Supreme Court Contenders: Pros and Cons

[usregimechange]

...

Elena Kagan (far left in the picture above), 50, the current solicitor general and former dean of Harvard Law School. She is considered the leading candidate, in part because of her reputation as a consensus builder at Harvard and her outreach to conservatives. She is widely viewed as an intellectual heavyweight, and has youth on her side. She also would be the Court's third woman justice. But the left is lukewarm on her nomination because she is not believed to be solid on issues of executive power. Republicans would portray her as a Washington insider, and slam her for refusing to allow military recruiters at Harvard because of its "don't ask, don't tell" policy.

Merrick Garland (second from left in the picture), 57, federal appeals court judge on the DC Circuit. With Kagan, he is also considered a leading contender and would be the easiest to confirm, because he would get significant conservative support. He's considered the most moderate of the bunch and, in replacing liberal leader John Paul Stevens, would actually move the Court to the right. The left would see his nomination as a crushing disappointment, with 59 Democratic votes in the Senate. His nomination would mean Mr. Obama is unwilling to expend an iota political capital on the Supreme Court and instead wants to focus on his legislative agenda.

Diane Wood (second from right in the picture), 59, Chicago-based federal appeals court judge. She is considered the biggest fight--and the candidate the left would most like to see. She's no bomb thrower, though. Her specialty is antitrust/business law, and she developed close relationships with superstar Judges Frank Easterbrook and Richard Posner while at the University of Chicago Law School. She now serves on the 7th Circuit with both of them, and has developed a strong reputation as an effective jurist. As a graduate of the University of Texas and its law school, she would be the only justice from outside the Ivy League. But she has decided some controversial abortion cases that would turn her hearings into a fight.

Sidney Thomas (far right in the picture), 56, federal appeals court judge, Montana. He best fits the narrative that Obama has been trumpeting since he slammed the Court in his State of the Union address: That the conservative-dominated Supreme Court is out of touch with every day Americans and needs a fresh voice from outside the Beltway to understand real concerns and real people. But at the end of the day, Thomas is a risk for the White House. His opinions on some social issues could prove more controversial than Wood's, and he has been reversed unanimously by the Supreme Court in prominent cases. Republicans could turn his nomination into a real battle -- over a judge with less legal stature than Wood.

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-504564_162-20004384-504564.html

[beyurslf]

1. Here is my thought:

Can't we find a nice gal or fella who is wildly to the left of--oh, I don't know-- Bernie Sanders, who happens to be about 40yo and has a long family history of living well past the century mark?

[LonePirate]

2. I like the way you think! I second that search criteria.

[mr_liberal]

3. Kagan seems perfect except for

her views about free speech. She has similar views about pron that anti-porn feminists do. She stops short of being for censorship, but thinks porn can still be controlled in other ways using other kinds of laws and to do that would be a good thing. And she does advocate the use of obscenity laws (which shouldn't exist imo) as well.

I think Diane Wood or Thomas woudl be more dependable on civil liberties, but theyre older and I doubt they have the leadership and consensus making abilities of Kagan.

Id be fine with Wood or Thomas, Id be uneasy but hopeful with Kagan.