This is a rush transcript from “Hannity,” May 10, 2010. This copy may not be in its final form and may be updated.
SEAN HANNITY, HOST: Only a year and a half into his presidency and today President Obama nominated a second individual to serve on the United States Supreme Court. But the question we ask tonight is: Who is Elena Kagan?
Now if confirmed Kagan will be the youngest Supreme Court justice and the first member of the court without any — any — judicial experience in four decades.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA: While we can’t presume to replace Justice Stevens’ wisdom or experience, I have selected a nominee who I believe embodies that same excellence, independence, integrity and passion for the law. And who can ultimately provide that same kind of leadership on the court.
Our solicitor general and my friend, Elena Kagan.
(END OF VIDEO CLIP)
HANNITY: Alright, now Kagan served in the Clinton White House before being named the first female dean of Harvard Law School. While at Harvard, she barred military recruiters from campus to protest the Pentagon’s “Don’t Ask Don’t Tell” policy which she called, quote, “a profound wrong and moral injustice of the first order.”
Pretty ironic considering that very policy was instituted by her former boss President Clinton. Now apparently her opposition to military recruiters wasn’t enough to capture the president’s attention. He nominated Kagan to serve as solicitor general just over one year ago.
Now the administration may also have been a fan of Kagan’s senior thesis in which she explored the history of the socialist movement here in the U.S.
So is this just another Obama radical being elevated to the highest levels of our government?
Here with reaction is the author of The New York Times bestseller “2010: Take America Back,” the one and only, Dick Morris.
You just told me before you knew her.
DICK MORRIS, “2010: TAKE BACK AMERICA”: Yes, I knew her pretty well in the Clinton administration. And again, you know, that was a weird world. It was its own construct. And in that world she was a moderate and conservative within the Clinton White House. She worked for a guy named Bruce Reid who is a sort of new Democrat opportunity, responsibility and —
HANNITY: What makes you think she was a moderate because —
MORRIS: No, I mean, within the politics of the administration. For example, I’m sure, she’s supported the welfare reform bill. I’m sure she’s supported the balanced budget deal. I’m sure she’s supported the capital gains tax cut.
On all those issues I think she —
(CROSSTALK)
HANNITY: There’s no evidence of that.
MORRIS: No, no, but I —
HANNITY: We do know that she supported the compromise on the partial birth abortion bill.
MORRIS: But we talked with her. She really is an Al Gore person, though. And in the Clinton White House, Gore, believed it or not, was a moderate. He’s moved way to the left since. And it’s possible that Kagan has moved way to the left.
I would — based on the Elena Kagan that I knew 15 years ago, she would be a moderate on the court. She’d be a little bit like Sandra Day O’Connor.
(CROSSTALK)
HANNITY: No way.
MORRIS: Or a little bit to the left of David Kennedy. Maybe at worst a Souter, a Souter, but not a —
HANNITY: David —
(CROSSTALK)
MORRIS: Or a Breyer who’s kind of a moderate.
HANNITY: Her most notable act was to lead an effort to kick military recruiters off of the college campus. By the way, in the middle of a war, Dick. And then challenged federal law.
MORRIS: Not only that but she supported defunding campuses, cutting off federal funds if they barred military recruiters.
HANNITY: Well, that was already the law which is where she ran into some controversy with Lawrence Summers because he wanted the $400 million —
MORRIS: Correct.
HANNITY: — that Harvard was getting in grants. And she signed this amicus brief that went to the court. Now what’s interesting about this —
MORRIS: To throw at that law.
HANNITY: Yes. Alright. Well, what she was supporting was in violation of federal law.
MORRIS: Yes.
HANNITY: In other words, kicking the recruiters off campus.
MORRIS: Listen, Sean —
HANNITY: But here’s the point: 8-0 the Supreme Court went against her —
MORRIS: Yes.
HANNITY: Her point of view, which tells me she would be to the left of Ruth Bader Ginsburg.
MORRIS: Yes.
HANNITY: And —
MORRIS: Look, she may have changed in 14 years. But the person that I knew in the Clinton White House was definitely a moderate conservative for that group. That means she was kind of center left.
In other words, if you look at the difference between Ginsburg and Breyer, Clinton’s two appointments, Breyer is kind of middle of the road. He voted in favor of Gore in the Bush v Gore but on a lot of issues he’s moved to the right.
Ginsburg is an absolutely reliable left-wing vote. And no, Breyer voted for Bush in that decision.
HANNITY: I don’t remember the —
MORRIS: He did.
HANNITY: Alright. But here’s the point. Was she —
MORRIS: And I think she’s more of a Breyer type.
HANNITY: Alright. Was she like you in this way? Were her recommendations, you know, seen through a political prism? In other words, did she recommend on partial birth abortion the compromise for any other reason except she thought it would help the president politically? Do we really glean her philosophy?
MORRIS: I think it will be more political than personal. The one issue where I am convinced she is an extreme leftist is the environment. She and Carol Brown were kind of Bobbsey Twins in the White House.
HANNITY: Yes.
MORRIS: And I think that on cap-and-trade and stuff like that, she’d be way over left. But on the other issues — welfare reform and fiscal policy and terrorism — I would peg her as moderate.
HANNITY: Let me throw some numbers at you. We got new numbers out today. CBS News reports 41 percent of U.S. children are now born to single mothers. We have a new record, food stamps, 40 million Americans, one in eignt, are on food stamps in this country. And the Heritage Foundation report that one in five rely on government for their daily housing, food and health care.
MORRIS: This is precisely what we’re seeing in Greece. Where this kind of level of government expenditure. This kind of insane government expenditure has led to the ruination of a country.
And you know Greece — I have an article on my Web site, DickMorris.com, that explains this. Greece has a debt ratio of 120 percent, the United States is 84.
HANNITY: Right. We’re going higher.
MORRIS: Greece has a budget deficit that’s 12 percent of its economy, ours is 12. And we’ve gone from banks being suspect to insurance companies to Goldmans to those groups to small countries.
It is a matter of a few months — I don’t think the solution will hold, I think it’s going to go away. I think that this panic will resume. Then I think it’s going to spread to Italy. Then I think it may spread to Britain.
HANNITY: Spain.
MORRIS: Then I think it will spread to the United States.
Spain doesn’t deserve it because Spain has a low debt level because Aznar kept in down when he was president. But Italy has the same debt ratio that Greece does.
HANNITY: Yes.
MORRIS: But instead of 400 billion of debt they have 2 trillion of debt.
HANNITY: And Britain is almost identical to Greece.
MORRIS: And the United States is almost identical to both of them.
HANNITY: Yes.
MORRIS: In “2010: Take Back America,” I make the point that Obama has put us — made us hostage to the rest of the world because of this insane debt level that he has contracted.
HANNITY: Alright.
MORRIS: And you need look no further than Greece to understand exactly what it is.
HANNITY: See, I think you have said it, I’ve said it and others have said it.
MORRIS: Coming soon to this neighborhood.
HANNITY: Greece is coming soon to the U.S. which is scary.
MORRIS: Exactly.
HANNITY: What do you make of what happened to Senator Bennett out in Utah?
MORRIS: Oh, it’s wonderful. Bennett, you know, got the race — nomination basically just because he’s rich, you know, when he was first nominated to the Senate. He won in a state that’s overwhelmingly Republican.
And he is not a true conservative, he is a moderate. And, you know, in the past, moderates had a better chance of winning elections.
HANNITY: Not in this environment.
MORRIS: Not this year. Because abortion and those issues are not the big ones. The big issue is the economy.
HANNITY: TARP.
MORRIS: And there, the more right-wing you are the more you are against high taxes the better you are, the stronger you are. It’s a point I make in the book, don’t move to the center.
And Bennett would be prone to. And I love that the Tea Party movement toppled him. And I hope that they topple more. And I hope that they end up replacing the leadership in the House and the Senate of the Republican Party with leaders that reflect the values of the Tea Party movement.
HANNITY: Alright, Dick. It’s always fun to have you.
MORRIS: Yes.
HANNITY: Thanks for being with us.
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