Will Barack Obama Name Elena Kagan as His SCOTUS Nominee This Weekend?

Possibily.But one would assume if Barack Obama was going to make such an announcement over a weekend, it is because he wants to take advantage of the less attentive public in order to name an unpopular choice. Elena Kagan is a progressive, but she is not as hardcore as the far left would like.

She has allies among conservatives because, as dean of Harvard law, she attempted to broaden the ideological climate. She even picked up seven Senate Republican votes when she was confirmed as Solicitor General. That would be enough for progressive’s to distrust her, but she has also been an advisor to Goldman Sachs and, the cardinal sin for a progressive, has been accused of ignoring affirmative action in her hiring of professors at Harvard law.

It most certainly will not matter. Kagan’s confirmation vote to solicitor General was 61-31. There is no compelling reason for Republicans to filibuster. She is bound to pick up at least as many Republican votes as before. Aside from the fact I am not going to like any nominee Obama chooses, she is a safe, competent choice. One I am somewhat surprised Obama might make.