Fellow Utahn —
Last week, the Senate Judiciary Committee held the confirmation hearings for Elena Kagan’s nomination to the Supreme Court.
During the hearings, I had several opportunities to question Ms. Kagan which I used to grill her on issues ranging from the First Amendment to partial birth abortion. Issues that should have sounded familiar because they were suggested by many of you.
Last Friday, I announced that I will be voting ‘No’ on Ms. Kagan’s nomination:
“I have carefully examined Solicitor General Elena Kagan’s record, actively participated in the entire Judiciary Committee hearing, and considered the views of supporters and opponents from Utah and across the country. Qualifications for judicial service include both legal experience and, more importantly, the appropriate judicial philosophy. The law must control the judge; the judge must not control the law. I have concluded that, based on evidence rather than blind faith, General Kagan regrettably does not meet this standard and that, therefore, I cannot support her appointment.
“Supreme Court Justices who, like General Kagan, had no prior judicial experience did have an average of 21 years in private legal practice. General Kagan has two. The fact that her experience is instead academic and political only magnifies my emphasis on judicial philosophy as the most important qualification for judicial service.
“Over nearly 25 years, General Kagan has endorsed, and praised those who endorse, an activist judicial philosophy. I was surprised when she encouraged us at the hearing simply to discard or ignore certain parts of her record. I am unable to do that. I also cannot ignore disturbing situations in which it appears that her personal or political views drove her legal views. She promoted the Clinton administration’s extreme position on abortion, including the barbaric practice of partial-birth abortion.”
This week’s update includes the full video of my questioning of Kagan, as well as an update from the Heritage Foundation on my efforts to repeal ObamaCare.
Sincerely,
Senator Hatch
P.S. I hope you and your family enjoyed the Independence Day holiday.
Senator Hatch’s Op-Eds
- Drug Tests For Public Assistance Would Fight Addictions, Deseret News, June 27, 2010
TV Interviews & Clips
- Senator Hatch Questions Supreme Court Nominee Elena Kagan On Abortion, Military Recruitment And The First Amendment , U.S. Senate, June 39, 2010
- Senator Hatch Questions Supreme Court Nominee Elena Kagan On The First Amendment, U.S. Senate, June 28, 2010
- Senator Hatch Discusses Illegal Immigration On Fox News, Fox News, June 28, 2010
In The News
- Hatch To Vote Against Kagan’s Nomination, The Hill, June 2, 2010
- Sen. Orrin Hatch Questions Elena Kagan On Partial-Birth Abortion, Deseret News, July 1, 2010
- Hatch Wary Of Kagan’s ‘Activist’ Record, Salt Lake Tribune, June 30, 2010
- Sen. Orrin Hatch Solicits Kagan Questions On Twitter, Deseret News, June 28, 2010
- Sen. Hatch Calls For Repeal Of Obamacare Mandates, The Heritage Foundation’s Foundry Blog, June 27, 2010
Selected Tweets – @OrrinHatch in 140 characters or less
- I have concluded that I cannot support Elena Kagan’s appointment to #SCOTUS: http://bit.ly/ds9QVN #utpol
- Over nearly 25 years, Kagan has endorsed, and praised those who endorse, an activist judicial philosophy.
- The president’s immigration reform is more about giving backdoor amnesty to illegal immigrants than real reform.http://bit.ly/9Mc6yz
- Regarding Obamacare: “We have to fight this terrible law that’s a threat to liberty itself” http://bit.ly/9epe1j #utpol
Upcoming Townhall Meetings
- Wednesday, July 7, 2010, 6:30 pm – 8:30 pm
Davis Conference Center, 1651 N 700 W, Layton, UT 84041
More information
Follow Senator Hatch on Twitter at twitter.com/OrrinHatch.
From Senator Hatch’s Kindle – Books Senator Hatch is currently reading or recently read.
- The Panic of 1907: Lessons Learned from the Market’s Perfect Storm
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