Political Quotes

“Mr. President, I have sought recognition to state my position on the nomination of Solicitor General Elena Kagan to be Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States and to comment about the appropriate role of the Senate, what is happening to the doctrine of separation of powers, and how institutionally the Senate might assert itself to stop the erosion of powers from this body to the Court and from the Congress to the executive branch. I am supporting Ms. Kagan because of her intellect, her professional background, her academic background, and because I think she will be an effective balance in the ideological battle which is being waged in the conference room of the Supreme Court--the ideological balance which is so sorely needed at the present time. The hesitancy I have had, as I have expressed it in the hearings, has been on the failure of Ms. Kagan to respond with substantive answers so that Senators would have a realistic idea as to where she stands philosophically on some of the very important questions of the day--not how she would decide cases but what standards she would apply if confirmed, and I will be very specific about that. It has been especially troublesome because Ms. Kagan has been outspoken in the past about the importance of having substantive answers in nomination proceedings.…”