SumOfAllFears
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Obama to tap Elena Kagan for Supreme Court
Obama to tap Kagan for Supreme Court
WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) -- President Obama is leaning toward Solicitor General Elena Kagan to replace retiring Justice John Paul Stevens on the U.S. Supreme Court, according to press reports over the weekend.
Kagan appears to have beaten out other front-runners for the job, including federal appellate judges Merrick Garland and Diane Wood.
Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens, who recently turned 90, is retiring this summer.
Seen as a more moderate choice on Obama's short list, Kagan has already survived a Senate confirmation process for her current job.
A formal announcement is widely expected by Monday or Tuesday.
Stevens, 90, leader of the high court's liberal bloc and the court's oldest member, is retiring this summer, giving Obama his second Supreme Court opening to fill.
The court's political makeup will not change, since Obama is expected to name a fellow liberal replacement for Stevens. Appointed to the court by President Gerald Ford, Stevens took office in December 1975 and has been known as a liberal despite his appointment by a Republican.
In a brief letter to Obama, Stevens said he concluded, "It would be in the best interests of the Court to have my successor appointed and confirmed well in advance of the commencement of the Court's next term."
Stevens says he'll step down when the Supreme Court finishes its work for the summer in late June. His retirement had been widely expected.
Stevens prepares to leave office shortly after Obama signed a bill that overhauls the U.S. health-care system. Several state attorneys general are challenging the law in court and vow to take it all the way to the Supreme Court.
Justice Antonin Scalia will become the second-highest-ranking justice, behind Chief Justice John Roberts. Per court rules, the person with the most seniority on the majority side of a decision decides who writes the majority's opinion of the case.
Stevens wrote the majority opinion in a case that bucked the Bush administration's plan to try terrorism suspects by military commissions. His opinion said that the executive branch didn't have the authority to set up such commissions.
He also dissented in Bush v. Gore, the decision that halted a recount of election ballots in Florida and thus allowed George W. Bush to take office as president.
Leading candidates to replace the retiring Stevens are Kagan and federal appellate judges Merrick Garland and Diane Wood, the Associated Press reported.
(This post was last modified: 05-08-2010 05:55 PM by SumOfAllFears.)
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05-08-2010 05:54 PM |
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RobertN
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RE: Obama to tap Elena Kagan for Supreme Court
Don't know much about her. Sounds like she may be more of a centrist. This is very unfortunate. He should have gone farther left.
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05-08-2010 07:07 PM |
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smn1256
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RE: Obama to tap Elena Kagan for Supreme Court
(05-08-2010 07:07 PM)RobertN Wrote: Don't know much about her. Sounds like she may be more of a centrist. This is very unfortunate. He should have gone farther left.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elena_Kagan
Harvard, Chicago, Obama, Clinton.....she has the word Lib tattooed to her forehead.
Quote:During her deanship, Kagan supported a long-standing policy barring military recruiters from campus, because she felt that the military's Don't ask, don't tell policy discriminated against gays and lesbians. Wasn't Don't Ask a liberal concept? Like, by maybe, Willy Clinton? Just asking...... According to Campus Progress,
As dean, Kagan supported a lawsuit intended to overturn the Solomon Amendment so military recruiters might be banned from the grounds of schools like Harvard. When a federal appeals court ruled the Pentagon could not withhold funds, she banned the military from Harvard’s campus once again. The case was challenged in the Supreme Court, which ruled the military could indeed require schools to allow recruiters if they wanted to receive federal money. Kagan, though she allowed the military back, simultaneously urged students to demonstrate against Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.[14][15]
In October 2003, Kagan transmitted an e-mail to students and faculty deploring that military recruiters had shown up on campus in violation of the school's anti-discrimination policy. It read, "This action causes me deep distress. I abhor the military's discriminatory recruitment policy." She also wrote that it was "a profound wrong -- a moral injustice of the first order.
Yep, she's a winner, she abhors a law made by a liberal president.
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05-08-2010 09:16 PM |
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TomorrowHerd
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RE: Obama to tap Elena Kagan for Supreme Court
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05-09-2010 08:26 PM |
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smn1256
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RE: Obama to tap Elena Kagan for Supreme Court
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05-09-2010 08:46 PM |
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smn1256
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RE: Obama to tap Elena Kagan for Supreme Court
First Obama says this:
Quote:There is absolutely no doubt in my mind Judge Roberts is qualified to sit on the highest court in the land. Moreover, he seems to have the comportment and the temperament that makes for a good judge. He is humble, he is personally decent, and he appears to be respectful of different points of view. It is absolutely clear to me that Judge Roberts truly loves the law. He couldn't have achieved his excellent record as an advocate before the Supreme Court without that passion for the law, and it became apparent to me in our conversation that he does, in fact, deeply respect the basic precepts that go into deciding 95 percent of the cases that come before the Federal court -- adherence to precedence, a certain modesty in reading statutes and constitutional text, a respect for procedural regularity, and an impartiality in presiding over the adversarial system. All of these characteristics make me want to vote for Judge Roberts.
And then follows up with this:
Quote:The problem I face ....................can only be determined on the basis of one's deepest values, one's core concerns, one's broader perspectives on how the world works, and the depth and breadth of one's empathy.
And this:
Quote:The bottom line is this: I will be voting against John Roberts' nomination.
http://obamaspeeches.com/031-Confirmatio...Speech.htm
Let the games begin and let's play by his rules.
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05-09-2010 08:58 PM |
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I45owl
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RE: Obama to tap Elena Kagan for Supreme Court
(05-08-2010 07:07 PM)RobertN Wrote: Don't know much about her. Sounds like she may be more of a centrist. This is very unfortunate. He should have gone farther left.
We are in an era where today's supreme court nominees were chosen over 10 years ago. If you want to see Obama's influence, look to see who has been appointed to the federal bench during his administration. If you want to see the next conservative nominees, look at who Bush appointed.
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05-10-2010 06:15 AM |
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Fort Bend Owl
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RE: Obama to tap Elena Kagan for Supreme Court
She hired a few conservative lawyers at Harvard supposedly. She's liberal on some issues but has gone towards the center on a few issues. I don't think this turns into another Harriet Miers and she'll pass thru eventually. The Republicans can filibuster but I doubt they'll get anything better if she withdraws and he announces a different appointee.
As I've said before, unless Kennedy retires, none of Obama's appointments are going to do much to the present leanings of the Court. He may get one more nominee if Ginsberg retires. I wonder if a 3rd female appointee now spurs her to retire due to her health?
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05-10-2010 06:58 AM |
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DrTorch
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RE: Obama to tap Elena Kagan for Supreme Court
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05-10-2010 09:04 AM |
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I45owl
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RE: Obama to tap Elena Kagan for Supreme Court
(05-10-2010 06:15 AM)I45owl Wrote: We are in an era where today's supreme court nominees were chosen over 10 years ago.
oops, Kagan wasn't who I thought she was. At any rate, I suspect the vote will have less to do with her than it will with Bob Bennett.
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05-10-2010 09:26 AM |
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Smaug
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RE: Obama to tap Elena Kagan for Supreme Court
(05-08-2010 07:07 PM)RobertN Wrote: Don't know much about her. Sounds like she may be more of a centrist. This is very unfortunate. He should have gone farther left.
If she leaned left enough to suit you, she'd fall over.
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05-10-2010 09:39 AM |
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Native Georgian
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RE: Obama to tap Elena Kagan for Supreme Court
(05-10-2010 06:58 AM)Fort Bend Owl Wrote: She's liberal on some issues but has gone towards the center on a few issues.
Like what?
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05-10-2010 09:41 AM |
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subflea
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RE: Obama to tap Elena Kagan for Supreme Court
Like her stance on Church and State. She has no problem giving federal funds to religious organizations that do nonreligious charity work, even if the the religious part of the organization slips into that work.
For example if a church does is giving out food, and while they give that food away they are preaching, they can still receive federal money for that work.
(This post was last modified: 05-10-2010 01:03 PM by subflea.)
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05-10-2010 01:03 PM |
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dwr0109
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RE: Obama to tap Elena Kagan for Supreme Court
I see many potential problems with that line of reasoning. Particularly if other (currently controversial) religions begin receiving Federal funds to preach their message to U.S. citizens/taxpayers, while they perform a non-religious service.
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05-10-2010 03:21 PM |
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DrTorch
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RE: Obama to tap Elena Kagan for Supreme Court
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05-10-2010 03:45 PM |
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Native Georgian
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RE: Obama to tap Elena Kagan for Supreme Court
As for subflea's comment, I have never heard of any instance where Kagan expressed a view of "her stance on Church and State". If anyone can provide a link to such an instance, I will be happy to look into it. Maybe Ft Bend Owl will reply to my earlier post and provide such a link.
But anyway, until someone provides specific evidence to the contrary, I will remain convinced that Kagan is a 100%, down-the-line liberal on all significant issues. In particular, her decision as Harvard Law Dean to continue the institution's ban on on-campus military recruiting (combined with her public statements explaining and justifying that decision) mark Ms. Kagan as an ardent supporter of the attempt to mandate the acceptance of homosexuality by all aspects of the broader society.
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05-10-2010 04:21 PM |
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Fort Bend Owl
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RE: Obama to tap Elena Kagan for Supreme Court
From today's New York Daily News...
Quote:The reality is, Kagan’s appointment is more legitimately concerning to liberals than it is to conservatives. She has the hallmarks of being a cautious, small-bore pragmatist — not an activist left-leaning judge.
When being confirmed for the job of U.S. solicitor general, she agreed that certain Al Qaeda suspects could be held indefinitely without trial — even if they were captured off the battlefield.
She has said there is "no question . . . that the Second Amendment guarantees Americans ‘the individual right to possess and carry weapons in case of confrontation.’ "
She believes there is nothing wrong with government funds going to faith-based groups, provided they use that money for non-religious purposes.
She has flatly stated there is no federal constitutional right to same-sex marriage.
In her time as dean of Harvard Law School, she supported the controversial hiring of Jack Goldsmith, known for playing a key role in crafting the Bush administration’s interrogation policy.
Add it up, and odds are that, as a replacement for the liberal John Paul Stevens, she will drag the court modestly toward the center.
Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics...z0nZ8bIgAT
Look she is still going to side with the liberal side of the court - no mistake about that. But I suspect she won't be as one-sided in her opinions as Ginsberg.
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05-10-2010 04:52 PM |
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I45owl
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RE: Obama to tap Elena Kagan for Supreme Court
Senate Committee Should Question Elena Kagan On Issues Relating To Church-State Separation, Says AU | Americans United
http://www.au.org/media/press-releases/a...hould.html Wrote:May 10, 2010
Watchdog Group Calls On Judiciary Committee Members To Ascertain Nominee’s Views On Key Religious Liberty Issues
Americans United for Separation of Church and State today called on the Senate Judiciary Committee to question Supreme Court nominee Elena Kagan on her views concerning a range of church-state issues.
President Barack Obama today announced the nomination of Kagan, currently U.S. solicitor general, to the high court. Since Kagan has not been a judge, she lacks a clear record on church-state separation issues.
“We simply don’t know much about Elena Kagan’s views on church-state separation,” said Barry W. Lynn, executive director of Americans United. “It’s the job of the Senate Judiciary Committee to fill in the picture by asking her questions about how religion and government should interact.”
As solicitor general, Kagan argued a church-state case before the Supreme Court this term, defending a federal statute designed to preserve a cross erected on federal land in California. However, the Justice Department inherited that case, Salazar v. Buono, from the previous Bush administration.
In 1987, while serving as a clerk for Justice Thurgood Marshall, Kagan wrote a memo adopting a separationist viewpoint and stating that religious groups should not be able to receive public funding for certain secular activities. During her confirmation hearings for solicitor general, however, she distanced herself from that analysis, calling it “deeply mistaken” and “utterly wrong.”
Said Lynn, “The Supreme Court is deeply divided over issues such as tax funding of religion, the role of religion in public life and the limits of religious freedom. We urge the U.S. Senate to ascertain Kagan’s basic judicial philosophy in an area that is crucial to so many Americans.”
Lynn added that this is especially important because Kagan would replace Justice John Paul Stevens, a strong supporter of separation of church and state.
“Justice Stevens understood why our nation needs a high and firm wall of separation between church and state,” Lynn said. “His replacement should too.”
Americans United is a religious liberty watchdog group based in Washington, D.C. Founded in 1947, the organization educates Americans about the importance of church-state separation in safeguarding religious freedom.
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05-10-2010 04:57 PM |
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Fort Bend Owl
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RE: Obama to tap Elena Kagan for Supreme Court
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05-10-2010 05:01 PM |
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Native Georgian
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RE: Obama to tap Elena Kagan for Supreme Court
Barry Lynn is a left-wing activist for a left-wing organization devoted to making America as secular as possible. The fact that he is "concerned" about Kagan's views (or rather, claiming to be concerned) about his pet issue does nothing to make me reconsider my opinion expressed earlier.
The New York Daily News has a very liberal-left editorial outlook. The fact that one of its columnists (and I admit I have never heard of Joshua Greenman until now) is arguing that Kagan is a moderate/centrist, again, does nothing to make me reconsider my earlier comment.
The report that Kagan, in 1997, urged Clinton to approve of a late-term abortion ban does, possibly, fall into a different category. I would want to see for myself the "documents" referenced by the AP article in the Houston Chronicle. Just offhand, I tend to suspect that Kagan's advice was more political than anything else, and was simply recommending that Clinton sign off onto a compromise fashioned by Democrat Leader Tom Daschle, as a way of getting an issue (that most Democrats did not want to deal with) off of the political radar. Such advice would not necessarily mean that Kagan inwardly approved of the compromise from a moral/intellectual standpoint, nor does it mean she would uphold the constitutionality of it if she were placed in the position of a Supreme Court justice. But maybe there is more to it than that. I would be willing to wait and see before making a final pronouncement on that particular question.
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05-10-2010 05:22 PM |
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