The confirmation hearings for the latest Obama nominee to sit on the Supreme Court bench start Monday. The hearings are a waste of time and an insult to Americans tired of pointless Congressional grandstanding. Save the time and money, skip the hearings and take the vote. The outcome will not change.
Elena Kagan complained in 1995 that Congressional hearings for court nominees had taken on “an air of vacuity and farce.” She said senators are “ incapable of either properly evaluating nominees or appropriately educating the public.”
Kagan has said Robert Bork’s testimony “should serve as a model” for judicial appointee senate hearings. The odds are slim she will be as forthright as Bork, or face the deep scrutiny of her record.
Don’t expect much in the way of revelations about Kagan’s future impact on the Supreme Court and the future of the nation’s judicial branch. She is well-schooled on evading direct answers to questions from senator’s afraid to ask the tough questions needed. There are better-qualified individuals to replace the outgoing justice, but the dog-and-pony-show hearings are merely a prelude to Kagan’s assured appointment.
George Will offers a few questions that should, but most likely will not, be asked before the vote is taken.
UPDATE:
The carnival of Kagan’s confirmation hearings is underway. As expected, George Will’s suggestion interrogation has not yet taken place.
Sen. Jon Kyl, (R-Ariz.), says the case is being made that Kagan’s experience and political positions make her unsuited for the post. He has not come out in support of a Republican filibuster against her confirmation, calling that step one to be taken in the event of extraordinary circumstances.
Unless Republicans and the Democrats troubled by Kagan’s elevation to a life-long appointment steering the nation’s legal tiller are willing to filibuster, the vote might as well be taken today.
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