Kagan Has the Votes for Confirmation

Elena Kagan is a safe choice, and a sure bet to be confirmed as a Supreme Court Justice. President Obama is a liberal and, of course, he is going to nominate another liberal who sees the world like he does and will represent his point of view on the court. This is how Presidents appoint judges to the Supreme Court and President Obama is just following tradition. The Senators know this, and they know that the Democrats have the votes to confirm Kagan. The only thing that could prevent her from reaching the Supreme Court is if someone finds something totally outlandish in her background, or if she makes unacceptable statements at the hearings that the President simply cannot defend. So far, her background appears respectable enough and she has not embarrassed herself at the hearings.

Her Credentials

Kagan does not have much experience practicing law, has never been a judge, and cannot be considered a legal scholar. She can be expected to vote with the liberals on the court, but probably does not have the intellectual firepower to change any votes on the court. Her legal reasoning is not likely to change the direction of the court. At the confirmation hearings, Republicans will try to make life difficult for Kagan, the President, and the Democrats. They would like to embarrass their political opponents if they can, but Kagan's confirmation does not change much. She is a liberal replacing a departing liberal judge. She is not a game changer, and Republican Conservatives can still change the direction of the court in the future. Elections have consequences, and losing the White House means that President Obama will nominate as many liberals to the Supreme Court as he can.

The Hearings

On Wednesday, June 30, Republicans attacked her views on the social issues. Kagan held firm, defended her positions and deflected the Republican challenge. She admitted that she is personally opposed to the Don't ask, Don't tell policy for gays in the military, but this did not affect her performance as the solicitor general of the United States. She told Senator Sessions, the ranking Republican on the Senate Judiciary Committee that she vigorously defended all statutes including those that involve Don't ask and Don't tell.

Senator Jon Kyl, Republican Senator from Arizona, and a member of the Republican leadership said that with only 41 votes in the Senate a filibuster was highly unlikely. He said the Republican leadership would not instruct Republican Members of the Senate on how to vote.

Source: Sheryl Gay Stolberg and Charlie Savage, Republicans Press Kagan on Social Issues, The New York Times, June 30, 2010.