[SeekAndFind]

Elena Kagan worked under Under the tutelage of Sean Wilentz — lefty historian, friend of the Clintons, and notorious Bush-basher — Kagan wrote a thesis called “To the Final Conflict: Socialism in New York City, 1900-1933,” which first raised eyebrows when Kagan was being considered for Souter’s seat last year:

“Americans are more likely to speak of a golden past than of a golden future, of capitalism’s glories than of socialism’s greatness,” she wrote in her thesis. “Conformity overrides dissent; the desire to conserve has overwhelmed the urge to alter. Such a state of affairs cries out for explanation.”

She called the story of the socialist movement’s demise “a sad but also a chastening one for those who, more than half a century after socialism’s decline, still wish to change America … In unity lies their only hope.”

[AmishDude]

“one of the most extraordinary people I’ve met in my life, let alone teaching at Princeton.”

“She’s very full of life,” he explained. “Very vital, very vivacious.”

I.e., dumb as a post.

History major, pfft. Don't want to have to bother with that icky math, do we?

[Williams]

The effort to “discover” Kagan’s political viewpoints is a waste of time. unless one is unable to see the obvious.

[CholeraJoe]

I may vomit.

[Albion Wilde]

Yet Kagan was also more guarded in discussing politics and in her social life. “She had a reserved side,” Wilentz noted. “She’s not the kind of person to go on ‘Oprah.’ But with those boundaries, she’s just a delight to be with. You’d like to have [her] as a friend.”

In plain words, he knows she's gay, and he wants to gush, but he's not going to "out" her.

[Wally_Kalbacken]

Drunk and ugly is no way to go through life, young lady.

- Dean Wormer

[Albion Wilde]

Elena Kagan ’81... Democratic candidate Elizabeth Holtzman... History professor Sean Wilentz, who advised Kagan on her senior thesis... Steven Bernstein ’81, the ‘Prince’ chairman who appointed Kagan to her position... She traveled in the same circle as former New York governor Eliot Spitzer ’81... worked as a legislative intern for Rep. Ted Weiss, a Democrat from New York... Ben Domenech suggested a few weeks ago on a CBS blog that Kagan would be the first openly gay justice...

All those Christian names -- not. What a tolerant liberal.

[golf lover]

How many guys sat down and wept when Holtzman lost?

[SamuraiScot]

“Elena Kagan is about the furthest thing from a socialist.

Sherrr. And as far as working for Liz Holtzman goes, by the way, Liz was a nutso, obsessive, man-hating feminazi from the git-go, and a confirmed bachelorette, if you catch my drift. In those days (as in these), normal liberal girls stayed away from her, because she was so bitter and weird, and so good at making enemies.

To want to work in Holtzman's coven bespeaks a very special gal.

[dead]

“Elena Kagan is about the furthest thing from a socialist. Period. And always had been. Period,” Wilentz explained.

Currently, she's on a golf course, looking for the real socialists.

[DrC]

“Democratic candidate Elizabeth Holtzman had lost the race for one of New York’s Senate seats. And then she sat down and wept.”

I’m sure Holtzman’s loss was a disappointment, but more likely a far greater disappointment to Kagan that year was Ted Kennedy’s abject failure as a liberal challenger to Jimmy Carter in the spring primaries and Carter’s subsequent defeat by an unashamedly conservative candidate, Ronald Reagan. I’m sure Kagan thought the U.S. was going to hell in a handbasket rather than being on the cusp of the greatest postwar economic expansion ever seen.

[dead]

Yet Bernstein said that, whatever her views, Kagan always based them on calm reasoning. “She might argue something quite passionately, but it was thoughtful and reasoned,” he said. “[Her opinions were] informed by evidence and data and not just feelings ... That’s not a bad thing for a Supreme Court justice.”

Over and over again, this article hits the same point - her uniformly hardcore leftist views are not radical. They are "well-reasoned," "sober," "calm," "mainstream", etc.

The people interviewed, and most journalists, consider hardcore leftist thought to be mainstream and reassuring. All their friends, colleagues and acquaintences believe all the exact same things and they're all nice.

Myopic dingbats.

[lonestar]

In Texas, we call these eastern academic elites..."ignorant."

They all seem to have an aversion to patriotism.

[gogeo]

And Wilentz reiterated that, controversies aside, Kagan’s stellar mind ideally qualifies her for the nomination. “She’s not an ideologue; she’s very pragmatic,” he said. “She’s a woman whose ... deepest dedication is to the constitution of the United States. Which some people can think is a terribly radical thing, and some people can think is a terribly reactionary thing, but I think is exactly where she ought to be for the position she is being considered for.”

He's either incredibly stupid or breathtakingly cynical...either of which disqualifies him from his position.

[TLI]

“Americans are more likely to speak of a golden past than of a golden future, of capitalism’s glories than of socialism’s greatness,” she wrote in her thesis. “Conformity overrides dissent; the desire to conserve has overwhelmed the urge to alter. Such a state of affairs cries out for explanation.”

She called the story of the socialist movement’s demise “a sad but also a chastening one for those who, more than half a century after socialism’s decline, still wish to change America ... In unity lies their only hope.”

Soooooo, she is a communist.

I'm stunned. Absolutely speechless I tell ya.

[orinoco]

And Wilentz reiterated that, controversies aside, Kagan’s stellar mind ideally qualifies her for the nomination. “She’s not an ideologue; she’s very pragmatic,” he said. “She’s a woman whose ... deepest dedication is to the constitution of the United States.

I question Wilentz credibility. How does he know so much about Kagan? For a college senior thesis advisor he sure claims to know much more about her than one would expect for simply explaining to her what was required for the thesis. You would think during his advising time she provided him with a complete bibliography of herself. How does he know she is pragmatic or an ideologue? I mean she was just a college senior and at that time never had to make career or personal life choices. I take Wilentz's opinion very lightly!