Kagan nomination ensures that LGBT issues will play big part in confirmation process

Dan82 · May 10, 2010

http://www.dallasvoice.com/instant-...s-will-play-big-part-in-confirmation-process/

As I write this, President Barack Obama is announcing his nomination of Solicitor General Elena Kagan to replace retiring Justice John Paul Stevens on the U.S. Supreme Court. Kagan, 50, would become the youngest member and the third woman on the current court. She has no prior judicial experience.

Kagan is expected to come under fire from conservatives over her decision as dean of Harvard Law School to bar military recruiters from campus on grounds that “don’t ask don’t tell” violated the school’s non-discdrimination policy. Kagan and 40 other Harvard professors signed a brief to the Supreme Court supporting an unsuccessful challenge to the Solomon Amendment, a federal law that denies funding to universities that don’t allow access to military recruiters. After ultimately allowing the recruiters back on campus, Kagan wrote an e-mail to the Harvard Law School community in which she called DADT “a profound wrong — a moral injustice of the first order.”

Kagan has also been the subject of a whisper campaign alleging that she is gay. In April CBS published a blog post by a former Bush administration aide saying that Kagan’s nominiation would help Obama “please” much of his base, since she would be the “first openly gay justice.” The White House swiftly quashed the rumor, accusing CBS of “lies,” and the blog post was taken down...
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More Here:http://blogs.abcnews.com/politicalp...rd-law-schools-office-of-career-services.html

The White House anticipates that the position Supreme Court nominee Elena Kagan took regarding military recruiters at Harvard Law School, during her time as dean there, will be one of the big points of attack from Republicans.

To be precise about what she did: Kagan reinstated a ban on military recruiters using the Harvard Law School Office of Career Services – and then under pressure from the Bush administration, she lifted the ban.

The policy banning military recruiters from using Harvard Law School’s Office of Career Services had been in place since 1979 because of the military’s ban on gay and lesbian troops serving openly. University policy requires that any employer who recruits at Harvard Law School and uses the services of office of career services must sign a statement indicating that it does not discriminate on various bases, including sexual orientation.

In 2002, under pressure from the Bush administration, Harvard Law School lifted that ban. Under the “Solomon amendment,” passed in 1994, the Secretary of Defense had the legal right to ban federal funds to universities that prohibit military recruiting or ROTC on campus. The law school itself didn’t receive much in terms of federal funding, but the university – largely the medical school and school of public health - received approximately 15% of its funding from the federal government...
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Phoenix · May 10, 2010

Re: Kagan nomination ensures that LGBT issues will play big part in confirmation proc

In April CBS published a blog post by a former Bush administration aide saying that Kagan’s nominiation would help Obama “please” much of his base, since she would be the “first openly gay justice.”

This is exactly what I thought. To me it appears like he's only picking her to get gay activists off his back.

Dan82 · May 10, 2010

Re: Kagan nomination ensures that LGBT issues will play big part in confirmation proc

Phoenix said: ↑

In April CBS published a blog post by a former Bush administration aide saying that Kagan’s nominiation would help Obama “please” much of his base, since she would be the “first openly gay justice.”

This is exactly what I thought. To me it appears like he's only picking her to get gay activists off his back.
Click to expand...

If that were their motivation they’d acknowledge that she’s a lesbian; the way they’re handling it seems incredibly foolish.

Gaetan · May 10, 2010

Re: Kagan nomination ensures that LGBT issues will play big part in confirmation proc

I think they're trying to make it a non issue, in probably a very bad way. If she is a lesbian, that could hurt her confirmation in the eyes of the conservatives. If she is, and her supporters are able to argue the fact that it doesn't matter in her judicial judgment at all, then she, quite literally, should come out and admit it.

However, if she dodges the question (regardless of true sexuality) during the proceedings, that can only be a bad thing that would reflect badly on both her and Obama's administration.

If she is, she needs to (wo)man up and admit it.

Emberstone · May 10, 2010

Re: Kagan nomination ensures that LGBT issues will play big part in confirmation proc

Technically, there is no proof she is a lesbian.

the haircut is not enough.

the CBS story was unfact checked... which is what CBS news stories tend to be.

Phoenix · May 10, 2010

Re: Kagan nomination ensures that LGBT issues will play big part in confirmation proc

Dan82 said: ↑

Phoenix said: ↑

In April CBS published a blog post by a former Bush administration aide saying that Kagan’s nominiation would help Obama “please” much of his base, since she would be the “first openly gay justice.”

This is exactly what I thought. To me it appears like he's only picking her to get gay activists off his back.
Click to expand...

If that were their motivation they’d acknowledge that she’s a lesbian; the way they’re handling it seems incredibly foolish.
Click to expand...

The way they're handling the country seems incredibly foolish, but that's not stopping them from doing it. But that's just my view of course.

Dan82 · May 10, 2010

Re: Kagan nomination ensures that LGBT issues will play big part in confirmation proc

Gaetan said: ↑

I think they're trying to make it a non issue, in probably a very bad way. If she is a lesbian, that could hurt her confirmation in the eyes of the conservatives. If she is, and her supporters are able to argue the fact that it doesn't matter in her judicial judgment at all, then she, quite literally, should come out and admit it.

However, if she dodges the question (regardless of true sexuality) during the proceedings, that can only be a bad thing that would reflect badly on both her and Obama's administration.

If she is, she needs to (wo)man up and admit it.
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The conservatives will oppose any Obama nominates no matter who it is, so I don’t think it makes a difference there. I don’t understand why the White House is acting the way it is.

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Emberstone said: ↑

Technically, there is no proof she is a lesbian.

the haircut is not enough.

the CBS story was unfact checked... which is what CBS news stories tend to be.
Click to expand...

Just about everyone who is acquainted with her knows she is a lesbian.

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Phoenix said: ↑

Dan82 said: ↑

Phoenix said: ↑

In April CBS published a blog post by a former Bush administration aide saying that Kagan’s nominiation would help Obama “please” much of his base, since she would be the “first openly gay justice.”

This is exactly what I thought. To me it appears like he's only picking her to get gay activists off his back.
Click to expand...

If that were their motivation they’d acknowledge that she’s a lesbian; the way they’re handling it seems incredibly foolish.
Click to expand...

The way they're handling the country seems incredibly foolish, but that's not stopping them from doing it. But that's just my view of course.
Click to expand...

Right but if they were trying to improve the Presidents standing with gay voters by nominating a lesbian they’d at least acknowledge that she’s a lesbian. Unlike last year Kagan was chosen for no other reason than that the Obama administration thought she was the best person for the job.

Meropspusillus · May 10, 2010

Re: Kagan nomination ensures that LGBT issues will play big part in confirmation proc

Dan82 said: ↑

Right but if they were trying to improve the Presidents standing with gay voters by nominating a lesbian they’d at least acknowledge that she’s a lesbian. Unlike last year Kagan was chosen for no other reason than that the Obama administration thought she was the best person for the job.
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Not to mention, she was on the shortlist of Justices to nominate last time too. This was before Obama's so called "rift" with the LGBT voter-base.

Kagan nomination ensures that LGBT issues will play big part in confirmation process

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