Obviously, a flood of interest groups and advocates are reacting to the Kagan nomination. Everyone from the liberal Center for American Progress to the conservative Judicial Crisis Network has released a statement. Here's what we have so far.
Statement from Nan Aron of the Alliance for Justice:
"The Alliance for Justice applauds President Barack Obama’s nomination of Solicitor General Elena Kagan to the United States Supreme Court. Along with her sterling academic and professional qualifications, she will bring to the Court a respect for core constitutional values and a willingness to stand up for the rights of ordinary Americans. Her appointment also represents an historic step forward as women continue to take their rightful place on the highest court in the land.
"In these troubled economic times, Americans want to know that those appointed to the bench understand the impact the Court’s decisions have on their lives, and that our judiciary does not favor the wealthy and powerful. With the sharp turn the Court has taken in recent years toward protecting corporate interests, we urge the Senate Judiciary Committee to use the confirmation process to directly address the bread-and-butter issues that come before the Court and which affect the lives and livelihoods of the American people.
"The Alliance for Justice looks forward to a fair and expeditious hearing for Elena Kagan and to a constructive, civil debate about the rights of the American people under the Constitution and the role of the courts in protecting the interests of all Americans, regardless of wealth, power, and influence."
Statement from Carrie Severino, chief counsel and policy director of the Judicial Crisis Network:
"President Obama has nominated Solicitor General Elena Kagan to replace Justice John Paul Stevens on the Supreme Court. Obama wants to pack the court with reliable liberal votes to rubber-stamp an agenda that he knows the American people would not accept. What better way than to appoint a loyalist from his own Department of Justice with a thin public record to advance his leftist legacy through the Court.
"Ever since her efforts to get on the D.C. Circuit were stymied for fear of her extremist views, Kagan has bent over backwards to avoid taking public positions on hot-button topics. Except when she can’t help herself, like when she banned military recruiters during wartime from Harvard Law School because their Democrat-initiated 'don’t ask don’t tell' policy was, in her words, 'a moral injustice of the first order.'
"Senators have a solemn duty to thoroughly examine each nominee’s views and to reject those who would not fairly apply the law, but would redefine it to accommodate their own values and beliefs. In the past Solicitor General Kagan has advocated Senate hearings that thoroughly examine a nominee’s judicial philosophy; senators must hold her to her own standard, particularly given the scant record of her personal viewpoints she has carefully maintained. Nothing less than the Constitution itself is at stake."
See more after the jump.
John Podesta of the Center for American Progress on Kagan, a fellow former Clinton administration official:
"As a friend and colleague of Elena Kagan for more than 20 years, I applaud her nomination to the Supreme Court. General Kagan is a first-rate intellect, a passionate legal scholar and a dedicated public servant—and she is both well-prepared and well-suited to serve on the nation’s highest Court.
"As my colleague in the White House, Elena Kagan worked tirelessly to expand opportunity for all Americans willing to work hard and play by the rules. She understands that the law imposes obligations on all Americans, and she will have no patience for well-heeled interest groups who believe that their wealth and influence should grant them immunity from the law.
"In this sense, Kagan is a welcome contrast to the narrow, conservative voices which dominate today’s Supreme Court. General Kagan forged a bipartisan consensus in favor of regulations preventing tobacco companies from marketing their products to children. Despite this consensus, a conservative 5-4 majority of the Supreme Court adopted an implausible reading of federal law to declare such regulations invalid in 2000. Unlike these conservative justices, Kagan understands that it is emphatically the province and duty of the judiciary to say what the law is, not what a powerful industry says it should be.
"In other words, General Kagan will be a much-needed progressive voice on a Court dominated by conservatives who believe in one set of laws for the powerful, and another set of laws for ordinary Americans. She will make an outstanding Supreme Court Justice."
Americans United for Life President and Chief Executive Officer Charmaine Yoest:
"Elena Kagan has strong ties to abortion-advocacy organizations and expressed admiration for activist judges who have worked to advance social policy rather than to impartially interpret the law. Americans United for Life will oppose President Obama's attempt to reshape the Court as an activist, pro-abortion institution through which unelected judges will work to impose an out-of-the-mainstream social agenda upon the American people."
People For the American Way President Michael Keegan:
“Elena Kagan is a bright and clearly qualified nominee. I look forward to the confirmation process and learning more about the judicial philosophy she'll bring to the high court.
“This confirmation process presents a unique opportunity for a dialogue about the role of the Court and the meaning of our Constitution. Over recent years, the Roberts Court has pushed a political agenda from the bench, favoring corporations and powerful interests over the rights of ordinary people. We’ve seen longstanding Constitutional principles and laws designed to protect families and individuals casually tossed aside in pursuit of a rigidly conservative ideology.”
Statement of Debra Ness, President, National Partnership for Women & Families:
“Today President Obama nominated an independent thinker and a person of towering intellect and deep commitment to justice to join the U.S. Supreme Court. Solicitor General Elena Kagan is eminently qualified for this post. She has a proud history of public service, a fair and thoughtful approach to legal issues, a record of extraordinary accomplishment, and a history of working effectively with people who hold diverse political and legal views.
"Solicitor General Kagan has dedicated her life to seeking a just society. If she is confirmed, she will have the chance to continue that work on our highest court. She is a superb and brilliant choice to serve as a United States Supreme Court justice.
"Elena Kagan’s record – as a practicing attorney, a law school professor, the first woman Dean of Harvard Law School, and our nation’s first woman Solicitor General – is distinguished by keen intellect, fair and independent thinking, and remarkable achievement.
"Our nation lost a powerful champion for justice when John Paul Stevens retired. President Obama’s nomination of Solicitor General Elena Kagan offers the promise that the nation will continue to benefit from having that kind of champion on its highest court.
"The Senate confirmed Elena Kagan as Solicitor General with strong Republican support. It should confirm her as the 112th justice of the U.S. Supreme Court without controversy or delay.”
M. Edward Whelan, president of the Ethics and Public Policy Center, The Federalist Society
"Elena Kagan has written that the confirmation process for Supreme Court justices "takes on an air of vacuity and farce" when the Senate fails "to engage nominees in meaningful discussion of legal issues." She's argued for "the essential rightness -- the legitimacy and the desirability -- of exploring a Supreme Court nominee's set of constitutional views and commitments."
"It's especially important that the Senate hold Kagan to the Kagan Standard. Among Supreme Court nominees over the last 50 years or more, Kagan may well be the nominee with the least amount of relevant experience. She's been extremely guarded about her views, with the exception of gay rights, where she has been vehement in opposing federal laws she doesn't like and has worked as Solicitor General to undermine those laws. The Senate needs to explore carefully whether Kagan would indulge her own values and policy preferences as a justice."
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