Dr. Boyce: Elena Kagan's Poor Record with Minorities

by Dr. Boyce Watkins - The Institute for Black Public Policy

I want to cheer for President Barack Obama. I want to believe that his decisions are sound, intelligent and good for our nation. But that trust is undermined at times, and to the ire of some of my friends, I can't help but share what's truly on my mind. My discomfort with Obama's decision-making ability comes to the forefront of my conscience when I evaluate Elena Kagan, Obama's most recent nominee to the Supreme Court.
On the surface, Kagan seems O.K. She presents herself as the standard liberal that we would expect Obama to nominate, someone who might be a small step toward filling the incredibly large shoes of retired Justice John Paul Stevens. As they say in the military, "check." Kagan has also shown the ambition and focus necessary to make herself into a star in the legal profession, opening doors for women everywhere she went. Double-Check. Finally, her experience as Solicitor General means that she has worked closely with the Supreme Court in the past, and that she would also be good at building a consensus among other members of the court. Check, check check.

But there is something disturbing about the resume of Elena Kagan. Something that is almost irritatingly redundant about her path to the top of American politics. The "Obamaesque" nature of her resume, honestly wreaks of the elitist cronyism that most of us have come to expect from President Obama's less than stellar appointments during his presidency. Let's start from the top, shall we?

 

 

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