Right-Wing P.C.
By Jack Balkin on Michael Drake‘s feeble defense of his decision to fire Erwin Chemerinsky for transparently political reasons:
Nothing Drake says sheds much light on why it would be reasonable for him to act as he did. Indeed, he only creates greater suspicion that the reasons for the firing were illegal, unethical, and dishonest. He is trying to save his own job by suggesting that there is something wrong with the man he fired, without giving any details or any way for Chemerinsky to defend himself from these unspoken charges.
This is a disgraceful way to treat Erwin Chemerinsky, a very fine legal scholar. It is bad enough that Drake fired him in what can only be described as an act of cowardice. Now he must go on an extended public relations campaign lying about why he did so and further impugning Chemerinsky in the process. One suspects that the next person whose job is on the line will be Drake himself.
This is even worse than Juan Cole’s rejection by Yale, which at least happened before the fact (although after departmental approval.) Needless to say, if what happened to either had happened to a conservative, we would be hearing these anecdotes recycled for decades (and not without reason.)