When Democrats attack

Byron York recounts the Senate Judiciary hearing on the nomination of Janice Rogers Brown, who is almost certainly heading for a filibuster for the crime of being black and conservative:

In the end, what was striking was how little Democrats seemed inclined to dig into the actual questions involved in the cases Brown has decided; each time Brown delivered a crisp defense of her reasoning, Democrats simply moved on to another sound bite. It was as if Durbin and his colleagues had chosen to make a series of short-form attacks, get the hearing out of the way, and then move on to the more serious matter of filibustering Brown's nomination.

This line from York’s review made me laugh out loud:

It was an impressive record [Brown’s personal background], even if one had not started out black in 1950s Alabama. But at times Brown's obvious sense of self-reliance and her disinclination to rely on government to solve society's problems seemed to trouble Democrats.

Which reminds me of this slightly altered exchange from “Lethal Weapon 2”:

Consulate Envoy: I don't think you want to go to South Africa be a self-reliant, conservative judge.
Roger Murtaugh: Why not?
Consulate Envoy: Because you're black!

Extra: Matt at Fearful Symmetry has the racist cartoon referred to in the York article.