As Connie Hair reports, Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) Friday became the first senator to declare himself a definite "no" vote on the confirmation of Supreme Court nominee Elena Kagan, citing the solicitor general's "activist judicial philosophy." Hatch's statement, however, did not indicate he would support a filibuster of Kagan's nomination.
Meanwhile, Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.) told CBS News: "I was disappointed. I have to be honest. I felt she was less than open with us certainly, even less than candid." Sessions stopped short of saying he would vote against Kagan.
The Senate will now recess until July 12, and Republican sources on Capitol Hill said Friday morning they were unsure how the Judiciary Committee will proceed on the nomination after the recess. They did not rule out the possibility that GOP members of the committee might seek to bring Kagan back for more questioning on her 1996 role in influencing two medical associations' positions on partial-birth abortion.
A "go slow" approach was urged by Charmaine Yoest of Americans United for Life, writing Friday morning at National Review's Bench Memos blog:
The Senate needs to investigate her record on partial-birth-abortion lobbying, and I urged them to do this.
As I left the hearing, I was reminded how much research we all do when we look into purchasing a car, a home, or something else of great importance in our lives. That’s just part of being responsible, it’s what all of our parents taught us — know what you are getting into, do your homework.
If Elena Kagan is confirmed to the Supreme Court, she will be on the bench for decades making decisions that will affect all of us. With so many outstanding questions, our elected representatives need to take the time to know what they are getting all of us into.
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