Obama’s SCOTUS Pick: A Military Hating Harriet Miers

Obama’s SCOTUS nominee, Elana Kagan, is like Harriet Miers in some respects. She’s a very accomplished woman, but she’s under-accomplished for a Supreme Court Justice. Kagan has never sat on the bench and she’d never even argued a case before the Supreme Court before she became Obama’s Solicitor General.

Worse yet, she has some ugly baggage. Hilariously, given the events of recent months, Kagan spent 3 years on an advisory board for Goldman Sachs. However, much more significantly, Kagan banned military recruiters from Harvard over Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell. We’re at war and Obama’s picking a judge who’s hostile to the troops? For someone who supported and respected the troops, a nominee like Kagan would be a non-starter. The GOP should come back to that issue again and again during the confirmation hearings.

So, why did Obama take Kagan? He could have easily taken a less controversial nominee than a woman who received 31 Republican “no votes” for the Solicitor General position. Moreover, let’s be honest: Every liberal justice votes the same way Michael Moore would on any case that matters. Liberal political goals mean everything and the Constitution means nothing. So, they can talk about how wonderfully centrist she is (They say that about every liberal justice), but in the end, she’ll vote for anything near and dear to the heart of the Left. So, why Kagan? My best guess is that Obama figures Kagan is a two-fer: She’ll be : another woman on the Supreme Court and the first lesbian as well. Yes, Kagan’s not technically out of the closet yet, but give it time.

Now, let’s get down to it: Should the GOP filibuster? Kagan doesn’t deserve to be on the Supreme Court, but strategically, it would be futile to filibuster an Obama Supreme Court pick unless the GOP intends to keep the logjam going through 2-3 nominees to force a moderate selection. The Democrats have shown that kind of discipline before. The GOP never has and after railing against the filibuster as unconstitutional, they’re unlikely to do so with Kagan. There are at least a half-dozen Republicans who will vote for pretty much any Democrat with a heartbeat and a law degree, despite the fact that the Dems won’t return the favor. Ultimately, that means any sort of political strategy is doomed and even if Kagan somehow: goes down in flames, she’d be replaced with a liberal who’s just as bad next time around. That means there is no real point to filibustering her other than to deflect criticism. If the GOP had even 48 or 49 senators, I’d be calling for them to be just as ruthless as the Democrats. However, with 41 votes, it’s a no-win situation.

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