Sessions Slams Kagan with Predictable Recruitment vs DADT Distortion

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6-29-10 Melanie Nathan

Supreme Court nominee Elena Kagan told a Senate panel today, that the Pentagon’s recruiters had access to Harvard Law School students “every single day I was dean,” adding that she believes military service is the most important way anyone can serve the country.

The Obama Administration pick to US Supreme Court, Elena Kagan, held her ground this morning during her confirmation hearings, as Alabama Senator Jefferson Beauregard Sessions III grilled her on her role in limiting the contact of the Department of Defense recruiters with Harvard Law School students.

Kagan told members of the Senate Judiciary Committee, she acted because the military’s “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy, which bars openly gay men and women from serving, is a violation of the university’s anti-discrimination rules and noted that she had encouraged a campus veterans group to facilitate the Pentagon’s recruitment of students. “Military recruiting went up that year, not down,” said Kagan.

In the opening moments of her testimony, Kagan also said that the only time she has cried since being nominated by President Obama to the high court was when she read an op-ed article praising her for her treatment of the military, in a commentary written by a Marine captain and 2008 graduate of Harvard Law.

Senator Sessions, appearing on CNN, had difficulty defending his position, when challenged by John King, on his implications that Kagan lacked integrity.

When Sessions was the point person for the Republicans at the hearings for Justice Sotomayor he made a similar play, fashioning lies out of situations ripe for an easy twist, to fuel those stupid enough to take one with such a racist past seriously. So it is not surprising to note the distortions and accusations crafted by Sessions, delivered with body language spelling “short little effeminate ’straight’ man bully,” when the exchanged occurred at the hearings.

Clearly distorting the military recruitment controversy at Harvard, is being used in an attempt to discredit Kagan, and is evidenced clearly by the fact that Newt Gingrich was out pimping and Sessions repeating the very same ‘talking points.’

Gingrich falsely claimed that an “anti-military” Kagan “singled out the military” at Harvard.

Kagan was very open in her explanation and about the fact that she was against DADT for reasons of discrimination.

It seems that one simple precept ignored (purposely avoided) through the questioning of Kagan by Sessions is at the time of the recruitment controversy Kagan was doing her job in her capacity as Dean of Harvard Law School.

Dean Kagan was doing her job as DEAN of a Law School; as it was then. If anything she ought to receive credit for doing the job that served the Campus- upholding her stance was an obligation to her students, the Campus and a concomitant of her employment. Many Americans believe she was doing her job, rendering this line of questioning nothing more than a red-herring.

Now if she is confirmed as a Justice to SCOTUS, she will indeed perform according to a new Job description, and hopefully in as responsible a fashion as she did at Harvard.

What seems unique about this hearing is the fact that whereas we were unable to garnish specific personal opinions from Justice Sotomayor on specific issues that could land before the Court, here we know for sure that the person Elena Kagan dislikes DADT.

However given her history- and her comments, she will hear and listen to the arguments before her and perform according to her job description. This is not a woman about to wreck an illustrious career. She will do it right! Or should I say – hopefully very left – we need the latter balance!

By Melanie Nathan
nathan@privatecourts.com

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