As the final vote in the Senate on Elena Kagan’s nomination to the US Supreme Court draws near, there’s little doubt that she will be confirmed, given the Democrats large majority.  But it will be a missed opportunity if Senate Republicans don’t use the debate to make some larger points about the judiciary and the size and scope of our government.

The problem is that when it comes to the American judiciary, what once was extreme has become mainstream, and the views of government held by those who wrote and ratified our Constitution are today considered extreme and out of date.

So how did this happen?  It certainly wasn’t suddenly.  Instead, it has been a long and insidious process, routed in the old “progressive” political movement whose adherents changed their names to “liberals” when progressive became a dirty word, and have now changed it back.  But this weed by any other name would smell as bad.  read more »