Commentary
The Brett Kavanaugh circus vs. Elena Kagan’s kid-glove treatment in 2010
Republicans refused to fight when a true radical was elevated to the Supreme Court
October 9, 2018
In the Senate proceedings on US Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh, many Americans watched the most gruesome political circus of their lifetimes. The Democrat Senators were irrational in their vicious attacks on him. The piercing screams and bizarre, hysterical behavior of their radical allies who swarmed the Senate chambers, adjacent areas, and outside Senators’ homes was far beyond even the legendary Bork spectacle.
But Kavanaugh’s actual views on issues are middle-of-the-road and even slightly liberal (e.g., that Roe v Wade is “settled law”) [LINK]. There has been concern over his links to the “deep state” and the Vince Foster cover-up during the Clinton years, but for whatever reasons that doesn’t seem to trouble most Republicans.
The GOP pulled up their boots and held off the attacks on Kavanaugh (and the rule of law). While this was courageous and “principled,” we’re not expecting anything stouthearted when the next contest arises.
Compare the Republican stand for Kavanaugh to what happened in 2010. That was the year Barack Obama nominated Elena Kagan, then Solicitor General and formerly Harvard Law School Dean, to the U.S. Supreme Court.
Kagan was a true leftist radical. She had a well-known history of pro-LGBT radicalism while Dean of Harvard Law School. While in the Clinton administration, she encouraged the President to support late-term abortions. She had no experience to recommend her to such a high position in the courts. However, she would be sure to push for “LGBT rights.” But the Republicans put up no discernable fight.
When the time came, the Republicans didn’t have the nerve (or the interest) in seriously rocking the boat, and they barely mentioned any of this.
On May 10, 2010, Obama announced the Kagan nomination to replace retiring Justice John Paul Stevens. On June 28, a team led by MassResistance researcher Amy Contrada published a report documenting Kagan’s extensive LGBT activism, titled: How Elena Kagan helped "queer" Harvard Law School. Will she now help "queer" the US Supreme Court's decisions? The answer, as we’ve seen since, is “yes.” We (and others) sent copies to every Senator, and as many members of their staffs, etc., as we could. People also telephoned to follow up.
Among the facts in the MassResistance report:
- Kagan accelerated and legitimized the GLBT “rights” concept and law studies at Harvard Law School and in the larger community.
- Kagan recruited former ACLU lawyer (and former ACT-UP activist) William Rubenstein, an expert on "queer" legal issues to teach at Harvard Law School. His topics have included "polygamy, S&M, the sexuality of minors."
- Kagan promoted and facilitated the “transgender” legal agenda during her tenure at Harvard. In 2007, HLS offered a Transgender Law course by “out lesbian” Professor Janet Halley and Dean Spade, a transsexual activist attorney.
- Kagan encouraged Harvard students to get involved in homosexual activist legal work in the guise of “public interest law.” To get “clinical” legal experience, the Harvard Law School established the LGBT Law Clinic.
- Kagan engaged in ongoing radical advocacy opposing “Don’t Ask Don’t Tell” and demanding an end to the ban on homosexuals serving in the military.
- Even after Kagan and Harvard lost their legal campaign to ban military recruiters and Harvard Law School was forced to let them back on campus, she encouraged ongoing student protests against them — deputizing the radical Lambda (LGBT) group to come up with ideas of how to harass the recruiters legally.
- Kagan attended functions of radical LGBT groups at Harvard University, absorbing and apparently agreeing with their goals. Within a month of meeting with a Harvard Law School LGBT student group, she was agreeing with their demand to ban military recruiters on campus. She moderated a panel on GLBT law at the Harvard Gay and Lesbian Caucus's 25th anniversary celebration in 2008.
- Thanks in part to engagement by Kagan (and other administrators), Harvard became so committed to radical transsexual activism that by 2010 its health insurance policy partially covered “sex-change” breast “treatments” for transsexuals (either men taking hormones to develop breasts, or women having their healthy breasts removed to become the “men” they believe they are).
- Elena Kagan was an active member of the Diversity Task Force of the ultra-leftist Boston Bar Association during the time of its activism in support of "gay marriage" and advocacy for "transgender rights."
This history should have been a big red flag for GOP Senators who cared about how the US Supreme Court would re-define American law and culture. All of it had “activist judge” warnings written all over it.
But besides a few comments here and there, Republicans (and the mainstream pro-family movement in Washington, DC) refused to make an issue over her past activism and clear bias.
The Kagan “vetting” was very peaceful and orderly. Although at that time the filibuster was allowed for Supreme Court nominations, GOP minority whip Jon Kyl said, "The filibuster should be relegated to extreme circumstances, and I don't think Elena Kagan represents that." Yeah, right.
The Senate vote on August 5 was 63-37. Five Republicans -- Richard Lugar (R-IN), Susan Collins (R-ME), Olympia Snowe (R-ME), Judd Gregg (R-NH), and Lindsey Graham (R-SC) -- voted to approve Kagan. One Democrat (Ben Nelson, D-NE) voted “No.”
Our warnings have proven correct. Kagan has been an activist, ultra-leftist Supreme Court Justice. In 2013, she joined the leftists on the Court in several pro-“gay marriage” rulings. Then, after personally officiating at a “gay” wedding, she refused to recuse herself from the Obergefell case and joined the chorus to rule that “gay marriage” is enshrined in the US Constitution.
And now, Justice Kagan is pontificating -- that with Kavanaugh joining the Court, the legitimacy of the Supreme Court will be at risk! That horse left the barn a long time ago.
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