RUBEN NAVARRETTE JR.: Will Biden go with regionalist affirmative action on high court pick?

As President Joe Biden gets ready to nominate a Supreme Court justice, Americans are confronting something new: affirmative action for those who hail from the Palmetto State.

Here’s why. House Majority Whip James Clyburn of South Carolina, one of the most powerful African Americans in Congress, saved Joe Biden’s bacon in the 2020 Democratic primaries. Clyburn’s endorsement helped Biden win the South Carolina primary in February 2020, which eventually led him to the White House.

Now with Biden primed to put a Black woman on the Supreme Court to replace retiring Justice Stephen Breyer, Clyburn favors a specific nominee from — wait for it — South Carolina.

U.S. District Court Judge J. Michelle Childs is reportedly one of the front-runners. The reason? Clyburn is lobbying hard for her.

Childs also has the support of South Carolina’s senators, Tim Scott and Lindsey Graham, both of whom are Republicans.

Scott told reporters that Childs “has a strong record and would be a strong candidate.”

During an interview on CBS’ “Face the Nation,” Graham gushed: “I can’t think of a better person for President Biden to consider to the Supreme Court than Michelle Childs.”

In a 50-50 Senate that is currently short one Democrat because Sen. Ben Ray Lujan of New Mexico is recovering from a stroke, having the support of two Republicans ain’t nothing.

Still, on the road to the nomination, there are a couple of speed bumps.

One has to do with geography. Although she was born in Detroit, Childs migrated south to attend and eventually graduate from the University of South Florida and the University of South Carolina School of Law. Many years later, Childs picked up a master’s degree in judicial studies from Duke University School of Law, which is located in Durham, North Carolina. And she currently presides in federal court in Columbia, South Carolina. In other words, her bona fides south of the Mason-Dixon line are solid.

Childs’ status as a Southerner makes her ultra-qualified in the eyes of her fellow Southerner, James Clyburn.

“The vast majority of African American women in this country have their roots in the South,” Clyburn told the news site Axios. “What (Childs) brings to the judiciary and would bring to the Supreme Court is the kind of background that would add significantly. She will demonstrate who and what Southerners are all about.”

The other wrinkle has to do with academic pedigree. If Childs is nominated and confirmed, she would be one of only two current justices who did not attend Harvard or Yale. The other is Amy Coney Barrett, who graduated from Notre Dame Law School. And Childs would be the only justice who attended state universities.

Meanwhile, the other Black women at the top of the Biden’s nomination list both graduated from Ivy League law schools. Ketanji Brown Jackson, who sits on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, went to Harvard, and California Supreme Court Justice Leondra Kruger attended Yale.

This prompted Graham to throw this hardball. “I’d like to see the court have a little more balance, some common sense on it,” Graham said on “Face the Nation.” “Everybody doesn’t have to be from Harvard or Yale. It’s OK to go to a public university and get your law degree.”

I’m impressed by Childs. But I’m still not convinced that she is the right choice.

Put me down as a fan of regional pride. There are worse things than loving your hometown or home state. I’m guilty of both. A sense of place is a beautiful thing. But it’s difficult to argue for merit, then give someone a leg up based on geography.

As for pedigree, normally I would agree with Graham. I have two Harvard degrees, and yet I abhor elitism. But this is a special case. I don’t feel comfortable with the idea that the first Black woman on the Supreme Court should also be the only justice who went to public universities. Why can’t a white male have that distinction?

The first Black woman on the high court will need to be 10 feet tall and indestructible. Just like every other Black woman in every white-collar position you can think of — from Wall Street to Main Street — the eventual nominee is going to have to be twice as good as the average white male just to get half the credit.

That starts with having top-drawer credentials. And, whether we like it or not — and I, for one, don’t like it — that gives the edge to Kruger or Jackson.

Sorry, South Carolina.

Ruben Navarrette’s email address is crimscribe@icloud.com. His podcast, “Ruben in the Center,” is available through every podcast app.