After day one of Senate hearings, signs seem to indicate that Supreme Court Justice nominee Elena Kagan is headed for confirmation.
Senate Judiciary Committee member Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) said yesterday that “unless she stumbles badly,” there “will be 59 Democrats and you can count on at least a few Republicans” voting for her.
Might Hatch be one of those Republicans?
Senator Hatch is on record declaring: “Anything I can do for the Jewish people, I will do,” “Mormons believe the Jewish people are the chosen people, just like the Old Testament says,” and “I’m sorry I’m not Jewish sometimes.”
In addition to recording a Hannukah song last winter, Hatch reportedly keeps a Torah in his Capitol Hill office, wears a gold mezuzah around his neck, and has mezuzahs on the doorways of his homes in Utah and Washington DC.
Not that the eminently—supremely?—capable Ms. Kagan, who reportedly identifies as a Conservative Jew, needs to play the faith card.
But just in case she’d like to swing for the fences, perhaps she might capitalize on Senator Hatch’s special Mormon brand of Judaphilia by offering to sing back-up on his 2010 edition Hannukah song, or by promising to share her grandmother’s secret recipe for green Jello kugel.
