Sen. Tom Coburn didn’t mince words today when he acknowledged that Supreme Court confirmation hearings are often newsless snoozefests. Coburn (R-OK) said today during the Senate Judiciary Committee’s opening session for Elena Kagan’s Supreme Court nomination that the hearings can be a disservice to the nation since nominees just “dance” around their beliefs.
Coburn framed his request to Kagan that she “set a new standard where you really answer questions” around an appeal to her patriotism and a desire to change what many say is a broken process. “Why should we have this dance if we’re not going to find out real answers about real issues about what you really believe?”
Coburn suggested he and Kagan are “kindred spirits” of sorts since she once decried the confirmation hearings as “vapid and hollow.”
Coburn said:
All the back-and-forth you’ve heard about activist, non-activist, everything else, the fact is, is we know elections have consequences.The question I would ask you to ponder is, should the American people really know what you believe before we install you for lifetime tenure on the Supreme Court? What — what obligation do we have to make sure they know what your thinking is?
…
So my hope is — is that, with your stellar academics and your stellar intellect, that your patriotism will be just as stellar, that, in fact, you will set a new course, to set a new precedent for this committee, so that we can once again — the American people can find out what a justice is all about.
Coburn then asked — in some of the shortest remarks of the day — that Kagan be “absolutely completely honest” in her testimony. Earlier, Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) had told Kagan to “be as candid as possible,” reminding her that, “It’s okay to disagree with us up here.”
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