GOP Senators Denigrate A True American Hero

The Republicans have been scraping the bottom of the barrel in their efforts to find something that would justify their opposition of Elena Kagen to become a Supreme Court justice. The truth is that they oppose her simply because President Obama nominated her. They would have opposed anyone the president nominated. But they can't say that, so they have been searching for some reasonable grounds for their opposition.

Last week they tipped that barrel over and began digging under it. Since they had nothing valid against Kagen, they began to attack her mentor when she was a clerk on the Supreme Court -- Justice Thurgood Marshall. Several senators (Kyl, Sessions, Grassley, Cornyn) chose to directly attack Justice Marshall.

This is inexcusable. Thurgood Marshall (pictured) is a true American hero. His courageous fight for the equality of all Americans (including the brilliant brief he presented in the legendary Brown v. Board of Education case) and his distinguished service on the Supreme Court made this a much better country, and brought this country closer to living up to our professed ideals. This is a gentleman that all Americans should be proud to honor.

By denigrating this great American these GOP senators just reveal themselves as small-minded and petty politicians. What decent and honorable person will they attack next? I think Dana Milbank of the Washington Post may have said it best when he said, "With Kagen's confirmation hearings expected to last most of the week, Republicans may still have time to make cases against Nelson Mandela, Mother Teresa and Gandhi."

The Right Reverend John Bryson Chane, Episcopal Bishop of Washington D.C., also spoke up against the Republican attack on Justice Marshall. Here is what Bishop Chane had to say:

Not often is a saint of the Episcopal Church attacked in the chambers of the United States Senate, but incredibly, it has happened this week.As we prepare to celebrate our cherished American values of equality and justice on Independence Day, we must also rise to defend Justice Thurgood Marshall, an Episcopalian who embodied those ideals.

Marshall is an Episcopal saint. He was the first African American to become a justice of the United States Supreme Court and was the lawyer for the plaintiffs in the landmark Brown vs. Board of Education case that struck down the institutional racism of segregated public schools. He was also a man of deep religious principles. Last summer, the Episcopal Church voted to include him in our book of saints, called Holy Women, Holy Men. May 17, the day of the Brown vs. Board decision, is his feast.

During his years in Washington, Justice Marshall and his family belonged to St. Augustine’s Episcopal Church, where his widow, Sissy, is still an active member. On behalf of all Episcopalians in the Diocese of Washington, I extend to her my sympathy for the hurtful remarks made this week about her late husband. Let me assure Mrs. Marshall and all Episcopalians that our church is resolute in our gratitude for and admiration of Justice Marshall’s legacy, and we pray that we may all receive his exceptional grace and courage to speak the truth.

The Right Reverend John Bryson Chane D.D.

Bishop of Washington