Critics warn 2024 will be 'Dems vs. 6 GOP members' of SCOTUS after affirmative action ruling

29 June 2023

On Thursday morning, June 29, the U.S. Supreme Court released its anxiously awaited decisions on the use of affirmative action at Harvard University and the University of North Carolina (UNC) — and ruled that race can no longer be a factor in college admissions.

All of the High Court's six GOP-appointed justices ruled against affirmative action in Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard College and the companion case Students for Fair Admissions v. University of North Carolina. The UNC case was a 6-3 decision, while the Harvard case was 6-2 because dissenter Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson (a Harvard Law School graduate) recused herself from the latter. The other dissenters were both Democratic Barack Obama appointees: Justice Sonia Sotomayor and Justice Elena Kagan.

The rulings were a major departure from previous High Court rulings. The Court had a long history of upholding affirmative action as constitutional, going back to the 1970s. In 2003's Gutter v. Bollinger, the Court ruled that race could be a factor in college admissions because colleges have a compelling interest in maintaining diversity. But the June 29 rulings essentially overturned Bollinger.

The Students for Fair Admissions rulings have inspired numerous responses on Twitter, including a lot of scathing criticism from Democrats.

Former First Lady Michelle Obama posted, "So often, we just accept that money, power and privilege are perfectly justifiable forms of affirmative action, while kids growing up like I did are expected to compete when the ground is anything but level. So today, my heart breaks for any young person out there who's wondering what their future holds — and what kind of chances will be open to them."

Rep. Malcolm Kenyatta (D-Pennsylvania) also slammed the decision, tweeting, "Under John Roberts the Supreme Court has gutted the Voting Rights Act, Roe v. Wade and now Affirmative Action. It's sick, but sadly not a shock."

Kenyatta also tweeted, "Notably the Supreme Court decision doesn't strike down preferential admissions for 'legacy students' or any donors who wants to put their name on a building in exchange for their child getting a chance to attend."

Sen. Cory Booker (D-New Jersey) posted, "The Supreme Court's decision to strike down affirmative action is a devastating blow to our education system across the country. Affirmative action has been a tool to break down systemic barriers and we must continue to advance our ideals of inclusivity & opportunity for all."

The Daily Beast's David Rothkopf predicted that the Court's anti-affirmative action ruling will help drive Democratic voter turnout in 2024.

The journalist tweeted, "I think analyses pitting Trump v. Biden may have 2024 wrong. My sense is 2024 will be Democrats vs. the six GOP members of the Supreme Court. SCOTUS views on abortion, affirmative action, voting rights, guns, environment, LGBTQ rights will turn out a big anti-GOP majority."

The progressive group Occupy Democrats posted, "The ruling is just the latest on the GOP's nightmarish wish list and reverses precedent that has been well-established.… The deeply conservative decision will roll back decades of progress in unwinding ingrained racial disparities — and offers a compelling argument for Democrats expanding the court. Republicans haven’t won the popular vote in decades and yet their flagrantly corrupt judges now control the entire country with an iron fist. Something must be done before democracy dies completely."

Progressive Rep. Cori Bush (D-Missouri) also argued in favor of expanding the Supreme Court, writing, "From affirmative action to student debt, we shouldn’t have to hold our collective breath for the Supreme Court to make decisions about our rights when the correct rulings are clear. Expand. The. Court."

Economist Robert Reich, who served as secretary of labor in the Clinton Administration, tweeted, "The Supreme Court's ruling against affirmative action pretends to make college admissions 'race-blind,' while preserving systems built to specifically advance white students (and the wealthy) over all others…. The Supreme Court's decision to ignore the role that race plays in our nation, and how it shapes our institutions and who is allowed to participate in them, is a major setback."

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