Amy Klobuchar: “I thank my two colleagues, Senators Shaheen and Stabenow, for joining me in making open arguments in favor of Solicitor…”

“I thank my two colleagues, Senators Shaheen and Stabenow, for joining me in making open arguments in favor of Solicitor General Kagan to be the next Associate Justice of the Supreme Court. If Members listened to Senator Shaheen's discussion of the experience of Elena Kagan, something quickly emerged: she has always been on the front line and has not been afraid to get into battle. She is the one who had to go before the Supreme Court and argue the Citizens United case that basically came up with a ruling from the current Supreme Court with which I don't agree. The Supreme Court went beyond their bounds in how they interpreted election law, reversing decades of precedent. Yet it was Elena Kagan who was the one willing to stand there as Solicitor General and basically say corporations are not people; people are people. I like the thought of someone of her experience--such an intellectual heavyweight--getting on the Court to basically match Justice Roberts. As Senator Shaheen has pointed out, she has consensus-building skills in addition to that. She is someone who has been able to bring together people of diverse views. With such a divided Court, as we see right now, I think it is going to be very helpful--if she gets through our process, which I believe she will--to have her on that Court. She also is a trailblazer. She was the first woman dean at Harvard Law School in their 186-year history. In 2009 she became the first woman to serve as Solicitor General.”