When the Senate ceases to engage nominees in meaningful discussion of legal issues, the confirmation process takes on an air of vacuity and farce, and the Senate becomes incapable of evaluating nominees or appropriately educating the public.
Interpretation
The Senate's failure to engage deeply with nominees undermines its ability to assess them and inform the public.
Elena Kagan critiques the Senate's approach to the confirmation process, suggesting that without substantial discussions on legal issues, the proceedings become superficial and ineffective. This lack of depth not only hinders the Senate's evaluation of nominees but also prevents the public from being properly educated about the candidates and the issues at stake.
In practice
In a speech on the importance of democracy, this quote can illustrate the challenges faced in political processes.
I owe a debt of gratitude to two other living Justices. Sandra Day O'Connor and Ruth Bader Ginsburg paved the way for me and so many other women in my generation. Their pioneering lives have created boundless possibilities for women in the law. I thank them for their inspiration and also for the personal kindnesses they have shown me.
To have the opportunity to lead the Solicitor General's office is the honor of a lifetime. As you know, this is an office with a long and rich tradition, not only of extraordinary legal skill but also of extraordinary professionalism and integrity. That is due, in large measure, to the people who have led it.
American radicals cannot afford to become their own worst enemies. In unity lies their only hope.
I think that if there are positions that you can't argue... then the responsibility is probably to resign. If one's own conscience is opposed to the requirements and responsibilities of the job, then it's time to leave the job.
If there is an ‘overabundance’ of an idea in the absence of direct governmental action - which there well might be when compared with some ideal state of public debate - then action disfavoring that idea might ‘un-skew,’ rather than skew, public discourse.
It's not that there are no masters, but that there are many. And the job of the solicitor general is to balance those masters and to accommodate them all, each in their proper places, wisely and well and in so doing to represent the people of the United States.
There’s no doubt that there’s some folks who just really dislike me because they don’t like the idea of a black President.
In the old days people never bothered about what others did, so long as they were free to do what they liked themselves. Today, one cannot sneeze without being corrected, let alone enjoy oneself. That's what politics have done to our society
We will keep the promise of Social Security by taking the responsible steps to strengthen it - not by turning it over to Wall Street.
My message to the people and rulers of Pakistan is, 'As neighbours, we want peace and friendship and cooperation with you so that together we can change the face of South Asia.'
The Iranian government is undoubtedly a severe danger to its own population, but not beyond that.
Nowadays you don't need to be a senator or a CEO or a celebrity to have a voice in the media, and if you happen to be a senator, a CEO or a celebrity, you have a thousand people each with their own respective audiences to hold you accountable.
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