Joe Lieberman (I-CT), in all his infinite wisdom, told Fox News this morning he was thrilled about the prospect of Solicitor General Elena Kagan being appointed the new Supreme Court Justice. This could potentially mean a turn for the Court - here and here.
This is a fascinating moment maybe for all these reasons, acknowledging that the fact that Justice Stevens became the leader of the liberal wing of the Supreme Court, that President Obama may nominate someone in fact who makes the Court slightly less liberal, at least for a while.
Lieberman called Kagan a "bright and honorable person," BUT
I DON'T KNOW HER BACKROUND IN TERMS OF THE OPINIONS SHE HOLDS.
In another case of "we shall make no sense," Weekly Standard editor Bill Kristol said Kagan has "hard to challenge credentials." She "would be a respectable choice, but "Republicans would oppose her and honestly should oppose her." Kristol is a board member of Keep America Safe, co-founded by Liz Cheney and Debra Burlingame.
And finally Liz Cheney herself, the sudden expert on everything and everyone, said she had been a student of Kagan's and had respect for her. Kagan, she said, "never let politics into the classroom."
So, there you have it: a turncoat who has an obsessive need to always be in front of the camera; a neoconservative who advises Republicans to fight Kagan's appointment despite her credentials; and a Cheney no-experience-necessary who surprisingly says something positive about Kagan but shies away from actually endorsing her.
Lieberman (Liberman) has always been generous in bestowing his kisses of death. When he opens his lips, run!
ReplyDeleteA turn for the Court is not just worrisome, but damned scary.
ReplyDeleteAfter 8 years of erosion, we need some restoration of our personal liberties, not continued degradation.
Damnation! It seems this country's train has derailed and is being lotted by the bystanders.
Damning with faint praise huh? I think Kristol's response is characteristic of the kind of cognitive dissonance that so many neocons seem to exhibit.
ReplyDeleteIf Obama nominated Jesus Christ himself for the position, they would be against it.
ReplyDeleteElena Kegan is the wrong choice. She is a moderate, like Sotomayor. A moderate was fine to replace another moderate, but not to replace Stevens who, along with Ginsburg are the only two Justices considered leftist, even by today's right-skewed standards.
ReplyDeleteDiane Wood might be a better choice, or perhaps Dawn Johnson. The four rabid right ideologues, Roberts, Scalia, Scalito, and Thomas are all young enough that we'll need to keep a Democrat in the White House for twenty years, just to restore balance.
Did anyone else notice how Traitor Joe opined that, by appointing a liberal, Obama would provoke a filibuster?
Nuclear option, anyone?
Remember, Stevens was by no means considered liberal when he was appointed by Ford. And look at Black - and I'm sure there have been others who have interpreted the Constitution literally, giving the appearance to the conservatives that they are "liberal."
ReplyDeleteT Cat's observation on Traitor Joe is right on. And reference Tnlib's observation on Stevens to understand the extent to which the SCOTUS has slumped to the right since Reagan.
ReplyDeleteHolte, LOL...Jesus would definitely be too liberal for them, hahaha.
ReplyDeleteHe's right. No matter who is chosen, the republicans will oppose, because that's all they have up their sleeve. They've used all their aces in the hole, the queens have fled, and the kings are dead. Utter helplessness ensues quickly in the GOP.
The Republicans will try to stonewall whomever Obama picks. They're interested in "Waterloo"ing him, not in the merits of the case, They've demonstrated that repeatedly.
ReplyDeleteSince Obama's going to get a fight no matter what he does, he might as well go with somebody solid like Wood.
Tnlib, I think Vig has it. Stevens was a moderate conservative when appointed, and he didn't change. The whole stinking country shifted so far right that Steven appears to be a leftist. You are right about Hugo Black, but hoping for that to happen again is a long shot at best.
ReplyDelete"If Obama nominated Jesus Christ himself for the position, they would be against it."
ReplyDeleteAnd if the left did not howl over the church-and-state issue, they'd be huge hypocrites.
TomCat: Measured from the center, Stevens and Sotomayor are leftists. Don't skew things according to your own bias. The idea that the country has shifted "Far right" is completely unrealistic when you consider the facts, such as the large number of issues (gay rights, support for single-payer healthcare) where the trend has been leftward.