Day 1 is done in Solicitor General Elena Kagan’s hearings to become the 112th Supreme Court justice. Thus far there has been relatively little about Kagan herself. In between memorials for Senator Bobby Byrd and Sandra Day O’Connor’s Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s husband, Republicans griped that no matter what Kagan says, they don’t think …
Supreme Court
Re: Kagan’s Day
The White House sends over excerpts of her opening statement. Anticipating the standard Republican inquisition over “judicial activism” and “legislating from the bench,” Kagan’s remarks come off as a paean to rule of law, impartiality and proper deference to the legislative branch. From her prepared remarks (emphasis mine):
“Mr.
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Kagan’s Day
Well, it’s actually her week. President Obama’s nominee to the nation’s highest bench, Solicitor General Elena Kagan, takes the hot seat today before the Senate Judiciary Committee. Though, today will be relatively mild given that the whole day will actually be spent on senators’ opening statements. Her first words are expected to be …
Sessions on Kagan
About six minutes in to the speech Senate Judiciary Committee Ranking Member Jeff Sessions, an Alabama Republican, focuses on a center for Islamic studies founded at Harvard during Elena Kagan’s tenure as the Dean of Harvard Law. An excerpt:
Around the same time that Dean Kagan was campaigning to exclude military recruiters, citing
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Deal on Rolling Back Citizens United?
Politico is reporting that House Dems have reached a deal with the National Rifle Association on legislation that would force groups and businesses to disclose top donors if they chose to run ads or send out mass mailing in the final months before an election. The legislation is in response to the Supreme Court decision in Citizens …
Specter Exits Stage Left
Arlen Specter has survived a lot of things: a brain tumor, two bouts with Hodgkin’s lymphoma and five squeaker elections for the U.S. Senate. But in an anti-establishment year where the far right hates the moderates and the far left hates the moderates, Specter – whose voting record over the past 30 years is almost perfectly down the …
Morning Must Reads: Looking Ahead
Official White House Photo by Pete Souza
–It’s primary day in Arkansas, Kentucky, Oregon and Pennsylvania. Contests between Lincoln and Halter, Paul and Grayson, and Specter and Sestak, as well as a special election between Critz and Burns in PA-12 are widely seen as yardsticks by which to measure this cycle’s anti-establishment …
Morning Must Reads: Managers
Official White House Photo by Pete Souza
–With all eyes turning to Tuesday’s primaries, a Halter-Lincoln runoff looks likely in Arkansas, Rand Paul is crushing in Kentucky, and the Sestak-Specter contest is shaping up to be a squeaker.
–Nate Silver looks at how anti-establishment candidates may fare in general elections, …
A Simple Questionnaire
Ever want to be a Supreme Court Justice? Aside from getting a President to nominate you, all you have to do is answer this little questionnaire and let a few senators ask you questions about it.
Morning Must Reads: A Different Beast
Official White House Photo by Pete Souza
–Some initial reactions to the Kerry-Lieberman energy and climate bill here and here. Brad Johnson has a useful side-by-side comparison with the House bill. Our colleague Bryan Walsh looks at the big picture.
–The politics are a different beast from health care or financial reform. As …
Morning Must Reads: Brave Face
Official White House Photo by Lawrence Jackson
–Afghan President Hamid Karzai is in Washington today for meetings with President Obama. Our colleague Tony Karon writes it will be a tense debate over when and how to strike a deal with the Taliban. Marc Ambinder describes the optics: “two parents who tolerate each other and cannot …
And The First Kagan Interview Goes To…
…the White House:
Elena Kagan and Health Reform
During Elena Kagan’s Senate confirmation hearing, the American public will get a sneak peak of a particularly contentious case that may reach the Supreme Court – the constitutionality of the new health reform law. Several Republican senators have already indicated they plan to ask Kagan about her view of the law’s mandate that …
