Senator and 2024 contender Tim Scott came out swinging for the Supreme Court’s pro-merit, anti-racial preferences decision and against former President Obama’s stance on that decision in a powerful statement released on Thursday, the 29th of June.
The Supreme Court decision came down firmly on the side of individual talent and merit over blatantly racist, often in an anti-White or anti-Asian way, college admission policies. In the majority opinion, Chief Justice Roberts wrote that a “benefit to a student who overcame racial discrimination, for example, must be tied to that student’s courage and determination.”
Continuing, he said that any benefit a student receives on the basis of culture or heritage must tie into that student’s individual ability to contribute to the school, Roberts said, “Or a benefit to a student whose heritage or culture motivated him or her to assume a leadership role or attain a particular goal must be tied to that student’s unique ability to contribute to the university. In other words, the student must be treated based on his or her experiences as an individual — not on the basis of race.”
The opinion added that a decision made on the basis of race is now impermissible, saying, “Many universities have for too long done just the opposite. And in doing so, they have concluded, wrongly, that the touchstone of an individual’s identity is not challenges bested, skills built, or lessons learned but the color of their skin. Our constitutional history does not tolerate that choice.”
Former President Obama, in a statement released on the matter, said, “Affirmative action was never a complete answer in the drive towards a more just society. But for generations of students who had been systematically excluded from most of America’s key institutions–it gave us the chance to show we more than deserved a seat at the table. In the wake of the Supreme Court’s recent decision, it’s time to redouble our efforts.” Continuing, Obama’s statement reprinted his wife’s defense of affirmative action, which, among other things, compared admission on the basis of race to admission for talented athletes.
Tim Scott, for his part, demolished the Obamas’ statements in an appearance on Fox News Channel’s “Faulkner Focus.” During that appearance, he defended the idea of both not going to college to focus on a trade and of merit trumping skin color.
Beginning, he talked the public school question and said that what needs to be done is our inner cities need to be fixed so that people from any background have an opportunity to succeed academically. In his words: “I am excited about who we are as a nation. I’m excited about the progress that we’ve seen in the rearview mirror. But what excites me the most about America is that when you look at the windshield of our future, it is bright for all of our kids. Unfortunately, the radical left have been co-opted by the teachers’ unions. And so making sure that we get back to providing quality education in every single zip code in this nation K through 12 means that with quality education K through 12, your child can go to the most elite colleges in America. If we fix public education, we will make sure that every generation going forward will have access to opportunities.“
Continuing, he added that going to one of the top universities isn’t necessarily a step on the path to prosperity for everyone and that people should focus on what their personal abilities would help them succeed in doing. Whether that means they go to a local school or focus on a trade instead of fighting to get into a coveted spot in Harvard, Sen. Scott said they should be proud of where their abilities take them.
As he put it: “And oh, by the way, I’m not sure that going to an elite university is the path to prosperity. It is actually going as high as your character, your grit and your talent will take you. That means whether you go to Harvard, Charleston Southern, or whether you want to be a plumber or a welder, you too can experience your version of the American dream.“
Continuing, Sen. Scott got to the takedown of the Obamas’ statement. Characterizing their claims about race and success as a horrible lie, he said that no one should be judged by the color of their skin and that admissions and achieving goals should be based on talent, not ethnic identity. In his words: “sending the message that somehow the color of your skin means that you will not be able to achieve your goals from an educational perspective, from an income perspective or family formation, that is a lie from the pit of hell. We will not be judged solely by the color of our skin. That’s what the ruling said today. But that is the story of America. That is a story of American progress and we can all celebrate that today.“
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