Specter Opposed Confirmation of Elena Kagan, Potential Obama Supreme Court Nominee

[babylonsister]

http://theplumline.whorunsgov.com/president-obama/specter-opposed-confirmation-of-potential-obama-supreme-court-nominee/

The Plum LineGreg Sargent's blog
Specter Opposed Confirmation Of Potential Obama Supreme Court Nominee


Here’s a sign that Obama and Dems may not be able to count on much help from newly-minted Democrat Arlen Specter in the fight to get his eventual Supreme Court justice confirmed:

Recall that earlier this year, Specter came out strongly against the nomination of Elena Kagan, Obama’s pick for the post of Solicitor General. Kagan is one of several people who’s being talked about as a potential Supreme Court pick for Obama.

Specter raised concerns about Kagan’s positions on the death penalty, her earlier work for Ruth Bader Ginsberg, her claim that Ginsberg is a “moderate,” her views on judicial activism, and other things, according to his written questions for her at the time.

While Specter didn’t ultimately pass judgment on her answers, he rejected her because he maintained she hadn’t answered his questions to his satisfaction, and his line of questioning suggests a hostility to anyone with liberal to moderate legal views.

Indeed, Specter was pretty elusive on why he opposed her, which also suggests that he’d be unreliable at best as an ally in the Supreme Court fight.

So for all the talk we keep hearing about how Specter is putting Dems within reach of the 60 Senate votes they need to break the GOP filibuster, there’s little reason to imagine that he’d be likely to help in this regard on what will prove one of the biggest and most consequential Senate fights of all.

[tekisui]

1. That was then.....hope Springs eternal, I guess.

That was before he was going to be getting checks from the Democrats. We'll know in a couple of months, I still think Specter is going to be with the nominee, whoever it is.

[babylonsister]

2. I'm also an optimist, but

I just don't trust him. I've been burned too many times.

[lsewpershad]

4. Totally agree

He cannot be trusted.

[Mz Pip]

3. I don't know the true

extent of the 'deal' the Democrats made with Specter but it seems like it might have been wise to tell him that we'd be watching him pretty carefully and how he did as a Democrat would determine whether or not there would be a primary challenger.

This 'unconditional immunity' Specter seems to have been given in exchange for no challenge in the primary may not have been a wise decision. He voted with the Republicans 80% of the time and that wasn't good enough for them. While I don't think it's a good idea for the Democrats to demand 100% voting loyalty, we should expect more than 20%.