” Reid said on the Senate floor.
“I don’t know about his intent,” Reid added. “But it is deeply disturbing to hear a Supreme Court justice endorse racist ideas from the bench, the nation’s highest court.”
While Scalia’s remarks were quickly criticized by Democrats, a transcript of the arguments shows that Scalia was citing briefs submitted to the court.
“There are… there are those who contend that it does not benefit African-Americans to… to get them into the University of Texas where they do not do well, as opposed to having them go to a less-advanced school, a less… a slower-track school where they do well,” Scalia said.
“One of… one of the briefs pointed out that… that most of the… most of the black scientists in this country don’t come from schools like the University of Texas,” he added. “They come from lesser schools where they do not feel that they’re… that they’re being pushed ahead in… in classes that are too… too fast for them.”
Scalia was later quoted as saying, “I don’t think it stands to reason that it’s a good thing for the University of Texas to admit as many blacks as possible.”
Bloomberg reported that Scalia appeared to be referring to a brief submitted by two opponents of racial preferences who sit on the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights. That report also noted that Justice Clarence Thomas, the court’s only black justice, has made similar arguments.
Still, Reid took Scalia’s comments as an “endorsement” of “racist theories.”
“His endorsement of racist theories has frightening ramifications, not the least of which is to undermine the academic achievements of Americans, African Americans especially,” Reid said.
Reid also lumped Scalia in with other Republicans like Donald Trump, and said the GOP’s platform “has a lot of hate in it.”
“The only difference between the ideas endorsed by Trump and Scalia is that Scalia has a robe and a lifetime appointment,” Reid said.
“Ideas like this don’t belong on the Internet, let alone in the mouths of national figures,” he added. “The idea that African American students are somehow inherently intellectually inferior to other students is despicable.”
