SCOTUS Primed to Strike Down Affirmative Action in Harvard Case
2 Aug 2022
BUCK: I wanted to bring your attention to something else that really needs people to dive in on. You know, weโve had a massive year for the Supreme Court with the decisions first on firearms in New York written by Justice Thomas, and then of course the biggest Supreme Court decision in many years, overturning Roe v. Wade, which just happened earlier in the summer. But thereโs another decision that is coming down the pike, another decision that is relatively imminent. Itโs gonna be given this fall, and itโs Students for Fair Admissions v. President and Fellows of Harvard College.
So just by quick recap, the Students for Fair Admissions representing Asian-American students who are being discriminated against in the admissions process by Harvard University, the most famous and most elite university in the world. I know the Yalies listening to this are upset at that, but I think thatโs the perception, for whatever that even means. You know, Harvard/Yale, Coke/Pepsi, who cares? All the same thing, really. In that case, itโs sugar water thatโs not good for you. But Harvard/Yale, few other schools youโd probably put in that same tier, the same category, but theyโre going to the very top.
And it was fascinating today to see these corporations that are backing affirmative action. Theyโve put forth friend of the court briefs, briefs amici, amicus briefs. And hereโs Apple, General Motors, and Lyft, among some of the names โ those are all very big companies โ that are in favor of continuing this practice of affirmative action. This is not a difficult decision as a matter of law. It is unconstitutional, it is a violation of the equal-protection clause to engage in race-based discrimination for any government institution and for any institution that is receiving government money, right?
So thatโs where a lot of universitiesโฆ People say, โOh, but private universities can do what they want.โ Well, are they getting federal government funds? And are they also going to be entirely comfortable continuing to engage in a practice that has been deemed unconstitutional and in fact racist at this level? This is a big issue in America today. Youโve noticed that there is all of this anti-white sentiment that is pushed โ often by white liberals โ about whiteness and thereโs all this talk of white supremacy not to mean actually neo-Nazis or true white supremacists, but theyโll refer to anything that they donโt like.
The left will call anything they donโt like racist, white supremacist as a means of tearing it down. You know, โCapitalism is white supremacy,โ they will say. Wait. Hold on a second. โOh, no, it comes fromโฆ Its origins comes from slavery,โ theyโll say. This was the whole purpose of the 1619 Project, as we all know, to make it seem that everything in America is in some way tainted and undermined by racism as it exists, if the left doesnโt like the thing. If the left doesnโt like something, itโs racist. Thatโs reallyโฆ
Critical race theory really all comes down to everything that the left does not like is racist and will continue to be called racist until it is firmly in the hands of and controlled by the left, and then it will be like racist but a little less racist. Thatโs the game, and with Students for Fair Admissions policy bringing this, this is now gonna be decided on by the Supreme Court, and all these corporations that have been showing their support for this, when you hear โ or in this case read โ their arguments in favor of racial discrimination.
Letโs be very clear. This is saying, โThis person is Asian. That person is black. Iโm going to give one of them a benefit in hiring or in admissions over the other based upon that racial categorization.โ That is what affirmative action actually is. By the way, it applies, as we know, to Hispanics. It applies to Native Americans. Well, it applies to everybody because there is this creation of a racial hierarchy for the purposes of hiring and admission. Thatโs what this is. And this is why Justice OโConnor in โ I think it was โ Grutter v. Bollinger wrote that at some point weโre gonna not need to do this anymore โcause itโs pretty unconstitutional.
She didnโt say it that way, but she said weโll phase this out in 15 years, something like that. And that was close to 15 years ago. We need to stop doing this. Itโs an emergency measure that is a violation of the Constitution. A little bit like suspending habeas corpus during the Civil War. Itโs an emergency measure. We just need affirmative action so badly right now that weโre going to trample on โ or, you know, shutting down churches during covid. First Amendment doesnโt really count. Itโs an emergency.
Always be causal when the government tells you we need to suspend the Constitution for an emergency โcause itโs pretty much always wrong. Now, in this instance you have these major companies, these corporations โ dozens of them โ who want the Supreme Court to affirm racial preferences in college admissions. Now, this is interesting because these are companies that have all engaged in racial preferences in hiring. And itโs fascinating because this is one of the only systems you can think of where you must affirm and celebrate the existence of the system but not talk about it too much.
Donโt bring up too much that there is a advantage in hiring for certain minorities and certain groups that the left feels are โunderrepresentedโ or โunderprivilegedโ or whatever. Know, if you walk around all the time โ if you were to walk around your office, say โWow, thereโs a lot of diversity going on here,โ depending on who you are, that may actually get you in a lot of trouble just because, โWhat do you mean? Why are you saying thereโs a lot of diversity?โ โWell, I thought diversity is to be celebrated.โ
โWell, are you Republican? Are you in favor of these different hiring standards that we have?โ I actually know somebody. I have a friend who, at a Diversity Day event for his company, got into trouble for saying to somebody, โWell, we certainly are bringing on a lot of diversity.โ They didnโt like the tone he used at the diversity hiring event. So itโs interesting, isnโt it? Because they want it, but they donโt want to actually talk about it. They change the standards, but they say, โWeโre not changing standards!โ
They say itโs not necessary for the people that are hired or admitted, but, by the same token, theyโll tell us that if we get rid of it, we wonโt be hiring or admitting the same people. Well, then, they canโt have it both ways, folks. Why are all these major corporations pushing this? One, โcause theyโre run by โ you know, theyโve been overtaken by โ leftists. Largely because it starts in the H.R. department. The H.R. department is where the diversity commissars congregate first, and then they make sure they push and push and push so thereโs more and more diversity-based hiring in the major corporation.
And then all of a sudden, itโs, โWell, we canโt just have a certain percentage that are being hired from this or that underrepresented group. We need at the senior levels! We needโฆ You know, if possible, the CEO should be somebody from one of these groups,โ and they will pick, and the H.R. department will get a say in that, a big say in it. And so there are people that are senior roles in all these companies โ you have to understand this โ who are very much dedicated to the idea that this is not only just but necessary, because they themselves were hired under this rubric.
They themselves were hired with the diversity apparatus in place, and so thatโs why if the Supreme Court โ and I believe it will โ says, โGuys, you really just canโt do this. You canโt tell a bunch of kids applying to Harvard who are Asian that theyโve had it so much easier. You canโt tell first-generation immigrants whose parents came here absolutely penniless from Vietnam or China or wherever, and whoโve been working their fingers and their eyes off, just working so hard.โ Working their butts off, I was gonna say. โYou canโt tell them, โSorry. Weโre actually gonna take somebody else because we need more of that color.
โโWe need more of that ethnicity.โ Thatโs a violation of equal protection of the Constitution,โ and for any entity that is taking federal funds, which you start to look at that list, they canโt do that. They canโt do that. And thatโs why I think this is such an interesting case, because thereโs so muchโฆ I mean, the Democrat Party is ruled by this sense of white guilt. And the people that is right most invested in this are white liberals who just, โOh, my gosh. Iโm justโฆ Iโm doing my best to confront white supremacy, and thatโs why I have five Ukraine flags!โ What? It doesnโt matter.
They just know that thatโs what the good people are supposed to say. Itโs completely intellectually indefensible, self-contradictory and absurd. But they know, this is what the good people say. So they say it. But youโre going to see, I think, a big change here because the policies of racial discrimination that have existed under this framework of affirmative action for decades now were wrong. They are unconstitutional, certainly unconstitutional in college admissions, certainly unconstitutional as it pertains to federal government action, and these companies that write these things, I mean, this isโฆ
For example, in this amicus brief, โEmpirical studies confirm that diverse groups make better decisions thanks to increased creativity, sharing of ideas, and accuracy, and diverse groups can better understand and serve the increasingly diverse population that uses their products and services.โ What does that even mean? Theyโre saying, just to be clear, these are major companies in this country that have all been engaged in diversity-based hiring for a long time. I have a friend who was pretty high up in hiring at one of the biggest investment banks, and she told me all about the diversity hiring stuff that goes on.
And everyone sits there, and they know. Weโre looking at peopleโฆ Some people have really high grades and really relevant work experience. Other people have much lower grades, much lower SATs. But need diversity. So weโre gonna make decisions based upon that. And you say that and people say, โOh, but thatโsโฆ Why are you tellโฆ? This is the system.โ If theyโre comfortable with it, they should be saying, โYeah, of course!โ There shouldnโt be any question about this. If itโs such a good thing and so necessary, it makes for better decision-makingโฆ
You know, Justice Sotomayor will be weighing in on this one. What was Justice Sotomayorโs LSAT score? What were her LSATs? Iโm just wondering. She went to Columbia Law School. Anyone want to place a bet that it wasnโt anywhere near the average for all admitted students at Columbia Law School? Sheโs very likely a beneficiary herself โ likely, I donโt know โ of affirmative action policies in hiring, affirmative action policies at Columbia University. I have friends who have worked in admissions at some of the top colleges and universities.
They will all tell you that this is going on all the time. Asian kids with perfect schools, perfect SATs, perfect grades, are told, โSorry, no room here for you. We need to take somebody who is one-fourth part of a Native American tribe, has a grandparent โ who is officially a member of a Native American tribe.โ Thatโs justice in America today, higher education says. Iโm sorry, but just on principle. Itโs unconstitutional. Itโs wrong. And all these companies donโt want to admit this.
The same way that the abortion industry and Planned Parenthood and all this donโt want people to realize what has really gone on here. So flagrantly unconstitutional, so flagrantly immoral. Same thing is true about affirmative action in this country for decades now. It has been expanded beyond its early indications and what they are trying to accomplish. It now includes all kinds of different groups, and itโs used in ways that it was never intended to be used, and itโs been stretched out for decades. Itโs wrong. Itโs wrong. So letโs see. I think itโs gonna be a huge Supreme Court decision, and Iโm very hopeful.
Recent Stories

Dr. Art Laffer's Strategy for Winning the Trade War
One of the world's preeminent economists tells Clay & Buck how he thinks the Trump tariffs can lead to an economic boom for America.

Lara Tells Us What Clay Was Like on Baby Delivery Day
With Buck and Carrie's baby imminently on the way, Lara gives Buck some priceless husband advice.

Julie Kelly Warns: The Judicial Coup Against Trump Isn't Over
The federal district court judges who hate Trump aren't going to give up because of a couple of SCOTUS rulings.

VIP Video: Trump Is Nailing It on the Trade War
Watch Clay and Buck kick off the show with the very latest developments in the markets and the intensifying trade war.

Salena Zito Explains Why Trump's Tariffs Are So Popular in the American Heartland
A fascinating look into how middle America is reacting to the Trump tariffs. It couldn't be more disconnected from the online world and the national media.