3 Reasons Why Kagan Isn't Fit for the Court

Just hours ago, the Senate voted to confirm Ms. Elana Kagan to the Supreme Court (replacing John Paul Stevens). Her confirmation came almost exactly one year after Sonia Sotomayor was confirmed.  Ms. Kagan has called the Supreme Court hearing process a "vapid and hollow charade."

Here are three reasons why I personally object to Kagan's appointment.

1. She doesn't really believe in natural rights. (The term natural rights is defined as what everyone has before any government intervention, sometimes referred to as "certain inalienable rights.") In other words, she only acknowledges rights granted by the government, which is to say that the government is the purveyor of all rights. During her confirmation hearings, Kagan said: "I don't have a view of what are natural rights independent of the Constitution." She went on to say that she believed there may be rights before the constitution and laws, but that it wouldn't be her job to consider those.

2. She has zero judicial experience or record. The highest court in the land is no place for on-the-job training. (Sotomayor did at least had a record to be evaluated on.) It seems a theme of the Obama administration so far has been to put people in power who have little to no experience in their new field. The newly elected Sen. Scott Brown (R-MA), who has proven to be a political moderate, summed up the situation well: "The best umpires, to use the popular analogy, must not only call balls and strikes, but also have spent enough time on the playing field to know the strike zone."

3. She has a history of promoting executive power. As the dean of Harvard's law school, she upheld an old Harvard policy stating that no military recruiters would be allowed on campus; however, this time it was due to the military's don't-ask-don't-tell policy on gay service. After the military was allowed back following a unanimous 2006 Supreme Court decision on the matter, she rallied students to protest against the military's policy. Executive power is not the answer for everything - particularly when you, the executive in power, are proven wrong by a unanimous supreme court (which you end up later being appointed to).

On an unrelated note, Kagan served a branch of the failed and bailout-ridden Goldman Sachs as part of a global materials committee from 2005-2008.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnel (R-KY) said: "Whether it’s small claims court or the Supreme Court, Americans expect politics to end at the courtroom door. Nothing in Elena Kagan’s record suggests that her politics will stop there."

More quotes from Senators who voted today can be found here.

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