Jason Johnson: Obama’s Garland Pick ‘Smack In the Face’ To African-American Women and Asian-Americans

The Root Politics Editor Dr. Jason Johnson stated that President Obama’s selection of Judge Merrick Garland to the Supreme Court is “a smack in the face to African-American women, to Asian-Americans, to the entire coalition of people who have allowed him to win them both” on Saturday’s “The Place for Politics” on MSNBC.

Johnson said, “Isn’t it nice that President Obama is engaging in the same kind of tokenism that he’s railed against at different parts of his administration? So you put two women on the court, so I guess now that’s enough? I have had a huge problem with the entire way that President Obama has handled this. Number one, I think, again, he has abdicated to the Republican Party. He’s always trying to make friends with people who don’t like him. Number two, he’s not playing to win. Look, this is your opportunity to change the Supreme Court for the next 25 years ,and you go for the easiest, most milquetoast selection that you can find. And lastly, honestly, I think it’s a smack in the face to African-American women, to Asian-Americans, to the entire coalition of people who have allowed him to win them both, and he’s basically telling them, I don’t care about you, because I’d rather try and make peace with the republican party, when he could have just appointed somebody to the bench.”

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