Rep. Tom McClintock (CA) wrote a piece for RedState on Friday regarding the Native Hawaiian Government Reorganization Act. See an excerpt here:
It pains me to rise in opposition to the valedictory measure of the gentleman from Hawaii, but I believe this bill strikes at the very foundation of a nation dedicated to equality under law. It establishes a different set of laws, a different set of rights and a different government for one group of Americans based solely on their race.
Two American families, living next door to one another, would be accorded two different sets of rights enforced by two separate sovereignties – all based entirely by accident of birth.
Ever since Brown v. Board of Education buried the “Separate but equal doctrine” of Plessy v. Ferguson, the Supreme Court has consistently ruled that such an arrangement is fundamentally incompatible with the American Constitution.
Ten years ago, in the case of Rice v. Cayetano, the Supreme Court, in a 7-2 decision, struck down identical race-based voting qualifications for the Office of Hawaiian Affairs.
The state argued that it could impose race-based voting qualification, based on the precedent of Indian tribes. The court responded:
“Even were we to take the substantial step of finding authority in Congress, delegated to the state, to treat Hawaiians or native Hawaiians as tribes, Congress may not authorize a state to create a voting scheme of this sort.”
That is EXACTLY what this bill does.