Is it just me, or are Republicans cynical and hypocritical when it comes to their own promotion of minority members from within?

Desperate to conceal the fact that they're the white person's party, they parade out the gospel singers and R&B artists at the national convention, while actual black delegates are asked to "fetch a taxi or carry luggage" for the white people in attendance.

That said, for a party that opposes affirmative action and claims to favor meritocracy (notwithstanding their opposition to equalized school funding, or the widespread use of legacies in college admissions), it's very unseemly how Republicans tend to find minorities for high judicial positions, and how they claim they're always the most qualified for the job.

Clarence Thomas's judicial experience consisted of a year on the DC Circuit Court of Appeals following chairing the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, a position he held due to the fact that he opposed affirmative action and the civil rights movement's objectives, all while conveniently being black.

A whole one year spent on the DC Circuit Court of Appeals isn't much experience (just compare Thomas's judicial experience with that of every other justice's biography here) at all. Yet when Thurgood Marshall's seat (Justice Marshall was a great champion of civil rights; he argued Brown vs. Board of Education on behalf of Brown) opened up in 1991, George H.W. Bush claimed he was the "most qualified for the job."

Notice where Clarence Thomas came from: The Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit.

Who are George W. Bush's two most recent nominees for the DC Circuit Court? Miguel Estrada and Janice Rogers Brown, hispanic and African-American, respectively.

Am I insinuating that minorities aren't qualified for high judicial office? Absolutely not. There are tons of superb minority jurists on the federal bench. They just tend to have gotten there due to the efforts of Democratic presidents. Or didn't get there due to Republicans in the Senate. Liberals also tend to follow the normal path: state courts, district courts, then circuit courts of appeals. When Republicans want the facade of diversity, they just put whatever ideologue that's on hand up for high court.