Why Iowans Should Support Elena Kagan's Nomination

from the White House Blog

Asked about unfair attacks on Solicitor General Elena Kagan and her nomination for the Supreme Court, Ken Starr said “I think is not serving the Court well and therefore I don’t think it serves the country well.” Nevertheless, some have opted against engaging in an honest discussion of her qualifications and chosen instead to pursue smears and attacks that are frankly beneath the dignity of the Supreme Court.

Most prominently, a handful of Republican Senators and conservative commentators have attempted to portray Kagan as “anti-military” due to her opposition to “Don’t Ask Don’t Tell” during her tenure as Dean of Harvard Law School, citing her continuation of Harvard’s non-discrimination policy that required employers using the recruiting services provided by the Office of Career Services to agree not to discriminate based on sexual orientation or other criteria. Of course Kagan’s opposition to the policy was in no way anti-military — just as opposition today from figures such as General Colin Powell or Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Admiral Mike Mullen is rooted in admiration for all those who serve, so too was Kagan’s. Indeed, Brigadier General Patrick Finnegan, dean of the academic board at West Point, described such characterizations of Kagan as “ludicrous.”