By Susan Brinkmann, OCDS
Staff Journalist
President Barack Obama has nominated Solicitor General Elena Kagan, a pro-abortion liberal with no judicial experience, to replace retiring Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens.
According to the Washington Post, the 50 year-old Kagan was the former dean of Harvard Law School and, if confirmed, would be the first person with no judicial experience to be nominated since 1972 when President Richard Nixon nominated William H. Rehnquist and Lewis Powell. Kagan has served only two years as a private lawyer with the rest of her career in government and academia.
She was chosen by President Bill Clinton for a spot on the U.S. Court of Appeals at the age 39 but Congress failed to bring her nomination to a vote.
Kagan’s most controversial position was opposing the military’s “don’t ask don’t tell” policy which she claimed violated Harvard Law School’s anti-discrimination policy. Although she filed a brief with the Supreme Court in opposition to the policy, she failed to convince the Justices who ruled against her.
Her pro-abortion views are even more troubling. LifeNews.com is reporting that Kagan has been a strong supporter of the pro-abortion agenda who has vigorously opposed the de-funding of taxpayer funded clinics which promote abortion.
She was also credited by the ACLU with shaping Clinton’s policy on hate crimes.
“The Clinton Administration treated pro-life activists like violent criminals, creating a task force in the Department of Justice and a grand jury to investigate peaceful pro-lifers. This raises serious concerns that she shares the hostile view that religious beliefs are a form of ‘hate’,” said Wendy Wright, president of Concerned Women for America, to LifeNews.
Her lack of judicial experience will be a concern for the American public. The most recent Washington Post-ABC News poll found that seven out of ten Americans believe judicial experience should be a factor in nominating a candidate for the high court.
While some say her lack of a paper trail could short-circuit her nomination, others believe it could make opposition to her nomination difficult because of being unable to pin her down on specific issues.
Kagan was confirmed as Solicitor General on a 61-31 vote last year, but this included the vote of only seven Republicans.
Political insiders believe the president picked someone with her radical views because this could be his last chance to do so while Democrats hang on to the last few months of their majority in Congress, a situation that is expected to change after the November elections.
“Supreme Court Justices are not supposed to shape public policy, and their nomination and confirmation should be based on their qualifications, not their views on specific issues,” said Father Frank Pavone, founder of Priests for Life.
“But there are certain issues so central to the very nature and purpose of government that one’s position on those issues is tantamount to a qualification for the job. The very purpose of government is the protection of human rights, starting with life. No court can legitimize an act of violence, such as abortion, or take away human rights. Anyone who fails to affirm that does not belong in any public office, much less the US Supreme Court.”
Priests for Life has begun a Facebook page for people who hold the same view; see www.priestsforlife.org/facebook for details.
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