Elena Kagan's swearing-in as a Supreme Court justice makes history this weekend. The confirmation process has been pretty partisan, but not as partisan as the fight over Robert Bork's nomination in 1987. Bork's nomination was not confirmed on a party-line vote in the Senate, with 6 Republicans voting "no" and 2 Democrats voting "yes" to confirm -- the rest of the Senators voted along party lines, and Democrats were in the majority, so Bork's nomination was denied. It would be interesting to see what would happen if the Republicans took control of the Senate and a conservative justice retired. The seat that Bork was appointed for eventually went to Anthony Kennedy, who is now seen as somewhat of a swing vote on an ideologically divided Supreme Court. Elena Kagan will join a liberal group of justices that includes two other women, Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Sonia Sotomayor. The other liberal on the court, Stephen Breyer, was appointed by Bill Clinton. So, in order of their first day on the court we have:
1986 -- Antonin Scalia -- appointed by Ronald Reagan (R)
1988 -- Anthony Kennedy -- appointed by Ronald Reagan (R)
1991 -- Clarence Thomas -- appointed by George H.W. Bush (R)
1993 -- Ruth Bader Ginsburg -- appointed by Bill Clinton (D)
1994 -- Stephen Breyer -- appointed by Bill Clinton (D)
2005 -- John Roberts (Chief Justice) -- appointed by George W. Bush (R)
2006 -- Samuel Alito -- appointed by George W. Bush (R)
2009 -- Sonia Sotomayor -- appointed by Barack Obama (D)
2010 -- Elena Kagan -- appointed by Barack Obama (D)
The ideological divide seems to match the party affiliation of the Presidents who nominate the justices. The next nominee will be the big fight, I predict.
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