Lincoln Chafee: “The only thing we ought to stress about the Adarand decision is that the Adarand decision was a 5-4 decision that did…”

“The only thing we ought to stress about the Adarand decision is that the Adarand decision was a 5-4 decision that did not find that affirmative action is not possible to have in our country. Indeed, I will give you a couple of quotes from--I like to go to the Supreme Court. I am not big on district courts and circuit courts. Yes, they are nice, but I like to go to the top and see what the top people have to say. This is what Justice O'Connor said: It is not true that strict scrutiny is strict in theory but fatal in fact. Government is not disqualified from acting in response to the unhappy persistence of both the practice and the lingering effects of racial discrimination against minority groups in this country. Later on, Justice O'Connor stated for the majority: When race-based action is necessary to further a compelling interest, such action is within constitutional constraints if it satisfies the narrow tailoring test. So it can be done, and affirmative action is not unconstitutional.”