Breaking News: http://firstread.msnbc.msn.com/ Senate Judiciary Committee approves Elena Kagan as fourth female justice ever on the Supreme Court
Senate Judiciary Committee approves Elena Kagan as fourth female justice ever on the Supreme Court.
38 minutes ago via Breaking News
Graham joins panel's Dems to approve Kagan
Carrie Dann writes: Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina on Tuesday voted in favor of the nomination of Supreme Court nominee Elena Kagan, making him the only GOP member of the Senate Judiciary Committee to back Obama’s pick for the high court.
The panel, made up of 12 Democrats and seven Republicans, approved Kagan’s nomination by a vote of 13-6. Every Democrat on the panel supported her, while every Republican other than Graham opposed her. The nomination will go to a full Senate vote within the next few weeks.
"I'm going to vote for her because I believe the last election had consequences," Graham said in announcing his support for Kagan. "This president chose someone who is qualified, who has the experience and knowledge to serve on this court ... and understands the difference between being a liberal judge and a politican."
Graham repeatedly noted areas of ideological disagreement between himself and the nominee, emphasizing that she is "a liberal," but said that President Barack Obama "chose wisely" when deciding on a judge who shares his ideology.
Ultimately, "it was not a hard decision for me to make," he said, adding that she "will serve this nation honorably."
In announcing his support for Kagan, Graham cited her performance on national security matters during her tenure as Solicitor General and her support from onetime judicial nominee Miguel Estrada as factors in his decision.
Graham also addressed one of the main GOP arguments against her nomination: Kagan's decision as Harvard Law School dean to prohibit military recruiters from using a campus career center on the basis that the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy barring openly gay men and women from serving in the military violated the school's anti-discrimination rules.
"If I believed that she had animosity in her heart about those who wear the uniform, I could easily vote no," Graham said. "I don't believe that."
He was the only Republican member of the committee to support nominee Sonia Sotomayor in 2009.
Minutes before Graham’s statement of support, his office released a letter from Kagan to the South Carolina lawmaker praising her friend and former law school classmate Miguel Estrada. Estrada’s nomination to the federal bench by President George W. Bush was blocked by Democrats in the Senate in 2003.
The senior Republican on the committee, Sen. Jeff Sessions, R-Ala., formally announced his opposition to Kagan’s nomination in a USA Today op-ed earlier Tuesday.
“Throughout her career, Ms. Kagan has placed her politics above the law," Sessions wrote. “She has never been a judge, never tried a case before a jury and has practiced law for only three years. She is the least experienced nominee in the last half-century.”
I have always felt that we need more "maternal" oversight in this country.
She brings a mixed bad of goodies with her also...single, lesbian, never has been a trial judge, Dean of Harvard Law, fights for the oppressed and not necessarily a Washington insider. Watch your hat Antonin Scalia.
We now have 3 women sitting on the Supreme Court Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan.
Dudes grap your.....cap were going for a walk.
