Kagan Advocated Centrist Policies In Clinton White House

Those trying to paint Supreme Court nominee as a radical are going to have a tough time, given the centrist advice nominee Elena Kagan gave President Clinton as an adviser during his presidency. Already known is that Kagan counseled Clinton to ban late-term abortions. New memos released tell a larger story of Kagan’s pragmatic centrism.

• A 1998 memo shows that Kagan was among advisers encouraging Clinton to deny Medicare funding for abortions in cases of rape or incest – in part to avoid a messy battle with Republicans.

• In another instance, a memo shows Kagan opposed efforts by labor unions and Sen. Ted Kennedy (D-Mass.) to get Clinton to insist that he would only sign a bill Republicans were advancing to ease overtime pay rules if Congress used the same measure to expand the Family and Medical Leave Act.

I wonder how many more times we will hear the word “radical” during the vetting process.

By: Alan

Alan Colmes is the publisher of Liberaland.