September 23, 2005, 10:57 a.m.
Cut the “No Boys Allowed” Crap
The president should appoint a qualified judge of his choosing to the Supreme Court — male or female.

It all went downhill after women got the right to vote.

Soon there were bras burning. Before long a "for women" mantra would become more pernicious than "for the children." There would be a glass ceiling and 75 cents on the dollar nonsense. The Supreme Court would find fatal (culturally and literally) penumbras to protect their (our) reproductive freedom. And gender quotas would be added to the Constitution.

Oh wait. That last thing didn't actually happen. But you could have fooled me. The way Beltway types talk these days, you'd think there were such a mandate.

In case you're worried: I'm (kinda) kidding about the suffrage thing. (Though if it would be the only guard against Senators DiFi and Hill and Boxer in the Senate, I'd definitely flirt with the idea.) But I tell you: I've been livid ever since I heard Kansas Republican senator Sam Brownback say on Fox News, some weeks ago now, that President Bush should appoint a woman to fill the second Supreme Court vacancy of his administration. Even Brownback, who should be one of the sensible ones, was buying the silly conventional wisdom.

There is no good reason that this next pick (or any subsequent one) has to comply with anyone's identity-politics rules. The real rules are that the president is president and can pick who he wants. He needs to pick the most qualified man — or woman — for the job.

But it can be a man.

What's perhaps most frustrating about the conventional wisdom that the president needs to pick a woman — or a minority — is the disingenuousness of it on the Left and the naïveté on the Right.

No one seriously believes that any woman would satisfy the Dianne Feinsteins of the world. Sure, a chick pick for the Court might be able to talk to the "lone woman" on the Senate Judiciary Committee as a woman, a mother, a daughter, a sister... blech... But let's be honest: A Janice Rogers Brown or a Priscilla Owen wouldn't count. They wouldn't be woman enough. They'd be considered self-hating women. It's easy to know this in advance, considering we've been there before.

Barbara Boxer considers Priscilla Owen, for instance, "frightening." We learned this when Owen was up for the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals (where she now — finally — sits). Janice Rogers Brown got a "despicable" rating from Ted Kennedy during her lower-court drama. (Look who's talking... I know.)

The same goes for a minority nominee. I need only say the name Miguel "Not Hispanic Enough" Estrada. And, oh, by the way: Remember the high-tech lynching?

Conveniently — as if to squelch any illusions well-intentioned friends may have — Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader "Please Don't Leave Me Alone with These Men" Ginsburg confirmed the reality of the Left's woman thing. In a speech to the New York City Bar Association on Thursday she spoke straight: "any woman will not do." Justice Ginsburg said: "some women... might be appointed who would not advance human rights or women's rights." Message: Mr. President, Judges Priscilla Owen, Janice Rogers Brown, and nearly anyone on the president's list will not do. In the end, you see, the president's critics are less girl crazy than Left crazy — committed to abortion on demand, legislating from the Left from the bench, etc.

Any other read is foolhardy.

I have little doubt the president gets this. Which is why I half expect him to, in fact, nominate a Mike Luttig type (a.k.a. another white guy) — because he knows he can and should nominate just whomever he deems the right choice. No need to play identity games.

Identity politics is a dangerous thing. It's all about the soft bigotry of low expectations. For the sake of having female role models on the Court — or whatever your "No Boys Allowed" reasoning or goal is — you say, A woman is not going to make it on her own. She won't rise to the top. She can't compete with the guys.It's unfair to all involved.

Silly people were mad when the president nominated John Roberts for the Supreme Court, who is, in case you didn't notice, a man. And offers no minority-group points. They'll be mad if the president ignores conventional wisdom and does his own thing with a guy again. But let them sob and rant, because they're going to be mad anyway. Anyone who thinks that any woman President Bush would choose will work for People for the American Way and Dianne Feinstein (& co.) is mistaken. And if you don't believe me, just listen to Justice Ginsburg.

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