Today's Washington Examiner posted an editorial about the nomination of Elena Kagan to the Supreme Court. The editorial points out two areas that the editors feel should be explored in the confirmation hearings.
- Elena Kagan was involved in the preparation of the Citizen's United case which was argued before the Supreme Court. The question in the case was whether the government could criminalize speech that criticized a public official who was running for office 60 days before a general election and 30 days before a primary. The question needs to be asked as to whether or not Ms. Kagan believes in the censorship of political speech.
- As dean of Harvard Law School, Ms. Kagan opposed military recruiting on campus. She did this because she was opposed to the 'don't ask, don't tell' policy of the military and felt that homosexuals should be able to serve openly in the military. We are in a time of war, and I really am concerned about naming a Supreme Court Justice who has opposed the military in the past.
Having said all this, I believe that the President has the right to name his Supreme Court Justices. Unless there is some horrible hidden fact that has not yet surfaced, I think Elena Kagan should be confirmed. I also think that the people who favor more conservative judges should use her hearings to show the difference between conservative and liberal judges. Knowing his political background, it would be unrealistic to expect President Obama to appoint a conservative judge. The best those of us who are conservative can hope for is a qualified, fair-minded appointee. I believe Elena Kagan fits that description.
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