The Supreme Court of the United States ruled that university admission programs that use affirmative action and other race-based admission procedures are unconstitutional. Conservatives, including CPAC, argue that disguising racial discrimination under the name of affirmative action is a blatant violation of the Fourteenth Amendment and undermines the Equal Protection Clause of our Constitution. By a 6-3 decision, the Supreme Court agreed.
Orlando Congressman Maxwell Alejandro Frost, a Democrat, disagreed and slammed the Supreme Court’s decision to effectively strike down affirmative action programs at institutions of higher learning. But CPAC Chairman Matt Schlapp said the “decision is an important step, racial bias of all types must be eliminated from all institutions in our society, whether they go by the name of affirmative action or fall under the newest Leftist moniker of ‘diversity, equity, and inclusion’ (DEI). To do otherwise – no matter how well-intentioned — simply fosters the ‘soft bigotry of low expectations.'”
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the admissions programs at Harvard College and the University of North Carolina violate the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.
“Eliminating racial discrimination means eliminating all of it,” wrote Chief Justice John Roberts in the majority opinion. “Many universities have for too long wrongly concluded that the touchstone of an individual’s identity is not challenges bested, skills built, or lessons learned, but the color of their skin. This Nation’s constitutional history does not tolerate that choice.”
“The solution to our Nation’s racial problems thus cannot come from policies grounded in affirmative action or some other conception of equity,” Justice Clarence Thomas wrote in his concurrence. “Racialism simply cannot be un- done by different or more racialism. Instead, the solution announced in the second founding is incorporated in our Constitution: that we are all equal, and should be treated equally before the law without regard to our race.”
Vice President Kamala Harris said the decision is “a step backward for our nation” and “will impact our country for decades to come.”
“It is well established that all students benefit when classrooms and campuses reflect the incredible diversity of our Nation,” Vice President Harris said. “Colleges and universities provide opportunities for students to interact with Americans from all walks of life and learn from one another. By making our schools less diverse, this ruling will harm the educational experience for all students.”
But conservatives support the Supreme Court ruling and believe it is another step to restoring our Constitution.
“Since our founding in 1964, the Conservative Political Action Coalition (CPAC) has advanced the movement to protect human dignity, religious rights, and individual liberties,” Schlapp said. “Affirmative action wrongfully reduces an individual to their skin color while ignoring the importance of character and merit. Through CPAC’s ‘gold standard’ Ratings of Congress and the States, we have continually scored unconstitutional racism under the guise of race-based preferences since the flawed Bakke decision. CPAC supports today’s decision and will continue our fight to ensure equal justice under the law for all Americans.”
