Confirm Elena Kagan Already as Supreme Court Justice
BUZZFLASH EDITOR'S BLOG BY MARK KARLIN
We respect progressives who wanted a more openly and declared progressive candidate than Elena Kagan for the Supreme Court. In fact, I also wanted more of a Ted Kennedy liberal lion to balance the barbarians on the right and the swing vote barbarian, coincidentally named Kennedy.
And Kagan's got enough on her record to get a lot of us social progressives a little steamed, such as her position in the Clinton administration to ban partial birth abortions, her poor minority professor hiring record at Harvard, and a horrible pro-Monsanto GMO legal position as Solicitor General. But even as I write these criticisms I realize I am actually helping her get confirmed because it will take some of the wind out of the sails of the right wing Republican nut jobs in the Senate.
Arlen Specter, however, leaked the other day that she said in a closed door meeting that she was opposed to corporate personhood as a legal concept, and she argued against it as Solicitor General in any case. That's rather reassuring to say the least.
No matter what, the train has left the station. Elena Kagan should be confirmed and confirmed asap. There's entirely too much time between a presidential appointment to the Supreme Court and a Senate confirmation. The media digs up endless meaningless stories to fill the time, including the ubiquitous "is she gay" question, which shouldn't matter even if the answer were yes.
It's time to pack up our bags of disappointment and stop giving the GOP any running room. Kagan is going to vote with the three other sane judges on the Supreme Court and Kennedy will occasionally vote with them. She is not goint to defect to the right on any big issues like Roe v. Wade or corporate personhood. She'll pretty much adopt the positions of the liberal four who preceded her, although maybe with some different legal reasoning -- and maybe an occasional vote with the crazed right judges, but that happens now and then anyway.
It's great to vent on the Internet about our dream candidates and values, but politics does have its practical moment.
Do we want to continue to make a case against Elena Kagan? Do we want her not to be confirmed?
Kagan would be the third woman on the Supreme Court for the first time in history. She may not be a new wave social progressive, but she'll be a New York liberal.
The vote is yes or no.
I urge a yes vote to confirm Elena Kagan as a Supreme Court Justice as soon as possible. She may not be my first choice by far, but she is the choice of the person who makes the decision: the President.
It's time to seat her on the Court and move on to the presssing issues that Congress is so paralyzed about.
Our nation and planet are at stake.
Confirm Elena Kagan and let's do our job to build the kind of nation for the future that is receding before us because of the Big Money control of Congress.
BUZZFLASH EDITOR'S BLOG BY MARK KARLIN
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It's ironic that Kennedy is
It's ironic that Kennedy is referred to as a barabarian when he, unlike Kagan, upheld Habeas Corpus for Guatanamo detainees:
Because "the writ of habeas corpus is itself an indispensable mechanism for monitoring the separation of powers," Kennedy ruled that "the test for determining the scope of this provision must not be subject to manipulation by those whose power it is designed to restrain. "
Kagan, on the other hand, would like to see indefinite detention for detainees. She's also previously made statements praising Bush's expansion of the executive powers. I will say that she shows some consistency in not respecting the separation of powers.
Not only did Kagan as Solicitor General rule in favor of Monsato expanding GMO crops, regardless of the proof they can contaminate non-GMO crops, but she also ruled in favor of Saudi royalty channelling millions of dollars to Al Qaeda prior to 9/11. Thousands of individuals impacted by 9/11 were not given any fair recourse in a civil suit thanks to her.
I don't really understand the editorial concern here when Kagan clearly is more representative of what has been traditionally Republican, rather than Democratic, agenda. In other words, she's going to be confirmed, despite the GOP protests that border on the theatrical. Besides, the president no longer shows concern for what the more progressive Democrats think. Her confirmation should be a slam dunk, despite some tearing in the Democratic unity.
Kagan
spudqueen She's not a philosophical "question mark" as we're being led to believe. Her record is all there from her Solicitor General questionings and her hiring record at Harvard. A liberal she's not. Her sexual identity should be immaterial, but all signs point to her being closeted in which case she is lying to herself and the rest of us. Alexander Cockburn alleges that, if confirmed, she'll be one of two closet cases on the Court. It's pretty obvious the other is John Roberts. In fact, a photo exists of him in his younger days with several pretty boys showing off their luncheon quiche.
Where Are Your Links?
You raise some vary controversial points in your comment without a single attribution to back them. As you add nothing except distraction to the discussion without a verifiable link to your sources, I have to question your motives for offering such unfounded statements. I would love to hear what Mrs. Roberts has to say in response to your allegation that her husband lurks in the closet!
Who cares?
Progressives don't care if Kagan or Roberts are gay or straight, open or closeted. That's their business, not ours.
Progressives care if they are right-wing nut cases. Which they are.
In fact, Kagan has shown herself well to the right of the right wing nuts already on the Supreme Court.
I Cares!
For someone to make outrageous comments about Roberts without offering any traceable attribution only opens the door to a counter assault by the wrong-wing. It will only distract discussion away from the original message. This is how Rush and Beck and Fox "News" operate, and thus is not a viable strategy for our side.
Chicago Mob is trying to sell us another bill of goods
What exactly is ex-progressive BuzzFlash trying to sell us this time?
* Kagan says prosecutors can't be sued even if they deliberately manufacture evidence to frame someone.
* Kagan says accused have no right to cross-examine prosecution expert witnesses.
* Kagan abused her government office to try to help Monsanto get around environmental protection laws.
* Kagan took a dive in Citizens United so that her corporate owners could buy more elections.
* Kagan says that First Amendment should be restricted to some hypothetical "core".
* Kagan backed gay rights - until there was a dollar cost and then she folded like a cheap suit.
* Kagan at Harvard hired 28 white faculty, one asian-american, and no black faculty at all.
Kagan is a great idea if you're a corporate Dimocrap or Rethug. For natural people (humans) - still the majority of "people" on this planet - Kagan is a natural disaster.
Bad Idea
This is a rash rush to judgement and will bite us in the butt. All this action will accomplish is to embolden the Republicans to push through another of their fascist "jurists" in like manner once they regain political control of Congress from the inept Obama-led Democrats. By pointing to the Democrats' precedent of not allowing Kagan (a terrible choice for SCOTUS) to undergo suitable examination, they will justify to the Tea Baggers their pushing through the next member of RATS Against American Democracy (Roberts, Alito, Thomas, Scalia). And as the GOP has demonstrated so many times since Watergate, anything evil the Democrats do, the GOP can do so much better.
No Matter
No matter what we feel we have no impact on the decision. We raised holy hell over Roberts and Alito. How did that affect the outcome?
There it is, the usual lost
There it is, the usual lost patience for progressives to circle the wagons to center. It's always ugly.
As usual, no reason is given for what is gained from confirming Kagan, nor what is lost by fueling conservative criticism.