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On Matters of Gender, the Utter Silliness of
Elena Kagan
The grand impresario P.T. Barnum would be amazed by
the grandstanding, the scripted theatrics, and
dexterous maneuvers, in short the grand and gaudy
spectacle of what passes for a Supreme Court
hearing these days.
It was less than a year ago that our nation was
treated to the wonderment of Sonia Sotomayor, the
first female Hispanic with a “compelling
personal story” ever nominated to serve on the
High Court.
Sitting before the Judiciary Committee,
Sotomayor executed deft rhetorical summersaults in
an effort to explain away her “wise
Latina” remark. Then she regaled the
astonished senators with the subtle yet profound
logic that informed her decision to rule against
the New Haven firemen who had been denied a
promotion in the name of anti-white racism
affirmative action.
Sotomayor was eventually confirmed by the full
Senate with a solid 68-31 margin.
And now, Ladies and Gentlemen, cast your eye to
the center ring. There, a sight to behold --
Solicitor General Elena Kagan, who is now being
nominated by President Obama as his second Supreme
Court nominee.
Regarding Obama’s most recent paean to
gender equality, the Washington Times noted that
Kagan “is too political, too leftist, too
inexperienced and too disrespectful towards
existing law to be confirmed for the U.S. Supreme
Court.”
But lack of qualification should never be
allowed to become an impediment to good ol’
fashioned fun. And remember, the Show Must Go
On!
Last week’s hearings featured many
scintillating moments of logic-defying acrobatics.
One of the most memorable was the exchange that
took place on Wednesday between Senator Amy
Klobuchar, Democrat of Minnesota, and Elena
Kagan.
To probe her fitness for office, Klobuchar first
quizzed the High Court nominee how many women sat
on the Supreme Court in 1980. Having been coached
in advance of the likelihood of this question,
Kagan stated the correct answer: Zero.
Next question: How many women were members of
the U.S. Senate in 1980? Zero, Elena Kagan shot
back at her Grand Inquisitor.
(The correct answer was actually One. Nancy
Kassebaum of Kansas had been elected to the Senate
in 1978. But she was Republican, which renders her
membership in the female gender suspect. But
Klobuchar’s query was merely a set-up for the
grand finale, so it didn’t really matter how
Kagan answered the question.)
Now cue to an ever-deafening drum-roll as we
approach the acme of Sen. Klobuchar’s wisdom:
“I think there’s no question that women
have greater opportunities now, although they could
be made greater still.”
To which Ms. Kagan rendered this memorable
opinion on the state of gender equality in American
law firms: “there’s just not the kind of
diversity anybody would want.”
Of course, any first year law student could have
pointed out the inconvenient truth that women now
outnumber men in law schools. And any truthful soul
might have remarked that most female lawyers
possess not the slightest desire to grind out 40
billable hours each and every week, a dreary task
that is requisite to becoming a partner in any
high-profile legal firm.
But no, the Script of the Sisterhood stoutly
discourages such embellishments on the well-honed
meme of female disadvantage.
Commenting on the hearing, Kathyrn Jean Lopez,
editor of National Review Online, later deplored
Klobuchar’s “reveling in the same kind of
political victimhood that frequently seems to
perversely empower liberal women who work in
Washington.”
And writing in the New York Observer, Ann
Coulter once made this observation: “If we
took away women’s right to vote, we’d
never have to worry about another Democrat
president. It’s kind of a pipe dream,
it’s a personal fantasy of mine, but I
don’t think it’s going to
happen.”
Being the chivalrous, fair-minded individual
that I am, I would of course never endorse such a
radical proposal. But after contemplating the sheer
folly of the Klobuchar-Kagan repartee, I’m
beginning to wonder if Ms. Coulter may indeed have
a point.
* * *
Carey
Roberts probes and lampoons political correctness.
His work has been published frequently in the
Washington Times, Townhall.com, LewRockwell.com,
ifeminists.net, Intellectual Conservative, and
elsewhere. He is a staff reporter for the New Media
Network. You can contact him at E-Mail
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