(RightWing.org) – Last month, President Joe Biden nominated US Federal Judge Merrick Garland to serve as the next US Attorney General. It’s one of the most important positions in the federal government as the AG sets the policy agenda for the Department of Justice (DOJ). What’s surprising is that a federal judge currently sitting on the DC Circuit Court of Appeals and nominee for US attorney general is embracing social justice over equality for all.
On January 20, Biden signed the Executive Order (EO) On Advancing Racial Equity and Support for Underserved Communities Through the Federal Government. Cloaked in symbolic and patriotic language, the federal government will be working to ensure that it has the power to choose winners and losers based on race and class. Apparently, that’s okay with the judge and nominee for US attorney general.
Garland Embraces Social Justice
On Monday, during Garland’s Senate hearing, Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AR) questioned the AG nominee about his familiarity with Biden’s executive order. The senator said that according to the EO, “equity” treats people differently based on their race. By that definition, the Biden administration is embracing discrimination. Garland agreed that discrimination is wrong.
If Garland’s assessment stopped there, it’s hard to see how the DOJ could enforce Biden’s “equity” EO. In fact, it ought to oppose it on legal grounds that it’s targeted discrimination.
Sadly, the nominee either doesn’t understand the context of “equity,” or never fully read the EO. Garland said his interpretation of the executive order is that it treats every person fairly and impartially without regard for status. However, that’s not at all what it says. It’s even in the title. The executive order singles out racial groups for “consistent and systematic fair, just, and impartial treatment.” It broadens it even more by adding “persons otherwise adversely affected by persistent poverty or inequality.”
Equality and Equity Are Not the Same
Biden’s definition of “equity” isn’t promising to treat all people impartially or fairly. “Systematically” and “justly” are used to talk about social justice. The Left insists that our system of justice is racist and must be changed to include equal outcomes. The government can attempt to create equal outcomes – that’s called socialism.
The two terms are exact opposites of one another, even though they appear to be the same on the surface. Equity is not equality, and “equity” in this context is government-sanctioned discrimination that singles out categories of people based on their economic and racial status. It’s a complete repudiation of the Declaration of Independence and the US Constitution.
If equality were the goal, all Biden needed to do was state all people should be treated equally regardless of their status. However, we have laws that declare that truth. When anti-discrimination laws are broken, they should be enforced. What Biden’s EO does is violate those laws.
Unfortunately, it appears a long-time federal judge lost sight of that reality and could become the next Attorney General of the United States.
Don Purdum, Independent Political Analyst
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