Kinsley responds to the demands that he, as opinion page editor of the LA Times, seek women columnists.
Newspaper opinion sections also want diversity of political views. In recent years that, frankly, has led to reverse discrimination in favor of conservatives. And an unpleasant reality is that each type of diversity is at war with the others. If pressure for more women succeeds — as it will — there will be fewer black voices, fewer Latinos, and so on.
Why should this be so? Aren't there black women and conservative Latinos? Of course there are. There may even be a wonderfully articulate disabled Latina lesbian conservative who is undiscovered because she is outside the comfortable old-boy network. But there probably aren't two. It's not a question of effort, it's mathematics. Each variable added to the equation subverts efforts to maximize all the other variables. You can seek out the best Japanese restaurant in town, or the best steakhouse. But if you want a Japanese steakhouse, you will have to settle for Benihana's of Tokyo.
But why does the insertion of a woman's viewpoint have to come at the expense of a minority viewpoint? First, there are plenty of minority women writers--Kinsley's propping up of the search for an "articulate disabled Latina lesbian conservative" is an unhelpful comparison. That's obviously not what Kinsley's critics are asking for.
Second, why does the woman's voice have to come at the expense of a minority's voice? Is that because Kinsley must maintain a quota of white men's voices (roughly 90%, I would guess) that cannot be disturbed? Does Bob Herbert really have to go to make room for a woman?