What about principle? A Boston Herald editorial
What about principle? A Boston Herald editorial
Tuesday, August 14, 2001
The Bush administration should not be defending affirmative action for Colorado highway contractors before the Supreme Court. There are times when standing up for principle is more important than etiquette, and this is one of them. In his campaign President Bush opposed racial quotas, and the attorney general, John Ashcroft, has opposed affirmative action. But the Justice Department has filed a brief arguing that the Transportation Department's revised program for ``disadvantaged'' contractors, struck down by the high court in 1995, now passes constitutional muster. We don't see much change.
Justice Department officials who haven't been identified claimed to reporters that Supreme Court etiquette prevents the government from switching sides when the administration changes in the middle of an unresolved case. They couldn't have had much confidence in that claim, since the department did its best to hide what it was doing by filing the brief at the last minute Friday night, ensuring minimal news coverage. So does President Bush really oppose racial quotas and preferences? These Justice Department officials say yes, but the department is waiting until some university admissions cases reach the high court before it argues that way.
People who believe government should be color-blind hope these officials are right. Having argued that the government has a compelling interest in directing highway contracts to ``disadvantaged'' groups the department will find it hard to argue against the proposition that a state can direct university admissions in the same way. The president should have directed the Transportation Department to wind up the program for the disadvantaged.
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