Are Senate Republicans Intentionally Delaying Loretta Lynch Confirmation Over Race?

Since everything in America has to come back to race, Democrats are accusing Senate Republicans of intentionally delaying the confirmation of Attorney General nominee Loretta Lynch because she is black. In the allusive words of Senator Dick Durbin (D., IL), Republicans are putting Loretta Lynch “on the back of the bus”:

“Loretta Lynch, the first African-American woman nominated to be attorney general, is asked to sit in the back of the bus when it comes to the Senate calendar,” Durbin said. “That is unfair. It’s unjust. It is beneath the decorum and dignity of the United States Senate.”

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell planned a vote on Lynch’s nomination this week but delayed it when the Senate was unable to finish work on a bill to combat human trafficking. That legislation is stalled because of a partisan spat over abortion funding, with Democrats objecting to a provision blocking money in a new victims’ fund from paying for abortions in most cases.

First off, I highly doubt anyone is delaying this nomination simply because Loretta Lynch is a black woman. Second, she’s no Rosa Parks. She’s been nominated for one of the highest positions in American government. That’s a far cry from trying to keep a more convenient seat on a segregated public bus. She’s had to wait to be confirmed while the Senate deals with other contentious issues on the docket.

And what if Senate Republicans are delaying her confirmation? Is it necessarily because of her race or gender? Could it not be that they don’t like her policies or her qualifications? Eric Holder, the first African-American Attorney General, complained over and over again that he was opposed for the color of his skin. Yet he resigned in the midtst of numerous scandals. Were these scandals concocted by the GOP to make him look bad? No. He resigned because he was not a good Attorney General. Perhaps that is a more important consideration than race or gender—you know, whether or not you can actually do a good job in the position.

In fact, by making this a racial issue, Democrats have yet again proven how driven they are by racial (and some might say racist) considerations. It doesn’t matter that Loretta Lynch is black. It doesn’t matter that she is a woman. All that matters is whether or not she is qualified. Making it about anything else is, ironically, racist.

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