SCOTUS Games

Elena Kagan (as expected) has been tapped by President Obama to be Justice Stevens replacement on the Supreme Court. If confirmed, she would help form the first Supreme Court in US History with 3 females. (Which given the fact that three decades ago, there were precisely 0 females on the High Court, I'd consider progress of sorts.)

More rumblings when I get a chance...

UPDATED, 5/11/10 9:45 AM: It's hard for me to get excited about the Supreme Court sometimes. At this point in our political history, a President could nominate Gandhi, hell, he could nominate the Lord Almighty him/herself and the opposition party in Congress, be they Republican or Democrat would get their collective undergarments in a massive knot and generally go absolutely ape-poo about it. The hyper-partisanism surrounding confirmations to the High Court is tiresome, especially since in this particular case, it doesn't really matter all that much...

Let me qualify that: lifetime appointments to the Supreme are always important, but in this particular case, politically speaking, it couldn't be less important. Kagan has been cast as a Liberal (though what she believes is still an open question) and she is replacing a Liberal Justice, John Paul Stevens. So in essence, the overall balance of the court remains the same. Kagan isn't making a lot of people on the Left or the Right that happy as of this morning however, so beware, beware, beware the David Souter effect. (A supposedly reliable 'conservative' who turns out to be Liberal.) The questions continue to swirl: is she a (gasp) lesbian? There won't be any (gasp) Protestants on the Court if she's appointed? NPR has a profile here. Despite all the usual heavy breathing and massive freakouts that usually accompany high court nominations, this one, I just can't get all that worked up about. It has the potential, as do all the new Justices to affect the balance of the court, but I only have one question:

Will Kagan adhere to her own standard?

Um, guess not. And Mother Jones wonders why so many people think Kagan is a lesbian. (I myself wonder why so many people give a shit. Other than it being the knee jerk reaction of sexist men doing what they always do when confronted with a powerful, confident and successful woman. Namely, getting their collective underpants in a tangle and screaming "LESBIAN" as loud as they can.)