Lori wrote (among many other things): "When I called Linda Chavez a hypocrite yesterday, I wasn't referring so much to her harboring an illegal immigrant -- I knew there had to be more to the story (and as I learned more, I admired Chavez's actions) -- as I was to Chavez's opposition to affirmative action and minimum wage increases. For Chavez, as a Hispanic and as a woman, to deny the existence of a glass ceiling is CRAP. Bully for her if she never experienced professional discrimination (although I'd bet she'd be lying on that count). Many, many more people of color and women HAVE experienced denial of promotions based on race, ethnicity, and gender (nevermind sexual preference), and this practice continues everyday." Lori, thanks for getting into the SUBSTANTIVE reasons why Chavez's nomination was so controversial. If she had not withdrawn her name from consideration, our national conversation eventually would have gotten beyond the situation involving Marta Mercado and into the broader issues. And that's where I wish it had remained. However, given the opposition that was mounting from organized labor and concerned others about whether Ms. Chavez could be trusted to enforce the labor and employment laws she would have been sworn to uphold at the DOL, I'm not certain that she would have been confirmed even had she remained in the running, and managed to surmount concerns about Mercado. In my previous post, I commented only on the Mercado situation, since that's what we had been discussing. But for me, as I suspect, for many, that was only the outermost tip of the iceberg. Mary P. P.S. Lori, how the heck are you?!!
