The Nomination of Elena Kagan: Rubber Stamp to the Obama Agenda

In her meetings on the hill today, Elena Kagan, will be meeting with Sen. Mitch McConnell.  McConnell, Minority leader in the Senate, is "worried" that Kagan will be a rubber stamp for the Obama agenda, and intends to grill her as to whether he current position in the administration will unduly influence her decision making.  Alright, while that may sound legitimate, it is ridiculously unrealistic, and it's just plain stupid.  Here's why:

1) She probably agrees with the administration on most of the major issues.  If she agreed to work for them, one can assume that she agrees with them!

2) She would not have been picked if she did not agree with the president on the major issues!  DUH!  NO ONE realistically expects a president to choose a nominee who doesn't agree with their point of view.  Clinton picked staunch liberal jurists, Bush II picked hardcore conservatives, and all those presidents whose justices ended up being different than they had hoped were disappointed.  No one sets out to pick a justice who will disagree with them down the line.  So are we supposed to be surprised that Obama picked someone who shares his judicial philosophy and will thus vote in favor of his positions on the court?

3) Doesn't it seem somewhat hypocritical for the republicans to make this claim when they picked rank and file neo-cons for their recent court picks?  John Roberts was the brain behind the Bush victory in 2000, and has always been a staunch ally to the administration.  Wouldn't that be an equally worrisome sign?  but I didn't hear the neo-con forces crowing about his ties to the administration.  Or consider Samuel Alito.  He is as close to Scalia as today's conservatives get, he is a party line thinker, and he develops jurisprudence out of his political beliefs.  This doesn't suggest that he might be a rubber stamp to ANY republican administration??

4) She's only 50!!  She will be 56 when Obama's term expires, that leaves her with another dozen plus years to have an opinion.  It's extremely short sighted for republicans to have a problem with her just because they think she will support the president.  Justices are lifetime appointments and she will be on the court LONG after Obama has left office.  So, you need to be asking deeper questions if you have a problem with her.

Common Sense