Hotline Whip Count: The Kagan Nomination
The confirmation hearings are over, and senators have begun to make up their minds about Solicitor General Elena Kagan. We're keeping a whip count of Kagan backers and her opponents in advance of this month's floor debate.
A note on methodology: We assume a vast majority -- if not all -- of the Dem caucus will vote to confirm Kagan. But we're going to be sticklers for a firm 'yes' -- or the very strong hint of a 'yes' in an interview.
YES VOTES: 9
Sens. Michael Bennet (report), Dick Durbin (floor speech^, 7/12), Al Franken (interview), Ted Kaufman (floor speech)**, Amy Klobuchar (interview*), Patrick Leahy (statement~), Jeff Merkley (report), Mark Udall (statement), Sheldon Whitehouse (interview^^).
NO VOTES: 9
Sens. Bob Bennett (statement), Jim DeMint (op-ed), Orrin Hatch (statement), Jim Inhofe (statement), Johnny Isakson (statement), Mike Johanns (statement), John McCain (op-ed), Mitch McConnell (statement), Lisa Murkowski (statement).
Updates: Leahy made his comments after we originally published this post. Whitehouse told Friedman he will vote for Kagan's nomination this afternoon. Kaufman said he would support Kagan in a floor speech Tuesday. Merkley will vote for Kagan, TPM's Christina Bellantoni tweeted today. Bennet said Tuesday afternoon he would vote for Kagan.
After the jump, notes on several senators who have made their positions known.
^ -- Durbin, in a 7/12 floor speech: "When the time comes, and I hope it comes soon, maybe within the next week or so, I will be proud to cast a vote in favor of the nomination of Elena Kagan to the Supreme Court."
* -- We're counting Klobuchar as a 'yes' vote. She told CongressDaily's Dan Friedman: "Obviously, you know how I am going to vote."
~ - Leahy, at the 7/13 Senate Judiciary Committee hearing: "I will cast my vote in support of Solicitor General Kagan's nomination."
^^ - Whitehouse, in an interview with CongressDaily's Friedman: "Yes. I do know that I will vote for Kagan."
** - Kaufman, on Tuesday: "I rise today in support of the nomination of the Solicitor General Elena Kagan to the Supreme Court."
Please add Sen. Leahy to the Yes Votes; see his July 13 Statement "I will cast my vote in support of Solicitor General Kagan's nomination." which I linked to on my website Judging the Environment (one word dot org)
-Glenn Sugameli
Judging the Environment
Defenders of Wildlife
Washington, D.C.
Please add Sen. Michael Bennet to the Yes Votes; see his July 13 Press release "Michael Bennet, U.S. Senator for Colorado, announced today that he would be voting in support of Solicitor General Elena Kagan’s nomination to serve on the United States Supreme Court" which I linked to on my website Judging the Environment (one word dot org)
-Glenn Sugameli
Judging the Environment
Defenders of Wildlife
Washington, D.C.
The Senators should examine the June 28 National Review story, and the Harvard law students' blog, on Kagan's decision to involve herself in the investigation of the Larry Tribe ghostwriting and plagiarism scandal despite her personal conflict of interest (she was a former Tribe ghostwriter and did a whitewash, imposing no punishment on Tribe).
http://authorskeptics.blogspot.com
Time for another update: Sen. Dianne Feinstein July 13 statement: "“I intend to vote YES on the nomination of Elena Kagan."
-Glenn Sugameli
Judging the Environment
Defenders of Wildlife
Washington, D.C.
Yet another July 13 YES vote from a Senator's website's press release: "Oregon’s Senator Jeff Merkley announced his intention to vote to confirm United States Solicitor General Elena Kagan as the next Associate Justice of the Supreme Court."
I added a link on my website Judging the Environment (one word dot org)
-Glenn Sugameli
Judging the Environment
Defenders of Wildlife
Washington, D.C.
How in the world does anyone think Lisa Murkowski is qualified or has the mental capacity to understand law, the role of law in our legal system (precedents), the function of law in our society (equally)let alone what qualifies someone to take the stand as a judge (without prejudice or agenda).
There should be a legislative school that each newly elected politician has to go to that familiarizes each newly elected politician with the Constitution, the Bill of Rights, The Declaration of Independence and a thorough review of History and Democracy from the days of the Magna Carta Libertatum.
This history should also include what the Tea Party was all about - small mom and pop businesses decrying the favoritism given to the big multi-national corporation the East India Company which had a Parliament granted monopoly since 1698. And that Legitimate tea importers who had not been named as consignees by the East India Company were also threatened with financial ruin by the Tea Act.
The story has always been the same the names of the players have just changed. Politicians succumbing to big business income granting favoritism, creating ad hoc monopolies, crushing the middle class until armed conflict between the haves and the have nots becomes the only way to restore the balance.
It's a lesson we all better not forget and needs to be drilled into the heads of our elected and selected leaders across all branches of local, state and federal governments.
New YES vote. POLITICO reported today that "Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-La.), who Republicans had hoped would join them, told POLITICO on Tuesday she’ll back Kagan."
I added a link on my website Judging the Environment (one word dot org)
-Glenn Sugameli
Judging the Environment
Defenders of Wildlife
Washington, D.C.