Elena Kagan had better get ready to fight for her nomination. In addition to the GOP, which is questioning her ability to be nonpartisan, civil rights organizations have resisted endorsing her Supreme Court nomination because of her record on hot-button issues like affirmative action, racial profiling and immigration. The National Bar Association isn't enamored with Kagan, whose hiring policies while dean of Harvard Law School did not include racial and ethnic diversity. The Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund and the Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights Under Law expressed concerns over the fact that her civil rights record is "thin and mixed." We're still stuck on the no judicial experience in the face of those who have it, including multiple African-American potential candidates. We won't even mention the number of Supreme Court justices who have Harvard Law degrees. Clearly, diversity in legal training isn't important either. Whatever the case, it doesn't make sense for civil right organizations to endorse candidates with no real track record on civil rights issues, even if the nominee is a member of a marginalized group. Two words: Clarence Thomas.
SOURCE: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/06/26/AR2010062603649.html