Retiring Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens was a former Navy man -- the lone former serviceman on the high court -- and so some observers expected President Barack Obama to nominate a justice with a military background. Or at least, that appears to be the expectation of one Allen West, the former lieutenant colonel in the U.S. Army who was somehow not a finalist in Obama's search for Stevens' replacement.
But maybe Obama thought West was too busy running for Congress against Ron Klein. Whatever the case, West would have been happy with any veteran nominee. So he's furious that Obama would nominate someone with a record of being critical of military recruitment: Kagan famously ousted ROTC from Harvard's law school, due to the program's discrimination against openly gay recruits.
The episode makes West wonder whether Kagan "harbors anti-military sentiments," according to a statement West put out recently in response to her nomination.
In addition, West is worried that Kagan will take the position that U.S. Constitutional rights should be extended to enemy combatants.
It's a safe bet that he'll be disappointed on that front too. By all indications, Kagan is to the left of Genghis Khan, meaning that she's not conservative enough for West.
