Kagan trumps the Barak card

So Sen. Grassley plays Robert Bork’s “how can you admire that activist Israeli Supreme Court Justice Aharon Barak” card: “I am troubled by the fact that you hold up Barak as a judicial role model,” Grassley said. “He’s been described as creating a degree of judicial power undreamed of by most U.S. justices.” Grassley quoted […]

So Sen. Grassley plays Robert Bork’s “how can you admire that activist Israeli Supreme Court Justice Aharon Barak” card:

“I am troubled by the fact that you hold up Barak as a judicial role model,”
Grassley said. “He’s been described as creating a degree of judicial power
undreamed of by most U.S. justices.”

Grassley quoted Barak saying “a judge has a role” in the lawmaking process
and asked Kagan if she agreed.

Kagan said she did not, but also noted that Barak operated in a fundamentally
different system — one without a written constitution.

“Justice Barak’s philosophy is so different from anything that we would use
or would want to use in the United States,” she said.

Instead, she said, she admired Barak for creating an independent judiciary in
a young state surrounded by enemies.

“He is very often called the John Marshall of the State of Israel because he
was central in creating an independent judiciary for Israel and in ensuring that
Israel — a young nation, a nation threatened from its very beginning in
existential ways and a nation without a written constitution — he was central
in ensuring that Israel, with all those kinds of liabilities would become a very
strong rule of law nation,” she said.

In other words: Attack Barak and you’re attacking the State of Israel. Make my day, Republicans!

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