Paul Mirengoff at Power Line writes about commemorative rites for the late Justice Ginsburg at the Supreme Court. Some of the 150 law clerks she'd hired over the years showed up as "honorary pallbearers." Christian Mitchell, Illinois’ Deputy Governor and a Black man, Tweeted that none of those present were Black.
Mirengoff alleges in her whole 27 year career on the Supreme Court, Ginsburg only ever hired one Black law clerk. And she hired none during the prior 13 years on the circuit court. He excuses her as follows:
However, the lack of black clerks in Ginsburg’s chambers should not, without more [evidence], be viewed as indicating a blind spot or racism.
Ginsburg’s only “sins” were color blindness, merit hiring, and skepticism about the wonders of diversity.
But he concludes:
It would have been nice, though, if Ginsburg had backed merit-based selections and color blindness, and been less impressed by the diversity-imperative, in cases involving other institutions.
The technical term for Ginsburg’s behavior is "hypocrisy," defined as "feigning to ... believe what one does not." That behavior is best explained by Robert Conquest's first law of politics: "Everyone is conservative about what he knows best." What she knew best was the courts, other institutions she cut less slack.
