The latest on Elena Kagan by Glenn Greenwald

[defendandprotect]

The latest on Elena Kagan
By Glenn Greenwald I've laid out my case against Elena Kagan as thoroughly as I could, but with several anonymous (i.e., unreliable) reports percolating that she's the likely choice and could be announced as early as Monday, it's worthwhile to note several recent items from others pertaining to her selection:

(1) University of Colorado Law Professor Paul Campos, who previously expressed shock at the paucity of Kagan's record and compared her to Harriet Miers, has a new piece in The New Republic entitled (appropriately): "Blank Slate."

(2) Digby examines what a Kagan selection would reveal about Obama, and she particularly focuses on Kagan's relationship to Goldman Sachs. That relationship is relatively minor, but it is illustrative in several ways and will certainly be used by Republicans to advance their attacks on this administration as being inextricably linked with Wall Street. The Huffington Post's Sam Stein has more on the Kagan/Goldman Sachs connection.

(3) Following up on the article published yesterday in Salon by four minority law professors -- which condemned Kagan's record on diversity issues as "shocking" and "indefensible for the 21st Century" -- Law Professor Darren Hutchinson of American University School of Law today writes that Kagan's record is "abysmal."

Regardless of your particular views on these matters, that diversity is both vital and fair in the hiring process has long been a central plank in progressive thinking. It takes little creativity to imagine what Democrats would say about a Republican Supreme Court nominee with a hiring record similar to Kagan's. The question is whether they will be as consistent as these law professors are in applying their claimed beliefs to their own side. This is the issue that caused Linda Monk to rescind her endorsement of Kagan. Will Kagan-defending progressives now suddenly say that diversity is irrelevant? Will they try to claim that there were no qualified minorities for the Harvard Law School faculty? How will they reconcile everything they've always said about diversity with Kagan's record as Dean?

(4) This headline, from law.com, is a darkly amusing and quite revealing one to read about the Obama White House's front-runner to replace John Paul Stevens: "Supreme Court Watchers Wonder: How Conservative Is Kagan"?

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/us_kagan_confirmation



PS: And here's an interview -- two sides/Glenn Greenwald and Jamin Raskin, Maryland state senator and professor of constitutional law at American University’s School of Law --

from "DemocracyNow!" with Amy Goodman --

http://www.democracynow.org/2010/5/10/progressives_divided_over_obamas_nomination_of


Not really happy -- especially re connections to Goldman Sachs!

[Karenina]

1. Somebody talk me down...

and tell me she's UNRELATED to:

http://www.rightweb.irc-online.org/profile/Kagan_Frederick

[defendandprotect]

3. Scanned quickly . . . family resemblance? Don't know . . . are they connected????

[4lbs]

14. Nope no relation.

Elena Kagan's parents are named Robert Kagan and Gloria Kagan.

There is no Frederick Kagan in her family tree.

Frederick Kagan's father is Donald Kagan.

[defendandprotect]

16. Evidently, there's no connection . . . see post below --

[musette_sf]

19. I can assure you

she is not

[NJmaverick]

2. Oh God! How can anyone take Glenn (I love the Citizens United ruling) Greenwald seriously?

Are people really so desperate to attack the Presidents choice, that they will cite the work of someone that believes Corporations are citizens with rights?

[defendandprotect]

6. Didn't know that . . . and just reading a link on it --

http://bluntobject.wordpress.com/2010/01/26/a-bit-late-to-the-citizens-united-party/

However, I wouldn't move to a ready presumption that this article is about Glenn Greenwald -

it's about the choice. There will be positive and negative articles on her --

I'm also looking for a positive as we seek to find out who she is and whether she will

benefit liberals/progressives and ideals of democracy?

[WeDidIt]

9. Greenwald has yet to write anything postive

Lord High Douchenozzle is in a High Dudgeon over Kagan.

[defendandprotect]

17. Let's hope someone, somewhere is writing something positve about Kagan.... ?

If so, let's find it!

This is depressing!

[NJmaverick]

11. If Greenwald lacks the judgment to figure out a no brainer like Citizens United

he is a poor choice to evaluate Supreme Court picks

[defendandprotect]

18. And Obama is a poor choice to evaluate oil drilling . . . . !!

:eyes:

[FrenchieCat]

4. Oh Boy!

1) Blank slate means that she simply hasn't ruled on anything because she has not been a judge. Comparing her to Meyers is not only lazy but would only lead to the conclusion that Meyers and Kagan are miles apart when it comes to qualifications.

2) Since her relationship to GS is minor even according to Greenwald, and he mentions it in terms of what the Republicans would say, this makes no sense for Greenwald to mention it, since it would seem that he would have preferred a pick that would have provided even more ammunition for attacks by the Republicans. So why would he worry about this now, and not about his preferred selection before a pick was made?

3) As for her hiring practices, I'm not sure if the conclusions reached on what her hires say about her judiceously mean anything in reality....as she did clerk for Thurgood Marshall, was selected to sit on the court by our first African-American President, and she was the first Women Dean of Harvard Law School as well as first female Solicitor General...... so if one wants to do is accuse her of being a bigot of sorts, I'm not sure I would agree. I believe that she will be a much better justice than Greenwald anticipates....just like I know that Pres. Obama is a better President than the view Greenwald would offer.

[tranche]

5. Unqualified, corporatist, racist, closet tea bagger?

:eyes:

just don't have the energy to keep up with the outrage being manufactured these days...

[WeDidIt]

8. Greenwald is a TRUE corporatist

You only need look at his background to see that.

[WeDidIt]

7. So says The Word of Lord High Douchenozzle Greenwald

So let it go forth unto the land to declare that which is good and liberal.

[ClarkUSA]

10. American Family Association wants to know if Kagen is "gay." They say it would disqualify her.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=433x293648

[defendandprotect]

12. Wonderful opening to more right wing stupidities -- are they offering any evidence?

Or are they judging by her clothing, or something?

Ironic how they can't seem to see sexual perversions among their own religious leaders,

but they can guess as to whether Kagan is gay or not!!

[WeDidIt]

13. She's 50, unmarried, and doesn't look like a model

So naturally their only conclusion is she must be a lesbian.

Oh, and she's Jewish. I'm sure that figures somewhere in their calculus though I couldn't say where.

[defendandprotect]

15. Too bad that there is still so much organized homophobia --

whether she is or isn't -- none of their business!!

[WCGreen]

20. She's got the gay....

You know that the right wing sees this as an opening to attack. Not the right wing in power but the right wing behind those that are are in power, Hannity et al...

[gratuitous]

21. Okay, Greenwald is Lord High Douchenozzle

But what about Kagan's hiring record? Would we excuse a Republican nominee with a similar record? I don't think we would, but I've been wrong before. I'm also quite interested to hear from Nominee Kagan how she regards entities such as Goldman Sachs: Can she take their money, and then turn around and screw 'em (as former speaker of the California Assembly Willie Brown so famously delineated)?

These are real, live, actual issues that I would like to see addressed before saying yea or nay to a seat on the Supreme Court for Ms. Kagan. And it doesn't matter much who else thinks so, whether they're the Lord High Douchenozzle or not.

[gratuitous]

22. Whoa, killed THAT thread

'Sokay, I wasn't really looking for a substantive answer to any substantive questions. Everyone should resume denouncing Comrade Greenwald for his blasphemy.

[TexasObserver]

23. She's bad on police state issues and executive excess.