By Saniya Ghanoui -- July 20, 2010
Elena Kagan won the support of the Senate Judiciary Committee Tuesday in a vote which puts the Supreme Court nominee one step closer to being confirmed to the high court.
Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., was the sole Republican to support Kagan in a 13-6 vote. The vote now goes to the full Senate where Kagan is expected to be confirmed next month.
Graham said Kagan was an astute choice because she is "someone who is qualified, who has the experience and knowledge to serve on this court, who is in the mainstream of liberal philosophy and understands the difference between being a liberal judge and a politician."
While Kagan was not someone he would have chosen, Graham said "the person who did choose, President Obama, I think chose wisely."
Every Democrat on the committee voted for Kagan, however Sen. Arlen Specter, D-Pa., said he had "grave concerns" with some of Kagan's answers because she did not address "questions which I think ought to have been answered."
However, Specter said he supported Kagan because of her response to two questions. First, Kagan expressed admiration for Justice Thurgood Marshall, whom Kagan clerked for early in her career, and, secondly, her support for televising court proceedings, something Specter has campaigned on for years.
The Republicans on the committee gave several reasons for voting against Kagan.
Sen. Jeff Sessions, R-Ala., said her testimony regarding the banning of military recruiters from the law facilities while she was dean of Harvard Law School was "at best inaccurate and at worst intellectually dishonest."
But it was Graham who gave the most thought-provoking comment regarding his vote.
"No one spent more time trying to beat President Obama than I did, except maybe Sen. McCain," said Graham in reference to Obama's rival during the 2008 presidential election. "I missed my own election- I voted absentee. But I understood: we lost, President Obama won. The Constitution, in my view, puts a requirement on me not to replace my judgment for his."
Saying there were many reasons why he should vote against Kagan if he based his standard on her philosophy, Graham noted her qualifications and good-character as his reasons for supporting her.
Graham's statement even had some Democrats reflecting on their own way for voting for judicial nominees.
Sen. Richard Durbin, D- Ill., said of Graham's remarks, "I reflected on some of the things that I have said and how I have voted in the past, and thought that perhaps his statement suggested a better course."
(Photo courtesy: AP Images)
