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Tuesday, April 26, 2016

Governing By Affirmative Action

When it comes to bad ideas, Hillary Clinton has plenty of them.  Today brought her latest in the string:  Hillary is going to make certain that half of her cabinet consists of women if she is president.

There's nothing wrong with having women in the cabinet.  There's nothing wrong with having only men or having only women.  The point is a simple one:  the president ought to pick the best person for each job.  If that person happens to be a woman, great.   If that person happens to be a man, great.

We are talking about the people who will have a great deal to say about the running of our country.  Doesn't that mean that we should want to have the best person in each of those jobs?  Should a well qualified man be pushed aside by a less qualified woman in order to achieve gender balance?  Should a well qualified woman be pushed aside by a less qualified man in order to achieve gender balance?  Absolutely not.

The problem with Hillary's new commitment is that it shows where her true priorities lie.  She's more interested in satisfying different ethnic/gender/racial/religious etc. groups than in governing the country successfully.

What's next?  Will Hillary commit to having a minimum of two gay cabinet members?  Will she commit to a minimum number of Hispanics, Blacks, transgenders, etc?  America needs to be governed to achieve the success of the country.  That means that governing by affirmative action has to be rejected.  The next president needs to understand that we need him or her to restore some measure of competence in Washington.  Ability rather than gender is what's important.

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