Ensign To Vote Against Kagan

Press Release

Senator John Ensign today announced his vote against Solicitor General Elena Kagan to serve as the next Supreme Court Justice. Senator Ensign met with Ms. Kagan this week and was not satisfied with the answers that she provided on a variety of important issues.

"As the highest court in the land, the Supreme Court plays a vital role in keeping the overreaching arm of government in check. That said, anyone nominated to sit on the bench of this court must be willing to do the same -- set aside personal politics and views and defer to the Constitution for the good of our country," said Ensign. "While I am impressed with her intellect and accomplishments, my meeting with Ms. Kagan did little to dispel my concerns as to whether she will adhere to the Framer's intent of the Constitution."

Ms. Kagan's barring of military recruiters from the Harvard Law School campus was in violation of the law and instead established a separate but unequal policy for recruiting. This dishonored the military at a time when our servicemen and women were laying down their lives in defense of our country. Even more troubling was that Ms. Kagan expressed unfamiliarity with the intent of our Founding Fathers when they drafted the Second Amendment, especially given her past work and advocacy to undercut this fundamental individual right.

Further, a review of her writings from when she was a clerk for Justice Thurgood Marshall and her work as an advisor to President Clinton signaled that her history of political activism would not likely end if she were confirmed as a Justice.

"Ms. Kagan's lack of support for the United States military, demonstrated hostility toward the Second Amendment and her propensity toward political activism signaled to me that her role on the Court would be one of liberal judicial activism. For this reason, I will respectfully oppose her nomination to the United States Supreme Court."

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