Justice Kagan - Kagan Confirmed to Supreme Court

Today, during a very violent thunderstorm, the senate confirmed Elana Kagan to be our next supreme court justice.  Kagan who has no judicial experience will be sworn in on Saturday.  While it is great that that court will have a third woman sitting on the bench, is not the choice of conservatives. 

We don't have a great trail to see how she will vote, yet we can pretty much guess.  She will vote along the liberal voting bloc of the court down the line.  I can't imagine her every stepping outside of that box, regardless of the case in front of her.  Sotomayor told the senate that gun rights is settled law, yet voted against it the first chance she got.  Kagan will be no different. 

Five republicans crossed party lines to vote for her confirmation.  With the current make up the senate, at least one had to. 

Lindsey Graham
Olympia Snowe
Susan Collins
Judd Gregg
Richard Lugar

The only real surprise in this is many people expected Scott Brown to cross over party lines and approve her vote and Lugar.  The other four are par for the course of their voting histories.  Another surprise was Ben Nelson crossing party lines and voting nay.  I think that this has to do with his health care vote more than anything else.  He has already upset the people who will re-elect him, so this seems like nothing more than appeasement.  It also becomes pretty easy knowing that she would get in anyway. 

I happen to believe that Kagan was the best of the bunch that was on the short list, but it certainly isn't good news.  I wonder if Justice Ginsberg is reading the tea leaves and will announce her retirement before the mid term elections which will most certainly put Obama in a position to nominate someone that will have to garner more republican support in order to be confirmed.