Kagan Nomination: Sue’s Sudden Silence on SCOTUS Selection

Is Lowden waiting for the House Judiciary Committee to report out the nomination?

Today Pres. Barack Obama nominated Solicitor General Elena Kagan to the Supreme Court, a move that would give the highest court three female justices for the first time in history. Later this week, Sen. Harry Reid will meet with Kagan, a woman with diverse experience and a strong academic background.

But while GOP Senate candidate Sue Lowden was quick to speak up when news broke that Justice Stephens was retiring and Pres. Obama would appoint a justice to replace him, she has remained unusually silent today.

Perhaps that’s because she lacks a basic understanding of how the process of confirming a Supreme Court justice works. Last time, she claimed Rep. Nancy Pelosi had a role in the process and took flak from local and national media who rightly pointed out that Lowden clearly didn’t understand how a Supreme Court Justice is confirmed.

“Sometimes it’s better in campaigns to just shut up,” wrote one prominent Nevada political columnist.

But Lowden didn’t issue a correction or acknowledge her ignorance, believing it better to stand by a ridiculous statement no matter how wrong you clearly are. (See Bartergate, LowdenCare, Chickens for Checkups, et all.)

Nor has she offered any subsequent evidence she has even a basic understanding of the duties of a United States Senator. Quite the contrary:

·         Lowden proved she didn’t understand Senate voting procedure when she criticized Sen. Reid for casting a procedural “no” vote, once again inviting media ridicule.

·         And then she took a stand in support of Arizona’s draconian new immigration law, while in the same breath admitting that she doesn’t know whether the law is constitutional. Cue laughter from reporters. Another prominent local columnist offered this tip to the Lowden campaign: “Be sure.”

“Despite the fact that Sue Lowden seems to have no clue what the job she's running for entails, it’s simply not her style to admit when she’s wrong – even when her statements make her the object of local and national ridicule,” said Phoebe Sweet, communications director for the Nevada State Democratic Party. “As Sue Lowden's flailing campaign continues to spiral further out of control with each passing day, the Supreme Court issue once again demonstrates she's simply not qualified to represent Nevadans in the US Senate.”